Second Sight's uninspired gameplay undermines a very interesting premise.
Cons: Not enough to do with the psychic powers; Repetitive, awkward combat; PC port is pretty bad
Some concepts work better as games than they do in other mediums. For instance, if you told me that there was a movie about a psychic amnesiac who needs to unravel a conspiracy dependent upon a mission gone wrong in Soviet Russia, I would probably write it off as cheesy and contrived. However, if you told me that there was a game with that same premise, I'd be all over it. There's something inherently fun about the idea of psychic powers, and I'm more receptive to absurd conspiracy plots for it. That above concept line is what drew me to Second Sight initially. Second Sight is that absurd but fun game in concept. Unfortunately the execution leaves much to be desired.
When I picture psychic powers, I think of moving things with my mind, flinging them around like ragdolls. I think of reading people's thoughts. I think of manipulating people's thoughts. The issue is that Second Sight doesn't really allow me to really play with any of those abilities. Telekinesis IS included in the game, but the objects you can move are fairly limited, and the cursor typically defaults to people anyway (not that flinging people around isn't fun the first few times). You CAN manipulate people's thoughts, either by turning invisible or (later) possessing them. But you can't really do anything else while invisible, and possessed enemies do nothing but shoot and press buttons.
The psychic abilities are simply too limited. I want to have fun toying with my telekinetic powers, but all I can do is move boxes and people, and push buttons. I want to make guards do stupid things when I possess them, but I can't even enact friendly fire without every guard pinpointing my actual location. Invisibility is even kind of boring because it only lasts a few seconds and I can't do anything else while invisible. The levels certainly don't help encourage creative play, choosing instead to offer repetitive battle encounters and clearly telegraphed opportunities for stealth.
If you regularly read my reviews and this is the point where you expect me to flip around and start praising the story, then you're half right. The plot does take some interesting turns (that I won't spoil). Furthermore, the pacing of the plot (unlike the pacing of the gameplay) is actually pretty well done, as it jumps back and forth between two timelines and doles out little bits of information piece by piece. That said, the plot is predictable and the writing isn't particularly great, especially considering how bland the characters are. So no free pass there either.
I really can't recommend Second Sight, as much as I want to endorse a fun psychic game. Because, the fact is that Second Sight really isn't that game. It has its heart in the right place, and I did find myself having fun a bit, and maybe I was even interested in the plot occasionally; but it really is fairly middle-of-the-road in all respects, and not really worth your time when there are better alternatives.