Psi-ops

[John Beaulieu]

game starts off with some nice cgi cutscenes (really good quality which kinda explains the story well), then it kicks into a stealth game with tons of shooting .... very much in a syphon filter stylee (what the new syphon filter should have been imo)........

but then, midway through the first level, you start to 'remember' you psi powers ................. and oh my god, but does this game jump in quality from this moment onwards.

Psi powers are taught to you in flashbacks ... training sequences are remembered which let you learn a new psi power at a time. first one is the psi power of telekinisis, learning how to manipulate objects with your mind. you start off learning how to pick things up, then go on to throwing them, then using them to manipulate other objects (like picking up a huge metal crate, and then dropping it on a guards head )

just love how you can grab a guard with TK (very jedi-esque indeed) and then start bouncing the guard off the nearest wall (leaving resplendant blood stains and all that). then you really start having fun.....

for example, i picked up a gas cylinder and threw it at one guard, it blew up and set a barrel on fire.......so i picked up another guard (who was shouting 'oh ****tttttttt') took him as high as possible, then dropped him in the fire.....then picked him back up (still on fire) and threw him at another guard, who fell off the ladders he was coming down and fell to his doom........mucho mucho fun

graphically its not bad .. textures are good, nice effects like reflective puddles of water on the floor etc. animation is pretty good as well

will post more when i venture further (just having too much fun tormenting guards at the mo with my TK powers)

[marcus]

Had a quick blast of this myself earlier. Pretty much agree with you, first impressions are very positive indeed, what gets me is the sheer amount of potential choices you have at your disposal of different ways to dispatch enemies. Do you decide to lauch him through the air, throw a crate at him or better still a explosive container, or cruelly lift him up and take pot-shots at him until he dies. Throwing guards through the air never stops being fun, Ive already died myself though by hurling a pressure tank at me instead of away in a heated moment. The game seems very dark, Im hoping this guy can get hold of a torch at some point, and I keep wanting for an FPS view on occasion but the controls seem reasonably tight so given time Ill be able to compensate. I hadnt heard of this until you mentioned it to me recently, Im unsure as to how popular it will be, but it would be a shame if it wasnt as I can see so much potential in this title.

[Eight Rooks]

I hadnt heard of this until you mentioned it to me recently, Im unsure as to how popular it will be, but it would be a shame if it wasnt as I can see so much potential in this title.

O_o

I, um, take it you haven't been on Gamespot or Gamespy et al much recently? Midway seem to have been carpet-bombing most of the major gaming sites with ads for this one. I'm actually really pleasantly surprised at the positive responses I've been seeing so far, given it's something that IMO is being hyped to death and is from Midway... first The Suffering (well, I liked it ) and now this. Someone in their acquisitions department maybe deserves a raise...

Too long until the PAL version, though, so I'll just have to be jealous of all you importers until then.

[nips]

Yeah, Gamespy have been pushing Psi-Ops quite a lot. Their weekly e-mail reads: "Psi-Ops Blows Our Mind." Here's thier review section.

[samoht]

Someone in their acquisitions department maybe deserves a raise...

It's an internal project that was developed out of Midway's Chicago studio

[Spatial]

Damn, I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive.

I've been looking forward to this one for ages as the TK powers and the use of physics looks ace.

:goes back to practice typing using only his mind:

[PeteJ]

The demo was neat; I recommend trying the training room if they've included it in the full game. You get all the powers and can mess about with the cool physics.

I really like how you can pick up objects with your psi powers and ride them about, but the controls are a bit limited. You can only move them about on a 2D plane and not up or down, which is a pain.

Picking up an enemy and shooting them while they are in the air is fun, though.

[martTM]

I have to admit, I'm amazed how much I'm enjoying this - particularly as it's by Midway who, in my mind, hasn't really released much in the way of decent games for a long while. The Psi powers are really what makes the game... tossing explosive cylinders down corridors without looking, then hearing the screams of guards as they burn to a crisp, making heads pop with the Mind Drain power and even throwing guards into a furnace at one point, and that's just in the first area. Great fun and really easy to play, despite sounding rather complex.

Only criticism is definitely the light level; it's really dark in places, making it hard to see what's going on. Oh, and that that camera controls disappear when you're using Psi powers - if you're holding an explosive can over a balcony and want to drop it on a guard below, you can't actually look down to see where he is because the right stick controls where the can goes, rather than the camera. Annoying, but guess there's only so much you can do with two analogue sticks. Still, great game from what I've played so far (up to the beginning of the second 'section'... so a long way to go yet).

[martTM]

I really like how you can pick up objects with your psi powers and ride them about, but the controls are a bit limited. You can only move them about on a 2D plane and not up or down, which is a pain.

Not strictly true... on the Xbox version, the analogue trigger allows you lift and drop an object depending on how far in you push the button. Gentle pressure lifts it a hair, while full press raises it high. Plus you can use the special 'double lift' move to raise an object even higher if you need it. It's only when going down that causes the problem - you have to drop it, then try and catch the object again on the way down. Tricky, but possible with practice.

[Eight Rooks]

It's an internal project that was developed out of Midway's Chicago studio

O_o again. Even more surprising.

I'm sold, I think. Although I'm sure I'll continue to torment myself by reading about other people playing it until it finally gets over here.

[gismalla]

Anyone played the co-op mode yet? One person can control the guy and his guns, while the other controls his PSI powers. Could be amazing and that, but I've not had chance to try it yet. Co-op Ico sounded like the best thing ever, too, until the actuality of it made my eyes go crying.

[PeteJ]

Thanks Mart, I wasn't aware of that.

Coop mode? I really wasn't aware of that! Could be really cool, something a bit different. Could be crap still, mind.

Review on its way whenever my copy turns up!

[MJ]

I followed this on GameSpot and they've given it a positive review.

I'm looking forward to playing this title and utilising Nick's powers, it seems to offer something different.

I'm waiting for my copy to arrive.

[Tig]

I want to know how this game will compare to Free Radical's 'Second Sight', which is essentially the same idea - telekinesis/floating object jiggery-pokery, married to more traditional gunplay. Not sure if you can surf on objects in SS, though.

[martTM]

It's the same concept, but it's not - Psi-Ops is very American gung-ho, in that you can rush around and blow the **** out of anything. Second Sight, however (which I'm playing at the mo) is far, FAR more stealth based and requires some thought - you can't just run out and blast anything, unless you fancy getting cut down in a hail of gunfire. Plus much of the gunplay/psychic stuff is separated - the 'Before' segments offer blasting fun, while the 'After' bits are psychic based, unlike Psi-Ops which gives you both teets at once. Second Sight's a lot more story led and subtle, as well as being slower; it takes a lot longer for you to access your various skills. Not that that's bad... I just need to get out of the Psi-Ops frame of mind before I can really start enjoying it.