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This is one of the most fun adventures of recent years with unique elements
but it hasn't done well in sales unfortunately. For years, the Psychonauts have
deployed their psychically-armed operatives all over the world, but this time
trouble is brewing right in their own backyard. Someone is abducting students from
the Psychonaut boot camp - a deranged scientist who only wants their brains. One
cadet - a mysterious and powerful new arrival named Raz - stands alone against the
lunatic. Raz must develop and unleash an arsenal of paranormal powers, including
telekinesis, firestarting, clairvoyance, and his most powerful weapon of all - the
ability to launch himself telepathically into someone else's mind, and run around
in the demented amusement park of their imagination. Raz takes on their inner demons
face to face, wrestles with their nightmares, and digs up their secret memories.
Ultimately he must enter the mind of his worst enemy and destroy his dark plans at
their source, while trying not to lose his sanity in the process. Psychonauts is a
quirky, offbeat game set in a special summer camp for clairvoyant kids, in which a
group of psychic children end up in a wacky adventure filled with brain-stealing
hijinks, psychic secret agents, and a little romance on top of everything else.
It takes the platformer type of game and adds its psychic theme - which throws in
some cool puzzle-solving to the usual platform-jumping and swinging. It also bears
the unmistakable mark of designer Tim Schafer (known for classic adventure games
Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and Day of the Tentacle), thanks to a hilarious array
of peculiar characters and a story that never fails to entertain. It doesn't
reinvent the platformer, but it still delivers an experience that feels wholly
original in every aspect of its execution. |