So it's unfortunate that Psi-Ops' unique premise and solid engine end up wasted on pedestrian game design and an unfulfilling story. And this title's strengths represent a high-water mark for publisher Midway. You really can't even use telekinesis to move guards around from a hiding place – you can't levitate anything unless you see it, and if you can see the guards, they can see you.Īll the same, there's no denying that it's fun to lift someone with the power of your mind, then slam him into a brick wall a few times. Just like Solid Snake, Nick can pick up a sniper rifle and pick off guards at a distance – except you'd have to be a fool to use it, because the second you do, guards start materializing out of nowhere again. Indeed, if Psi-Ops' designers are trying to create the next Metal Gear Solid, they've got a long way to go. To compensate for this lack of strategic gameplay, life-restoring medical kits are liberally spread about (can't anyone think of a replacement for this most tiresome shooter cliché?). Even when you get the drop on a roomful of guards, forget about formulating a plan – you're going to get shot up no matter what you do. So before you've even hit the button to get inside the next room, the guard has already punched the alarm, which makes more guards appear magically out of thin air. Sometimes the guards even see you through solid steel doors.