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Spring 2005
‘Psychonauts’ succeeds
with amusing dialogue
and unique level design
The game about psychic secret agents hit stands last week
after three years of jumping among production companies
BY ANDREW MCCOLLUM
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
"Psychonauts" has been through
some tough times. The game was
announced at E3 in 2002 by Double
Fine Productions, a new studio
headed up by ex-LucasArts creative
god Tim Schafer. Schafer is known
for his work on adventure classics
such as "Grim Fandango" and "Full
Throttle." Microsoft was to publish
the game exclusively as an Xbox ti
tle, but the company changed its
mind in March 2004 and dropped
"Psychonauts" from its lineup, giv
ing no reason for its decision. In Au
gust 2004, Majesco picked up pub
lishing rights forthe game, which
was finally released last week.
"Psychonauts" is an incredibly
entertaining, wildly creative plat
former destined to be a cult hit. In
the game, players take control of
Raz, short for Razputin, a gifted psy
chic kid who just snuck into Whis
pering Rock Summer Camp. The
camp is filled with the standard fare:
obstacle courses, camp fires, a ca
noe-filled lake. But Whispering Rock
isn't your typical summer camp; it's a
training ground forthe Psychonauts,
a group of psychic secret agents.
Children are taught how to hone
their psychic powers so they may
someday become Psychonauts
themselves, but Raz's father does
not want Raz practicing his powers.
When Raz arrives at camp, the coun
selors call dad and let them know
where he is, which means our hero
has only a few days to perfect his
powers and discover why some
campers are losing their brains.
"Psychonauts" looks like an up
beat version of Tim Burton's "The
Nightmare Before Christmas." Char
acters are cartoonish and exaggerat
ed. Graphically, the game looks
smooth and colorful. Throughout
i
"Psychonauts," Raz gets psychic
powers that allow him to set things on
fire, move objects with his mind and
blast enemies with psychic energy, to
name a few. The psychic powers
work well in the game, but they are
nothing special. With that said, "Psy
chonauts" shines in two particular
areas: dialogue and level design.
Schafer wrote some genuinely fun
ny dialogue for "Psychonauts." There
are moments in the game when a
player can choose to sit and listen
while two characters talkto each oth
er. The voice acting is superb, and
each character has a distinct voice.
The levels in "Psychonauts" are
unique. Most other platformers find
players running through worlds with
generic themes (Fire, Ice, City, etc.),
but the levels in "Psychonauts" are
inside characters' minds. Coach
Oleander's level is filled with plants
sprouting leaves of ammunition,
trenches, barbed wire and other ar
tifacts of his military past. Sasha
Nein is a scientific Psychonaut; his
level is a simple cube adorned with
drab geometric art. Boyd Cooper, a
conspiracy theorist, has a mind filled
with men in dark trench coats doing
roadwork in a psychedelic, 1950s
styled neighborhood.
Inside the minds, Raz finds loads of
special challenges and visual puns.
Censors, who are impish looking bu
reaucrats, try to get Raz out of the
mind he is exploring by hitting him
with stamps. Inner Demons blow up in
Raz'sface if they are not dealt with.
Raz will bump into "emotional bag
gage," anthropomorphic purses,
steamer trunks and briefcases that
cry until they are reunited with their
baggage tags.
"Psychonauts" is a great plat
former with classic puzzle-solving
elements, amazing level design, fun
dialogue and decent gameplay.
NMMk
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