Mindjack is like a Sci-Fi Demon's Souls

 Demon's Souls had some of the most innovative multiplayer concepts to come out in years.  Being able to join seamlessly into another player's game as friend or foe was brilliant.  It seems that Square Enix is taking that idea and building on it with their new game Mindjack.  I know what you might be thinking: "not another generic looking 3rd person shooter".



Mindjack at first glance does look very similar to other shooters.  You have your standard weapons like machine gun, sniper riffle, shotgun, and rocket launcher.  The gameplay mechanics look the same as other 3rd person shooters.  You're able to take cover, dash, hurdle, slide and melee.  That's where the similarities in gameplay end.

In Mindjack you're able to hack into a persons brain and take over their body.  Using the ability of mind hack you're able to take direct control over a NPC.  If you use the mind slave ability you recruit that person to help you fight.  It's not just people that you can hack, there are also various robots, and other creatures.  

E3 2010 when Mindjack was announced, Square Enix also showed off a playable demo of the game.  At the end of the demo you face off with a huge cyber-gorilla.  That makes me wonder what other types of creatures the game has in store for us.  It was confirmed that bosses are able to be hacked as well, and that's where the unique multiplayer comes into play.


 The multiplayer in Mindjack is seamlessly integrated into the single player much like Demon's Souls.  You're either on the blue team or the red team and you can join or leave whenever you want.  If you're on the blue team you're helping out the person playing the single player.  You're able to take control of main characters or civilian NPCs.  If you're on the red team you take control of enemy soilders, robots, and bosses.

One of the most exciting moments in Demon's Souls is being able to take control of the Old Monk and actually become the boss.  Enemy AI following scripted actions get boring after a while.  Being able to play with or against other players in the single player is what makes these games unique and exciting.  It also adds lots of replay value to the game being a different experience each time.

Playing the multiplayer you're rewarded with experience points that you can take with you to your own single player game.  You can use the experience points to unlock arts which give you new abilities and make hacking easier.  When you die you're turned into a floating light called the wanderer, until you find another body to inhabit.  There is a timer how often you can hack, and I'm sure a penalty for repeated deaths. 


Mindjack was originally announced for an October 2010 release and was later pushed back to January 18, 2011 for the 360/PS3.  With it's unique multiplayer, Mindjack is turning out to be an interesting looking game.  I really like the concept of perpetual multiplayer within single player experiences.  I hope more games follow suit with this idea, I feel it is the future of multiplayer.
Tips N4G