Mmm, brains.
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 5:52 pm
I honestly never would've thought that, when all was said and done, the Xbox would end up walking away with the single best game of this console generation. Perhaps it's a little bit early to be making such a decree, but even Wanda and the Colossus and Okami will have their work cut out for them trying to follow this act. Of course I'm talking about Psychonauts, which I realize is also out on PS2, but I believe that console is so grossly incapable of handling this game that I am ruling it out of consideration.
I have so much praise to level at this thing I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start with the obvious: the game is pretty. Dynamically so. It looks like the bastard child of a three-way orgy between Tim Burton, Paul Klee, and Pixar Animation Studios. It's like a nightmare you would've had as a child (very appropriate, thematically) toned down enough to be accessible so that while you're never put off, you're never totally comfortable, either. It's simultaneously inviting and unsettling. The fact that the game is graphically capable of conveying such a dynamic style is also a huge triumph. After 4 years (and barely a month till the release of the console's successor), we finally have an Xbox game that looks like what I thought Xbox games were supposed to look like. The architecture is extremely detailed (texture maps don't do any more work than they should have to) and the lighting is out of this world. The environments are rich and surreal, and while the game sticks to 30fps to pull this off, I think it would've been an appropriate aesthetic choice even if 60fps had been possible.
Not only does the game look unique, it is constructed in unique ways. While at the root level the whole thing plays like a sort of platformer-puzzle-adventure game hybrid, the worlds and their structure is not quite like anything that's ever been done before. This isn't your usual forest-stage, fire-stage, water-stage schtick. One early level is played entirely on a giant cube: small chunks of course pop out of the cube's faces as you approach. Another stage is like a long, average city street that's been twisted in space, while one of the later stages takes place on the board of a giant Stratego-esque combat game. Most cleverly of all, each of these worlds takes place in the head of one of the game's highly memorable cast members, which allows for some very interesting character development. Not only are the levels themed according to the character in question, but the more you explore, the more you're apt to learn about your host. There's some incredible structural cohesion going on between the game's elements.
The surreal and clever stylings even carry over into the floating collectible objects integral to any self-respecting platformer. You don't even really "collect" them so much as jump through them. Figments, as they're called, are paper-thin, neon-colored doodles that float around the stage like apparitions, constantly reminding you that you're in a dream world. They're themed to represent the individual's fears, desires, and general emotions, but are often placed in the context of the level design itself for quick visual gags. Everywhere you look, you find evidence of the loving care that went into structuring every aspect of this game.
If I had to find some flaws to bring to light, I would say that entering cutscenes is occasionally awkward, if only because the game is so conducive to exploration. In one instance, for example, I was hopping around some rocks not far from the main pathway, but as I crossed the trigger point for the cutscene, Raz magically appeared on the pathway for the events. As soon as the cutscene was over, he magically appeared back to where I was on the rocks. An on-screen map would've been nice for at-a-glance reference in the camp area... it's no big deal once you know your way around, but it's easy to get lost while exploring for the first time, especially since the architecture is so surreal. Also, background music tends to skip during spoken dialogue, though I wonder if maybe this isn't a problem with my aging, first-generation Xbox? Regardless, these are such quibbles that were this a lesser game, I probably wouldn't even have noticed them.
Minor issues aside, the game is beautiful, surreal, witty, clever, and remarkably well structured. While most of the elements fit comfortably into established genres, it wasn't painted by numbers. I'm ready to call this the best game of this console generation (so far), effectively conceding that it is better than Ico, which is not a praise I hand out lightly.
I have so much praise to level at this thing I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start with the obvious: the game is pretty. Dynamically so. It looks like the bastard child of a three-way orgy between Tim Burton, Paul Klee, and Pixar Animation Studios. It's like a nightmare you would've had as a child (very appropriate, thematically) toned down enough to be accessible so that while you're never put off, you're never totally comfortable, either. It's simultaneously inviting and unsettling. The fact that the game is graphically capable of conveying such a dynamic style is also a huge triumph. After 4 years (and barely a month till the release of the console's successor), we finally have an Xbox game that looks like what I thought Xbox games were supposed to look like. The architecture is extremely detailed (texture maps don't do any more work than they should have to) and the lighting is out of this world. The environments are rich and surreal, and while the game sticks to 30fps to pull this off, I think it would've been an appropriate aesthetic choice even if 60fps had been possible.
Not only does the game look unique, it is constructed in unique ways. While at the root level the whole thing plays like a sort of platformer-puzzle-adventure game hybrid, the worlds and their structure is not quite like anything that's ever been done before. This isn't your usual forest-stage, fire-stage, water-stage schtick. One early level is played entirely on a giant cube: small chunks of course pop out of the cube's faces as you approach. Another stage is like a long, average city street that's been twisted in space, while one of the later stages takes place on the board of a giant Stratego-esque combat game. Most cleverly of all, each of these worlds takes place in the head of one of the game's highly memorable cast members, which allows for some very interesting character development. Not only are the levels themed according to the character in question, but the more you explore, the more you're apt to learn about your host. There's some incredible structural cohesion going on between the game's elements.
The surreal and clever stylings even carry over into the floating collectible objects integral to any self-respecting platformer. You don't even really "collect" them so much as jump through them. Figments, as they're called, are paper-thin, neon-colored doodles that float around the stage like apparitions, constantly reminding you that you're in a dream world. They're themed to represent the individual's fears, desires, and general emotions, but are often placed in the context of the level design itself for quick visual gags. Everywhere you look, you find evidence of the loving care that went into structuring every aspect of this game.
If I had to find some flaws to bring to light, I would say that entering cutscenes is occasionally awkward, if only because the game is so conducive to exploration. In one instance, for example, I was hopping around some rocks not far from the main pathway, but as I crossed the trigger point for the cutscene, Raz magically appeared on the pathway for the events. As soon as the cutscene was over, he magically appeared back to where I was on the rocks. An on-screen map would've been nice for at-a-glance reference in the camp area... it's no big deal once you know your way around, but it's easy to get lost while exploring for the first time, especially since the architecture is so surreal. Also, background music tends to skip during spoken dialogue, though I wonder if maybe this isn't a problem with my aging, first-generation Xbox? Regardless, these are such quibbles that were this a lesser game, I probably wouldn't even have noticed them.
Minor issues aside, the game is beautiful, surreal, witty, clever, and remarkably well structured. While most of the elements fit comfortably into established genres, it wasn't painted by numbers. I'm ready to call this the best game of this console generation (so far), effectively conceding that it is better than Ico, which is not a praise I hand out lightly.