Second Sight (video game)
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| Second Sight | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Free Radical Design |
| Publisher(s) | Codemasters |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows |
| Release date | September 21, 2004 February 18, 2005 (Win) |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Media | DVD |
Second Sight is a video game developed by Free Radical Design and published by Codemasters for GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC. It was released on September 21, 2004.
The storyline follows MIT parapsychology researcher John Vattic and his attempts to recover his memory as well as the secrets behind his new powers of telekinesis, mind projection, healing, and possession.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008) |
[edit] Story
The game begins with John Vattic, the protagonist, waking up in a medical facility. He has no memory of his past, except for a mission that he went on six months ago. His role in the mission was to be strictly advisory but he finds himself going to Siberia with a group of US Marines called WinterICE and a psychic named Jayne Wilde, and extract a Russian scientist named Victor Grienko, who's secret research is beginning to draw attention from the Pentagon.
Vattic learns from a computer he finds in the medical facility that Jayne Wilde was KIA on the mission. He then has a flashback, in which he prevents Wilde's death. Back in the present, the computer now says that Wilde survived the mission as well. Vattic finds her in an asylum in Vermont and after he rescues her from the asylum,they escape into the sewers, she tells him that the WinterICE teams' Commanding Officer Col. Joshua Starke was killed during the mission. He then has a flashback in which he rescues Starke. During this flashback,one of Grienko's test subjects(children) awake John's psychic powers.Back in the present, Wilde informs Vattic that the Colonel is alive and that he gave her an address in which to contact him if she ever needed help. Vattic and Wilde then travel to the location in order to find him.
Vattic finds Starke in his apartment in Queens, New York. However, after recognizing one another, Starke is surprised to see Vattic alive and says that the rest of WinterICE were killed in Siberia. Through a series of other flashbacks, Vattic is able to save the rest of WinterICE. He also discovers the secret of Grienko's research and the true meaning of the mission. A man known only as Hanson (the main antagonist), the Director of the National Security Executive, wanted to use Grienko's research into psychic abilities in order to create an army of psychic super soldiers. WinterICE were sent in to discover Grienko's research facility and dispatch off anyone who got in the way, they could then secure Grienko's work for Hanson's evil program. Vattic discovers that the process will involve Grienko's research being transported to America. Grienko is under the impression that he too will be traveling to America but Vattic learns that that was never Hanson's plan and Grienko is killed by a shocktrooper soon after, along with all his colleagues. Vattic also discovers at this point (what he believes to be the past) that he has psychic powers of his own. Most notable is his precognition, as it is revealed that the supposed flashbacks he's been having over the course of the story are not flashbacks, but are actually the present, and what he thought was the present is a possible future. Vattic decides to use his newfound knowledge to stop Hanson's plans.
Vattic enters the research facility and releases the test subjects, referred to in the game as the Zener children who were the basis of Grienko's original research, before they are killed (like Grienko) by Hanson's ruthless trained shocktroopers. Vattic soon encounters Hansen in the Research facility, were the Zener children help Vattic clear the facility of his soldiers with their physic powers. Once they reach the lower levels they find Hanson in a room with psi/bulletproof glass. Hanson commands his troops to attack the children and John. After a long shootout, the Zener children use powerful telekinesis to pull away the frame of the glass, and then attack and kill Hanson (it was possible that the children cannibalised him). After that U.S troops arrive.They are seen raiding the facility.The Colonel and Jayne help exhausted John into the helicopter. Inside (however the speech is muted), Jayne appears to say "You did it,John.You saved them", however it is only speculation.
[edit] Locations (Future)
[edit] Osiris Medical Facility
Vattic awakes in a Virginia medical facility only known as Osiris Medical Facility - a modern multi-story building with advanced security systems and a number of suspicious para psychological projects underway. There are also primate experiments going on, evidenced by a monitor which Vattic recognizes as primate brain scans, and dead primate bodies. He doesn't know who he is or why he is there. Soon after his escape, he begins to have more and more supposed flashbacks.
[edit] Penfold Asylum, Rutland, Vermont
Upon his escape from Osiris Labs, Vattic stole a car and ventured to the fictional Penfold Asylum - an outdated turn-of-the-century institute patrolled by hired security personnel - where his old WinterICE associate Jayne Wilde was being held. Upon arrival, he discovers a new telekinesis ability and he rescues Jayne. Jayne doesn't know who he is until they escape the asylum.
[edit] Storm Drains, Underneath Penfold
The N.S.E has released agents and SWAT teams into the sewers where Vattic and Jayne have escaped. Jayne finally snaps out of her delusion and recognizes John, telling him that Colonel Joshua Starke was KIA. John has a flashback and discovers where his abilities came from. Jayne and Vattic then escape through a series of twisting hallways and pipes filled with N.S.E Search and Eliminate Teams. They eventually escape to the streets, where they get ready for their next venture.
[edit] Queens, New York City, NY.
Jayne and Vattic arrive in New York in an attempt to find Col. Starke. John must go through the back alleys, buildings, and streets of Queens littered with gangs and N.S.E agents in order to find the home of Col. Starke and possibly get some answers. When in the alleys, Vattic does the gang some favors to get to Col. Starke.
[edit] N.S.E HQ, New Jersey
After the adventures in NYC, Vattic makes his move to the HQ of the N.S.E itself - a fortress-like building patrolled by heavily armed agents, containing key information related to Hanson and the Zener Project. He must be stealthy in order to get what he needs.
[edit] Locations (Past)
[edit] Army Training Base Kastein, Bremen, Germany
A US military base near Bremen, Germany, is WinterICE's base of operations. Vattic learns stealth and combat skills after he is summoned to Kastein from MIT.
[edit] Mountain Region, Tyumen Oblast, Siberia
The WinterICE team attempt infiltration into the Russian mountains to find a lab where Professor Grienko is said to be working on experiments. They are ambushed by guerrilla snipers while proceeding to a United States hydro carbon (USHC) refinery station.
[edit] Village of Dubrensk
After infiltrating the refinery and finding information on Grienko, Vattic and Wilde proceed to the village of Dubrensk where it is believed that Grienko and some of the Russian intruders are performing heinous experiments on children. One of these "Zener children", who psychically projected himself, awoke Vattic's psychic powers in the town's abandoned train station. While exploring the town, Vattic discovered an underground testing facility run by Grienko under orders from Hanson, full of psychically gifted children being tortured and experimented on and who will eventually be killed if Hanson is not stopped.
[edit] Psionic Powers
John uses psionic abilities to supplement his conventional arsenal. These abilities are essential in the completion of the game.
[edit] Telekinesis/Psychokinesis
The first power John learns he possesses, Telekinesis, allows him to move objects without physically touching them. He can use this to pick up objects and throw them at enemies, use them as shields or to distract or frighten guards so he can sneak by. He learns he has this ability by breaking some restraints that hold him to a stretcher in the medical facility. John can also pick up discarded enemy weapons and draw them to him.
Mid-way through the game, John learns how to pick up living beings as well. He first uses this power to strangle a guard in the mental institute while he is trying to rescue Jayne Wilde.
John’s upgraded telekinesis uses ragdoll physics to bend and toss enemies around the environment in a realistic way. Once someone has died, it is possible to use clipping to get them stuck part-way through solid objects such as walls.
[edit] Healing
This is the second ability John learns that he has. It quickly restores John's health meter, but leaves him vulnerable to attack, as he is immobile while healing. The power is discovered very soon after the beginning of the game; John wakes up with serious injuries, so his health meter is almost empty, and he moves very slowly. After learning the power he is able to quickly recover.
John can also use this ability to heal his allies, as each has their own health meter which must be sustained.
[edit] Psi Attack
[edit] Psi Pulse
John accidentally discovers this ability when faced with an armed guard. The guard points his gun at John and tells him to get on the ground. John has a sudden headache and attacks the guard with a psi pulse, a focused bolt of mental force, sending him flying backwards and killing him instantly. This attack uses up half of John’s psi meter, but is useful for instantly and quietly dispatching a single enemy.
[edit] Psi Blast
Later John learns a variation of this attack, the psi blast. This discharges the same kind of energy into a large radial blast, stunning, but not (instantly) killing anyone caught in the radius. He discovers this attack during an ambush as he tries to get out of the Osiris medical facility. Again, it uses a large amount of psi power, but is very effective when surrounded.
However, these attacks have their weaknesses. The psi pulse is useless if it collides with another object when fired, so it’s difficult to hit guards behind cover.
The psi blast is notably effective for dissipating the psychic shields used by Hanson’s shock troopers and psychic soldiers, later in the game.
[edit] Charm
This is discovered by John after a guard hears his movements inside the Osiris facility, and goes to check what the noise was. John, without even realizing what he's doing, makes himself "invisible" to the guard by wrapping himself in psionic energy, manipulating the guards mind. Thus charm allows John to walk past any guards or other people without detection, until his psi meter runs out. However, trying to activate the power while someone can see John will instantly drain the psi meter. It also will not work on security cameras, as the machinery has no mind to fool, or whoever is watching the camera is out of range of the psionic energy. Charm is very useful for sneaking up behind stationary guards and killing them without being noticed.
John can also use this to calm another individual down from an emotional high. This is used during the asylum escape, where Jayne, under influence of mind-altering medication, will become scared by gunfire or other sudden shocks. John must calm her down using charm before she will follow him further. It can also be used to tell allies to follow John or stay put when need arises.
[edit] Projection/Possession (Astral Form)
Projection is learned when John is faced with a laser grid blocking his progress, with the switch to turn it off on the opposite side, out of range of his telekinesis. John inadvertently projects his consciousness into an astral form, which can move independently. It is able to pass through the laser grid and turn it off. The projection ability is similar to remote viewing, which is ostensibly used to spy, track someone down, or look out for danger. However projection also allows for limited interaction with physical things, enabling completion of a necessary task from a safe distance. In the game, these tasks generally involve using John’s projection to pass an obstacle which is impassable to John’s physical self, then somehow clearing said obstacle, such as the laser grid already mentioned, or doing things which would normally require the help of another person, such as using the projection to unlock a time-limited door, allowing John to quickly go through before it locks again. Additionally, the projection is invisible to both people and cameras, which can be quite useful for scouting enemy locations and their security systems. As with charm, the range of the projection is limited by the psi meter, and the astral form cannot punch, crouch, grab, or use any of the other psychic abilities at the same time, besides a very weak version of telekinesis. Also John's body is left unoccupied and immobile while he projects, leaving him vulnerable, but if attacked, the projection will disappear and control of John's body will be regained.
Later John learns how to make his projection possess another person’s body and suspend their consciousness, meaning he can take control of their bodies for short periods of time. This is useful if faced with a group of patrolling enemies; John can possess one of them and use him to kill all his comrades, leaving John with only one person to deal with after exiting his body. It is also necessary for bypassing certain security features, such as hand print scanners; John can simply possess someone who has access and use them to deactivate the scanner. The same rules for projection apply for possession. You can fire the weapon that the person possessed is using, nothing more; the other psychic abilities are limited to only John's body. As with projection, if John's unoccupied body is attacked, you will lose control of the person possessed and go back into his body. It is also possible to possess a friend's body, sometimes letting you access weapons that Vattic cannot obtain.
[edit] Development
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008) |
[edit] Reception
The game garnered average critical reception, with Metascores from 77 to 73, depending on platform. The GameCube version garnered the best reviews, and was also seen most favorably by Metacritic users. The Xbox and PS2 versions did slightly worse, and the PC version was even less favorably received. It was criticized for having "clunky controls," as well as other issues historically noted in third-person shooters that have been ported to the PC. It generally got praise for being original and innovative, but some reviewers found it to be frustrating or boring.
[edit] Soundtrack
In 2006 Free Radical placed the soundtracks for all of their currently available games up for download on the company website, including printable album artwork. The soundtrack for Second Sight can be found here.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
MetaCritic
