Psi-Ops The Mindgate Conspiracy (Xbox)
The now non-existent gaming company, Midway, put out this shooter in 2004 for the Xbox, PS2, and on PC just five years before filing for their bankruptcy. So despite the game ending with a "To Be Continued..." slide, it's unlikely this game will ever see a sequel. But, to figure out if that's an upsetting fact or not, we must first determine if this title itself is even worth it. So lets tear into this one and find out.
For the shooting side, the left and right joysticks control his movement and camera aiming. A is your jump button as well as your action button, B let's you crouch, Y locks the aiming reticle on an enemy, and X is Nick's melee attack. The right trigger shoots your weapon, which auto-reloads after a clip is empty or after you stop shooting for a couple of seconds.
The rest of the controller drives all of Nick's special powers. The left trigger activates his Telekinesis, and the objects or people you pick up with this can be moved around with the right joystick. The black button uses the Mind Drain power, the white button uses Pyrokinesis, and left up or right on the D-pad select between Remote View, Mind Control, and Aura View respectively. (All of the powers will be explained in the following section). Lastly, down on the D-pad will switch Nick's weapon, and clicking both thumbsticks while using Mind Control will kill the person who's mind you're controlling.
With the exception of the aura beasts, all your enemies in this game are gun-toting, brain-washed humans. The Movement will capture people and brainwash them in one of three different ways, giving you three "variants" of human enemies. The first variation is the result of a speedy brainwashing program, the second a slightly more dedicated process that makes these guys trickier to outsmart, and the last variation, which are also the rarest of the ones you'll come across, are deadly accurate with their weapons and have no fear resulting in them bum-rushing you all the time. The aura beasts are creatures that generally appear "invisible". They can sense those with psychic powers and will breach the veil between their world and Nick's, but they will have trouble sensing you if don't use your powers that often.
Your other enemy force is the bosses you come across throughout the game. These are former teammates of Nick's that defected by the general. Each one of these has a proficiency in one area of their psychic power and present him with a decent fight each time they are met.
Other than guns, which are your typical shooter weapons (pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, etc.), your way of dealing with your enemies comes from your psychic powers. There's a handful of them, so I'll break them down into a short list.
Telekinesis - Allows you to pick up objects and other people to either move or toss around at your will.
Remote View - Nick has an "out of body" experience that allows him to project himself and walk through doors to peer into upcoming rooms and check out the situation before entering.
Mind Drain - Used to refill Nick's Psi bar, can be used on downed enemies or live ones if you're able to sneak up behind them without detection, can't be used on downed enemies missing their heads.
Aura View - Let's you see through the veil and detect the Aura Beasts, can also be used to detect body heat, footprints, and objects that have moved/changed to help you discover where to go.
Mind Control - Completely gain control over another person, used to gain access to further areas and can kill the person you're hosting by clicking in both joysticks.
Pyrokinesis - Sends out a wall of flame, setting fire to anyone or anything it hits. Burning objects can be picked up and tossed with the TK power. Nick is not safe from this so don't get to close to what (or who) you're burning.
All these abilities are made available to Nick progressively through the game, as the drug Sara injects him with reawakens each one. When a new one is unlocked, a flashback is triggered back to when Nick was first learning to train with and use these powers, giving the player a way to learn how to use them as well. You are given a Psi meter which will slowly drain with the use of each power (some powers drain faster than others), and you can refill this with either the Mind Drain ability or by finding Psi Vials that are located randomly in the levels. Med-Kits can also be found and picked up to replenish health, and unless I missed something, these are the only way to do so.
Nick's main objective in the game is infiltrating The Movement and taking down their leader. Each level is broken down with a smaller objective, like obtaining certain information or investigating a specific area. The game itself is continuous and flowing between levels, and isn't broken down into "Chapter Cleared" type sections.
So in the end, Psi-Ops is a pretty fun and unique play, but how difficult is it?
The regular non-boss enemies are between easy and moderate on the difficulty scale. There aren't a lot of them in the same area at once, and even if they sound an alarm, only an extra two or three guys come running to rescue their mates. The first two variations are the easier two of the brain-washed people, they don't use a lot of cover tactics and their aim isn't the greatest. The last enemy variation and the aura beasts are the worst of the enemies, but are still more than manageable, especially if you use the games aim-lock system.
Your bosses are a bit more challenging, and are at the least a moderate to hard difficulty. As I mentioned above, each one specializes in a specific area of psychic power, so this forces you to "forget" that power in your own arsenal, as it will be rendered useless in the fight. This is what makes these fights tougher, as some of the powers are extremely powerful and not getting to use them cripples you quite a bit. Yet, while they might be difficult, they are still very much doable.
Lastly, the puzzles. There's not a whole lot of them in the game, and they're not in-your-face puzzles where you have to solve riddles or anything like that. They are just set-ups in the levels that require a bit of thinking and use of your powers to get around. For instance, in the first chapter, there is a door Nick needs to get to, but it is guarded by an automated turret mounted over the doorway. It instantly will detect and fire on Nick, so you're forced to use your TK power to either hold a metal crate up in front of you and walk behind it, or hurl one at the turret to destroy it. These puzzles are definitely on the easy side of the spectrum, mostly due to their minimal appearance in the game.
So, Psi-Ops isn't that much of a challenge. But, before we lay down whether or not this one is worth it, let's talk about what's good and bad about it.
- Flashback Memories. There are a good number of games that start off with characters hosting a slew of abilities, before you lose access to them. A lot of these games utilize corny ways of regaining your arsenal. However, I like the approach that Psi-Ops took. Not only having the memories reawaken in Nick, but also using flashback sequences to teach the player how to use these, instead of being instructed how to do so in the present. It gives the game a more "realistic" feel (as realistic as a game with psychic powers can feel). It gives off a "I remember how to do this" vibe instead of a "Oh yeah I can move shit with my mind, but let me practice again".
- Continuous Story Flow. Another personally favorable approach in this game. Some story based games use a hard-level system for the story itself, meaning you have a definitive level one, level two, etc. Psi-Ops is one continuous "level" that takes place in a number of different areas. I just feel like the ones with the hard-level systems give off more of an arcadey feeling instead of a natural, flowing story.
- Replenishing Health. Only having the option of med-kits to regain your health kind of sucks. Especially with having an ability that refills your Psi bar, it would have been nice (and made a bit more sense) to also have an ability that refilled your health. This is coupled with the fact that it doesn't regenerate on it's own either, not even in the slightest.
The Story
You begin Psi-Ops in control of Nick who wakes up with no memory of who he is or knowing where he is. Nick is trapped in a cell, but eventually is freed by a woman named Sara who, after meeting up with her in a storage room, injects Nick with something. She then informs him that he is a PSI-Operative, an agent with the ability of a handful of psychic powers. The reason he has no memory of himself, or these powers, is that his mind was wiped to allow him to be able to infilitrate a terrorist organization with the intent of taking them down from the inside. The drug that Sara injected into Nick will reawaken his abilities and allow him to resume his mission. Will Nick be able to work his way up to The General and take him and his organization down?The Controls
As a third-person sci-fi shooter, the controls for Psi-Ops utilize a proper scheme, with almost half the controls being dedicated to the shooter aspect, while the other half focuses on Nick's psychic powers.For the shooting side, the left and right joysticks control his movement and camera aiming. A is your jump button as well as your action button, B let's you crouch, Y locks the aiming reticle on an enemy, and X is Nick's melee attack. The right trigger shoots your weapon, which auto-reloads after a clip is empty or after you stop shooting for a couple of seconds.
The rest of the controller drives all of Nick's special powers. The left trigger activates his Telekinesis, and the objects or people you pick up with this can be moved around with the right joystick. The black button uses the Mind Drain power, the white button uses Pyrokinesis, and left up or right on the D-pad select between Remote View, Mind Control, and Aura View respectively. (All of the powers will be explained in the following section). Lastly, down on the D-pad will switch Nick's weapon, and clicking both thumbsticks while using Mind Control will kill the person who's mind you're controlling.
The Gameplay
Psi-Ops is a third-person shooter with a heavy sci-fi influence. The game takes place all from an over-the-shoulder perspective, and is extremely linear from start to finish, offering no options, or even reasons, for any exploration.With the exception of the aura beasts, all your enemies in this game are gun-toting, brain-washed humans. The Movement will capture people and brainwash them in one of three different ways, giving you three "variants" of human enemies. The first variation is the result of a speedy brainwashing program, the second a slightly more dedicated process that makes these guys trickier to outsmart, and the last variation, which are also the rarest of the ones you'll come across, are deadly accurate with their weapons and have no fear resulting in them bum-rushing you all the time. The aura beasts are creatures that generally appear "invisible". They can sense those with psychic powers and will breach the veil between their world and Nick's, but they will have trouble sensing you if don't use your powers that often.
Your other enemy force is the bosses you come across throughout the game. These are former teammates of Nick's that defected by the general. Each one of these has a proficiency in one area of their psychic power and present him with a decent fight each time they are met.
Other than guns, which are your typical shooter weapons (pistol, assault rifle, sniper rifle, etc.), your way of dealing with your enemies comes from your psychic powers. There's a handful of them, so I'll break them down into a short list.
Telekinesis - Allows you to pick up objects and other people to either move or toss around at your will.
Remote View - Nick has an "out of body" experience that allows him to project himself and walk through doors to peer into upcoming rooms and check out the situation before entering.
Mind Drain - Used to refill Nick's Psi bar, can be used on downed enemies or live ones if you're able to sneak up behind them without detection, can't be used on downed enemies missing their heads.
Aura View - Let's you see through the veil and detect the Aura Beasts, can also be used to detect body heat, footprints, and objects that have moved/changed to help you discover where to go.
Mind Control - Completely gain control over another person, used to gain access to further areas and can kill the person you're hosting by clicking in both joysticks.
Pyrokinesis - Sends out a wall of flame, setting fire to anyone or anything it hits. Burning objects can be picked up and tossed with the TK power. Nick is not safe from this so don't get to close to what (or who) you're burning.
All these abilities are made available to Nick progressively through the game, as the drug Sara injects him with reawakens each one. When a new one is unlocked, a flashback is triggered back to when Nick was first learning to train with and use these powers, giving the player a way to learn how to use them as well. You are given a Psi meter which will slowly drain with the use of each power (some powers drain faster than others), and you can refill this with either the Mind Drain ability or by finding Psi Vials that are located randomly in the levels. Med-Kits can also be found and picked up to replenish health, and unless I missed something, these are the only way to do so.
Nick's main objective in the game is infiltrating The Movement and taking down their leader. Each level is broken down with a smaller objective, like obtaining certain information or investigating a specific area. The game itself is continuous and flowing between levels, and isn't broken down into "Chapter Cleared" type sections.
So in the end, Psi-Ops is a pretty fun and unique play, but how difficult is it?
The Challenge (or lack thereof?)
Psi-Ops doesn't have a lot of areas to challenge the player, but there are a few : Your enemies, bosses, and the puzzle-type sections that you come across.The regular non-boss enemies are between easy and moderate on the difficulty scale. There aren't a lot of them in the same area at once, and even if they sound an alarm, only an extra two or three guys come running to rescue their mates. The first two variations are the easier two of the brain-washed people, they don't use a lot of cover tactics and their aim isn't the greatest. The last enemy variation and the aura beasts are the worst of the enemies, but are still more than manageable, especially if you use the games aim-lock system.
Your bosses are a bit more challenging, and are at the least a moderate to hard difficulty. As I mentioned above, each one specializes in a specific area of psychic power, so this forces you to "forget" that power in your own arsenal, as it will be rendered useless in the fight. This is what makes these fights tougher, as some of the powers are extremely powerful and not getting to use them cripples you quite a bit. Yet, while they might be difficult, they are still very much doable.
Lastly, the puzzles. There's not a whole lot of them in the game, and they're not in-your-face puzzles where you have to solve riddles or anything like that. They are just set-ups in the levels that require a bit of thinking and use of your powers to get around. For instance, in the first chapter, there is a door Nick needs to get to, but it is guarded by an automated turret mounted over the doorway. It instantly will detect and fire on Nick, so you're forced to use your TK power to either hold a metal crate up in front of you and walk behind it, or hurl one at the turret to destroy it. These puzzles are definitely on the easy side of the spectrum, mostly due to their minimal appearance in the game.
So, Psi-Ops isn't that much of a challenge. But, before we lay down whether or not this one is worth it, let's talk about what's good and bad about it.
PROS
- Unique Shooter Twist. Much like I mentioned in my Quick Review of Build N Race on the Wii (check it out here) shooting games also need some sort of fun "kink" to them to keep it interesting (with the exception of the Battlefield and Call of Duty series that do flawlessly as straight up shooters). Psi-Ops brings in that unique twist, and does a great job with it, the psychic powers are a blast to use and the TK one specifically is a more fun way of eliminating your foes. You can even use the TK power to "surf" on some objects if Nick is standing on them when you lift them.- Flashback Memories. There are a good number of games that start off with characters hosting a slew of abilities, before you lose access to them. A lot of these games utilize corny ways of regaining your arsenal. However, I like the approach that Psi-Ops took. Not only having the memories reawaken in Nick, but also using flashback sequences to teach the player how to use these, instead of being instructed how to do so in the present. It gives the game a more "realistic" feel (as realistic as a game with psychic powers can feel). It gives off a "I remember how to do this" vibe instead of a "Oh yeah I can move shit with my mind, but let me practice again".
- Continuous Story Flow. Another personally favorable approach in this game. Some story based games use a hard-level system for the story itself, meaning you have a definitive level one, level two, etc. Psi-Ops is one continuous "level" that takes place in a number of different areas. I just feel like the ones with the hard-level systems give off more of an arcadey feeling instead of a natural, flowing story.
CONS
- Some Power Combinations. While the powers themselves are great, at some points the game suggests that you should be able to do things that are nowhere near as simple as the game implies. For example, in the turret puzzle I mentioned earlier, the game hints that you can just pick up a crate and walk behind it, protecting yourself from the gun. However, this is quite difficult to do, as you must control Nick's body and the crate completely separate of themselves. One joystick controls Nick, while the other controls the crate, and on top of that, there's a sensitivity meter with the left trigger that determines how high to hold the crate by how hard you're pressing the button.- Replenishing Health. Only having the option of med-kits to regain your health kind of sucks. Especially with having an ability that refills your Psi bar, it would have been nice (and made a bit more sense) to also have an ability that refilled your health. This is coupled with the fact that it doesn't regenerate on it's own either, not even in the slightest.
