PSI-OPS: THE MINDGATE CONSPIRACY (M) (4 stars)
Midway
Xbox, PlayStation 2
Tired of shooting endless hordes of bad guys? Ever wish you could ditch the gun for once, and say, set enemies on fire, crush them with giant crates, or convince one to kill his buddies and then himself? Then you're in luck! All of these psychic powers and more make Psi-Ops the most original action title to come along in years.
Psychic or "psi" powers open up entire new realms of attack possibilities. You can surf into a room on a floating crate or force a terrorist to shoot the explosive canister he and his squad are huddled around. Or you can just suspend a flailing villain in the air and be mesmerized by the best rag-doll physics ever seen in a game.
At its core, Psi-Ops is still a standard third-person shooter with all the usual elements, but every time you drain an enemy's brain of his psi power at the expense of his head, you're reminded that you're playing something special.
THIEF: DEADLY SHADOWS (M) (4.5 stars)
Eidos
Xbox
With conventions like waiting in shadows, memorizing sentry patterns, and slowly creeping along walls, stealth games walk a fine line between suspense and tedium. Thief, however, brings out patience you never knew you had. Waiting in moody, medieval alleys to pick pockets never fails to satisfy. Even if it did, you can always fulfill your objectives, pitting pagans against religious cults against the undead in a well-crafted story line.
FRONT MISSION 4 (T) (3 stars)
Square Enix
PlayStation 2
The acclaimed turn-based strategy series finally comes to PS2 with its unique brand of political intrigue: Think Tom Clancy with giant, killer robots. This installment adds more options, a deeper story and bigger battles. Unfortunately, that means endless option menus, a sluggish story and often tedious battles. Both action and narrative lumber along slower than the game's hulking wanzer mechs, but devoted fans should still be pleased.
CUSTOM ROBO (T) (2.5 stars)
Nintendo
GameCube
The good news is that Custom Robo has over 100 customizable weapons and parts. The bad news is that no matter which weapons you pick, the poorly conceived battles still mostly consist of button mashing. And since you'll already be mashing a fair share of buttons just to skip though the many lame dialogue boxes in the hokey, faux-RPG story, this game threatens to put a lot of strain on your controller.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].