I spent an unhealthy amount of time on conspiracy forums as a kid, so it stands to reason that I grew up with a grim fascination with stories concerning ESP abilities and MK Ultra experiments. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of media out there that properly explores these fringe concepts and their narrative potential (possibly because the government itself has recognized that most of this research was a gigantic and largely unethical waste of public resources).
That being said, one of my favorite representations of psionic powers and government conspiracies in media comes in the form of Midway Games’ underrated Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. A story-driven third-person shooter from 2004, the title may not have taken the gaming world by storm, becoming overshadowed by other high-profile releases of the time, but it was a lot more influential than most folks give it credit for. That’s why I think this rabbit hole is still worth diving into nearly two decades later.
Originally titled ESPionage and meant to release on the Nintendo GameCube, the project that became Psi-Ops stemmed from Midway’s desire to upgrade their physics engines to better incorporate realistic movement and collision simulation. From there, it was only natural that they’d want to include telekinesis and other forms of environmental manipulation in the project, which led to them coming up with a stealth adventure based on psionic powers. After a few test videos showing the higher-ups how the developers intended to translate these powers into gameplay, the title was approved and eventually re-named to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy.
In the finished game, players take on the role of Nick Scryer, an amnesiac Psi-Operative (a military agent gifted with psionic powers) who finds himself infiltrating a terrorist organization comprised of brainwashed soldiers and other ex-Psi-Operatives. Along the way, Nick must regain his old powers and memories while uncovering an apocalyptic conspiracy involving psi-enhancing artifacts, a megalomaniacal General and extra-dimensional threats.
Bullets are kind of redundant at this point.
The amnesiac military protagonist may be a near-comical cliché at this point, but Psi-Ops takes the concept into unexpected directions by incorporating Nick’s memories (or lack thereof) into gameplay. Whenever you receive a new power, Nick has a flashback to his previous psychic training that also serves as a player-friendly tutorial. It’s also a great excuse to let players uncover information that Nick should already know. Plus, there are some compelling narrative reasons for the main character’s predicament, even if the premise isn’t all that original.
Of course, the mechanics are the real star of the show here, with the simulated physics allowing for complex chain reactions involving object manipulation, flammable liquids and even detailed ragdoll animations (which is why throwing soldiers off ledges never gets old). The game’s fluid third-person shooting is also ahead of its time, facilitating console controls without resorting to a completely automated aiming system, though it’s largely overshadowed by the incredibly entertaining psi powers. While none of your unlocked abilities are as useful as the initial telekinesis, there are hours of sadistic fun to be had setting bad guys on fire and spying on them through remote viewing.
The conspiratorial atmosphere is also great, with the game setting up a web of intrigue surrounding these super-powered agents and the organization that’s controlling them. It’s all incredibly cheesy by modern gaming standards, but the title’s early 2000s charm makes the experience palatable (especially when you’re introduced to this world via the game’s theme song With My Mind, performed by Cold in a music video helmed by future The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb).
The title isn’t completely original in its conspiratorial ambitions, borrowing heavily from Metal Gear Solid’s political intrigue and colorful boss characters – as well cinematic classics like Cronenberg’s Scanners and John Carpenter’s They Live, with a few late-game elements inspired by Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond – but the remixing of these ideas into a single over-the-top package makes it feel unique among other games of the sixth console generation.
And while it’s not exactly a horror game, Psi-Ops is still a surprisingly grim experience, featuring plenty of bloody violence, existential dread and even Lovecraftian abominations from another dimension. However, the grisliest element of the game lies in its suicide mechanic, which allows you to jump into another character’s mind and force them to kill themselves instead of engaging in battle. Now that’s dark, especially when you consider that most of these soldiers are already fighting against their will.
Your neurons are mine!
I could go on gushing about this game for hours, praising its clever level design (that often requires you to combine powers in order to climb to previously unreachable places) and fun boss battles (that each focus on characters with stronger psi abilities than yourself), but that’s precisely why it’s such a shame that the game didn’t receive the marketing push that it deserved back in the day.
Despite rave reviews and even rumors about a potential film adaptation of its bonkers story, Psi-Ops was never a best-seller, eventually becoming relegated to bargain bins and online lists of sixth generation hidden gems. Fortunately, the game slowly accrued an online cult following over the years, and these fans are still demanding a sequel. I mean, the title literally concludes on a “to be continued” message, so it’s not surprising that it’s remembered as a huge missed opportunity for a “new” gaming franchise – though it’s unlikely that we’ll see a follow-up anytime soon.
The game also went on to influence other mental-power based titles like Control (which sometimes feels like a spiritual successor to Psi-Ops) as well as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (which used the same ragdoll physics technology). Hell, even Midway’s own Area 51 borrowed a bit from Psi-Ops’ conspiratorial narrative, though there’s still nothing out there that plays quite like the 2004 title.
These days, Psi-Ops is readily available online due to Midway having published a free ad-supported version of the title back in 2008 (which is the same thing that happened to Area 51), though its status as abandonware means that it will probably require quite a bit of tinkering in order to run on modern hardware. That begin said, I’d highly recommend checking the game out for yourself if you haven’t already, as it remains an unparalleled sci-fi thriller with addicting gameplay and a wild story.
That Cold song is a bit of a Nu Metal earworm, though, so gamers beware the real psi-op here.
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