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With all the marketing and hype surrounding the recent release of Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, it’s
become the general opinion of consumers that Free Radicals’ (the team behind the
highly acclaimed TimeSplitters) Second Sight is little more than a cash-in on
Midway’s success. However, the fact that Second
Sight actually made it to the shop shelves two
weeks prior to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate
completely negates this argument in my view. Also, both companies had teams developing
games based around psychic powers - which actually seems to be a complete coincidence
– both companies would have had the games in development for some time before
announcing them to the public, and both titles were shown
running within weeks of each other, an effort that would have taken somewhat more time
to achieve on Free Radical’s part.
Second Sight then, rather than merely a
money-spinner,  appears instead to be Free
Radical’s effort to branch into new territory. For the first time, the company had a
project running alongside the development of the
new TimeSplitters instalment, and all the
trademark Free Radical design remains. Each of the characters (although some have remained
substantially more two-dimensional than others) has the look of Free Radical’s design
and feature a multitude of facial expressions. To this extent, the game’s graphics
are more than adequate. Although not excelling at any particular trait, the polygon count
and frame-rate are very reliable which results in very little slowdown. Some of the
lighting effects featured in the game are a little impressive, as well as the grainy
effect used when your Psi-Powers are depleted.
The plot of the game sees you travelling between two time zones, both occurring
within the game’s main character’s life. You begin playing on a hospital-style
bed in some sort of institution. You are soon slung into a world where fear is your ally,
and intimidation is often the key to your success. Within minutes of the action breaking
loose, you travel back in time - six months earlier, you have been recruited into a
military team to infiltrate a Russian base and discover their secret operations. I
won’t delve any further into the plot, due to fears of revealing too much about the ever-twisting story.
Throughout the game you will encounter both blazing gunfights and puzzles which
attempt to be mind-bending. Most of the puzzles within the game you will pass with
invariable ease; destroying cameras, sneaking past guards, opening doors using computers,
but there is the odd “stumper” in there. Along with the usual array of military
firepower such as rifle’s, handguns and SMG’s, you also have several psychic
abilities. These are, quite obviously, the main element of the game and feature some
pretty smart abilities and deadly attacks – although often you may find that relying
on these powers to dispatch guards is not quite as effective as capitalising on the
enemies dropped weaponry.
Although the game doesn’t seem to push any boundaries or really offer too much
that you haven’t seen before, it does provide a worthwhile, rewarding and, above all
– fun experience. Free Radical’s own insistence on the title receiving a
GameCube release show’s some faith in the console as a base platform, rather than the
speciality console it appears to have become in the UK, but still with only 15 hours of
play for the average gamer and, sadly, next to no replay value, the game feels more of a
good attempt at a great game then the shining beacon of Free Radical’s innovation it
should have been.
 
Kev J.
Reviews
Score Table Interpretation.
24/10/04
Return to the GameCube in-depth reviews archive here.
Each of these articles has been written either
independently of Electronic Theatre or by an external viewer. The opinions
discussed in these articles in no way reflects the opinions of Electronic Theatre.
If you wish to enquire about pricing of any titles
for these formats not listed on this site, drop me a line at kjoyce@electronictheatre.co.uk |
