It seems as though being groomed as the “next big thing in platforming†by Microsoft is something of a curse. Every title in the genre that has been under MS’s wing at one point or another has suffered at the hands of critics (Blinx), consumers (Voodoo Vince), or every living soul on the planet (Malice). Psychonauts seemed destined to fall in the unfortunate final category, as its development eerily mirrored the hammer-swinging bane of Xbox gaming. Like Malice, Psychonauts received heavy exposure early in development upon news of publication from Microsoft. Word slowly died down, as did support from Gates and Co. When Microsoft dropped publishing duties, Psychonauts was picked up by Majesco. Being abandoned by a company that carried Grabbed by the Ghoulies and Sneakers to the finish line can be quite a downer. Will this former second-party superstar show MS who’s Psycho, or is it all for Naut? (sorry)
Story:
If you’ve never heard of the name Tim Schafer (no, he’s not the bandleader on Letterman), spending a few minutes watching the story of Psychonauts unfold will certainly clue you in to one of the most creative minds in the videogame industry. The brain behind titles like Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle (basically, everything great about LucasArts before they lost their sense of humor) has focused all of his creative energy on this game for the last three years, and believe you me, it shows. Psychonauts not only has an out-of-left-field premise that is sure to attract right-brained gamers; it’s backed by a script that is undoubtedly the funniest ever created for a videogame.
Rasputin, or Raz for short, is a psychic phenom who wants to live out his dream of being a Psychonaut- a soldier who uses mental ammunition to win battles. Running away from home, Raz breaks into a summer camp that trains eager young minds. With his parents on the way to take him back to a life he despises, Raz seeks to learn all he can about the psychic arts, only to learn that he’ll have to put his skills to work much earlier than anticipated.
With a slowly eroding camp as the backdrop, Raz must fight to cleanse the minds of the disturbed the only way he knows how- by getting in their heads. Literally. A majority of the levels take place inside the psyches of your very real enemies. These aren’t the most stable people to begin with, so the situations you’re thrust into once you start screwing with their noodles are plenty insane. If you’re expecting some of the familiar platform game trappings (the ice level, mine car chases) look elsewhere. Psychonauts uses none of those, instead opting to create wholly original settings that you’ll never forget. For my money, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There may be no greater back-to-back level sequence in any platformer than the Goggalor/Milkman stages.
That isn’t to say the rest of the game doesn’t deliver creatively. You’re constantly pushed ahead by a yearning to find out what happens next. Psychonauts has such a brilliant sense of humor that it’s impossible to imagine anyone not enjoying it. It’s familiar, yet relatively free of pop-culture references that other games (and movies) seem to be overdosing on (Conker, I’m looking in your direction). It’s got the outrageousness and off-the-wall antics of a Saturday morning cartoon, while delivering the more accessible humor of prime-time and late night animated shows like The Simpsons and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. When you have to pause and set down the controller to finish laughing, it’s the mark of a damn funny game. In a genre heavily steeped in clichés, Psychonauts is all about creating new and memorable storyline experiences.
Gameplay:
Back when development started on Psychonauts, I’m sure the use of psychic abilities was a new idea. Last year’s one-two punch of PSI-OPS and Second Sight has taken away some of the freshness of the concept, but Psychonauts transplants the idea into another genre with exceptional results. Aside from the full physical repertoire of punches and jumps (of both the single and double variety), Raz learns a myriad of psychic abilities throughout the course of the game. From telekinesis (moving objects and enemies without touching them) to pyrokinesis (set fire to anything without fear of arson charges) to my personal favorite, clairvoyance (see the world through the eyes of others), the mental maneuvers are equally entertaining and useful.
Along with the mental and physical abilities, Raz has a pretty extensive item collection. There are the requisite collectable aids like the arrowhead detector and the mental cobweb duster, but the prize for coolest item in a videogame ever may just go to… a piece of bacon. This one heavenly slice of pork serves as a codec of sorts for Raz, allowing him to contact his man on the inside, Agent Cruller. Cruller can then offer all sorts of advice and services including enemy strategies, objective hints, and teleportation.
Teleportation is used extensively in Psychonauts to mask one of its minor, though noticeable flaws. While it never put me to sleep, the overworld (campgrounds) could have been more exciting. Since Psychonauts is far from a standard platformer, you sometimes have to search in strange places to find your next stage. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s far more entertaining than the predictable “hub†stages you’ll see in other games of this ilk. Early in the game there’s a few NPCs around to keep you occupied, only to be later replaced by enemies that are sparse, yet annoying and ill placed. Even worse are the load times that buffer a trip across camp or any inter-stage travel. They’re not extremely intolerable, but they are too long for a system with a hard drive.
The range of enemies in Psychonauts is decent, but considering the variance in the minds you’ll be entering, it could have wider. Are all these people imagining the same exploding demons and three types of censors? What happened to individuality? The relatively small enemy army is more than made up for by the level bosses in this game. With each offering a different strategy and an unforgettably entertaining experience, Psychonauts is the type of game that begs for a boss battle mode (unfortunately, it doesn’t have one).
One area that Psychonauts is innovative in, perhaps to its detriment, is collectibles. To put it simply, there are way too many freakin’ things to find. Among them- imaginary figments, arrowheads, physical health, mental health, PSI Cards, emotional baggage, baggage tags, and scavenger hunt items. You eventually get used to them, determining what does what, and which are more beneficial to go after, but seeing as how they can only serve one of two purposes (leveling up or adding more currency) it safe to say that a few items could have been cut for clarity. Not figments, though. Those are awesome.
To put it in “brainical†terms (sorry- I flunked out of medical school.), Psychonauts may have a few tiny nervous tics, but I have no reservations about giving the game a clean bill of health.
Graphics:
Like most of the Xbox’s platformer library, Psychonauts was a perennially delayed game that paid the price in terms of graphics. The character models, outside of Raz and one or two NPCs, are really basic and rudimentary. It’s easily forgotten, though, when you take in the depth of the artistic style of this game. Aiding the humorous script, offbeat plot and unique setting are some of the most interesting character and level designs ever seen in any game, in any genre, on any platform. The perfect example of this game’s unforgettable style comes with the clairvoyance ability. Each character and enemy in the game sees Raz differently, and, using this ability, you see a 2-D rendering of Raz according to their mind’s eye. Though it may not be the most useful skill, you likely keep it equipped to see Raz in all of his forms.
Audio:
This is one area where not even the slightest of complaints can be registered. The soundtrack is amazing and the voice acting is unparalleled. Consider this… there’s roughly 20-25 NPCs throughout Psychonauts. Each character has 1-2 responses at any given point to normal conversation, as well as specific responses in certain situations; whether it be an item Raz is holding, a problem he’s trying to solve, or a psychic power he’s using against them. Add to that the hours and hours of storyline-based dialogue, and you’ve got a pretty full audio plate. The kicker? It’s all hi-freakin-larious. Less-than-adequate voice talent can sink a stellar script- thankfully, Psychonauts has a great pool of anonymous, yet skilled voice actors. Some do play more than one role, but it’s a testament to their talent that you can’t tell.
Replay Value:
Though you can breeze through Psychonauts in 15-20 hours, it’s the type of game in which you will want to see, hear, and do everything. You’ll strive to hear every hilarious response, see every freaky imagining of Raz, and collect every bizarre looking figment in sight. The amazing platforming engine ensures you’ll have a great time for every minute of it.
Overall:
If not for a few minor gameplay foibles and some slightly dated visuals, Psychonauts would be worthy of a perfect score and the title of best Xbox game ever. As it is, it’s among them. Psychonauts stays in your mind with its great gameplay, memorable visual style and storyline, as well as its consistently hilarous dialogue. It’s easily the best platformer on the Xbox- there’s no competition, really, but I wouldn’t think twice to say it’s the best on any current console.
