Matthew Loriso
Staff Writer
Ever since 3-D environments became a video game norm, developers have strived to make games more realistic.
In their attempts to re-create lifelike situations, creativity in games has become harder and harder to find. This is why developers like Tim Schafer (of Grim Fandango fame) are so appreciated by escapist gamers.
Psychonauts, Schafer’s latest game, sees players controlling Raz, a young psychic on a quest to become a Psychonaut (a type of mental superhero).
After a few minutes, Raz begins to grow on the player. His odd sense of humor would normally make him the “weird guy” in most stories, but in the world of Psychonauts, he is about as normal as they come.
This makes all of his crazy antics (for example, his victory dance after beating a mini-boss) more likeable.
Raz soon learns how to enter people’s minds, a technique that he uses often to cure people of their mental ailments. Each person’s psyche serves as a level, with attributes unique to each person.
Not only do the levels look different, but they each play slightly different too.
In one level, Raz will be smashing a miniature building in Godzilla-like fashion.
A later level, taking place inside the mind of a mental patient who thinks he is Napoleon, will require Raz to find game pieces to partake in a dumbed-down war strategy game.
This strange diversity will keep gamers playing just to see what is around the next corner.
Another reason to keep playing is the story. Much like Schafer’s classic Grim Fandango, Psychonauts is rife with humor.
Unlike most games, where the story feels like a supplement to the game’s action, the movies in Psychonauts feel more like a reward for getting further through the game.
This game is not without its problems, however.
The game just does not play as smoothly as it could have. There were multiple areas where I thought I had found a way to my destination, only to be stopped by an invisible wall.
A game with this level of production value just should not have invisible boundaries nowadays.
Also, with all the items and psychic abilities the game contains, it is necessary to access the menu far too often, which becomes very tedious, very quickly.
All in all, these problems do not negatively impact the game as a whole too seriously, but their presence prevents Psychonauts from achieving greatness.
Still, with an overall package so fun to play through, it is hard not to recommend Psychonauts.
Matthew Loriso can be reached at mloriso@ulv.edu.
