Sunday, May 22, 2011

Video Game: Psychonauts



I recently finished the game Psychonauts, upon recommendation from a friend that I should play it. That game was released in 2005, which may give an indication as to how backlogged I have become with single player games due to just being too busy or entertaining. This doesn't mean that I haven't or don't play more recent games, because I do, but often times they are multiplayer games with friends which doesn't leave a lot of time for solo gameplay.

The beautiful thing about acknowledging potential good games when they come out, but holding off on them, allows you to be susceptible to drastic cuts in price when you finally get around to having time to try said game. Steam in particular, which I bought Psychonauts on, offers ridiculous deals on games bi-weekly and sometimes in even greater frequency than that. In general, you can stand to benefit a good deal by keeping yourself a few months in the past typically when it comes to buying video game media. For instance, just recently, my brothers and I scored a deal on a Playstation 3 that was very cheap. Within a short time after buying the PS3, we collected 5-6 A lister games for it, for less than the price of one of those games when they were released retail. With the amount of reselling and different business techniques like Steam nowadays, it has radically shifted many consumers perception of utility in regards to what a game is worth vs. the price to pay. Anyway, this has really gotten off on a tangent, so without further adieu, lets discuss Psychonauts.

Most people who have played Psychonauts would probably hold a consensus that it has an extraordinarily imaginative unique and creative style about it. The story sees you as Raz, short for Razputin, a kid who crashes a summer camp for gifted children who have the potential to hone their psychic abilities. At first, the camp counselors who double as psychic agent crime fighters intend to send Raz packing back to home, but soon find out he is more gifted than those who legitimately came to the camp. As Raz, you enter other people's minds in an attempt to fix what could be wrong with them, clearing out mental cobwebs, and emotional baggage (literally). It is an interesting and unique way to imagine the innards of some truly insane people's minds. It's a very wacky story, but works well and doesn't ever take itself too seriously. It could be summed up as a creative and humorous platforming game.

At first it seemed a little daunting, the amount of collectibles that are in this game. You've got fragments, arrowheads, badges, psi cards, and more. Luckily you find that unless you're trying to collect everything for the fun of it, you really can function for the most part by collecting what you see as you cross by it. I mention this, because I normally am not that fond of running around collecting things in order to progress in a game. Fortunately that's not the case, save one part of the game that doesn't take too long to get past. The game takes roughly 9-11 hours to beat depending on how fast you are going.

Overall, this is a really enjoyable game and look into some tongue and cheek fictional ways in which the human mind works (as well as the mind of some creatures too!). This game is just one more example of how the video game medium can be used to fuse art with fun game-play and a story that will have you laughing. The game begs for a sequel and it's promising that there may be one some day. If you get the opportunity and you enjoy decent platformers, I recommend you try this game for yourself. Delve into others inner psyche. Bounce on a psychic orb. Become a Psychonaut!

11 comments:

  1. i remember when it first came out XD

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  2. Yeah it was one of a kind back when it was new!

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  3. Cool game, never got to try it, was to busy playing wow back then =P

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  4. Ya know, by the name of this game, I would have never played it. Now that you talk about it, it does sound interesting.... Bleh, my woman would hate you. :P

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  5. good review, need to check this one out!

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  6. i was thinking about trying this game!

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  7. Will give this game a try, thanks for the good review ;>

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