by:	August 05, 2004

From the beginning, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy was originally titled ESPionage but was renamed in November of last year. The new name fits perfectly as the game revolves around ‘Psi Powers’ and the story of Nick Scyer. Midway isn’t usually known for in depth games that involve complicated storylines and innovative gameplay techniques. Midway sure got it right with this new franchise and they might possibly flesh this series out into a bunch of sequels.

All ready stated is that you take control of Nick Scyer, what I forgot to mention is that he’s about to step one foot into the past and the other into a hell of trouble. Nick must stop ‘The Movement’ and its plans to take over the world. Yes, the simple global domination plot outline is used but there are plot twists along the way like Nick uncovering his own Psi Powers along the way. Nick will go through flashbacks which allow you to train to know how to use the newly acquired powers (or would it be dormant powers being sparked all over again?). Nick goes through hell and it would be better for his life if he didn’t have to uncover the whole truth all over again but Nick sticks it through the end mastering all the powers and actually becoming more powerful then all The Movement masterminds.

The Movement masterminds prove to be awesome boss battles. They may be a little on the easy side but just turn up the difficulty and see how you fair then. Each boss has a certain power they have concentrated their efforts on and understand completely. To quickly brief about who you will be facing I will pick out some important factors in a couple of the boss battles. Edgar Barret is this tall dark man that has the look of a Def Jam fighter (rappers) and gives off a presence of dominance. This presence is totally a well rounded feeling as he will try to intimidate Nick in many situations until they actually face off. Edgar has full control of his telekinesis and was the man who actually trained Nick. That’s right; Edgar faces off with his former apprentice I guess you can say and has past with Nick. The truth is, almost all the bosses somewhat of a past with Nick though a couple doesn’t as they were brought in by the General (the leader of the Movement). For example Jov Leonov would be a perfect example. He really has no past with Nick but is probably my favorite baddy out of them all. He is the meat puppet master and controls all the weak minds of The Movement they use to do the dirty work like getting thrown around by Nick through telekinesis, lit on fire by Nick through pyrokinesis and various, other Psi Powers Nick inflicts on them. Midway did a great job on creating characters I enjoyed and wanted to know more about their past.