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Second Sight (video game)
Encyclopedia
Second Sight is an action-adventure
video game developed by Free Radical Design
and published by Codemasters
for Nintendo GameCube
, Xbox
, PlayStation 2
, and Microsoft Windows
. 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 mental powers.
, waking up in a medical research facility. He has no memory of his past except for a mission that he went on six months before. His role in the mission was to be strictly advisory, but he finds himself going to Siberia
with a group of U.S. Marines called WinterICE, and a psychic named Jayne Wilde, in search of a Russia
n scientist named Victor Grienko, whose secret research is beginning to draw attention from The Pentagon
.
Vattic learns from a computer he finds in the medical facility that Wilde was killed on the mission. He then has a flashback
, in which he prevents Wilde's death. Back in the present portion of the game, the computer now says that Wilde survived the mission as well. Vattic finds her in an asylum
in Vermont
and rescues her. They escape into the sewers and she tells him that the WinterICE team's commanding officer Colonel Joshua Starke was killed during the mission. Vattic then has a flashback in which he rescues Starke. During this flashback, one of Grienko's child test subjects awakens Vattic's psychic powers. Back in the present, Wilde informs Vattic that Starke 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 to find him.
Vattic finds Starke in his apartment in Queens, New York. 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 and make it to the village of Dubrensk. Soldiers have killed most of the villagers, but a dying survivor tells the squad that their children are the research lab's test subjects, and that while they would kill the WinterICE team, they would accept Vattic due to his similar psychic abilities. Vattic infiltrates the research lab alone in his flashbacks to save the children, while also infiltrating the headquarters of the National Security Executive (NSE) based on the evidence given to him by Starke in New York.
In doing so, he discovers the secret of Grienko's research and the true meaning of the mission. The main antagonist
is revealed to be Hanson, the director of the NSE, who wanted to use Grienko's research into psychic abilities in order to create an army of psychic super soldiers. WinterICE was sent in to discover Grienko's research facility and dispatch anyone who got in the way; they could then secure Grienko's work for Hanson's evil program. Vattic confronts Hanson in his office and is ready to kill him, but backs down when it is revealed that Hanson has taken Wilde hostage. Placed in a no-win situation
, Vattic intends to once again change the past via a flashback, using his current knowledge to stop Hanson's plans.
In his flashbacks, Vattic finds that Grienko's research project is in the process of being packed up for transport to the United States. Grienko and his staff believe they will be relocated as well, but the real orders are to kill them once the project is ready for transport. Grienko is killed according to plan, but Vattic continues to infiltrate the lower levels to try to save the children. The flashback is repeatedly interrupted by a series of flash-forwards, showing the various outcomes that Vattic has prevented so far via the actions in his other flashbacks. During these, Vattic discovers that he has not been having flashbacks at all. The WinterICE mission is still ongoing and incomplete, whereas all his experiences in the present
are merely possible futures, and are a manifestation of one his mental abilities, precognition
.
Now knowing the truth of his situation, Vattic confronts Hanson in the research facility, but he is once again placed in a seemingly unwinnable situation, with Hanson taunting him from behind a window impervious to both bullets and psionic powers. To aid him, Vattic releases the test subjects, referred to as the "Zener children", who were the basis of Grienko's original research. The Zener children help Vattic fight through many waves of soldiers with their psychic powers. After this long shootout, the Zener children use powerful telekinesis to pull away the frame of the glass and then attack and kill Hanson. After that, WinterICE and the troops arrive, raiding the facility. Starke and Wilde help an exhausted Vattic into the helicopter. Vattic then finds out through Wilde, why he was so important to the mission.
abilities to supplement his conventional weapons. Being spotted triggers an alarm mode, increasing the number of guards and they search for Vattic. The majority of the psychic powers are meant to be used defensively, avoiding detection or healing wounds.
The Psychic Powers are:
and Christian Marcussen
reviewer Juan Castro gave the game a 7.9/10, praising the "slick graphics", "varied environments", and "good voice-acting", but criticized it for its "clunky interface" and commented that "controlling telekinesis can be a slight pain in the ass." Gamespot
reviewer Brad Shoemaker gave the game a 7.3 out of 10 noting the "intriguing storyline, nice variety of guns and psychic powers, and stylized characters."
In terms of sales, the game did "okay but not great", selling almost one million copies.
In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by Free Radical Design
Free Radical Design
Crytek UK, formerly known as Free Radical Design, is a video game developer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, probably best known for Second Sight and the TimeSplitters series. After going into financial administration, it was announced on February 4 2009 that the studio had been acquired by...
and published by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
for Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It was released on September 21, 2004. The storyline follows MIT parapsychology
Parapsychology
The term parapsychology was coined in or around 1889 by philosopher Max Dessoir, and originates from para meaning "alongside", and psychology. The term was adopted by J.B. Rhine in the 1930s as a replacement for the term psychical research...
researcher John Vattic and his attempts to recover his memory as well as the secrets behind his new mental powers.
Plot
The game begins with John Vattic, the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, waking up in a medical research facility. He has no memory of his past except for a mission that he went on six months before. His role in the mission was to be strictly advisory, but he finds himself going to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
with a group of U.S. Marines called WinterICE, and a psychic named Jayne Wilde, in search of a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n scientist named Victor Grienko, whose secret research is beginning to draw attention from The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
.
Vattic learns from a computer he finds in the medical facility that Wilde was killed on the mission. He then has a flashback
Flashback (psychological phenomenon)
A flashback, or involuntary recurrent memory, is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience. These experiences can be happy, sad, exciting, or any other emotion one can consider...
, in which he prevents Wilde's death. Back in the present portion of the game, the computer now says that Wilde survived the mission as well. Vattic finds her in an asylum
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and rescues her. They escape into the sewers and she tells him that the WinterICE team's commanding officer Colonel Joshua Starke was killed during the mission. Vattic then has a flashback in which he rescues Starke. During this flashback, one of Grienko's child test subjects awakens Vattic's psychic powers. Back in the present, Wilde informs Vattic that Starke 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 to find him.
Vattic finds Starke in his apartment in Queens, New York. 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 and make it to the village of Dubrensk. Soldiers have killed most of the villagers, but a dying survivor tells the squad that their children are the research lab's test subjects, and that while they would kill the WinterICE team, they would accept Vattic due to his similar psychic abilities. Vattic infiltrates the research lab alone in his flashbacks to save the children, while also infiltrating the headquarters of the National Security Executive (NSE) based on the evidence given to him by Starke in New York.
In doing so, he discovers the secret of Grienko's research and the true meaning of the mission. The main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
is revealed to be Hanson, the director of the NSE, who wanted to use Grienko's research into psychic abilities in order to create an army of psychic super soldiers. WinterICE was sent in to discover Grienko's research facility and dispatch anyone who got in the way; they could then secure Grienko's work for Hanson's evil program. Vattic confronts Hanson in his office and is ready to kill him, but backs down when it is revealed that Hanson has taken Wilde hostage. Placed in a no-win situation
No-win situation
A no-win situation, also called a "lose-lose" situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, since all choices lead to death, the condemned is in a no-win...
, Vattic intends to once again change the past via a flashback, using his current knowledge to stop Hanson's plans.
In his flashbacks, Vattic finds that Grienko's research project is in the process of being packed up for transport to the United States. Grienko and his staff believe they will be relocated as well, but the real orders are to kill them once the project is ready for transport. Grienko is killed according to plan, but Vattic continues to infiltrate the lower levels to try to save the children. The flashback is repeatedly interrupted by a series of flash-forwards, showing the various outcomes that Vattic has prevented so far via the actions in his other flashbacks. During these, Vattic discovers that he has not been having flashbacks at all. The WinterICE mission is still ongoing and incomplete, whereas all his experiences in the present
The Present
The Present is the eleventh album by The Moody Blues. It is the second album of the Patrick Moraz era. It had three minor hit singles, "Blue World" , "Sitting at the Wheel" and "Running Water"....
are merely possible futures, and are a manifestation of one his mental abilities, precognition
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
.
Now knowing the truth of his situation, Vattic confronts Hanson in the research facility, but he is once again placed in a seemingly unwinnable situation, with Hanson taunting him from behind a window impervious to both bullets and psionic powers. To aid him, Vattic releases the test subjects, referred to as the "Zener children", who were the basis of Grienko's original research. The Zener children help Vattic fight through many waves of soldiers with their psychic powers. After this long shootout, the Zener children use powerful telekinesis to pull away the frame of the glass and then attack and kill Hanson. After that, WinterICE and the troops arrive, raiding the facility. Starke and Wilde help an exhausted Vattic into the helicopter. Vattic then finds out through Wilde, why he was so important to the mission.
Gameplay
Second Sight emphasizes stealth and minor puzzle-solving over brute force. Vattic uses psionicPsionics
Psionics refers to the practice, study, or psychic ability of using the mind to induce paranormal phenomena. Examples of this include telepathy, telekinesis, and other workings of the outside world through the psyche.-History and terminology:...
abilities to supplement his conventional weapons. Being spotted triggers an alarm mode, increasing the number of guards and they search for Vattic. The majority of the psychic powers are meant to be used defensively, avoiding detection or healing wounds.
The Psychic Powers are:
- Telekinesis
- Healing
- Psi Blast
- Charm
- Projection
Soundtrack
In 2006, Free Radical Design made the Second Sight soundtrack available for download on the company website, including printable album artwork.Track listing
Music by Graeme NorgateGraeme Norgate
Graeme Norgate is an English video game music composer, who has composed music for a variety of video games developed by Rare. His first project at Rare was writing the music for the Game Boy game, Donkey Kong Land. He also contributed to the soundtracks of Blast Corps and GoldenEye 007...
and Christian Marcussen
- Isolation – (1:52)
- Experimentation – (4:12)
- Fieldwork – (5:42)
- Escape – (4:24)
- Madness – (5:16)
- Rescue – (4:51)
- Reliance – (3:49)
- Entrapped – (5:18)
- Street Life – (4:53)
- Teamwork – (4:53)
- Breakout – (3:33)
- Conspiracy – (5:37)
- Infiltration – (5:21)
- Childcare – (4:47)
- Confrontation – (3:11)
- Redemption – (6:03)
- Credits – (5:35)
Reception
The game received good reviews. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer Juan Castro gave the game a 7.9/10, praising the "slick graphics", "varied environments", and "good voice-acting", but criticized it for its "clunky interface" and commented that "controlling telekinesis can be a slight pain in the ass." Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
reviewer Brad Shoemaker gave the game a 7.3 out of 10 noting the "intriguing storyline, nice variety of guns and psychic powers, and stylized characters."
In terms of sales, the game did "okay but not great", selling almost one million copies.
In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
Quintessence Editions Ltd.
Quintessence Editions Ltd. is a publishing company based in London which is the originator of the "1001 Before You Die" series. Typically, the titles in this series are intended as reference books. They are illustrated books authored by multiple contributors...
.
External links
- Official Second Sight website
- Second Sight (GC) at Game RankingsGame RankingsGameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...