Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy set the standard for telekinesis and psi powers in games
Telekinesis and other psi powers are topics not covered by video game developers as often as you might think. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy knew how to use them.
There was a time when Midway was really popular, and their games were a big hit. Although Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy was not one of the biggest successes of this publisher, it received a warm reception from players and reviewers, hitting the tastes of its audience well enough that many of them still remember this title with nostalgia. Let's recall what this creation had to offer and see if there's anything worth missing.
Shooter with a "twist"
At first glance, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy looked like an ordinary shooter, of which there were many on the market at the time. Watching the action from a third-person perspective, we controlled a muscular and heavily armed character who traversed through various levels and eliminated hordes of enemies. Nonetheless, the game had quite an interesting concept for itself.
Stealth elements were implemented in it. Even though this didn't make Psi-Ops a competitor for Splinter Cell, sneaking up behind enemies and eliminating them by surprise effectively diversified the gameplay. This was especially true for the first missions, when the protagonist's combat potential wasn't fully unlocked yet, and our abilities to deal with enemies were limited.
Nick, as the main character was named (about whom we will talk more in a moment), used guns on the battlefield. Besides a pistol with a silencer (useful when we wanted to remain discreet), he had a shotgun, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, and a machine gun at his disposal.
This is not the end, because our agent had one more ace up his sleeve. Actually, a few of them.
Psi powers
What distinguished Psi-Ops from other TPP shooters the most was the psionic powers that the main character possessed. Nick was gradually unlocking the potential of his mind, making use of supernatural abilities.
Among the protagonist's powers, telekinesis was the most prominent, thanks to which he could grab objects and throw them at enemies, as well as lift opponents and hurl them at others. Telekinesis also came in handy for environmental puzzles that occasionally blocked our path, forcing us to arrange objects into structures to reach otherwise inaccessible areas.
Although the most impressive, telekinesis was just one of many psi abilities that Nick had. Another one is draining energy from the minds of enemies and taking control of them, remote vision allowing us to "go out of body" and viewing the immediate area, aura viewing, and finally pyrokinesis, giving us power over fire.
Having those powers eventually caused the regular enemies to be almost no threat to us. Nonetheless, we also regularly had to face bosses (also equipped with psionic abilities), as well as enemies resistant to our tricks.
The game had 8 missions, which took about 12-14 hours to complete (according to HowLongToBeat).
Plot bracket
In 2004 and 2005, the idea that the storyline wasn't important in action games became outdated. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy thus had a quite interesting story to tell, in which the main character was Nick Scryer, an agent with the titular psi powers. What's true, his attempt to infiltrate The Movement burned out, and he himself was caught. Nonetheless, he was prepared for such a situation, undergoing a memory wipe procedure before going into action.
During the game, we accompanied Nick on his ordeal, helping him regain his lost memories and, consequently, the powers he possessed, while simultaneously trying to thwart the terrorists' plans. Scryer wasn't on his own; he had Sara Blake with him, who was supposedly his work buddy.
Problematic development
Psi-Ops was released on PlayStation 2 and Xbox in June 2004, and then it came to PC in February 2005. The title was met with a positive reception from players and industry media, enjoying an average rating of 84/100 on Metacritic. Even though the game was made in a hurry, it still managed to be a success artistically. Unfortunately, high ratings didn't go hand in hand with equally high sales figures. Psi-Ops was a commercial failure, which is why it never got a sequel, although one was already planned by Midway Games.
Unique competition with Second Sight
Interestingly, at the same time as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy was being developed, another game about psi powers was also in the works. The Free Radical Design studio, known mainly for the TimeSplitters series, created Second Sight, which was released on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube in September 2004, and hit rigs in... February 2005. Players eager for fun with supernatural abilities could therefore choose between two thematically related games. However, it must be admitted that in terms of received ratings, Second Sight performed worse than the title described in this article, with an average score on Metacritic ranging from 73 to 77 out of 100 (depending on the platform).
How to play Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy today?
At the time of writing these words, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is not available on either Steam nor GOG.com. The same applies to console stores of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Interestingly, in 2008, a free version of it with ads appeared, but it has since disappeared without a trace.
As for the disc version - the PC edition can be purchased for around 2-4 bucks. The release for Xbox and PlayStation 2 costs around 15 dollars.
Games similar to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Perhaps this comparison might be a bit of an exaggeration, but Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy has quite a lot in common with Control from Remedy Entertainment studio. Both games have a slightly futuristic vibe, and we control a character who can shoot, use telekinesis, and manipulate minds. Nonetheless, in terms of development, Control "eats Psi-Ops for breakfast."
- Midway (company)
- oldschool / retro
- TPP action games
- Retro Gaming
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Author: Christian Pieniazek
Started working with Gamepressure.com in August 2016. Although the Game Encyclopedia has been his pride and joy from the beginning, he also writes for the Newsroom and the Editorial section. Gained professional experience through a now-defunct service, in which he worked for almost three years. Graduated in Cultural Studies at the AGH University of Krakow. Runs his own business, jogs, cycles, loves mountain hiking, is a fan of nu metal, is interested in space, and of course, enjoys playing games. Feels best in action games with an open world and RPGs, although won't turn down good racing or shooting games.
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