Psycho....nauts

Psychonauts. Rated T.

What can I say about this game? Besides the fact that I basically screamed for joy when I found out that I would have Pyrokinesis. And that Levitation was to come. I can't tell you I wasn't particularly pleased. It's like Harry Potter; all the benefits without all those incantations.

Let's back up here as I explain the main things needed to know. You play Razputin, a very powerful psychic who has yet to harness his powers. He's not supposed to be at the Summer Camp (which is actually a place for the children to train), but he still wants to train. Unfortunately, they inform Raz that they're contacting his parents and he'll be taken home. So, Raz decides to learn as much as he can. However, the plot thickens.

It took about a good two hours or so until the plot fully came out: someone is stealing Raz's friend's brains--not only that, but he sees these events happen when he goes into his concious. He decides to take it upon himself to see what happens.

Did I also mention that he was part of the circus? Oh, oops. My bad.

That's as far as I've played so far, so I'm sure I'll be writing more about all those "gasping" moments, and when I finally get my Levitation and who knows what else.

I suppose I should mention I'm playing my version of Psychonauts on the Playstation 2, rather than the XBox. My choice was purposeful: I don't own an XBox yet. But that can make the controls different, though they were hard enough for me to memorize. Usually, I find that 'X' is the button to press for fighting, 'O' for jumping. Now, read closely: 'X' for jump (press it again for a double jump), 'O' for stop, 'square' for fight and the 'triangle' for talk. Though I could change this controls to whichever I please, I like to play on their controls, if only to use what they originally want me to play with. Also, it changes the way these games are played; not the same old, same old.

After getting used to these controls (any game asks for this), it was time to really get into the game's qualities. Fancy ideas like, "excess baggage" can be found and taken care of by finding the keys floating around random areas. You pick up "figments of the imagination" as well, which increases your level. You also use arrowheads as currency.

Things I Liked About Gameplay:
*You can skip talk you hear all the time by pressing 'X'! Very nice when you accidentally talk to them or are killed and have to see a sequence once again.
*Witty script! When asked about what Raz has learned, he replies, "That shooting things is fun and awesome!"
*Originality. Everything is kid of based of something else, but this really gives off something new and never done before. The graphics aren't an everyday use and the odd vibes that radiate from the case are the good kind.
*Character voices. They did well, and even their development is pretty fancy, and unique. Who would have thought to have a main character from a circus who has a dad that detests psychics?

Things That I Dislike About Gameplay (and maybe more than dislike):
*Loading times take forever. It's come to a point that I actually wish they were longer so I could read the full paragraph of a book I keep nearby for those long scene changes--because, well, that's what it feels like. The scene changes of a play. Most everyone will roll their eyes if it takes longer than ten seconds.
*The bouncing of the items. Let me explain this further. When you "defeat an enemy", usually, something will "burst forth" from their diappearing existance and, usually, those things are A) currency B) life or C) something else that fills a gauge you have (such as for the PSI blast). However, usually, those things don't bounce around in circles, flirting with the idea of being captured. I'm not good at dancing in real life, so who's to say I'd want to do it in a game? Just give me my reward for dominating evil!
*For some odd reason, I feel like I'm doing things out of order. It's nice for them to have cut scenes for telling me what I need to do next, but I sometimes get the feeling that the game is mocking me for not already having what I need to do next done. This is an obvious "possible" dislike, considering I tend to think inadament objects mock me all the time.

Since I'm still involved in the game, I think I'll wait to fully rate this. But at this time, it's at least 4 yetis. Out of what, you ask? I still haven't decided yet.