14 DAY TRIAL // 
Many video game developers have often sought inspiration in existing media properties, from films to TV shows, comics, novels, and so on. Many times, however, their quest for inspiration led to mediocre or downright awful results.
Now, Phosphor Games brings forth Gemini: Heroes Reborn, a title based, as its name suggests, on "Heroes Reborn," the recent TV series that’s airing its first and final season in the US. Older TV veterans remember that it’s actually a sequel of sorts to the original "Heroes" series.
Gemini takes place in the years that separate the two shows, focusing on one gifted young girl named Cassandra, who seeks answers about her parents and childhood by exploring a derelict facility. With only a few references to the show, not to mention some never-before-seen powers, the game promises great fun for fans of the TV series but also newcomers.
Does Gemini: Heroes Reborn manage to deliver the goods or should it go on a never-ending hiatus? Let’s find out.
Story
Gemini wastes no time, rapidly introducing Cassandra, the main character, as well as her friend Alex, and a few details that quickly set up their adventures. The young girl doesn’t know much about her parents, but her friend manages to uncover a few bits of information in an old abandoned facility that’s soon to be taken over by his employer.
After a brief bit of exploration, the plot thickens, as armed guards capture Alex, and Cassandra is tasked not just with surviving but also helping her friend escape the clutches of the now evil corporation. Fortunately for her, after a brief tumble in some debris, her latent abilities awaken, and she becomes an “evo,” which is the term the Heroes universe uses for people with super-powers.
Cassandra’s main ability is to manipulate time. This manifests in several different ways. First and foremost, she can jump between two time periods: the game’s present day (2014) and the past (2008), but also bend time to get past tricky situations. Soon after these abilities are introduced, she gains access to telekinesis, allowing her to move objects and even people around with her mind.
The narrative is pretty straightforward and does suffer from a few cliché moments, but overall, it’s quite decent and tells a brief but decent story concerning Cassandra. Sure, she more than easily embraces killing enemies without any actual remorse, but she is in a “kill or be killed” situation.
The references to the TV show aren’t that many and mostly consist of various objects that you can find throughout the facility. Don’t expect Hiro or Sylar to make an appearance, but if you do pay attention, you can, at least, get some ideas about the state of the universe before the new series actually began the arc you saw on TV.
Gameplay
As mentioned above, Cassandra starts off with the ability to manipulate time and then manages to gain telekinetic powers, courtesy of a BioShock-style injection with a special substance at an early point in the game.
The time jump mechanic is quite interesting, as she opens up a portal that glimpses into the other period, and at a press of a button, you can jump into that other era. You can use it to explore the environment, as the present day might have debris blocking a corridor while the past has no such obstructions. However, the past might have dangerous guards while the present only has a handful of them. Depending on your imagination, you can also bring objects with you between the periods in order to take out foes or solve puzzles.
Telekinesis lets Cassandra grab objects with her mind and throw them into different directions. This power acts as your main offensive weapon, as you can grab chairs, barrels, or all sorts of other things and fling them towards enemies. You can also grab foes and throw them towards dangerous elements to take them out in imaginative ways.
Both power types work pretty well, although you require a bit of time to get used to their various applications. An interesting side effect lets Cassandra stop bullets, Matrix-style, and fling them back towards your opponent. While many of the ways she can use her abilities have been done before in games like BioShock or PsiOps, they still feel quite good and fun when you (and Cassandra herself) master them.
Enemies are decent but not that varied. You encounter regular soldiers or guards, but also some specialized versions that move faster or evolved ones that are immune to your time-bending shenanigans. They can be quite aggressive, but sometimes they can get stuck in objects. They also don’t do that much damage, even on Normal difficulty. If things do get tricky, you can always jump into the other time period, wait for your health to regenerate, and then jump back into the fray.
Gemini works best when things get hectic, and you’re forced to alternate quickly between your abilities and don’t really have to think about your motivation, other than surviving. Sure, you can try to go all sneaky, alternating between timelines and using abilities to confuse foes, but there are quite a few situations where you’re forced to take out opponents.
The levels are pretty linear, although some bigger arena-like zones are thrown in from time to time to switch things up and offer a playground for players that want to test out Cassandra’s abilities to the fullest, as well as multiple ways of getting to the end goal. Unfortunately, the levels are relatively short, and the loading screens between them get tedious during lengthier play sessions.
Besides exploring, the game also has some first-person platforming situations, similar to Mirror’s Edge. These aren’t that tricky, although you might get confused about switching between timelines to get the correct jump and then dilating time to ensure you reach your destination. Fortunately, checkpoints are pretty numerous, so you won’t spend that much time trying to get back to your initial position after death.
The game can be played easily with a mouse and keyboard, although a controller is recommended if you want quicker access to all the abilities Cassandra wields. As mentioned above, no matter the control scheme you use, a bit of time is needed to learn how to utilize her powers, although the end result is you feeling like a very powerful evolved human.
Graphics and sound
Gemini: Heroes Reborn uses the Unreal Engine 4 and produces some pretty good visuals, especially on the “Epic” quality setting. It also allows players to tinker with quite a few options, although the most important, field of view, isn’t available, unfortunately. Colors are sharp, even though some textures and animations aren’t exactly up to par.
The soundtrack is good but doesn’t stand out all that much. Voice acting is a bit better, even if some of the dialog can be a bit cheesy at some points in the story. You do notice, however, that enemies react verbally to your presence even if they’re not in the same room as you, leading to a bit of confusion and some unintended jump scares.
The Good
- Varied uses of the two main powers
- Good visuals
- Appeals to Heroes fans and newcomers
- Allows for imaginative thinking as well as brute force
The Bad
- Levels are short and loading screens are numerous
- Some AI problems
- Story isn't fleshed out all that much
Conclusion
You can clearly see that Gemini has the potential to be a much more expansive game, but unfortunately, the fact that Heroes Reborn has been canceled after its first season has no doubt prompted Phosphor to deliver the game as soon as possible. Fortunately, it’s pretty polished and serves as a good distraction before other, bigger titles start appearing next month and in March.
