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| More Second Sight: |
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| Review |
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| Cover shot! |
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| Guns too! |
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| Healing Powers! |
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| | Second Sight |
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| Number Of Players: | 1 |
| I-link/Internet: | No |
| Publisher: | Codemasters |
| Developer: | Free Radical |
| Genre: | Telekinetic Adventure |
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| | Full Review: |
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Do you believe in love at Second Sight?
Criminally ignored upon its release, Free Radical's awesome adventure, Second Sight is a gem as bright and valuable as the sublime Ico, a game that receieved similar treatment when it arrived in the UK. The story revolves around John Vattic an innocent, and rather talented doctor, taken in to military training to aid in a secret operation, where he acquires a few more skills than he bargained for.
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| | Gameplay |
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Awaking in a secure hospital, Vattic knows little about his past, or his present condition. As the game progresses, various mental powers are discovered, including the ability to hurl objects around the room. Later, Vattic is even able to heal himself, become practically invisible, and even project his own image away from his body. Each new skill is accompanied by an interesting flashback to Vattic's past, where we gradually learn how he came to be in the hospital.
Early in the game, Vattic also begins to recall his weapons training, allowing you to use weapons, as well as telekinetic powers to progress through levels. The problems Vattic encounters always have any number of solutions. You can stay hidden, using projection abilities and stealth to avoid any contact with the enemy, or you can go in with guns blazing, and throwing guards into the walls using only the power of your mind.
Each power is very easy to select, with on screen menus not disimilar from those seen in the Metal Gear games. By allowing these switches to take place without exiting to a full menu, the gameplay is seamless, allowing each encounter with enemies and other obstacles to flow naturally.
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| | Graphics |
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Graphically, some people may be put off at first by the slightly cartoony visuals, similar to those seen in Free Radical's TimeSplitters series. However, the character models and environments have been sharpened, and the atmosphere darkened to give the game a more mature feel to this game. The framerate is also excellent, and the character animations superb. Vattic himself is given a wide range of moves and subtle gestures to bring him to life.
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| | Sound |
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An impressive musical score also adds weight to the gameplay, and builds the tension very effectively when needed. Its the vocals that are most impressive though, with fantastic voice acting, and literally hundreds of witty or sarcastic comments from Vattic, making him one of the most interesting characters in a video game.
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| | Overall |
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The game may only take 12 hours to complete the first time around, but there is plenty of scope for replay, since every puzzle can be tackled a different way next time. This is the kind of game that reminds you why you bought a console in the first place. To experience this kind of joyful gameplay is reason enough to own a Playstation 2.
Do you believe in love at Second Sight? Start believing
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| Score |
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| | Gameplay
Clever use of psychic powers, nice puzzles, a joy to play.
| 9.6 | |
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Graphics
Free Radical style, but little progress from Splitters 2.
| 8.8 |
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Lastability
Not a massive game (12 hours), but with reasonable replay value.
| 8.5 |
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Sound
Terrific voice work, atmospheric music and nice sounds.
| 9.7 |
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Overall
A truly excellent game, really worth a look!
| 9.2 |
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| | Alternatively: |
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Also from the guys at Free Radical is TimeSplitters 2, a game focusing more on the shooting and multiplayer side of things, but with similar styles such as the character models.
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