At this point in the current generation the Japanese video game market is all but dead, clinging on to life support like a grandparent too stubborn to die. Everyone just looks around at each other, wondering how it got to this point; but nobody ever pulls the plug. Square Enix’s latest title Mindjack is once again attempting to tap into the western shooter market. Does it succeed? Or is it finally time to pull the plug? Hit the break for our verdict.
If Mindjack was a person it would no doubt be on life-support, however it would also be blind, deaf, and trying to recover from twelve bullet holes. This may seem rather harsh, but Mindjack doesn’t have one redeeming feature. Set in the year 2031, Mindjack centers on Jim and Rebecca as they attempt to unravel a technological conspiracy before the world slips into a state of chaos. It’s a C-grade sci-fi plot at best and relies heavily on overused cliché story elements. Combine that with horribly choreographed cut-scenes and unpleasant voice acting; and you have one of the most poorly presented stories this generation.
Several parts of the story are also revealed through unclear flashbacks. Flashbacks are a great mechanic for storytelling; however they only work when a decent amount of back-story has been established. Mindjack can’t even clearly explain how the technology behind Mindjacking exists. With several severe presentation issues and a genre that isn’t known for good stories, it’s clear that Mindjack was doomed from the start. Despite the presentation gameplay is king; however does the game improve in that department?
The blunt answer is no. Mindjack’s first notable problem is the absolutely horrific controls. L2 and R2 zoom and fire respectively, while R1 reloads your firearm. Not only do these controls feel clunky and poorly mapped, but they are also not very responsive. This wouldn’t be completely atrocious; however you don’t even have the option to change them to a more user-friendly setup. Are you kidding me? The gameplay woes unfortunately don’t stop there. Everything about Mindjack feels cheap, whether it’s the sound effects of the guns, or the random lapses in hit detection.
I can’t rationalize why Square Enix would unleash something this bad to the public, or how it was allowed to continue its development. Mindjack’s biggest gimmick is the ability to take over your enemies and control their mind. On paper this sounds great, and gamers will no doubt compare it to the cult-classic Psy Ops, but the comparison ends there. It if wasn’t for all the poor implementation, the idea in general could have been great. Sometimes Mindjack doesn’t properly register the correct character to mindjack and the interface does a terrible job of letting the player know what they are supposed to do. It’s not that players like having their hand held, but rather a little clarification would have been welcome.
At this point you could at assume that the graphics are decent, but once again Mindjack disappoints. Some of the character models are average, but the rest of the game is hideous. The environments look like they barely made it out of the PS2 era and the lighting doesn’t improve the poor texture work. This wouldn’t be a huge issue except the game runs below 30 FPS when more than 5 enemies are on the screen. It’s almost like they didn’t even try. There’s really no excuse for a game looking as bad as Mindjack does and not being locked in at 60 FPS.
Mindjack also features a multiplayer mode, which allows 6-players to jump into the campaign to either help you or kill you. This is an interesting idea, because it essentially boils down to a shooter version of Demon’s Souls multiplayer; however it’s poorly balanced and implemented. For instance, someone 30 levels above you can enter your world to kill you, and since you can unlock several power-ups that boost your characters stats; this can lead to a severely unbalanced version of Team Deathmatch.
I really attempted to find a silver lining within Mindjack, however there’s nothing positive worth mentioning. I couldn’t possibly recommend that you purchase or even rent this title, because to be fair it’s not worth the time. Mindjack has some interesting ideas; however it serves up the worst implementation in the last 5 years. If you are still curious about this title, pick it up several months down the road when it hits the bargain bin. With several noteworthy titles already out this month; Mindjack doesn’t deserve your hard-earned money or attention.
Score: 3/10
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