OXCGN’s MindJack Review

Is this mindspace worth hacking into?

by: Belgavion

©2011Gav Ross

When a game such as Square Enix‘s MindJack slips quietly onto shelves with little or no fanfare (not to mention hardly any preview coverage in the press), it usually falls into one of two categories: sleeper hit that doesn’t attract huge review scores but gains a loyal following and modest sales, or unmitigated disaster destined for the bargain bins before the next quarter.

Unfortunately, MindJack steers dangerously close to the latter.

The core concept of the game revolves around the ability to ‘hack’ into the minds of agents, civilians, enemies and even the odd piece of machinery.

This is a somewhat novel and unique approach to go with and it could easily be said that one of MindJack’s redeeming features is that it’s ambitious and trying something new.

If only the execution was on par with the ideas presented to us.

The future bleakness awaits

It’s the year 2031 and the world is being undone by corrupt corporations that are gaining power over governments and citizen’s rights. The story presented manages to make itself completely vague and almost nonsensical within the space of the first few cut-scenes.

Don’t expect to be able to follow along with an engaging plot as you play through each chapter and I’d be surprised if even the script writers know what’s truly going on.

The centralized characters are male and female rogue agents named Jim and Rebecca – two clones of Chris and Jill from Resident Evil in both look and posture.

Who they are and what they’re doing isn’t too essential though as you’re only controlling their minds when you choose to do so.

• Mindjack trailer

Mind control

Throughout the game, players take the role of an entity that floats around with the camera view of someone having an out-of-body experience, looking to hack into the mind of whoever (or whatever) is available.

For example, you could be playing as Jim and running along a corridor aiming your sights at some of the blandest enemies seen in any current-gen third-person shooter when a sneaky soldier jumps out from a side alcove and unloads their clip into the poor agent.

Rather than die and see a reload screen, players become a nebulous blue cloud that can then float around the environment and find another host.

Public justice

This is where some of MindJack’s strategy comes into play, although it could be argued that there isn’t much strategy at all and it’s just another cool gameplay idea sandwiched into the mix.

Let’s say Jim becomes incapacitated and his partner, Rebecca, is too far away to administer a health refuel – the player can then hack into the mind of a civilian who, up until that point, was just cowering in a corner with their head down and their hands in the air.

By hacking into the mind of an innocent bystander, it then becomes possible to take out enemy soldiers almost unnoticed as their attention is devoted to taking out the agents. Just don’t ask yourself why the civilian suddenly has a handgun in their paws.

Gears of hack

MindJack borrows more than its fair share of elements from other third-person shooters such as Gears Of War. Not only do we get a terribly-mimicked roadie-run, the cover shifting system is almost the same and, as you might expect, nowhere near as good.

However it isn’t this healthy plagiarism that lets the gunplay down. There are some major issues with shooting from cover. Quite often when a character attempts to ‘pop-out’ shoot (there is no blind-fire), the bullets hit an invisible barrier right in front of their face, even though the reticle is red and aimed right at an enemy.

The same applies for some areas of cover as occasionally a character is ripped to pieces by bullets even though it appears they’re clearly safe behind a barrier.

• Mindjack Screenshot slideshow

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Saving grace

Focusing on a positive, the multiplayer aspect of MindJack brings something entirely new to the table. If a gamer is playing through the single-player campaign as ‘Host’ and leave themselves open to the opportunity, any outside player can hack into their game and either help or hinder progress.

If a blue floating cloud suddenly appears while you’re slugging your way through a gun battle then it’s a sign someone is here to play co-op alongside you, but if it’s a red cloud you see across the map then it’s a different story as the hacker has decided to take the enemies side.

There’s a competitive element to either hacking choice as MindJack works on a scenario score system that deals out XP based on amount of enemies killed and the style in which they’re disposed of.

Play co-op with someone who has hacked into your single-player story and you’ll both be racing towards taking out baddies as sufficiently as possible and at the scenario’s end there will be a winner or loser, but both receive XP and level advancement.

A level of 50 can be reached in the game and this will probably take multiple playthroughs of various scenarios to attain.

After gaining certain levels the player is rewarded with a ‘Plug-In’, which is an incentive (or power) that can be applied in the menu before embarking further into the story and they range from simple ‘auto-aim’ assists through to difficulty level changes and armour enhancements.

This makes replaying scenarios more enticing and is one of MindJack’s few strengths.

Corridor after bloody corridor….

Level design is plain at best. Jim and Rebecca trudge down endless corridors or alongside industrial areas like futurisitic shipping docks or inside weapons factories.

Colours are stark and, much like the graphics themselves, nothing pops or impresses. MindJack looks and acts like a game that could have seen release half a decade ago. And as players would soon discover for themselves, it’s best to avoid any moments of voice-acting unless you’re in the mood for a laugh.

One final, absolute inexcusable insult is that you cannot pause the game. If you’re in the middle of an important battle and the phone rings, forget about staying alive unless you can find a place to hide for your character.

Maybe this was implemented so as not to disrupt the multiplayer experience, but it’s still damn annoying.

Look past MindJack’s constant inconsistencies and take its limitations into account and there is actually a reasonably enjoyable experience to be had here.

Multiplayer gunfights can be intense and unpredictable and the leveling-up system is enough to keep drawing you back for more. It’s not this year’s Rogue Warrior….just try not to pay the full retail price for it.

“ 5.0/10

©2011 Gav Ross

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• Mindjack Screenshot gallery

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews Tagged: | Action, Feelplus, games, GEars Of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, Gears Of War 3 BETA, Hack, Mindjack, multiplayer, Playstation 3, Resident Evil, Rogue Warrior, Single-player video game, Square Enix, Square Enix Mind Jack, Square Enix's Mindjack, Third-person shooter, third-person shooters, Video game