Second Sight
Posted by Morphine Jim on January 10, 2005

Psychic powers in a videogame is a rarely mined source of innovation. The idea of using telekinetic powers in a game is a very, very pleasing one and one not often seen. It comes as somewhat of a kick in the pants to both Midway and Codemasters, then, that both companies released videogames featuring heavy use of psychic powers practically at the same time. Both also star bald men who wake up with no memory and gradually learn their powers over the course of the game. Yeah.... shit.

Midway released Psi-Ops, an action-orientated, gun and mind-power thrill ride, which ironically, is the title out of the two that I actually wanted. I am yet to buy it. Instead, for reasons known as "Me finding it cheap", I actually picked up Codemasters's more stealthy, story driven title Second Sight. And now I'll review Halo 2.

Just kidding.

The slapheaded star of Second Sight is a one John Vattic, who finds himself in a foreboding clinical insititute as a complete mess. He's covered in cuts and bruises, with no memory of who or where he is and no clue what caused him to get into this mess. As he attempts to escape from the facility, while hounded by guards, he slowly realises his own powers, starting with telekineses and growing into a wide array of useful, detection dodging tools, such as faux-invisibility, psi-blasts and possession.

The game takes place over two different periods. One is during Vattic's current state, bald, beaten and confused, while the other takes place six months in the past, where we see the nerdy Dr. Vattic brought on board as an advisor to military unit WinterICE on their way to Siberia to capture renegade scientist Dr. Grienko. Played as flashbacks, Second Sight pieces together the disasterous mission of WinterICE, the work of Grienko and the sinister reasons for Vattic's current torment. The plot is definitely Second Sight's strongest point, and is definitely one of the most engaging stories of recent titles, with a healthy heaping of intrigue, plot twists and flat out confusion. It's deep, it's intelligent but it never takes itself too seriously, with plenty of over the top characters and events. It's just an incredibly well put-together sci-fi yarn.

The gameplay is split just as the story is, with the modern day sections being very stealth oriented, relying on John's mental abilities to confuse and evade the enemy, with the flashback scenarios being more typical third person shooting fare. Thankfully the styles never seem to jar and you should adjust pretty well to the extended bouts of sneaking and shooting. The more-action driven sequences are all solid, which is to be expected from developer Free Radical, which, as you know, are the brains behind popular first person shooter Timesplitters series. Much of it is sniping as opposed to run and gunnery, with a very nicely implemented sniper scope in the corner of the screen that allows you to zoom in without changing camera perspectives. As nice as the shooting is, however, it's the mind warping shiznit that we're really interested. Let us procceed onto the fun stuff.

Far from Siberia and avoiding medical security and the armed forces, the John Vattic of the present day is much more than a nerdy doc with a little sniping experience. You start out with the ability to manipulate inanimate objects with the power of your mind, which remains the staple ability of your arsenal through much of the game. Implementing this power in Second Sight is somewhat fiddly and takes some getting used to, but you do get used to it. Pressing and holding L2 allows you to target the nearest object or person, and pressing R2 then allows you to move your targetted object around with the right analog stick. This targetting system is also implemented when shooting and using other psychic abilites. In fact, the controls throughout Second Sight are complicated and it really doesn't pay to start playing this then taking a week or two break from it, as you'll easily forget what the hell does what.

Eventually, Vattic becomes a psychic powerhouse, with his telekineses upgraded to allow you to hoist guards off their feet and throw them around, the ability to shoot blasts of pure energy at enemies, a 'charm' ability that renders you invisible to the human eye (though detectable by security cameras) and one of the coolest skills, projecting yourself from your body, allowing you to slip past lazers and possess enemies to do your bidding, be it activate a switch or just blast their comrades. There is also an invaluable healing ability which, obviously, replenishes lost health, so long as you can find a nice spot to do it uninterrupted. You can use your powers for as long as you psi-gauge allows, a power meter that refills over time.

It is with these skills that Vattic must get through buildings, sewers and slums, avoiding detection whenever possible. This can be very fun, and while it's not open ended by any means, you do get a level of choice when deciding how best to get past a section. You can take control of a box and knock a guard down with it, make a cupboard door open and flap shut to make someone think they're going crazy, saunter past while invisible or just pick up an enemy and pull him over to give him a swift kicking in a more secluded spot.

As fun as it is, there are some annoyances that are all too prevelant. For one, there's so much trial and error it's not funny. Getting caught usually throws an onslaught of new guards your way, and there's no killing them all and moving on. The only option is to hide and wait for the chase to be called off, after which time all guards will return, including those you already offed when you were undetected. The game seems to rely too much on repeating sections over, the most irritating times being where you're detected by security cameras that you had no way of seeing.

Then there are things that should be way more satisfying. The cutscene in which Vattic's telekineses is upgraded shows him lifting up a guard and slamming him brutally in the wall. This doesn't happen in the game. They just sorta roll around in the air screaming while a small speck of blood flies out each time you rub them, slowly and unimpressively, against a surface. It's neat when you send them smashing through windows and dropping them from a great height, but overall, it's just not as much fun as it should be. There are also annoyances that are pure stealth fodder - guards seeing you without you even realising what you did wrong, and you getting generally fucked when cornered. At times, Second Sight exemplifies some of the worst aspects of the broken genre that is stealth.

The game isn't consistent in its irksome problems, but when they arise, they can be very frustrating and put a dampener on the whole experience. Luckily the title's best moments are very impactful and wipe all the bad memories away. There are some tense moments, as well as well as some balls to the wall blasting fun to be had. Though there could definitely have been more oomph behind your psychic skills, you'll definitely have fun playing around with your flailing foes and you'll be kept on your toes throughout. One of the nicer elements to Second Sight are the little touches thrown in by Free Radical. You can play on an arcade machine in one of the bases, and checking the computer of a recently killed soldier shows he was chatting to his girlfriend on a messenger just beforehand, with her now asking where he's gone. It's these little additions that put that extra spot of polish on the game.

The game is very similar to Timesplitters in terms of visual design. The characters models all have that exaggerated, slightly cartoony look to them, and it all looks very bright and bold, which is a strange look for a game with such dark undertones. It does, however, serve merely to keep things from being too dark and gloomy, in keeping with the desire to not be 100% serious, and doesn't detract from the story. The ragdoll physics used for throwing about objects and people is near flawless (This is how it's done, so-called Killzone) and adds extra fun to the proceedings. This is definitely a very sweet looking game.

On the sound front, I was definitely pleased. The vocal work is impeccable, with slightly overplayed performances that fit in with the title's look, bolstered by a nice sci-fi thriller styled soundtrack. The sound effects are suitable, if not awe inspiring, but ties everything together to produce a technically sleek game, fitting of Free Radical.

The Good

- One of the best storylines around
- Well implemented psychic abilites in a stealth setting
- Solid gunplay segments
- Looks and sounds the dog's bollocks (That means good tee hee)

The Bad

- Relies on trial and error a few too many times
- Psychic powers not as exciting as they could've been
- Some ancient stealth problems

And The Psyche'

Although I can't compare Second Sight to Psi-Ops, I can at least confirm that this is one of those lamentably obscure gems that deserves more respect. Yeah, it can be annoying at times, but that can be forgiven in light of some wonderful moments, refreshing take on the generally rubbish stealth genre and plenty of action thrown in at just the right moments. The story of John Vattic's ordeal is highly impressive and keeps the brain ticking over the whole time. Slowly things get more and more engrossing, confusing and questionable, all in a good way, of course. It's a shame that this, like so many non-mainstream titles, has not made a big impact with the masses. I strongly suggest you check this one out if this review has pique'd your interest, because you'll be rewarded with a fine, fine experience if you do.

"Look at me. I want to help you. I'm your friend. I'm the only friend you have left." - Hanson (not the band lol lol lol)