Others say...

"You want to play it"
I have problems starting a video game...let alone finishing one. This wasn't hard at all to get into and become immediately enthralled in its gameplay and story. The controls are fantastic as is the character development and 'gimmicks' which the game uses to great results.
The irony is that as a Psychologist I wish that I could just jump into peoples skull jelly like on the game and solve their problems, but alas...
I would recommend this game for all age levels and all types of pschoses


"I love this game!"
One of the coolest and most creative games I've had the pleasure of playing. Not quite the best (almost though!), but certainly the most sureal, innovative and satisfying. If you're not an elitist gamer who enjoys something different and fun, go get it.

"Kitchey, Fun, Addictive"
Like all the good reviewers already said, this game is awesome. I'm just adding my 2 cents.

I picked up a copy based on the reviews and all my other games just took a back seat this weekend to my exploring the warped world of what seems to be a well written book that I can play out in a video game scenario.

Definately try this out. It IS a platformer though...

You will feel that "go from this area to that area after exploring all the areas" but I'm only 4 hours into the game and I keep experiencing new flavorful adventures. So don't get turned away from the "platformer" comments.



"Only from the mind of Tim Schafer"
At a time when everyone else was churning out the same old derivative games Tim Schafer in his classic "marching to his own beat" style came up with something that makes you scratch your head and say, "Hey! That's cool!"

There is very little that hasn't been said already about this game praising how brilliant it is. Starting is a little slow as you learn to adapt to the off beat nature of the environment, but that soon dissolves away in a mist of telepathic wonder as you plunge into the depths of the wacky minds of various character. However, not all is safe in both worlds as you must fend off mental censors, pyro-kinetic panthers, telekinetic bears, water that wants to drown you, poorly disguised secret agents, giant lung fish, and mental tanks. Each mind you enter is as unique as the character associated with it and range from the surreal to the outright weird.

Part of the fun in the game is using your newly acquired skills to explore the camp areas in search of Treasure hunt items, psitatium arrow heads (camp currency), and psicards to help your character level up as the game progresses.

All in all it's a brilliant game with uniquely slant point of view, much like Grim Fandango.

"A cult classic is born!"
A cult classic is defined as something, a film, book, album or video game, etc., which doesn't recieve much financial success or attention upon release, but because of it's uniqueness, gains appreciation over time by word-of-mouth and develops a devoted group of admirers. The 2004 game Psychonauts has already earned cult status.

This oddball adventure game was the brain-child (pun?) of Tim Schafer, the mad creator behind such classic LucasArts adventure games as Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, and a contributor to the first Monkey Island games. If you've played any of these, you are already aware of the unique vision and fresh humor he brings to his games, and how much fun they are. This game is all of this and more. It follows a platform-style of exploring different worlds, and collecting items to upgrade and progress through the game. It also features adventure-gaming traits in the levels and gameplay. But, it is how the developers play with the conventions of gaming that make this title so unique. As your character develops and gains new abilities, and is able to combine these abilities in each unique environment, you get a truly different and evolving game-play experience. I was continually surprised by how the game changed styles and gameplay techniques.

The levels are incredibly well-designed, and each one is totally unique in look and gameplay. The story-line is really engaging and funny. The dialogue and voice-acting is great. There are scenes that you can only access by having conversations with certain characters at certain times, so I recommend talking alot, but you'll find yourself wandering around and striking up random conversations just to hear the hilarious responses. You'll really grow to love these characters, and may end up quoting lines.

The graphics are perfect for the story. It is a very unique-looking game which has a colorful, cartoony, somewhat psychedelic look, and everything is anti-aliased to make it look very smooth. The look of the individual levels and the charcter design are incredible. The designers obviously considerd this a labor of love and a work of art, rather than some run-of-the-mill platformer. No boring ice level or fire level here.

In my opinion, the one drawback to this otherwise perfect game is the final level. Without giving too much away, it is like platforming gone totally wrong. I realize that since it is the final level, it is supposed to be hard, but it is just so frustrating, and unfortunately, if you fall or your character dies, you have to start all the way back at the begining of the incredibly frustrating level. Seriously, it is a dissapointing turn in what is up to that point a really joyous gameplay experience. Aside from this level's difficulty, some players dislike the content and artistic design of it, considering it ugly, but I thought it was very appropriate for the idea, and kind of liked the look. Once you finish this level, the actual ending of the game is well worth it. You can finish the game in about 12 hours I heard, but it took me about 20 since I wanted to hear as much dialogue as possible, and tried to find everything. Once the game is completed, you can go back to many levels, and there is some new dialogue and a little more to explore, but the gameplay is limited. I found it very fun to play a second time around, and I also enjoyed watching as I made my friends play it. It is very enterataining.

I am always hesitant to reveal too many details about story and characters when I am reviewing something. Plus this game is very difficult to describe to accurately convey how much fun it is.

To attept to summarize, though (spoiler alert):


That's all I'm saying - now go play the game.

This game was unfortunate enought to have been released as the 'next-gen' of platforms was about to be launched. It was developed by Microsoft, but they dropped it as production dragged on and they moved thier interests towards Halo 2, and upcoming Xbox 360 titles. But it was thankfully picked up by Majesco and was released on Xbox, Playstation 2 and PC. I have the Xbox version, which seems to be the best graphically and control-wise. The game did not receive a great deal of advertising, or promotion, unfortunately. Despite being lauded critically, it did not seem to find it's market upon release, and depending on who you ask is considered a 'failure' at least financially, and it was the last game released by Majesco. That is unfortunate, because this is one of the best, most unique games I've ever encountered and it deserves it's status as a cult favorite, and to reach broader audience. There is a move by the developers to release a version that is playable on the Xbox 360, but that may never happen. PersonalIy, can't wait to see what Tim Schafer's company Double-Fine produces next.

I recommend this game to anyone looking for a creative, oddball game that expands the possibilities of the medium, or just looking for a fun, funny diversion.



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