John Vattic is very much a man who places mind over matter. Then again, that is to be expected of someone who can choke you to death from the other side of the room with his psychic abilities. Unfortunately for our protagonist, he doesn’t know how he can do this, where he is or even who he is, as all his recent memories have been wiped. So begins Free Radical’s latest game and much of their first-person shooter heritage is evident here in a blend of stealth and all out action, which seems to have sneaked up out of nowhere to become perhaps the sleeper hit of the year. Whereas most game plots can be summarised in a sentence (and an incomplete one at that – “Save girl!”), Second Sight’s strength is in its story. Initially you know nothing. You’ve woken up in a medical facility but thankfully you have the ability to use telekinesis to throw a switch the other side of the wall. Gradually as you play you remember psychic abilities – a few rooms down and you can heal yourself – and the story unfolds during the course of seventeen levels. Almost every other level takes place six months earlier, which shows Vattic to be a member of the WinterICE squad. Playing through these flashback levels then changes the story in the present, with the fates of your team and other characters changing as you discover the truth in the past. At least you think it’s the truth… it’s a story that will keep you engaged right until the very end and the high quality voice acting makes it all the more intriguing. The psychic abilities at Vattic’s disposal are spectacular to see and brilliant to use. Telekinesis allows you to move objects – be it a chair or a bewildered guard – and throw them elsewhere. You can also use it to pick up guns from distance, which is handy when you’re under fire – it makes you feel really powerful and it’s great to have the option to adopt a stealthy or all guns blazing approach to the levels. Controlling these psychic abilities could have been erratic but the control system is refined and easy to use – tap L to lock on an object, use the C stick to change targets and then R to (ab)use your powers. Other skills that get ‘rediscovered’ during the course of the game include the ability to heal, launch a blast of energy, ‘charm’ your way past guards so they can’t see you (unfortunately knocking them or getting spotted by a security camera will blow your cover) and the ability to project yourself, so you can hide around corner while seeing the dangers that lie ahead. However, this doesn’t make the game particularly easy, especially as your psychic powers are limited and when under attack it will barely refill. It’s certainly challenging in places, requiring you to think as well as go on the offensive. There’s also a great deal of variety in the game’s proceedings. Flashback levels often require you to work in a team with your fellow WinterICE members and this is where Free Radical’s first-person shooter experience comes into play. The arsenal of guns at your disposal is surprising and the sniper-rifle feature is especially well thought out. Instead of the whole screen going into scope mode, a little window appears in the bottom right corner, so you’ll be able to see if Vattic is exposed to enemies while he aims for the perfect headshot to take out a distant guard. Immensely satisfying is an understatement! While taking control of your team is hardly as intricate as the likes of Rainbow Six, it is important to keep track of your teams’ status otherwise you risk your own future as well as those of your fellow squad members. You even get sense of camaderie with all the banter and team briefings that occur – you save them and they’ll cover your back in return. Visually Second Sight is reminiscent of Timesplitters, with very stylised character models rather than a realistic approach. Whilst there are many critics to this, it does allow for more caricatured actions and behaviours, which fits the remit of the game suitably. While hardly spectacular, it would be overly critical to say it’s solid and functional (besides the sewer level – why oh why must there always be sewer levels in games? I’m sure focus groups are always filled with disgruntled gamers that say, “It looks good but I want to wade through sewage down monotonous tunnels for miles!”) and it contributes to the atmosphere of the game. The only real problem in this area is the camera. While Free Radical do give you the option to cycle though three viewpoints, you’ll often be facing the wrong way and struggling to find out where you are being shot at from. Grr. Aurally there are also similarities to Timesplitters, though once again this is no bad thing, as the soundtrack suits the locations and is distinctive. If there’s one area which holds back Second Sight from scoring higher is its length. It took less than nine hours for me to complete the game and there is very little incentive to go back, especially as it’s so based on the story. Perhaps you could get some replay value out of trying to complete the game in a different way or trying a harder difficulty but there seems to be little incentive for doing so. The beauty of Second Sight is that you can afford to experiment without being punished. It’s like a playground, except we’ve yet to see any kids float a guy in the air to then pull out a machine gun and riddle him with bullets – it seemed like a good analogy at the time, okay? You can skulk around corners with projection and take a softly-softly approach or cause as much havoc as possible. Not only does the level of freedom make for an extremely fulfilling experience but also it rewards you for not just route marching through a level with neat touches. For instance, after dispatching a guard you can log into a chatroom and see the other person get worried as no-one replies. Someone in a mental asylum tells tales of woe about how being a lead games programmer put him there. Take a disk to a computer and it allows you to play a little bonus shooter. Guards detect suspicious movements of CCTV cameras and track you down. There are lots of these magic moments that distinguish Second Sight from your average half-hearted affair and make it a memorable experience than one you’ll want to quickly see the back of. Certainly the only real grumbles are the length (or lack of it), the erratic camera and how sometimes you’ll be discovered, oblivious to what you’ve done wrong. With the originality and lack of competition, considering Midway’s peculiar Gamecube policies (no Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy), you’d certainly be out of your mind if you miss this!
Second Sight is a absolutely excellant game, the mix of stealth and shooting works brilliantly well constantly making you change your playing style, this is helped by the interweaving storyline. You'll play levels in the... Read Full Review
Second Sight is a wonderful game. From the makers of TimeSplitters, which are some of the finest FPS games avalabile, comes this wonderful third person stealth shooter adventure game. The game uses the main character's (... Read Full Review
