Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

"If only it were longer..."

Story- 8/10
Graphics- 9/10
Music and Sound- 8/10
Game Play and Control- 9/10
Difficulty and Length- 5/10
Replay Value/Extras- 10/10
Overall- 8/10

Story-

The story of Psi-Ops is actually very well done, and interesting. The main character is a man named Nick Scryer. Nick is a seasoned combat veteran who gets "planted" and captured in an operation against the terrorist organization known as "The Movement". He soon discovers that his memory was erased, and that he is actually a secret agent for a government organization known as Mindgate. Armed with his own arsenal of psi powers(see "Game Play and Control") he must stop The Movement's master plan. It may not be the deepest story out there, but it does contain some very good plot twists, and is one of the coolest stories on the gaming market.

Graphics-

Simply put...amazing. Despite the fact that it only has one complete CG sequence, Psi-Ops has some of the best, if not the best, in-game graphics for a PS2 title. Sometimes, however, you can tell that it's pushing the system to it's limits(not in a good way). Shadows for environments are excellent and react accordingly with the light, but the shadows for the characters themselves are just dark blobs. The particle system they use is unbelievable, and makes all the psi powers look incredible. Fire looks, and acts, like fire. Water looks, and acts, like water. Midway did a superb job creating this game's visuals. Psi-Ops also uses Havok's rag doll engine, and, because of this, has some of the best physics in a video game. Something that is kind of disappointing though is the frame rate. The game looks great, and the FR usually holds up, but because of telekinesis and the physics engine, it is actually pretty easy to completely freeze the game. I don't mean stop it for a few seconds until it moves again...I mean you are going to have to restart your PS2 if you want to keep playing.

Music and Sound-

Most of the music in Psi-Ops isn't very memorable. They did get COLD to do a theme song for them, but other than that and a few other orchestrated pieces, this game doesn't offer much music wise. The sound effects aren't bad either, and are actually very well done, but, like the music, it just is not something you will really care about or remember after you are through playing.

Game Play and Control-

Psi-Ops would be your typical third person shooter if it wasn't for one thing...psi powers. As you progress through the game, Nick will gain the ability to do certain things with his mind. These are his psi powers, and they allow him to use: Telekinesis(TK)- the ability to move objects with your mind, Pyrokinesis(PK)- the ability to create fire, Remote Viewing(RV)- the ability to leave your body and pass through doors, Mind Control(MC)- the ability to control enemy's actions, Aura View(AV)- the ability to see into another dimension, and Mind Drain(MD)- the ability to drain the mind powers of others. Each of these abilities adds a layer of game play and strategy. They are also simple to use and make the game incredibly addictive. The control for this game is great. It's actually considerably deep, and can take days to fully master Nick's abilities. One small problem I found was that it took a while to get used to aiming, but there is an auto aim feature that helps slightly. The only bad part about the game play is that there is a very limited amount of enemy types (six or seven in all), and it does make the game repetitive at times.

Difficulty and Length-

Psi-Ops gives you four difficulty levels, and all of them correspond accordingly(easy is easy, hard is hard, etc). The length of this title, however, isn't too great, and it can be completed in only 5 hours. Midway could have easily made this game longer, but for some reason they felt the need to cram everything into a very short, but great, occurrence. Luckily, the replay value and extras in the game make up for the short-lived experience.

Replay Value/Extras-

On top of the four difficulty levels you have: 20+ characters to unlock, 13 hidden missions, 5+ battle modes, the ability to watch the game's cut-scenes, and various other goodies. Unlocked from the start is a training room that "updates" as you go through the game, and is a great way to practice your psi powers. There is also a special features section that has some other cool things to watch.

Rent or Buy?

This title is a buy. You can find this game, new(if you look hard enough), for the same price it would cost you to rent it. The numerous extras and multiple levels of difficulty make this title more than worth your hard earned cash...

Overall- 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/05