This week’s free game came out exactly four years ago tomorrow, which I didn’t realize until after I started writing this post! That’s an odd coincidence — maybe I’m psychic.

Title: Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Developed and published by: Midway Games
For: Windows
ESRB rating: Mature

Well, probably not. But Nick Scryer (get it?) the protagonist of “Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy” is. He’s also and amnesiac, which presents a convenient excuse for him to need to relearn an strengthen his fancy-schmancy mind powers over the course of the game’s levels.

Gameplay-wise this is a pretty standard third-person shooter from the mid-2000s — lots of guns and explosions, lots of reasonably stupid enemy forces to battle and a handful of bosses scattered about — but the mind powers give it a neat twist. Scryer’s usual enemies are the meat puppets, a legion of lobotomized and mind-controlled troops commanded by a group of terrorists. These terrorists are the bosses of the game, and each of them specializes in a paranormal power — one is gifted in telekinesis, another in mind control, and so on.

Scryer isn’t extremely strong in any one area; instead he’s a jack of all trades. He can employ telekinesis to throw objects around, send a projection of himself to scout ahead, and suck out the mental energy of enemies to replenish his own (their heads go *pop* — this is an M-rated game, after all). He can also mind-control his foes, produce and control pyrokinetic flames, and perceive things normal people can’t.

The free download requires a free or subcription FilePlanet account — nonsubscription users will have to wait in “line” behind others for a download, which took about 20 minutes in my case. And, as is the case with many free games, this isn’t largesse on the part of FilePlanet and Midway; this version of “Psi-Ops” is ad-supported. But that’s the cost of a zero-dollar price tag.

The last week of posts has been kind of grim and shooter-heavy, hasn’t it? I’ll find some lighter fare for next week’s game.

(Image courtesy of PsiOpsGame.com)