The mind is a more powerful weapon than that machinegun slung around your shoulder.
You play Nick Scryer, an agent in an organization called Mindgate, a special branch of the U.S. Military that specializes in operations using psychic powers. Mindgate plans an attack on an enemy organization called The Movement, which contains some traitors from Mindgate. Scryer must undergo facial construction as to not be recognized, and his mind must be wiped so his powers can be hidden from the enemy PSI probes.
The attack is rather futile, as Nick and his comrades are captured and jailed. Nick wakes up in a cell, and meets Sara Blake, an inside agent spying on the Movement for Mindgate. Sara gives Nick a gun and frees him. Later on, she injects Nick with a substance which will bring back his memories piece by piece, along with his powers.
Telekinesis is the first power on your arsenal. Telekinesis, or TK for short, allows you to pick up objects whether they be crates, barrels, or people, and move or fling them around. The game has an interesting humor to it, being able to use PSI powers to eliminate unsuspecting enemies.
You can use Telekinesis to fling guys into walls, into explosive barrels, or into their allies. Use Mind Drain to regain your PSI power, and drain an unsuspecting enemy to make their head explode (hence the M rating). Use Pyrokinesis to lit 'em up. Take over their minds with Mind Control for some fun. Make them jump into a pool of acid, or maybe use them to fire on their own guys.
The controls in the game are a little loose, but the PSI powers are well arranged on the controller, being within easy reach (the Telekinesis button is the left trigger, use the right thumbstick to move the lifted object around, release the button while using the thumbstick to hurl the object). You play the game in third-person, and the movement controls are a little tough to get the hang of, and so are the PSI powers, which make the learning curve on this game a little bit longer.
The physics of the game are incredible, being powered by the Havok physics engine. Lifting an object with Telekinesis is a sight to see. If it's slightly tapped while floating, it'll spin slightly, and if thrown, it'll bounce around like something its weight should. You can even climb onto an object and lift it up to "TK Surf," or ride on the lifted object.
The game is sort of short, but the game has a rather morbid storyline, some of the levels being dark and scary, ranging from an office maze with rippling illusions and echoing reminders of the past, to a castle filled with hostile beasts from another dimension. Unfortunately, the game has a cliffhanger ending, easily the calling card for a sequel.
The music isn't the focal point of the gameplay, and is rather quiet through most of the game, except for the combat situations, which seems to be thirty seconds of action which happen over and over through the game. There are bosses in the game, more powerful PSI agents, and conventional tactics are useless, (you can't Mind Control a PSI agent, for example.)
There are a few extras to unlock in the game, by collecting "Evil Garden Gnomes" (what is Midway up to?) to unlock bonus missions, highly specific scenarios, in which you'll normally be given something to do, and can only use the powers mentioned.
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy was a good game, but it could've been a little better if the controls were tighter, and if the game was a tad longer.