Though most people these days associate psychics with dead pets and talk shows, there was a time when the U.S. military actively developed a program for ESP-enhanced soldiers. Ranging from non-violent "remote viewing" tests to more sinister mind-control experiments, the government's psionics projects have been the subject of numerous conspiracy books (such as Jim Marrs' Psi Spies) and more than a few X-Files episodes. Now, paranormal paramilitaries are the subject of Midway's upcoming game, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy.

　　Psi-Ops aims to be a Deus Ex-like action title with a paranormal twist. Instead of high-tech bio-modifications, the game's hero, American "psi-operative" Nick Scryer, will use his various mental abilities--telekinesis and mind control among them--to investigate a conspiracy in the not-so-distant future. "There is a huge amount of information out there relating to psionic powers and their connection to the military, numerous secret government agencies, and various conspiracy theories," producer Brian Eddy told GameSpot. "We were able to take that abundance of information and weave a story that connected almost every major historical event over the last couple of centuries into the back story for Psi-Ops."

　　However, while Eddy and his team had no problem finding inspiration for Psi-Ops' story, they did encounter some difficulties with its gameplay. After showing the original version of the game--then called ESPionage--at this year's E3, Eddy asked his superiors for more time. "The game was constantly improving, but given the approaching ship deadline, we found ourselves having to accept that many aspects of the game were never going to be as polished as we knew they could be," said Eddy. Midway agreed, and the game's release slipped from Q3 2003 to Q2 2004. In the process, the GameCube version was cancelled, and the game got a new moniker. "The original name, ESPionage, was a clever play on words, but it did not get across the idea of psionic powers as well as we wanted," continued Eddy. "Dozens and dozens of names were considered and thrown out (my favorite bad idea was Psypocalypse) before we arrived at what we felt described the game."

　　Barring any shadowy telepathic interference, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is on track for a May 2004 release. For more about the game's delay and development, read GameSpot's complete interview with Eddy.