Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

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Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Developer(s)	Midway Games
Publisher(s)	Midway Games
Engine	Havok Game Dynamics SDK, Unreal Engine
Release date(s)	June 14, 2004 October 1, 2004
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Cooperative
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M)
Platform(s)	Xbox, PlayStation 2, Windows
Media	DVD-ROM

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a video game developed by Midway Games for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows PC platforms. Originally titled ESPionage, the game was released in North America on June 14, 2004; the European release followed on October 1, 2004. A traditional shooter in many respects, Psi-Ops banks on its ragdoll physics (by way of Havok 2.0) and variety of psychic powers to differentiate itself.

In the game, the player is Nick Scryer, a "PSI-Operative" whose mind has been wiped so he can infiltrate a terrorist organization. However, he is captured and must fight his way out with the help of Sara, a double agent. As he progresses, he regains his PSI powers.

Contents 1 Lawsuit 2 Story 3 Multiplayer 4 Trivia 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Lawsuit

On March 13, 2007, GameSpot reported that Midway has been sued by William L. Crawford III, a Los Angeles County screenwriter because he has a 1998 screenplay with the title "Psi-Ops" and its premise is very similar to the game premise. According to GameSpot, a quote and some details from the screenplay are as follows: "The premise for the Psi-Ops screenplay is government soldiers with paranormal abilities, or 'Psi-Agents,' that fight terrorists that also have paranormal abilities," according to the lawsuit. It mentions a number of characters, including a foreign-born pyrokinetic with a troubled past; a cool and menacing mind control specialist with a slender masculine build, black hair, trench coat, and sunglasses; and a rogue Psi-Agent who establishes his own underground terrorist organization using other Psi-Agents." and the lawsuit describes the game's premise as basically the very same as his screenplay's premise. Crawford in his lawsuit states that Midway should've known about his screenplay and the premise because he had set up websites with concept art and was shopping around the screenplay from 2000 to 2003 and he attended the 2001 E3 and promoted his screenplay. Mindshadow Entertainment, the company that Crawford set up, received media coverage for the Psi-Ops movie project. GameSpot notes that Crawford's registering of "Psi-Ops" predates Midway's registering of "Psi-Ops" by 6 years from viewing U.S. Trademark filings, Crawford's filing is dated March 26, 1998 and Midway's filing is dated July 4, 2004. Crawford wants Midway to provide an accounting of revenue that Midway has derived from "Psi-Ops" and a share of the money which he estimates to be under $1.5 million. [1]

[edit] Story

[edit] Multiplayer

Psi-Ops introduced a new multiplayer engine in which a single character is controlled by two physical players. In most cases the first player controls the legs and movement of the in-game character, while the second player controls the weapon and PSI power use of the character. The multiplayer game mode is similar to the story line, as in you play through the entire story just as you would in single player mode.

[edit] Trivia

• In the game, there are multiple references to the garden gnome, also referred to as a lawn gnome. In one of the opening movies, the character "Barret" lifts up a truck, through telekinesis, with the name "Gnome Oil" written on its side. Also, throughout the game there are many gnomes that you have to collect to unlock secret missions, including one entitled "Gnomotron" which involves shooting and killing gnomes, before they touch you.
• Scorpion of Mortal Kombat fame is unlockable in this game.
• Nick's last name, "Scryer", may be a reference to remote viewing, which is sometimes called scrying. Originally, it was to be "Geller", a possible reference to Uri Geller
• There were several reports that a Psi-Ops movie was going to be made ([2], [3], [4], [5]), but there hasn't been any recent news to indicate if it will actually be made. There has even been a rumor that the movie project has been cancelled.^{[citation needed]}
• American rock band Cold created a song and video for the game, entitled "With My Mind". The video can be found as an extra in the game. The video can also be seen on YouTube and other video sites.[6]
  • In Wei Lu's base, the chorus of "With My Mind" can be heard as instrumental elevator music when descending to the next floor.
• In the game, when Nick uses Telekinesis, the object he is telekinetically controlling is surrounded by a blue-white aura/mist. When the character Edgar Barret is telekinetically controlling an object, it is surrounded by a purple aura/mist.
• At the end there was a "To be continued" but there is still no known sequel in progress.

[edit] See also

• Second Sight, another game with a very similar story.
• John Woo's Stranglehold -- new game being developed by the Psi-Ops team

[edit] External links

• Official site (no longer updated, contains spoilers)
• Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy at MobyGames
• Psi-Ops at Game Rankings