How does that myth go? Human beings only use about ten percent of their brains? Or is it only about ten percent of human beings use their brains? The latter, I think, is more likely, but I digress. What's certain is that no version of the myth would apply to Tim Schafer or the other folks at Double Fine Productions. They created a gem of a platform game called Psychonauts.
Psychonauts are psychic secret agents, defending humanity against the enemies of free thought. That means they project themselves into the minds of other people and confront their fears and prejudices and other demons. Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp is the recruiting and training ground for young aspiring "psy-cadets," and is run by Coach Morceau "Morry" Oleander and agents Sasha Nein and Milla Vordello.
Razputin, the game's main character, is a young boy with powerful mental defenses. He has to sneak into the camp because his parents hate psychics and refuse to sign the permission slip. Raz has only days to learn all he can before his parents come to get him, so he worms his way into every training session he can. Things go well for Raz, and he easily wins one merit badge after another. As Raz soon discovers, though, things at Whispering Rock aren't all what they seem.
Like most platform games, Psychonauts gameplay involves a lot of jumping and climbing and collecting ... er, collectibles. For instance, while the game is certainly 3D, some objects are present only as 2D sketches - mere suggestions of what they represent. Most locations are littered with these "figments" of the imagination. They are pretty obvious once recognized, yet they can easily blend in with the rest of the scenery and are easy to miss. Finding figments is important, because it increases Raz's psychic rank, which upgrades his powers.
In addition to finding the figments, Raz also helps his "hosts" sort out their emotional baggage, literally. As Raz explores, he comes across weeping handbags and suitcases and the like. In order to properly deal with the baggage, Raz has to track down the matching luggage tags. Yeah, it's a bad pun, but I couldn't help chuckling even when I was rolling my eyes. Once reunited with its tag, the baggage merrily departs. Sorting out all of the emotional baggage in a mental world unlocks special "Primal Memories" that are essentially "making of" videos.
There are other collectibles, but the mental worlds aren't just about traipsing around gathering junk. There's work to do! In one scenario, a delusional actress has an item Raz needs, but it is the focal point of obsession over her failed career. Raz has to infiltrate her broken mind, interact with its imaginary inhabitants and discover a way to help her overcome the personal demons that are preventing her from give him what he needs.
Double Fine have created several mind-blowingly imaginative worlds in this game, and they are all extraordinarily beautiful. Some might complain that the graphics are "too cartoony," but I think the style fits this game perfectly. The storyline, characters and situation are all very surreal and the graphical style creates the perfect backdrop for this out-of-this-world story. In many cases, a more realist style would just get in the way of creativity. Once you see Black Velvetopia, you'll know what I mean.
All of the game's characters are broadly drawn caricatures and the mental "worlds" Raz discovers in their minds closely mirror their personalities. Coach Oleander is a parody of George C. Scott's Patton, and even delivers a lengthy and intense monologue at the game's outset. The mental world within his mind is war zone, an intense combat training ground.
Sasha Nein is strict and efficient, perhaps bordering on obsessive. His cubist mindscape definitely reflects his personality, not to mention his disdain for all things tacky. As with most control freaks, though, there is barely-contained chaos boiling just below that obsessively orderly facade.
The disco-loving Milla is a font of cheer and happiness. Her mind is a never-ending disco dance party, like a groovy American Bandstand where she is the star. It's so overflowing with positive energy it's almost as if she's overcompensating for something ...
Besides the several real-world locations, there are a total of ten mental worlds. The mental worlds are where Psychonauts really soars. Every world has its own theme that is unique and creative and such an absolute blast to experience that it's tough to choose a favorite. I'll try not to spoil the surprises, but I will say that Lungfishopolis had me laughing out loud constantly. The Milk Man Conspiracy is pretty darn crazy, too.
Raz's mental powers are limited at first, but as he completes training and earns merit badges, his psychic arsenal expands, allowing him to levitate, move objects with his mind, set fire to things, turn invisible and more. These mental powers are used in many creative ways, and not just to battle enemies.
Psychonauts was developed for XBox and PlayStation 2 as well as for the PC, and it's pretty clear the game's control scheme was designed with console gamepads in mind. Unlike many other console ports, however, Pyschonauts for the PC does not suffer from difficult and confusing controls. I'd even venture to say the controls were mostly intuitive. The only quirky bit has to do with the game's radial menus. Selecting any item directly up, down, or to either side is easy enough, but trying to pick one of the diagonal options can take a few tries. Luckily, the game pauses while the menus are open, so it's not that much of a gameplay issue.
The aural experience of video game is probably the most commonly cut corner in the industry, yet I contend that music and voice acting are among the most important things a game should get right. Nothing can ruin immersion in a game faster than voice actors who either haven't read the script, or just can't act. The voice acting in Psychonauts was absolutely terrific. Every character's voice is distinctive and perfectly inflected to match their broadly drawn idiosyncrasies.
The game's musical score is superb as well. Just like in movies, music should highlight and amplify the emotional character of a scene. The score in Psychonauts achieves this perfectly. I never found it to be grating or annoying; and I never even thought about turning it off. I did, however, find myself nodding my head to it on more than one occasion; and even today I can be heard subconsciously whistling or humming it at any given time. In other words, "them's some catchy tunes."
Minor nits aside, Tim Schafer and Double Fine did an amazing job with this game. Their dedication to quality is evident in every aspect of the experience, from graphic and sound quality, to storyline, to gameplay. There are a few games that keep me playing all night before realizing it's 10:00 am already and the sleep deprivation I hadn't noticed before catches up to me all at once. Psychonauts is one of those games.
The only thing I want now is a sequel. If one's not in the works already, there damned well ought to be.
I'm a thirty-something computer programmer. I live in Delaware, but I grew up in Arkansas in a tiny town of 2500. We didn't have video arcades. Heck, it was nearly an hour's drive to anything as sophisticated as a Wal*Mart. Needless to say, my exposure to video games as a child was somewhat limited.
In the mid 80's, I cut my teeth on a used Atari 2600 bought at a flea market and a handful of games like Space Invaders and Pac Man. I was hooked in a blink. In the decades since, I've become a big fan of many genres of games. From first-person shooters to role-playing to strategy and everything in between. The only games that categorically don't interest me are sports games.
The easiest way for a game to win me over is to have a gripping story. I'll forgive a lot in a game that grabs me and keeps me interested. The inverse is true, too. If a game does not have a killer story, its gameplay had better be pretty darn compelling to make up for it. That doesn't happen very often
