Psychonauts -- Initial Impression.

Up next for me will be the PlayStation 2 version of the game Psychonauts. The game is the latest title from Tim Schafer of Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango fame. All of those games have a couple things in common. First of all, they're all point and click adventure games. Secondly, they're all predominantly comedies. Psychonauts marks a departure for Mr. Schafer in that he's moved away from the point and click adventure games to that of 3D action platformer. The comedy has remained. Psychonauts is the story of a boy who has come to a summer camp that acts as a training ground for psychic secret agents. The camp itself acts as a hub world and the levels themselves all take place within the minds of the camp's counselors. I've messed around within the camp itself and have run through the first level. I've come away with the impressions that the characterization and writing are top notch. The game and its characters are genuinely funny. The camera doesn't come off as the worst thing ever at this point. It's not perfect, but it's not problematic. The graphics are initially impressive. The voice acting is very well done. And what's most apparent initially is how much there is of collection based platforming. I don't think I've ever seen a game with more crap to collect than Psychonauts, and yes, I'm taking Donkey Kong 64 into account when I say that. It was annoying me in the first level, and I would say that I have a considerably high tolerance for collection based platforming. We'll see if the story and the gameplay are enough to overcome this annoyance...