Graphics: The LithTech 3D engine has come quite a long way since its introduction in Monolith’s FPS title, Shogo. The visually attractive Sanity uses a heavily modified version of this engine, allowing for exploration in an isometric perspective instead of the first-person mode used in its predecessors. The game ran with almost no frame-loss at 1280×1024 with 16-bit color depth on my system. The locales look realistic, with a great deal of attention paid to lighting. Each one of the models is well detailed though there is repetition with some of the enemy textures. The effects for each of the Talents are unique and look gorgeous when in the midst of a heated battle with multiple psychic enemies. Watching psychic energy fly about the room in balls of light and fire with almost no slowdown is one of the more satisfying pleasures in Sanity.

Interface: Of all the games I have played in recent days, Sanity has one of the easiest control schemes to master. Right-clicking moves Cain around and left-clicking performs the currently selected action or talent; players with lightning-fast reflexes could quite possibly play through the entire offering using only the mouse, opting only for the keyboard to enter names for saved games. Fortunately, for those of us who lack the sheer speed required to switch between talents during a battle, the controls can all be remapped through the Options menu; and there are up to twenty macros for different talents, making quick psionic combos a reality.

In single player, the basic interface is handled by clicking the mouse over a particular person or object with the option to talk / use an object, flash your badge, or draw your gun. These modes of control are relatively easy to master with a bit of common sense. Additionally, the health and sanity gauges as well as the currently usable talents are all very clearly and helpfully displayed. This layout is very effective when combined with the ease of the controls.

Gameplay: Quite simply, Sanity is entertaining. It is easy to become immersed in the virtual, well-balanced environments while keeping an eye on both health and sanity gauges, as either one being depleted can cause you to lose. Fortunately, replenishments for both are evenly placed, and often appear when you vanquish an enemy. In order to pass through the levels with ease, you must rely on a variety of resources to solve your problems, including your wits (or your badge), and when all else fails, force. The inclusion of these gameplay twists elevates Sanity from a Diablo style click-fest to a calculating action-adventure. While mindless shooting has its place, seeing an action game that requires some strategy other than fire-strafe-fire-strafe is refreshing.

The only problem with the gameplay is the load times experienced between levels and in restoring saved games. On my system the average load time was about 30 seconds, and although this isn’t terrible, it could certainly use some improvement. However, players with slower systems will find themselves in a nightmare of waiting for the lightmaps to be processed. If I recall correctly, Shogo experienced a similar problem with load times, which leaves me to conclude that it is an inherent aspect of the LithTech engine itself.

Multiplayer: Multiplayer in Sanity is great fun, and the ability to expand the set of talents far beyond what comes shipped with the product is a big plus. One quirk that keeps Sanity from being memorable in this department, however, is the small size of most multiplayer maps. When you are in the midst of a fierce volley of talents, the levels’ primary deficiency becomes painfully clear as it is overly easy for opponents to knock each other off ledges with a psionic push.

Sound FX: The sound effects in Sanity are abundant and well designed. Almost all of the talents have individual sounds to accompany them, most of which sound appropriate depending on their totem. The other big seller in this department is that all of the voice-overs for Agent Cain are done by Ice-T, the famous rapper/actor. Ice-T gives his character a real personality, doing an excellent job of conveying the appropriately outgoing but hot-tempered attitude that qualifies Cain. Nonetheless, some of Ice-T’s lines sound forced, especially when in conversation with other members of the DNPC. The remainder of the voice-overs cover a wide range of quality, as is the case in most titles that use digital speech.

Musical Score: Sanity’s rather decent music is pulled from various modern styles, with a tendency to lean towards techno and electronica. The music is not constant, but is placed strategically throughout each level, only playing or heating up when a crucial plot-twist is revealed, or multiple enemies ambush Cain. Also included is a single off of Ice-T’s new album, entitled — what else — ‘Sanity.’ For the most part, the music matches the atmosphere of the game, and seems to play more to Cain’s personality than to the physical environment.

Intelligence & Difficulty: Enemies tend to attack in easily discernable, straightforward patterns. Where Sanity really excels is in the battles between psionics. Lesser enemies will use basic talents against you, while some of the more difficult opponents will launch devastating combos that you will have to counter with an appropriate talent, if you possess it. In fact, using a specific talent at just the right moment usually means the difference between life and death when facing bosses. Unfortunately the AI rarely relates to the enemies’ behavior, which leaves players with the task of merely picking a good set of talents to set at the ready.

Sanity has several difficulty levels ranging from ‘Brain-Dead’ to ‘Get me a straight-jacket.’ In the higher skill levels, enemies do far more damage, and leave less health and sanity refills. The level of challenge is variable enough to allow the novice to survive, as well as to provide a near impossible challenge for veterans.

Overall: Sanity is an enjoyable combination of action and adventure that will keep gamers entertained for weeks with the varied single player missions as well as the expandability of the multiplayer functions. The talent system is a breath of fresh air and functions well in the context of the story. The gameplay is enjoyable and engaging, forcing you to think your way through levels instead of merely blasting everything in sight, which makes it a welcome diversion from the droning repetition of many other games that consider themselves ‘action’ titles. Sanity manages to rise above the load times and weak multiplayer level-design to become a worthy title for any gamer willing to step into the spandex uniform of the wise-talking attitude-laden superhero, Agent Cain.