You're in the midst of battle in Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. You're pinned down behind a mound of crates by enemy gunfire. What do you do? Do you: (a), get down on your knees and pray for sweet mercy? (b) Say "to hell with this" and briskly return fire? Or (c), lift up the crates with your telekinetic abilities and hurl them towards the enemy? We almost definitely prefer the latter (although the former would be innovative ). Why? Well because telekinesis has never before been attempted in a videogame and, may we add, with such aplomb.
Ya see developers Midway have had a few years of drought; underwhelming titles over this period have obviously forced them back into the old chalk and board routine.
"Any suggestions?"
"Erm, how about a game where you can pick bad guys up and hurl them through the air using your mind?"
"Genius, Bob, well done, expect a heavy paycheck on Thursday. Meeting adjourned everyone."
All it takes is that diminutive influx of thought and wham! Here comes a franchise. Okay, it might not be that simple but still, as long as it spawns a game like Psi Ops each time, we won't grumble.
Psi Ops places you in the sturdy boots of ex-army officer Nick Scryer. Awakening from an operating table with severe amnesia, he hasn't a clue in the world where he is or why he's there. Big mistake. Cue blood, guts and a hell of an attitude and Nick finds himself in a precarious situation dicing with death. His only friend? The freakish ability to use his mind to perform telekinetic powers. Oh, and a 9mm pistol.
Of course this game couldn't be done any justice with the addition of the ragdoll physics engine that we all know and love. And sure enough, it has, courtesy of physics engine experts 'Havoc'. In fact, this opens up a wide array of devilish possibilities.
"Wait, there's a guard!"
"Go on, grab 'im!"
"What?"
"Go on, just do it!"
Sadistically, we elevate the hapless guy into the air. Screaming he begins spaying lead all over the walls when bang, we crash him violently against the wall. He stops shooting. Ah, go on then, bang, smash, wallop, blood paints the walls and cackling menacingly, we shake the controller with genuine glee. The guard is definitely dead. However, we must get rid of the evidence. Limbs flailing we assert the guards body over a furnace. See ya! Down he goes, faster than Mr Muscle at a Rugby match. Mwah ha ha! Now how many games can you name that include that in their repertoire? Eh? Sorry.
From the outset, you are equipped with a measly pistol (videogame law you see: "players must start with small arms fire"). None of your 'Psi powers', as Midway fittingly call them, are yet rejuvenated. Damn. Don't fret though, since most of them are unlocked at a prompt, but steady, pace so chucking an innocent electrician off the roof of a building isn't as far off as you may think. Ironically, the guns are the least used method of killing in the game; once you've got all the Psi powers, ultimately all of your weaponry is rendered unnecessary. Seriously, c'mon, who in Christ's name wants to shoot when you can levitate and burn? Point made. We spent days witnessing guards fall to their down or accidentally 'slip' into a razor sharp fan-we're lovin' it!
Subsequently, you'll have a whale of a time storming government buildings and making federal agents' heads explode and similarly, turning them into a living barbeque with your special 'Pyrokenisis' flame attack; this means now you can do what you've always pondered and set naughty people on fire (tee hee).
However, it's not all fun and flames (see what we did there? Clever no?), since there's a conspiracy to be unearthed (er, in the game of course).
Since most of the time Nick is trying to come to terms with his quite frankly incredible psychic abilities, he sometimes seems blissfully unaware that a convoluted government conspiracy is experimenting on human brains and yes, infecting them with mental powers. Unluckily (or luckily, depends), our chap, Nick is one of the special minorities of people to be selected for this program. Dumb feds, why oh why did they pick some ex-army bloke who's built like a brick toilet and wouldn't know the word 'rationality' if it came and bit him on the bum? Sheesh!
Visually, Psi Ops gets the thumb's up. Okay, they're not exactly revolutionary, but they are, at least, pleasing to the eye. Levels are nicely realised and the character models are all designed in a similar fashion, meaning evey enemy has the same amount of detail as Nick. Smashing.
Gladly, Psi Ops' gameplay quickly manifests itself into an all-out, balls-to-the-wind sci-fi action adventure without remission. Sod the plot, what you really want is primetime entertainment, and in this gem of a title, it comes as standard as a pack of spuds. All of the Psi powers-ranging from telekinesis, pyrokinesis, remote viewing (the ability to float around the level as an intangible spirit), mind drain (use this to revive your Psi juice by exploding a guy's head) and Aura view (don't ask) are used oodles throughout the game-it's improbable you'll grow tired of any of them.
Unfortunately, at times, Psi Ops feels like a missed opportunity. Firstly, the missions are over too quickly-around 9-10 hours here, which was a real shame since much more could, and should, have been included. Boss battles, while considerably tricky, are still simple to finish once you've found a weak point. Secondly, more care and attention should have gone the last few levels. Annoyingly, it all turns 'weird' since Nick begins to encounter aliens
Undoubtedly, Psi Ops will be contrasted to Free Radical's 'psychic' game, Second Sight. Although they both contain fundamentally the same subject matter, one just pips another at the post and emerges victorious-which? Gnnnrrhhh, Psi Ops just. Comparatively, they are both sterling games-boasting gorgeous visuals and innovative essences of gameplay. But, Psi Ops is the more entertaining of the two since it is less constrained by its plotline. Second Sight on the other hand heavily revolves a great deal around its story, which negates the fun slightly since it becomes intrinsically predictable. This isn't the case in Psi Ops though, so throw your hands in the air. It takes you on an extremely playable journey through the mind of Nick Scryer. Through hell fire, corruption, shocking plot twists and a kick ass arsenal of firepower, you'll encounter some of the most realistic physics seen in recent times; blowing up someone's head into an interspersion of blood and brains has never felt so good.
Production values? High. Price? £30. Fun? Priceless