In Second Sight you take the role of the enigmatic John Vattic. The action commences when you wake from a coma to find yourself endowed with incredible psychic abilities. Great, except you can't remember anything about your previous life. Not so great.

Unsurprisingly, you're a little concerned about this pre-coma blank so you set about unravelling the mystery through the usual video game method of killing everyone that dares to cross you.

As narratives go, it's about as original as the detective coming out of retirement for one last job. Thankfully, the rest of the game is a little more inspired, but not enough to raise Second Sight into the higher echelons of essential games.

Taking the form of a third-person shooter à la Half-Life 2 or Far Cry, the gameplay follows a similar path by encouraging stealth and planning over the less cerebral 'if it moves, kill it' techniques of titles such as Serious Sam.

However, to the game's credit a more gung-ho approach can be adopted throughout if you're not the patient type, allowing you to adapt your gaming style depending on how twisted you feel.

Chopping up the action further is the game's structure, which borrows from the recently fashionable filmic trend of non-linear storytelling. Second Sight fleshes out its otherwise clichéd tale by utilising set-plays from the past and the present, offering the potential of some neat gameplay twists along the way.

Unfortunately, Second Sight's graphics and gameplay are disappointing. It looks bland throughout, with backdrops and characters that are a little lifeless, although there are some realistic flourishes when enemies tumble down stairs or bang against walls.

The camera, which rarely seems to focus in the right place, doesn't help matters and is irritating throughout. Right from the beginning, it feels like a console game which is hardly surprising, considering it's previously been released on the PlayStation2 and Xbox.

There's really no improvement in this version compared with the console editions, which seems a complete waste when you consider the difference in processing power. Despite some nice touches on offer, such as the entertaining psychic tricks you can pull off throughout, the control and camera gripes make it an unsatisfying play.

There are far worse titles out there but we're expecting much better than this in 2005, having experienced the majesty of groundbreaking shooters such as Half-Life 2 and Far Cry in 2004.

PEGI age rating:
16+

Contact:
Codemasters
www.codemasters.co.uk/secondsight