Psychonauts is what is missing from gaming.

[jkam]

Imagination

I just started playing this and I'm not that far into it I'm inside the lungfish but the atmosphere alone has me sucked in. This game reminds me that even though Metal Gear and Gears of War look amazing and realistic I really don't want all games moving in that direction which seems to be the case. I guess it could be that I'm fairly old school and I thought we would have playable cartoons (like Dragon's Lair with real controls) in future generations as opposed to ultra realistic looking characters. I think the thing that stands out most though about psychonauts in particular is you never quite know where exactly you'll end up next and how that place will look when you get there.

There is this one part that I passed with a big tank with your friend's brain on top and you have to destroy it and recover the brain. I loved the way you end up there and how it looks like the original blueprint.

I think there is room for all kinds of games within this industry but I'd love to see games like this more often. It's really fun to play around in someone's imagination.

[VanillaGorilla]

Like, the "imagination" that called for the gameplay to be a 3D ripoff of Donkey Kong Country, with its massive amount of junk to collect?

[daroga]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored. Maybe I should've played it on the Xbox and not the PS2.

[depascal22]

I loved Psychonauts. I agree with VanillaGorilla that there is way too much crap to collect but I can think of worse things to do with my video game time.

[lokizz]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored. Maybe I should've played it on the Xbox and not the PS2.

no youre not the only one. im playing it now and im not loving it at all. i can see what theyre trying to do with it but man the game just feels like work. the load times drag the game action down and as far as psychic power games go the best on the ps2 is hands down psi ops. all i can think about when im playing it is psi ops. something feels missing in the game the humor is funny and all but eh im getting that same feeling i got later on into playing okami. like im basically forcing myself to play it more than wanting to play it.

on a diff note i may switch gears to playign tomb raider anniversary that game looks nice and from the first bit i played im digging it. never got to play the original on ps1 so itll be cool to see an updated version of that story.


this sucks though this is like the 3rd damn game i was excited to play that im just not feeling. first okami after how damn long the game took to beat, then bully ( dissappointed there werent more classes and it felt after a while like all gta games) and now psychonauts. i dunno maybe im evolving as a gamer or maybe i just want more in my gaming.

[Blackout]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored. Maybe I should've played it on the Xbox and not the PS2.

I played it for PS2 as well and didn't really like it that much. It's cool if people think it's one of the best games ever or whatever but I just couldn't get into it. :cry:

[jkam]

The load times don't seem long at all while playing it on the 360. I'm not sure about the collecting things aspect because I haven't really "collected" much in the game. I know you grab stuff as you go through the levels but I haven't exactly gone out of my way to grab everything. I guess it could become more important later on in the game though. I do believe it's the atmosphere that's sucking me in more than anything. This isn't really a review of any sort though either...When it comes to "imagination" I meant that it isn't your standard realistic looking character with your normal realistic looking world. It's thinks outside the box. If you like the game or not it doesn't make it any less off the beaten track.

[terribledeli]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored. Maybe I should've played it on the Xbox and not the PS2.

It has heart. And a ton of bad programming. Majesco rushed it out rather than give Shafer the time he needed.

I played through it once, realized it never lived up to my hopes and shelved it.

[jer7583]

Psychonauts has some great concepts and writing, but the actual gameplay does get boring. Might have made a better cartoon series, IMO.

[judyjudyjudy]

I loved this game. I thought the level designs were really creative and varied. I agree with OP about its non-super-realistic art style; I wouldn't mind at all if more games went in this direction. I loved the style and humor of the game, but that's just a personal preference. (PS I played this on the Xbox.)

Edited to add: I didn't find the gameplay that boring (not any more boring than other action adventures), and I didn't collect everything. I did want to collect everything, but the last level made that feeling go away. (The last level sucks.)

[camoor]

this sucks though this is like the 3rd damn game i was excited to play that im just not feeling. first okami after how damn long the game took to beat, then bully ( dissappointed there werent more classes and it felt after a while like all gta games) and now psychonauts. i dunno maybe im evolving as a gamer or maybe i just want more in my gaming.

This is going to happen. For every game with a cult-following, there are going to be people who don't get it. Invariably, for some of these games you will be one of those people.

After loving Rez, Culdcept, and Ico, I thought I had my finger on the pulse of the quirky gamer. But afterwards I didn't think fan-faves like Shadow Hearts or Indigo Prophecy were all that special.

There's a reason they are called cult classics.

[lokizz]

This is going to happen. For every game with a cult-following, there are going to be people who don't get it. Invariably, for some of these games you will be one of those people.

After loving Rez, Culdcept, and Ico, I thought I had my finger on the pulse of the quirky gamer. But afterwards I didn't think fan-faves like Shadow Hearts or Indigo Prophecy were all that special.

There's a reason they are called cult classics.

okami i liked at first i should have been more specific in my complaints with that game. i loved it at first the art style was sweet beyond belief and yeah i liked the brush strokes and the overall storyline was cool and a departure from the norm even though it was hinted at halfway through the game i didnt expect it to go where it went. but the game started to drag on after a while i wanted to collect all the stuff but most of the collecting and diff storyline things felt tacked on to artificially lengthen the game.


alot like how the last 1/4 of twilight princess felt tacked on for artificial length so did alot of the stuff in okami. its one of the few games that if youre ready for it will give you a lengthy challenge lengthwise but damn if all that collecting and the battles dont get old quick. okami had amazing boss battles though except for the final boss ( much like tp) and those are the things that had me not liking okami in the end.


ico as you mentioned was awesome and if i could get it at a reasonabe price id buy it even after already beating it on rental and shadow of the colossus is another game thats kind of a fringe gamer or cult game of sorts that i loved. to me both those games lived up to the hype and beyond the 3 i mentioed before werent completly crap but they had elements in their design ( accidental and intentional ) that made them hard to enjoy after a while.

psychonauts and bully especially piss me off because i hate not finishing games im not a 100% completist but i do like to complete games but those 2 i dunno maybe i can beat bully but it just feels like work now. there havent been too many games out in a while i felt i could just lose myself in.

guess maybe its time to get into the next gen of gaming but i cant commit to either system for diff reasons. not to mention none of the games really has me going wow you know? the only next gen game i really wanted to play was dead rising and thats due to being a zombie film fan.

[Vinny]

It's a really good game I thought... the writing is funny and there's some cleaver game mechanics but I don't consider it a must play game unless your a action/adventure fan.

[Vegan]

Psychonaughts is a bit deceiving at first, because for the first couple of hours it's a pretty standard platformer. Once you get to the Lungfish, though, it's gold from there on out.

[lokizz]

Psychonaughts is a bit deceiving at first, because for the first couple of hours it's a pretty standard platformer. Once you get to the Lungfish, though, it's gold from there on out.


i just finished the level where you learn how to do levetation. how far am i from the lungfish level from there?

[Javery]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored. Maybe I should've played it on the Xbox and not the PS2.

QFT. It was OK but definitely seemed like a Rare collect-a-thon with a cool/trippy wrapper. I'd like to see the franchise continue but it doesn't look good. Also, I agree with jkam in that more games need to be designed in a similar fashion - I prefer cartoony over realistic when I'm playing video games. Zelda:WW is the best designed/looking game I've ever seen. It was like playing a cartoon.

[pinebarrens]

I thought this game was great. It took a little while to get going though. Once I hit the lungfish I couldn't put it down.

[Fragonard]

I really enjoyed it. I agree that there was lots of collecting, but I loved the levels and script so much that I didn't care.

Tim Schafer is my idol, I will play anything he makes.

[daroga]

Zelda:WW is the best designed/looking game I've ever seen.This is very true. From a design standpoint, I'd take Wind Waker over almost anything. Despite being excited that Twilight Princess was going back to the OoT vibe, in the end I wished it had the WW design to it instead.

Psychonauts, much like Bioshock, had a lot of great design but was let down by its play mechanic I think. Or it just failed to really grip me. Or perhaps, it was just because both games were far too hyped that it could never, ever live up to any of it. That being said, it's come down a few bucks at Gamestop. I may see about picking it up again, only for the Xbox (since it's now BC on the 360 [the emulation work well on it?]) and give it another go. I think the PS2's horrible framerate contributed to me not caring in the least about it.

[looploop]

I enjoyed the game a lot as well. I've never been a big fan of platforming games. Honestly I was never was able to bring myself to play through even Mario 64.
However, Psychonauts oozed so much imagination, wit and fantastic creative design that I enjoyed playing through from beginning to end. I would be all over a sequel and look forward to Double Fine's next project.

[pete5883]

Hideous green psychic children is whats missing from gaming?

[Shivy]

I loved Psychonauts. (I've got a copy of the Xbox version that's been autographed by Tim Shaefer on three seperate occassions. You almost can't see the title anymore because he started doodling all over it the third time).

I didn't actually collect all that much throughout the game. I felt that the game was designed where collection could more or less be an optional side job; really only neccesary if you want to unlock every last single psychic power in the game.

And the art evident in the gameplay was very well thought out, I felt especially in The Milkman level, where you dive into a paranoid delusional's mind, and see a suburban world twisted and spooky. Cameras flash in every crevice, and obvious "agents" assume everyday roles. Everything in that twisted view of the world is suspect... Plus the nice touch of making the last segment of that stage take place in a Book Depository with a sniper in the window.

And the writing was very, very good. Not quite the same kinda thing I was expecting (Grim Fandango has to be one of my all time favorite games).

As far as overlooked games go, I probably liked Beyond Good & Evil better in the long run...

[whiptcracker]

I loved Psychonauts. Creative level design and interesting gameplay mechanics coupled with great art direction and some good voice acting.

But the game needed another 3 months at least. The Meat Circus level is broken and completely frustrating.

[Vegan]

But the game needed another 3 months at least. The Meat Circus level is broken and completely frustrating.

Meat Circus is simply too hard, AND it kept locking up on me (PS2 version).

[SpreadTheWord]

And the art evident in the gameplay was very well thought out, I felt especially in The Milkman level, where you dive into a paranoid delusional's mind, and see a suburban world twisted and spooky. Cameras flash in every crevice, and obvious "agents" assume everyday roles. Everything in that twisted view of the world is suspect... Plus the nice touch of making the last segment of that stage take place in a Book Depository with a sniper in the window.

Bingo! That level was amazing. The writing with the agents was hilarious and the way the level used the gravity was brilliant.

Super Mario Galaxy has the chance to bring back that kind of level variation but no other game will have the cohesiveness and well thought out levels that Psychonauts had. Even the training level was a blast and very funny. "He isn't dead, his astral projection just got kicked out of my mind. And I'll kick your ass-tral projection out of my mind too if you don't get moving!"

I demand a sequel or episodic content for Agent Sasha Nein by the end of the year.


As far as overlooked games go, I probably liked Beyond Good & Evil better in the long run...
I liked BG&E. I thought it had a very interesting story and great gameplay mechanics with some very unique art, but I don't think it's the pinnacle of action games. And I don't scream it's name when someone asks what the greatest game of all time is.

I do wish Ubisoft would make more BG&E games. And I like that some elements of the game have been incorporated into other games (like the camera in Bioshock).

[JeffreyLebowski]

I still have the Xbox version of Psychonauts sealed from more than two years ago. I look at it time and time again and consider finally getting into it, but new 360 games keep getting my attention. I don't know what it is - the game's style and story are right up my alley, but I can't get myself to dedicate to it.

Too many excellent games available and too little time!

Oh, how I sometimes wish I was a 14-year old again...on second thought, no I don't.

[MarioColbert]

Well, since this thread is flooded with "eh" opinions, here's a constrasting one. I played it on a PC, and I was grossly dissapointed with the PS2 port. I thought the XBOX version was done quite well, but as far as I'm concerned - the PC is the way to go with it.

I loved every motherloving second of the game. There are gameplay moments that are quite ingenious. Lungfish boss battle, anyone? Unlike many, I did not find the Meat Circus level annoying - mostly because every part in it is built as a puzzle and isn't designed to be taken by brute force (something you CAN get away with everywhere else in the game). While this may be a "balancing" issue, the gameplay in the Meat Circus makes perfect sense...

Confuse Grenades for the bunny, in which case it hops to little Ollie's hands; use the Shield to get the swords to bounce off of you and into the rotating wheels; use invisibility while Raz's father is shooting stuff at you to make the rope-climbing level quite easy; don't forget that you don't have to have levitation equipped to produce a bubble-parachute during the platforming parts of the game. I know Tim Schafer actually posted these on his FAQ, yet apart from confusing the bunny, I discovered the rest on my own.

I'm of the opinion that Psychonauts isn't for everyone. The graphic style and obnoxious voice acting alone can be held responsible for some calling the game "weird." The level design remains rather "standard" for the initial phase of the game as well, though the same can be said about any "first three dungeons" in any of Zelda games. As is the case with most Nintendo titles, you are rewarded to some ingenious bits of stuff at a LATER point of the game. Although, then again, I found the subleness of Agent Sasha Nein's level design genius.

Do me a favor: shut the fuck up about the level design unless you've played through the asylum set of levels (total of four... The Milkman Conspiracy, Gloria's Theatre, Waterloo World (in particular), and Black Velvetopia).

No two levels are anywhere close to being alike. I can not think of a game more varied, yet cohesive in idea, and brilliant in execution. I do feel sorry for the low-res mucky PS2 port owners, for you're seeing about 50% of the beautiful game that Psychonauts is, but even in its shitty state the writing and design shines through. Despite my theoretical understanding that this game might not be "your thing" - I can not even begin to pretend that I can relate, since Psychonauts is one of my most beloved titles ever. To date, I have purchased 9 (NINE) hard-copies of the title, each and every copy being a gift (my copy was a gift to me, so it's 10 copies of the game that Double Fine have got out of me). And it seems that Schafer is about to milk me for some more dough with the new one he's got announced?

Fanboy? Sure. But then again, Schafer caters directly to me, just as Bungee does to all those HALO assholes fanboys.

[Mr. Pink]

I started playing Pyschonauts on GameTap around 2 days ago, I didn't like the game that much although it was funny but I got bored of it pretty quickly.

[tehweezner]

i tried it a little at EB and thought it was garbage. then again i hate all platformers.

[PyroGamer]

Hideous green psychic children is whats missing from gaming?
You're thinking of "Raz". The kid's name isn't "Psychonauts".

And I think he's pretty cute, in the most non-effeminate, hetero-manly way possible.

[Zen Davis]

This game was among my favorites on the PS2. As said by others, the game had so much imagination and insanity that I fell in love with it immediately, especially since I'm a huge fan of Invader Zim.

I mean come on. An evil psychic bear roaming the woods?! There was some serious gold there. I had some trouble with the the warped 3D road levels but I would agree that the gameplay is not necessarily on par with the creativity. However, should Shafer get together a team that is able to create an awesome gameplay experience, it'll be among the best games of all time.

The game had me right from the start when the little kid ends up mentally scorching all those squirrels. I mean it was freakin' amazing. Aquired taste I guess. Meet me sometime though. My sense of humor is right up that alley though.

[jkam]

I just finished this game a few days ago. My opinion hasn't changed...I thought it stayed interesting throughout. The first time I got to the Meat Circus I thought it was sucky and annoying. I came in fresh a day later and blasted through it. I played the XBOX version which seems to have made a difference. I'm now really looking forward to Brutal Legend.

[depascal22]

I try to understand when people bash games like this but it really makes me wonder if anyone can be happy. This game game has excellent writing, graphics, and controls but people still find the need to bash it. There are a couple difficult levels but is this really enough for people to go bonkers? If you wanna be pissed at a AAA game, go off on GTA. The controls for that game truly suck and the graphics are blah.

[lawlflip]

I must have missed the appeal of Psychonauts. I played it for a while and just got bored.
Same with me.

I might as well just buy it and make myself play it. Then I know i'll be hooked just because everyone says its great.

[depascal22]

Same with me.

I might as well just buy it and make myself play it. Then I know i'll be hooked just because everyone says its great.

Play what you like but it's just weird that so many people have come out to say that they're indifferent to the game. I'm not usually with the crowd but I love Psychonauts and I'd love for you all to give it a chance.