2old2platform?
After the Atari 2600 went the way of the dodo, a little console arrived that brought to light the world’s most popular Italian plumbing brothers. Mario and Luigi provided us with a game simple enough for anyone to pick up. One directional pad and two buttons gave you all the control you needed to rescue the Princess. Since then, twenty years ago, the platformer genre has had some successes and some disasters. Psychonauts is definitely a shining example of a platformer done right. You play as Raz, a boy who ran away from his circus-life family to follow his dreams of using his psychic powers to become a Psychonaut. Psychonauts enter the minds of others to find repressed memories, remove emotional baggage, and battle their inner demons. Your introduction to the psychic realm starts early in the game, entering the mind of a teacher for a Basic Braining class. As you explore more of the camp, you notice that there are some shady things going on, and you take it upon yourself to find out who, or what, is responsible. As kids (and their brains) disappear, you’ll find yourself playing right into the story.
The camp for kids is an interesting enough place, but the worlds created within the minds of the characters are where you’ll fall in love with the game. Each is detailed and artistic, visually displaying the traits of the mind that you’re in. Some are cluttered and dark, others are brightly colored and flat. Some have big chunks of meat swaying softly like seaweed. All of them fit the personality of the characters, and hide surprises that make you feel like you’re playing a new genre of a game. Each level seems like it could have its own standalone game.
The game play is incredibly solid, and surprisingly challenging. In the first area, you’re free to roam around part of the camp so that you can learn your moves.
When you’re ready, you head off to your first class and the psychic powers that await. Each level contains original puzzles, and boss battles can be intense.. The controls are easy to learn, and you gradually expand your skill set by learning new powers and practice how to use them. Each power is functional and visually cool. Don’t rely on the powers to get you through the game though. More often than not, you’ll have to rely on your brain to meet an objective, not just your hand/eye coordination. The new powers keep you driven to play more, and the worlds you visit sink their claws into you and don’t let go.
The voice-overs are entertaining, and the story develops at a good speed. It may just be my Xbox, but I did have some problems with the sound stalling while the video was still going. Annoying, but it isn’t a game breaker. The other downside was bad camera angles during boss battles, and those were most likely my fault as you can control the camera with the right analog stick. In mid-battle, camera operation wasn’t the highest priority on the list. Again, annoying, but no where near bad enough to make me quit the game. Lastly, there is no multiplayer, and the game isn’t even XBL Aware. With XBL being as popular as it is, developers need to incorporate that technology into every new game. There just isn’t an excuse to not include it.
Having been in development for ages, people have shrugged off Psychonauts, thinking that it would live up to its expectations the same way that Malice did (Malice? Was that a game of some sort?). Don’t make that mistake. The game is consistently challenging and offers a great solution to those that like platformers. I’ve found myself looking at my friends list thinking “I should go play with those guys…”, then find myself firing up Psychonauts regardless, like a crackhead that doesn’t even know that he’s already warming up his spoon. Oddworld’s Munch and Abe may have belches and farts, but they don’t have the best platformer on the Xbox. That slot is taken by this game, which must be seen and played to be truly appreciated.
Score: 9/10
- Agonizing Gas
After the Atari 2600 went the way of the dodo, a little console arrived that brought to light the world’s most popular Italian plumbing brothers. Mario and Luigi provided us with a game simple enough for anyone to pick up. One directional pad and two buttons gave you all the control you needed to rescue the Princess. Since then, twenty years ago, the platformer genre has had some successes and some disasters. Psychonauts is definitely a shining example of a platformer done right. You play as Raz, a boy who ran away from his circus-life family to follow his dreams of using his psychic powers to become a Psychonaut. Psychonauts enter the minds of others to find repressed memories, remove emotional baggage, and battle their inner demons. Your introduction to the psychic realm starts early in the game, entering the mind of a teacher for a Basic Braining class. As you explore more of the camp, you notice that there are some shady things going on, and you take it upon yourself to find out who, or what, is responsible. As kids (and their brains) disappear, you’ll find yourself playing right into the story.
The camp for kids is an interesting enough place, but the worlds created within the minds of the characters are where you’ll fall in love with the game. Each is detailed and artistic, visually displaying the traits of the mind that you’re in. Some are cluttered and dark, others are brightly colored and flat. Some have big chunks of meat swaying softly like seaweed. All of them fit the personality of the characters, and hide surprises that make you feel like you’re playing a new genre of a game. Each level seems like it could have its own standalone game.
The game play is incredibly solid, and surprisingly challenging. In the first area, you’re free to roam around part of the camp so that you can learn your moves.
The voice-overs are entertaining, and the story develops at a good speed. It may just be my Xbox, but I did have some problems with the sound stalling while the video was still going. Annoying, but it isn’t a game breaker. The other downside was bad camera angles during boss battles, and those were most likely my fault as you can control the camera with the right analog stick. In mid-battle, camera operation wasn’t the highest priority on the list. Again, annoying, but no where near bad enough to make me quit the game. Lastly, there is no multiplayer, and the game isn’t even XBL Aware. With XBL being as popular as it is, developers need to incorporate that technology into every new game. There just isn’t an excuse to not include it.
Having been in development for ages, people have shrugged off Psychonauts, thinking that it would live up to its expectations the same way that Malice did (Malice? Was that a game of some sort?). Don’t make that mistake. The game is consistently challenging and offers a great solution to those that like platformers. I’ve found myself looking at my friends list thinking “I should go play with those guys…”, then find myself firing up Psychonauts regardless, like a crackhead that doesn’t even know that he’s already warming up his spoon. Oddworld’s Munch and Abe may have belches and farts, but they don’t have the best platformer on the Xbox. That slot is taken by this game, which must be seen and played to be truly appreciated.
Score: 9/10
- Agonizing Gas
