Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy E3 2004 Preshow Hands-On Impressions

At a recent pre-E3 press event, we got to play a nearly complete version of Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, an upcoming third-person adventure that combines action and stealth elements with a host of pretty-interesting psychic powers. You'll take control of Nick Scryer, a psychic soldier formerly under the tutelage of the American government. Scryer will be fighting against The Movement, a terrorist organization with its own psychics that are bent on enacting its nefarious plans.

The psychic powers are the real star of Psi-Ops, and you'll have a lot of them to play with. Of course, telekinesis lends itself particularly well to action games, and in this game, telekinesis is front and center. You'll use this power primarily to pick up objects in the environment and sling them around at enemies--or you can just pick up the enemies directly. One interesting use of this power we saw was dubbed "telekinetic surfing," and it involved picking up an object and having Scryer ride the object across an obstacle. You'll also be able to control enemies' minds to make them do your bidding; you'll be able to use "remote viewing" to see around corners and obstacles; and you'll be able to use pyrokinesis to start fires. Interestingly, each of Psi-Ops' bosses will focus on one of Scryer's own powers, so you'll have to find a way to beat each one at his or her own game.

Psi-Ops has eight missions spread over a linear story arc, and it's said to contain between 15 and 20 hours of gameplay. The not-quite-final build we played seemed solid and ran well, so we imagine the team won't have much problem getting the game on to shelves in time for its June release. Stay tuned for more on Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy.