 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
PSI-OPS: The Mindgate Conspiracy
- Xbox
- Price: $39.99
- Genre: First Person Shooter
Common Sense Media says
Psychic powers take violence to an extreme.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this first-person shooter gives players an additional weapon: psychic mind control. However, by allowing players to smash enemies into walls with their minds, essentially beating them to death, or burning them in a rush of "pyrokinesis," any potential creativity is lost in violence.
What's it about?
In PSI-OPS: THE MINDGATE CONSPIRACY, players assume the role of Lt. Nick Scryer, a member of the U.N. Anti-Terror Corps with psychic abilities. Planted inside the terrorist organization known as "the movement," Nick unravels the mysteries of both the organization and his past. He uses traditional weapons and his mental powers to fight "the general," the former leader of a U.S. special forces program known as Project Mindgate. The general has gathered his forces to start a war between those who have psychic powers and those who do not.
There are plenty of weapons, including silenced pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, and even flamethrowers and rocket launchers. The enemies are kidnapped soldiers who have been brainwashed. Nick's psychic abilities include "mind drain," in which the player drains the life energy from a victim until their head pops in a shower of blood, or pyrokinesis, allowing the player to shoot a stream of flame at enemies.
Is it any good?
Many factors make PSI-OPS: The Mindgate Conspiracy a poor choice for kids. Most obviously, the game contains a great deal of violence, blood, and gore: Players can smash enemies into walls, leaving bloodstains, or throw them into electrical generators until they burn into a smoking corpse. Scariness is also a factor for younger players. And strong language is scattered throughout the game.
The addition of psychic powers may make this more interesting from a gameplay perspective, but it does nothing to make it more kid-friendly. It only magnifies the violence.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the violent use of psychic mind control in the game. Ask your child what she would do with special powers. Do gifted people have more of an obligation to protect and advance society? Is violence OK if it's for the "greater good"?
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AGE
very fun game using havok physics engine and some perplex puzzels
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AGE
phycic powers are fun!
Throwing people into walls and boxes is really fun. All of your powers are fun. its violent and bloody. not for people with a week stomach.
11+
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AGE
Good, but violent
A good game, but quite a bit of violence. Hurling objects at enemies, can put people under an elevator and crush them. Throw them into incinerators, etc.
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AGE
great for teens
Great game very gory you can use powers to smash soliders into walls and theres a suicide thing you can use in mind control mode. It is very interisting how nick meets a undercover spy and they work togerther to destroy "The Movement"
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Kid, 11 years old
June 29, 2010
AGE
Good game, but violent and creepy.
I played this on the PS2 when I was 8, and this game is GRAPHIC!!!!!!!! It was fun to slam bad guys against walls and set them on fire. But I ended up returning the game because these monsters scared me. Some characters smoke, but not much. About that positive message. You kill characters in graphic ways, but in the end, you stop all the carnage and figure out you were just trying to save your squad. But I rate this Iffy for 16+.
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| Platforms: | Xbox |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | First Person Shooter |
| Developer: | Midway |
| Release date: | June 14, 2004 |
| Price: | $39.99 |
| ESRB rating: | M |
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