Others say...

"Fantastic Fun"
I know there are Xbox and PS2 versions of the game, but I think that the performance issues people had were due to that older hardware. Psychonauts playing on a fairly modern rig at max details ran smoothly and sounded and looked great.

I deliberately did not buy it when it first came out because I wasn't sure if I would like it based solely on the artwork of the game. In a sense, I was afraid it was too 'kiddy' for my tastes. Once you get past some of the character models and the opening of the game, you are rewarded with a fun 3D platformer with a fun and frequently dark storyline. As a Psychonaut cadet, your job is to enter the minds of the game's characters and some of them, including several confined to a mental institute, can be frightening and overwhelming places.

After completing the game I can say that the art direction is fantastic and is completely suitable for the kind of game that it is. The audio is great: dialog and soundtrack are perfectly suited to the characters and the settings you visit, and on my first time through I reached level 96/100. It is worth the pittance you'll pay for it now, and I still feel guilty for finding it for only $8. There are plenty of games that leave you feeling ripped off, muttering things like, "I paid $XX for that?" In this case, you'll be richly rewarded if you're looking for a fun game that requires a little creative thinking and a keen eye for all the game's hidden objects. Having played it a mere 3 months ago, I would consider it the best game of the year, beating out all the new games that were released all year.

"There's a reason for all the 5 star reviews..."
Okay, so I'm a thrift shopper. I rarely buy games when they're first released, preferring instead to wait for the price to drop. But I just kept putting off getting this game, despite all of the good reviews I read. I'm not the biggest fan of platformers, and the idea of a psychically themed platformer just didn't really appeal to me. Well, I'm definitely glad I changed my mind. This game is fantastic!

The premise of the game is that you're gifted with a lot of psychic potential, and are attending a camp for your fellow misfits. Well, things quickly turn sinister at the camp, and naturally it's up to you to set things right.

This game just exudes style. The characters are all well-developed and each have their own distinct personality. You get to know them somewhat better than you would your average video game character, since you'll be traveling into their minds. Aside from the main camp area in the real-world, the game's stages are set in the minds of the people around you. For example, your first psychic encounter is with your drill instructor, whose mind is naturally set up as a military themed obstacle course for you to complete. Another (very reserved) character's mind is just a cube in space (art deco styled, of course), and you're free to run along any of its sides. This, he says, is a well-ordered mind. Things don't stay well-ordered for long, however, and you soon find out what happens when a reserved person loses his composure. And then there's the godzilla-inspired level (and you're godzilla)...

While in each level, you collect figments of imagination (hologram-like things), mental cobwebs, and other power-ups to increase your own psychic powers. One really funny collectible is mental baggage. You'll find various types of bags, sad and crying, in each level. If you find the bags' matching tags, then they'll be happy, and you'll be on your way to increasing your psychic abilities. While this may sound like it would get to be repetitive, the humor, engaging level design, and really fun psychic powers keep things interesting. This game is from the mind of Tim Schafer, after all.

The graphics are very stylish, and still look good today, despite the game's age. I'm running a Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, NVIDIA 8800 GTX system, and I can max out all quality settings with no problem whatsoever. The game is also very stable. I have yet to experience a hard crash or a crash to desktop.

The controls are also wonderfully balanced. Games such as these live or die based on how solid their control scheme is, and this one delivers. Movement is intuitive, camera control is excellent, and using psychic powers is simple (you map powers to a button on the fly, via an in-game menu) and fun. I can't imagine playing this game with the keyboard/mouse combo, though. A gamepad is highly recommended. I use the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2, which is basically just a wireless Playstation 2 controller for the PC.

To sum it up, there is simply no reason not to get this game. It's fun for kids of all ages (even if platform games aren't generally your thing), and at the price you can find it for now, it's a steal.

"Video Games are ART"
Don't be fooled by the seemingly obscure premise - this is not a game promising originality and delivering poor content and programming. Here you get the big ideas and a big game. Crazy innovative ideas all around, tons of high quality content, amazingly fluid gameplay. Probably the most stylistically developed game ever. Written brilliantly, with poignant situations that are illustrated with depth and sensitivity. The biggest accomplishment of this game: it's actually funny.

"Goddamn, this game rocks"
I haven't had this much fun since "the last express", and that was 1996!. This game rocks! It offers a new level of characters, plot, and suspense. I mean really, this is the best ever. Enjoy!

"Hours and hours and hours of fun"
Good Game - so many levels it is like a main game plus its sequel. I was surprised how much you get in one game.. i still haven't finished it (I'm at the Meat Circus level).

Some difficulty with all the buttons that you need to use in the later levels, but I guess that's just part of the challenge. There were some bugs in the software leaving you to save and reload to get your character out if he gets stuck in between objects. I loved the Waterloo level - nice touches, and some challenging movement/navigation problems to overcome..

Hints are built into the game, so you don't need to look for cheats/hints on the web.