WHAT WE WANT FROM MINDJACK THAT COULD MAKE IT AWESOME
Transformers, robots in disguise!
But for every worrying trend that we notice with MindJack, we only need to take one look at its simple premise, and begin to get excited like a schoolgirl at the sheer possibilities that this game might offer. Whereas the core gameplay mechanic- the third person shooting- might be disappointingly familiar territory to genre veterans, the idea of being able to control objects, machines and people might add a neat new twist to the story.
One can only imagine the possibilities- fighting a pair of giant robots, but ‘hacking’ into one, so that you can directly control the friggin robot as well as your main character as you try and take the remaining robot down. True, this might make things chaotic, and possibly messy, but heck, if it’s done right, it could very well make the game the best third person shooter released in years.
Conversely, imagine a sticky situation where you are being cornered by several enemy guards, and you ‘hack’ into one of their minds, thus having to control two players strategically to make your way out of the sticky situation. Fortunately, it appears that Square Enix actually has our back on this one, and that the execution of the concept might even be as good as the vision:
It certainly looks incredibly interesting. If it’s done right, then it could not only work wonders for MindJack, but it might also be able to revitalize the third person shooter genre which, barring a minor disruption from Vanquish, has been stagnating lately. If it’s done right and the game is successful, it might also take some of the heat off Square Enix, and it might be able to fund their upcoming projects, like Versus XIII, better.
The trick and the key, of course, lies in how good the game really is. Considering Square’s shoddy record this generation, and considering that this game is in a genre that they are generally quite unfamiliar with (although Just Cause 2 was awesome), I’d say that this one could either way. Being the eternal optimists that we here at GamingBolt are, though, I’d like to believe that this game will be done right, and that it will be one of the most refreshing and surprising games of 2011. Because if it is, then it’ll be able to restore some status to a fallen colossus.
But if this game fails, it will be another chapter of disappointment in an already bulging tome full of them this generation. As of right now, we don’t have long to wait before we know anyway- the game releases on the 19th of January, less than two weeks from now, on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Watch this space for our official review of the game around then.
