Geez, month and a half and I haven't updated this thing.  What came over me?  I don't know, I guess I needed an unconscious break from this place.  In the past month I'd only stop by for like 10 minutes a day!

So yeah, what games have I been up to?  Psychonauts!  Wow I love this game!  I decided to pick it up when I saw there were only 3 new copies left at Walmart....and I love new things There was this little kid nearby with a game already picked out, and when he saw I got Psychonauts, he traded his game for it to...what a smart kid!  I also made friends with the Walmart dude, he talked a lot about games and next gen consoles. 

So yeah, as I said before Psychonauts is awesome!  If I would've had a PS2 or Xbox when it first came out, I would've bought it then.  Razputin is adorable, he's the most eager little thing I've ever seen in a game.  The script is really funny, the characters are entertaining, lovable and well voiced.  The game design is great too - they really take the brain theme and run with it.  You collect "figments", gather tags for "emotional baggage", and clear "mental cobwebs", just to give an idea of the depth of theme detail.  The main world is rich and has lots of areas.  When you have time, you find yourself just wandering around everywhere trying to collect all the things hidden around the camp (and there are lots of stuff!  Collectors will be very happy!).  The actual levels take place inside people's brains.  This is where the imagination of the game's creators really shows through.  Everyone's brains are strange and unique and suit their personalities.  They are also really "dreamlike" where one level will have a picturesque neighborhood with streets that twist and turn, where you're in a battlefield with planes flying and explosions sounding all around, and in a dance party in another person's brain. Sometimes they're full fledged levels, sometimes they're just tasks.  Platforming is fun and simple too, and sometimes there are puzzles or objectives to solve before you can progress.   Raz also gains new psychic abilities as "merit badges" and strengthens his abilities by raising his level (by collecting figments and shipping emotional baggage).  My only complaint is the bosses.  I usually know what to do, but if I don't do it as the game expects me to do it, it doesn't work and so I end up getting nowhere until I figure out what I'm doing wrong and adjust it slightly.  So yeah!  Terrific game, pick it up if you want to play something different.

What else?  Oh, I bought Resident Evil 0 on an impulse It was used and cheap.  I've only played RE4 out of all of the RE games, so it was highly disorienting.  The controls and the amount of puzzles surprised me a lot...also the shooting...and the loading...and the locked doors...and carrying inventory...and you get the point pretty much everything!  Still seems like a fun game over all.  I'll finish playing it after Psychonauts.

And before that I bought Big Brain Academy way back in June  and Polarium (it was $10 in the bargain bin...).  BBA is really fun, not really the complete packaged that Brain Age was, but I find the games in BBA are just more fun in general.  And while Brain Age only lets you record one score per day, BBA records all high scores, so you can easily end up playing a long time beat your score, or get a Platinum medal.  Still I miss the daily tracking of Brain Age.  I've played multiplayer, and it's hectic and loads of fun.  BBA is fun times all around   Polarium is also cool.  It's really bare bones, not worth full price, but for $10 it's a good enough amusement.  The challenge mode is awful, but the puzzles are fun.  You think you won't figure them out, but you do.  It's a good game to play when you're bored.