Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

"Ozzy Osbourne... REAWAKENED!!"

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy... man, I saw an ad for this thing and I had to have it. I've been waiting for a game that delves a tad into the paranormal, and this answered my call. But, unfortunatly, I only had the demo at my disposal at the time, and it seemed a bit... well, it was boring. But still, I planned to purchase PO... and boy was I surprised.

Amazing. That's all I have to say. This game was executed near perfect. I love it. ^^;;

STORY - Time to tell a story of power, kids!

Well, it's not an epic mind-bending portal into heaven, but it's above-par. The main character--Nick Scryer--has the king of cliches, amnesia, but atleast it's explained why. It adds a little twist to why USA/Russia raced to the moon and why WWII started, of which are very interesting. You wouldn't expect it, but it's pretty good. 8/10

GAMEPLAY - Telekinesis couldn't have been done any better

Jesus, the gameplay is just incredible. You have six different psi powers at your disposal, of which you remember one-by-one throughout the game. Yes, only six. But that's far more than enough. You'd think that they would get old... but oddly enough, they don't. Neither does the backtracking you have to do. Again, yes, backtracking. I actually didn't mind it at all. Also, you'll only be using an Assault Gun throughout the game(you can change to about five other guns, but you won't) , but it doesn't seem that bad. Yes, the guns are uneven. No, that is not a problem. Despite these flaws, they don't detract from the gameplay AT ALL. Incredible job, Midway. 10/10

GRAPHICS - Arr, purple electricity... flow from my arm!

Err, the 'purple electricity' is the telekinesis coming from your arm to that you wish to pick up. The powers are done beautifully, although not entirely realistic. They aren't groundbreaking, but the power animations are great. 8/10

SOUND/MUSIC - AHHH! AHHH! MY FOOT!

Great. The voice acting is good, the psi sounds are convincing, and when you hurt an enemy they truly sound in pain. Oh, and by the way, that 'foot' thing is what one of the enemies yelled as I drained his mind. :-) Oh, did I mention the fact that Cold made a song for PO? "With My Mind". 9/10

LONGEVITY/REPLAY - I shall burn thee... again!

It's a tad short at 5-10 hours, but playing it over again really doesn't seem too much of a chore. There's a few cheats to use, and a ton of skins. Also, there's twelve 'evil garden gnomes' hidden throughout the game, and each one you collect will unlock a couple of extra features, so you'll be replaying a few levels to locate them. There's also four different game difficulty, so you'll be busy for a while. Did I mention the minigames? 8/10

BUY OR RENT?

Buy, definately. You'll love this game as everyone that bought it before you has.

//HOTM

VERDICT-

Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 10/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound/Music - 9/10
Longevity/Replay- 8/10
Ozzy Ozbourne look-alikes- 1

Oh, and if you're still wondering, the Ozzy-Osbourne twin is a guy by the name of Leonav... check the PO manual.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/04