$20 Bargain Bin: Psychonauts (Xbox 360/XBLA, Xbox, PS2)

With the debut of Xbox Originals, Microsoft heeded the cries from the swarms of insane Tim Schafer fans and offered Psychonauts via Xbox Live for those who hadn't played it the first time around. To listen to the devoted speak of Double Fine Production's first effort, you'd be led to believe Psychonauts to be one of the greatest games of all time. Does it live up to the hype?

At its base, Psychonauts is your standard 3D platformer, where you use a small set of abilities to clear a couple of tricky jumps and collect a variety of shiny bits for no particular reason. But to judge it from that alone would be ignoring so much greatness.

OK, so my cover's blown: I love the game. But stick with me. The core gameplay may be a well-executed vanilla, but absolutely everything else in the game is done with a cleverness rarely seen in the industry. What caught me the most was the level design; as a psychonaut (kind of a psychic spec-ops psychologist), you dive into people's minds, which manifests as brilliantly twisted worlds. The level themes here extend well beyond the ice levels you've grown numb to. The mind of a paranoid security guard reveals itself as a free-floating 1950s suburbia, where the streets and gravity bend at impossible angles and shadowy G-men hilariously deadpan their way through shoddy disguises. A painter's depression becomes a Mexico swathed in fluorescent black velvet paintings. The game's art design is filled with personality, thanks to the stylings of Scott Campbell. It's complemented by very competent voice acting talent that includes Richard Steven Horvitz from Invader Zim,  and stands up so well thanks to great writing from the likes of Erik Wolpaw of Portal and Old Man Murray fame. All  of these efforts come together as an interesting and genuinely funny game.

So, does all this polish make up for mediocre gameplay? Well, yes. The simple platforming serves as a springboard for all these bright ideas, never detracting from the experience but instead enabling it. Alright, alright, enough fancy talk -- is it such a great game that you are required to play it? Yes. Yes, it is.