GAME
Second Sight

Format: PS2
Codemasters/Free Radical Design
£39.99

5 024866 325492
Age Restrictions: 16+
Available
03 September 2004


Take control of John Vattic, as he awakens from a coma in a US medical facility where he has been subjected to traumatic surgery and experimentation. With the ability to psychically influence characters and remotely manipulate objects and individuals, Vattic must try to escape and unravel the mystery that has led to his imprisonment...

Second Sight is really two games in one. You play as Vattic as he is at the present moment (all bandaged up and wandering around a heavily guarded hospital) and then when you complete a level you are transported back in time in order to unravel a little more about how you came to be in this situation.

This is a neat idea and works really well. I especially loved the training level, which sees you attend an army barracks in order to get to grips with the controls. There is also a handy weapons training session - although to be honest, the aiming that you master here is never really put to use fully in the game, as once you are unleashed on real bad guys it's much simpler to just let the auto-aim do its job.

As you progress through the levels, not only do you collect different manual weapons (pistol, tranquilliser gun, shotgun and sniper rifle) but you also start to discover some of your psychic abilities. These include the ability to leave your body and travel around undetected, the ability to throw objects and people around the room and the ability to heal yourself.

The graphics are pretty impressive and, unusually for a game in this genre, you get a choice of three different camera angles. You can play with a fixed camera (a bit like Resident Evil), a camera that follows your character (like Tomb Raider) or a point of view camera - which is really only used for aiming at enemies, as you can't move while in this mode. Certain scenarios will call for different camera angles and it's great to be able to switch easily between all three.

A lot of fun can be had just wandering around the corridors and using your psychic abilities - throwing objects around the room and smashing windows by throwing chairs through them. It's also handy to build up a large arsenal of weapons by letting a guard spot you and radio for back-up. Then, just pick off the gunmen as they appear and collect their weapons. There's nothing more irritating than running out of ammo on later levels.

The controls are not easy to master and take quite some time to get used to. But stick with it, because the results are well worth the effort.

The only complaint we had was that you'll be able to complete this game fairly easily. But, even when you have finished it you can still replay it on the harder setting - which is a lot more challenging.

If you are looking for something a little different, a game that stand out from the crowd and screams originality, then Second Sight is for you. Damn addictive stuff!

Ray Thompson

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£29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)

   
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All prices correct at time of going to press.