I bought this game at 8:00 PM. I stayed up until 3:00 AM playing it. Yes it is that addicting!
User Rating: 9.4 | Psychonauts XBOX
Deep down inside every gamer, even the most hard-core action fans, have enjoyed a good, unique platformer. Close to every FPS or action game has some sort of " platforming " aspect to it. For example, in Halo you will find yourself jumping on ledges. This occurs, not just in Halo but in pretty much every action game you could buy. Though sadly, most platormers are designed for the child audience , this usually leaves the adult gamers wanting a more uniquely challenging, mature experience. Well stop waiting and prepare for that unique, immersive, fun and mature platformer that you've secretly wanted and desired for so long. Psychonauts combines adult humor, zany cartoon-like animations, with more maturely designed gameplay, to make a purly fun platforming experience. Not just a fun platformer, but, just a fun game all around. Gameplay: Throughout this game you will find your self in the moderatly normal grounds of a kid's summer camp, to the insanely wacky and awe inspired minds of the staff and children at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. Whether your smashing around in a mutant lungfish's mind or exploring the vastly beautiful sights of the camp your platforming skills will be called upon. You will find yourself navigating forests, lakes, trampolines, trapezes everything you could possily imagine can be found here. If the intense platforming isn't enough for you searhc for every mental allusion or "figments" while exploring the brain stages. There’s quite a lot of fetching to be done in Psychonauts and luckily, it all figures into the whole mental scheme quite cleverly. In te brain stages there is just so much to do, whether it's looking for the ID tag do a piece of emotional baggage to sweeping up mental cobwebs, you will have a great time with this game. Raz has a vast amount of powers, clairvoyance, pyrokenisis, telekinesis and what psychic wouldn't be complete without levitation. Yes that's right levitation. You will level up through finding figments and psi cards. Every ten levels, the good old bacon loving old man in your head will teach you a new and very valuble psychic ability. Graphics: It's nearly impossible to resist loving the cute adorable and wacky animations in Psychonauts. Clearly this game experienced quite a bit of polish in it's four years of developement. This game has excelent art direction and may possibly be the most brilliantly visual xbox game yet. Psychonauts purposefully uses 2D objects to convey exactly what the art director and designers wanted; a whimsical, classic feel that still sports graphics that aid the gamer in any task. This is most aesthetically pleasing game in quite some time. Sound: The audio definatley keepspace with the art direction and the gameplay. If anything the audio is where this game shines above all. The voice acting is impecable, just perfect. You really can't imagine a different voice coming out of Raz's bulbous head. The sounds of your abilities are great, they sound so zany and fitting. There isn't anything really bad to say about the sound. It's just great. Overall Impressions: Even without it's quirky graphics and spectalcular audio psychonauts would still be the fun and immersive platformer/adventure game that it is. In the words of Alex Navarro, Pychonauts truly is wholly original in every aspect of it's execution. 
