The "Original Gangsta" Ice-T has come from rap to movies and now to your video games. Is there not a market this man can't miss? The year is 2028 and a serum that was invented by Dr. Aiken granted recipients psionic energy emissions. Ice-T, the voice of Cain, an agent who has psionic talents, is whom you play in the game. Cain has had severe civilian casualties in his past missions. Since then he has had an aggression chip implanted in his brain so that if he is to shoot another civilian, then the game is over and you have failed. Psionic powers are very powerful, but hard to control at times and will make a person go insane after a period of time. It is Cain's mission to stop the superhuman bad guys, keep his cool, and not go insane with power. Will the real Ice-T please stand up?

Gamers have asked for the psionics game concept for years now. The Monolith team answered back with a game that uses the LithTech engine. Sanity has many different and favorable elements to the game such as Magic: The Gathering, Mage Slayer, and Chaos Engine. The game combines all the great elements of these games and puts them together into Sanity.

The action/adventure of Sanity is not bad and is mostly overhead with outstanding detailed backgrounds. The LithTech engine is a very versatile engine, but this game doesn't take advantage of its full potential. The engine is not represented well until you get further into the game and into the more complex puzzle solving.

The game consists of point and click, fire your talents or weapons, and some amusing puzzle solving. The puzzle solving "do this task get an item" method is not very original in concept, but they do have amusing points that keep the game going. The game is also enhanced with Ice-T's witty narrative. (The only other actor to successfully pull off a voice-over for a game is Bruce Campbell of the Evil Dead series.)

The eighty-some psionic talents you pick up through the game are gathered by cards that look much like "Magic: The Gathering" cards. You start with a fire talent and work your way up to some really amazing powers. Each talent is categorized into 8 different totems such as: fire, sun, and illusion. The talents are not very unique in the different totems with each one having the same premise with just a different color. You can buy multiplayer booster packs just like the card games, but that is more money for something that already should be in the game. The booster pack, however, does give you a little more depth to your psionic talents. Overall, the talent cards are a very good idea, but hopefully the concept will be carried over with more creativity.

The multiplayer aspect is always a great touch to any game for replay value. Sanity allows you to go against 8 players in 10 multiplayer levels. You also have the ability to have a stand-alone server for those lucky broadband folks. The advantage of a stand alone is since none of the players will be the host of the game, no one player will have significant advantages in terms of performance. Multiplayer was simple to set up and get directly into action using flipside's Internet server. The graphics are extremely well done with detail and design that make the game interesting. The talent effects are great and give you the sense of power that is missing from their special abilities.

The audio is good with Ice-T's gritty street thug voice and some of his musical talents helping in the background.

The controls are simple. You highlight an item and if it glows, then it's able to be used or moved. The annoying movement of holding down the mouse button to move Cain was not a good feature. It would be best to point and click where to go on the level. It's not a big deal, but it is very noticeable.

This game is a very good step in the right direction. The use of the infamous card games is always a big winner with gamers. The game plays well on the PC, but has a console feel to it. With all the minor flaws and disappointments, Sanity is still fun and a great game to play.

Install: Easy. The install gives you options from a minimal install to a large full install. Any option plays just fine.

Gameplay: 7.5, The game is fun, but has minor annoyances. The multiplayer is also a fun way to enjoy the game.

Graphics: 8, The details of the levels are great and the effects that come from the talents are fantastic.

Sound: 8.3, The "OG" made this game much more with witty narrative and background beats.

Difficulty: 7.3, The puzzles aren't difficult and the storyline is pretty straightforward. The hardest part is keeping innocent people safe.

Concept: 8.5, Best new concept this year so far. The use of psionics and card talents make this game a first original.

Overall: 8.4, The game is not great and still lacks that certain quality, but is really fun to play -- and that is where it counts.