Psychonauts

I spent a large chunk of change at Big Lots the other day, pretty much re-doing my entire room in primary colors. New bedspread, laundry basket, lamp, and other stuff. I like scanning the game display when I go there since there's the occasional dirt cheap gem, and I happened to see Psychonauts for $6. "Isn't this that game that like everyone and their dog has recommended I play?" I asked myself. Apparently it is, because the game is super awesome.



You play as Raz, a psychic child who wishes to join the elite ranks of the Psychonauts. The story and visual style are really engrossing and a lot of fun. The gameplay gets crazy but is all manageable, and offers a lot of versatility, control, and humor. It's the kind of game that encourages you to set things on fire with your mind.

The story takes place in the real world most of the time, but you have to enter characters' "mental worlds" for training, reconnaissance, and battle. This is where the game's design really stands out. There are all kinds of bizzare objects to collect, secrets to find, and insane maps to explore and figure out. Right now I'm inside an asylum guard's mind looking for "the milkman." Brrr, that place is creepy as all get-out.


Agent Nein's inner Psyche


Agent Vodello's inner Party

The game proudly proclaims it's connection to Tim Schafer, but it wasn't till after installing and playing all weekend that I realized that Schafer is one of the big names behind Monkey Island and Full Throttle - two of my favorite games of all time. The writing is very funny and the story multi-layered yet followable. This guy and the rest of his crew at Double-Fine Productions really know how to put together a solid game.



I'm about halfway through (I think?) but I've got a lot of backtracking to do for all the collection sidequests (I suffer from a touch of gamer's OCD). I was skeptical when starting the game, but am really glad I picked it up. I'm going to go ahead and recommend checking it out if you haven't - if you're at all a fan of the LucasArts games mentioned, or of platformers in general, this is a pretty awesome addition to the genre.