Once in a while there is a game that you will load up as a mediocre way to pass the time, but after playing it for a little while will have you saying nothing but “wow”. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it’s usually a game that was hyped so crazy that it has to be that good for fear of internet riots and apocalyptic gamer rage. Second Sight was not hyped at all and pretty much flew under the radar of many gamers out there. However, once you start playing it and get absorbed into the intriguing story, all you can say is “wow”. As the game starts, you take the role of amnesiac and not so pretty boy John Vattic. You awake in a hospital bed and quickly discover that you have special powers that are quite extraordinary. Although at first you can’t believe what you are seeing, you use them in combination with stealth to help you escape. As you spend more time racking your brain and scouring your memories, you start to remember bits and pieces of your past and this is where the alternating missions of the game takes place.

The cartoony and exaggerated appearance of the individuals found in the game are fresh and, unlike the uber realistic characters that so many games try and fail to produce, are gorgeous as well as interesting. The environments are likewise full of character and vivacity which hold your attention. Along with being full of objects, you can interact with it. Such as using your telekinetic powers to pick up a table to smash into an enemy’s head or throwing a chair down a hall to have a guard inspect it. The animations are smooth as silk and the voice acting by Vattic and company, although a little too chatty at the start of the game, is excellent and will help you out if you get stuck during puzzles by dropping clues. In many missions there are problems that need to be solved by both using your powers as well as other resources. These other means usually include finding a password for a computer and then using that computer to turn off video cameras or unlocking doors.

As mentioned earlier, you will spend the game alternating between time lines and in each era you have two very different types of play. When you are in the pre-hospital days, you are part of a Special Forces unit that is deployed into the frozen wasteland of Siberia, Russia to find a fellow named Professor Grienko who it seems is performing experiments on children who have bizarre abilities. In these missions you are equipped not with telekinesis or the ability to turn yourself invisible, but a rifle and an AI controlled squad that covers your back and in turn you do the same for them. As the game progresses, you learn more and more about your abilities and what exactly happened in Russia. As you make your way though the present, most of the missions are stealth filled and include finding your teammates from the WinterICE Special Forces squad.

Each memory you progress through will unravel more of the story and will reveal new powers that you can use. Some of these abilities are to pick up foes and toss them as you would a rag doll, charm them so you can pass by them undetected, fire a blast of energy at enemies to knock them backwards and even the ability to have a spectral figure of yourself leave your body and go through objects your physical form could not. These powers are most used for puzzle solving such as hitting unreachable switches or walking past unmoving guards that would other wise hunt you down relentlessly if they were to spot you. The variation in missions is another big plus in this game. Although the missions in the past in Russia mostly resemble each other, the present day ones differ greatly. Missions such as breaking into an asylum and a gang infested ghetto to find your old team mates are interesting enough to keep you going to find out what will happen next.

The further the game progresses, the closer the two time periods come together and the more you start to realize just what is actually happening and who is behind it all. The length of Second Sight is enough to satisfy the casual gamer looking for a great story to indulge themselves in, but after it is beaten once, it really has no reply value at all other than having fun tossing around enemies. A rental of the game would be sufficient to undergo the full experience of the game without spending your hard earned money on an excellent, but limited game.