[Ursulla]

Now let me state from start...This is a legitimate adventure game recognized lawfully here and you can find it with all other adventures in Games A-Z list...
Sure this is not a typical point & click adventure...For this game you will need to equip yourself with a Gamepad...
Don't even bother to play it without it...It will be much to painful...Your mouse is useless here since the game is in 3rd perspective in full 3D...With your left thumb you control your hero and with your right thumb you change camera angle...
As the game started I was witnessed to an unforgettable opening scene that sucked me instantly into the game atmosphere ready for action...
There are lots of action pieces in this game...In fact you are going to pull stunts like an acrobat in a circus,even Lara Croft could learn here a trick or two...Many times I have found myself scratching my head asking how the hell am I going to reach from point A to point B...
And that is exactly where being a Psychonaut is going to help you to resolve all those clever obstacles in front of you...
As you start the game you can barely run and that's sums up your abilities..You are the proud member of bunch of nerds that are used to get smacked in school...But these are not the usual inept nerds,each one of them has a unique psychic ability which he needs to develop...They have all been gathered together in a summer camp for one purpose only...to become deadly and formidable psychonauts who can unleash havoc upon their surrounding...
Their coach is one mean badass character that even Marine soldiers will tremble to the sight of him...
As you start the game you are on Level 1 and if you manage to be resourceful enough to achieve all the tasks set for you you can finish the game at Level 100...meaning you have aquired all the psychic abilities that are in inherent in human nature...You are a force of nature that no one will be mess with...
I will not tell you what are the Psychic powers you will aquire during the game since it will ruin for you the experience...I will tell you this,for each one of them there is a whole level that you must accomplish in order to recieve the diploma...Once you aquired it ,it becomes an intrinsic part of your nature and you can use it anywhere,anytime you want...And not only that,you can upgrade it more than once into a more forcefull,deadliest power...
Each level is completly a different setting from each other and you will be mesmerized by the creativity and imagination of the developers...
There is a main story here and there are side quests...For each area you enter you can open the menu and see all the tasks you need to accomplish there...
Many of them will not be accessible for you at the beginning simply beacuse you are one pathetic wuss (woos)...but gradually you will be stunned by what a psychonaut is able to do...
The main story: There is a sinister force at the camp who turns all those innocent children to a walking zombies...Someone actually removes their brains out and your mission is to retrieve them one by one and finding out who is standing behind all those heinous crimes...
The game is not linear and you choose where you want go first and what you want to do next...
Wherever you go life go on as usual and everyone is busy doing some nonsence...You can stop by and chit chat with anyone you want or you can try out your new powers on them and see the outcome...
There is a cycle of day and night...Going outside at night is very dangerous as you might expect...There are predators lurking about for young delicious meat like you...
The voice acting is terrific and outstanding...And basically everyting here is very well treated...Checking the web about this game will show you a unanimous praises with scores around 90...
There are puzzles to be solved here...The unique aspect of the puzzles are that you solve them by the help of the powers you aquire...

A tip : There will be lots of difficult situations to deal with...But always look for the weak spot...something that will give you the edge...If you find yourself with an impossibe situation calm down and look for the weak spot...Don't try to be Don Kihote...You will not solve anything by sheer force but only by being clever...And that is why this is an Adventure !

My final verdict : If you are going to play only one game with a gamepad,this is a worthy candidate to be that one...

[WRMW]

I think you'd be hard-pressed to argue that Psychonauts is an adventure game. It definately more comfortably fits into the Platformer genre (with action/adventure and minor RPG elements). Even though it has an interesting story and puzzles, it isn't necessarily an adventure game.

That being said, Psychonauts is an excellent game and I very thoroughly enjoyed it. It is quite possibly one of the best platformers I've ever played (though my experience isn't extensive).

[stepurhan]

Must sort out the A-Z entry as it says specifically in the blog that, whilst this is a great game, it's totally not an adventure.

It is a game that should have enormous appeal to adventure gamers who also have a bit of dexterity on the keyboard. I got it earlier this year and I'm already replaying it and loving every minute.

Oh, and I've completed it entirely using the keyboard and mouse so it can be done.

[bandidoquest]

I honestly can't say if it's an adventure or a platformer, but it's easily one of the best games I've ever played, absolutely brilliant (as usual with Tim Schafer's games).

I strongly disagree, however, when you say that it has to be played on a gamepad, I played the game using keyboard and mouse and didn't have any kind of problem, in fact, it worked perfectly.