Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is one of those mindbending games that leaves your scratching
your head and not just because of the game’s storyline but rather, how is this game not
more talked about and how did it not sell well. The game has everything going for it.
I expected this game not to just do well, but to create a series as well.
You play as Nick Scryer. He was sent in to infiltrate a terrorist group known as “The
Movement.” Really? “The Movement?” This the best you could come up with. Why not call
it the generic generic group of bad guys who don’t like America. Anyway, Nick begins
the game with no memory of anything about his life. He then meets Sara who gives him
a shot to help him remember who he is and what he can do. Who he is and what he can
do turns out to be one of the coolest video game characters I can remember. Not necessarily
because of who he is but rather what he can do. It turns out, Nick is not just any ol’
soldier but rather a PSI soldier. This is what makes the game so special.
It plays for the most part like any other third person shooter only with Nick’s powers
added in. And what power are these and what do they add? Only awesome PSI powers like
telekinesis, mind control, and pyrokinesis among others. This is what makes the game
so unique and unlike anything else. Every situation can be handled however you want
it to. Say there is an enemy across the room from you, you have options on how to eliminate
him. You can treat the game like a shooter and run at him with your assault rifle and
shoot him. Or you can throw a barrel from across the room at him, or you can lift him
into the air and shoot him while he hangs there helplessly. Or if all those bore you,
you can use mind control on him and have him commit suicide. The choice is left for you
to decide although my favorite is telekinesis. The game has a great physics engine that allows
for practically everything and anything to be able to be picked up and thrown. This comes
in handy to solve puzzles, and take out pesky enemies. All these Psi powers use up energy
to perform. And how do you replenish this energy, you might be asking. Only by sneaking
up behind enemies and performing a mind drain, which ends in some good old fashioned head
exploding.
But Psi Ops isn’t just solid gameplay. It actually has some really good production value.
The graphics are impressive, with the environments bringing you into the world it is creating.
More impressive are the effects the game. The fire from your pyrokinesis looks great
and the glow around objects after you pick them up with telekinesis looks pretty cool.
As I mention, it really is a shame that this game didn’t get the coverage it deserves.
It really is a great game all the way through. Everything is solid, and I don’t really
have any complaints. The shooting could get repetitive but that is why you have PSI powers
to mix things up. This is personally one of my favorite games of all time. The controls
works great and make it very simple to pull off some very cool moves. If you find a yourself
a copy of this game, don’t leave the store without it. You will thank me later.