May 12th, 2011
By MegaGamer2010

Genre: Action/Adventure/Stealth Shooter
System: Gamecube, Xbox, Playstation 2
Developer: Free Radical Design
Publisher: Codemasters
Release Date: TBA 2011

Free Radical Design, mostly known for their fine TimeSplitters games, is going in a completely different direction. Their newest project, Second Sight, is looking to deliver an action/stealth/shooter combination with an eerie story.

The game opens with the main character, John Vattic, being held in a prison after awakening from a long coma. The strange thing is that he has no clue how he got there, and his first images when waking were of doctors and masks. He is left with only but confusing dreams and a lone scar, the first bits of clue that will help him to figure out what what the hell happened to him.

Vattic appears to have two forms, one is a wild, power seeking, psychic wielding maniac, and the other is a geeky, mild mannered man. What seems to be very compelling is the way the game will unfold. It will begin in the present, leaving you to try and discover clues to your imprisonment. However, the game will shift into flashbacks that will inevitably effect the future. Basically, your actions in the past will change the present. For instance, if you save Jane, a woman from the Siberia fiasco that is John's last memory, she will be listed as incarcerated in the present. Then you must rescue her to try to salvage some clues.

The interesting thing is that if you fail a mission, you will be presented with a cut-scene involving scientists provoking you and telling you that you killed her, while will bring out the powers buried in Vattic. Basically, the only real way to understand your powers is through failure. The more the story progresses, the more you feel it was actually you, Vattic, who killed all your friends and caused the mission to go drastically wrong.

The gameplay of Second Sight takes quite a few pointers from both 007: Everything or Nothing and Splinter Cell. Vattic will have a whole array of weapons ranging from machine guns to tranquilizers at his disposal, and the targeting system for firing these weapons is very similar to that of Everything or Nothing. A click of a button will lock on to the enemy, and then you can either fire right away or use the analog stick to adjust the crosshair to a different body part. In addition, there are many stealthy moves that draw directly from good old Splinter Cell. You can hug walls, shoot around corners, and get enemies into neckholds and either stealth kill them by snapping their neck or using their worthless bodies as shields.

Psychic powers is what sets Second Sight apart from most games. There are the basic powers, including heal, a psi attack, and an area stun that will leave enemies around you unable to attack. Then there are more interesting powers like telekinesis that will allow to pick up and move just about any object. You can move the objects around rooms or use them as projectiles and kill enemies with them. Telekinesis can also be used on the run and it has more interesting uses, including breaking cameras, holding up helpless enemies and pumping them full of bullets, or picking up a large sign and using it as a shield to protect yourself from enemy gunfire. Each time you use psychic powers will drain a psi meter that will replenish itself with time.

One of the other powers is charm, which will allow you to move past guards unseen and they won't be alarmed as long as you don't make two much noise. The last ability is called projection, which will let you have an "out of body experience". Basically, this "other you" will be able to move through lasers, past cameras and enemies, etc, undetected. You can also use it to take control of an enemy and use him to blast all of his friends. Be aware that while using this the real Vattic will be completely open so be sure to hide him in a safe place.

The flashack levels occur before Vattic has his psychic powers. They will put you into a squad (not in command, mind you), and basically you follow their orders. It is important to do what you are told because if you don't the person you are covering will most likely end up dead.

The game will have a TimeSplitters look too it, the characters will all have that cartoony type look. Right now, the engine the game runs on looks like it will deliver some pretty nice graphics with good special effects. Not the best graphics ever, but above par.

Console shooter fans should have a lot to look forward to with this one. Be sure to keep an eye on it in the near future.