 Syphon Filter for Sony Playstation
The history of the first-person 3-D shooter (games in which the
viewpoint is from the eyes of the central character, or which the
viewpoint is from directly behind the character) video game is a long
and illustrious one. The first game of the type was probably
Wolfenstein 3-D, a game set in World War II Germany in which the
player assumed the role of an American spy sent to infiltrate various
German headquarters, and eventually to assassinate Hitler himself. The
game demonstrated that PC's were developing the capability to handle
flashy 3D graphics, and was the beginning of a revolution. A few years
later, the same company that developed Wolfenstein, Id Software,
released an even more revolutionary game, the amazing Doom. This
time, the player assumed the role of a futuristic soldier to battle
creatures straight from the depths of hell. The graphics, for the time,
were absolutely stunning, and the game rapidly developed a huge cult
following. Soon thereafter came Doom II, Quake, the
Duke Nukem series, and other similar games. When the Sony
Playstation was released it stood to reason that games of this sort
would begin appearing for the system, and soon enough, Doom and
Duke Nukem were ported to the system. Then, one of the most
popular games for any system ever, Tomb Raider was released, and
followed up with two sequels.
Don't worry, there won't be a quiz on this later. I was just getting to Syphon Filter. It's a first-person shooter (the
just-behind-the-shooter type) in the spirit of all of these, with a
"Mission: Impossible"-type theme. You assume the role of Gabriel Logan,
a very Bond-like character – handsome, debonair and, of course, skilled
in many killing styles and an expert with any weapon. Your assignment is
to track down a terrorist who has obtained the "syphon filter" virus,
which has the potential to be genetically programmed to target specific
ethnic groups or demographics, leaving only the chosen to survive. Small
villages in underdeveloped countries are being wiped out, and it's only
a matter of time before the virus is unleashed somewhere even more
deadly.
The game begins with a two minute or so animated sequence set in a
Guatemalan jungle. Logan and another agent, Lian Xing (who looks a damn
bit more than a little like Molly Ringwald in The Stand) are
there to rescue another agent. They arrive too late, and find him
executed. The animation itself is very good, though the characters tend
to walk without moving their arms at all. Nitpicky, to say the least.
Similar animations pop up at various points during the game, each
looking very nice.
The gameplay then begins with you thrown into the middle of a firefight
on the streets of Washington D.C. Now, the real fun begins. You start
out armed with a few weapons, such as a taser, a silenced 9mm handgun,
and a sniper rifle, as well as a flashlight. Right away you get an idea
of the fun you're going to have. The taser is, well, a taser. It shoots
a sharp probe trailing a thin wire. Once it hits an enemy, he's zapped
with a massive amount of electricity, frying him. But the fun doesn't
stop there. Keep the juice flowing by holding the button, and he'll do
his dance of death until he bursts into flames. Beautiful. If that gets
old (which it doesn't for me), you can use the 9mm. By holding the L1
button, you get a set of crosshairs on the screen. Align them on your
enemy's head (until the screen tells you "head shot") and POP! Down he
goes with one shot. Better yet is the sniper rifle, which is also
silenced, but it features a zoom function. You can use this baby to cap
enemies from a great distance before they're even aware of you. On later
stages the weapons get even more advanced and powerful. The nightvision
rifle is a sniper rifle with an infrared scope on it, which highlights
your warm-blooded enemies brightly. Shoot out the lights, and they're
yours. You also are treated to M-16's, two types of shotguns, .45
caliber automatics, various machine guns, and even a rifle which shoots
armor piercing bullets that shred an enemy's flak jacket to kill with
one shot.
The controls are extensive, using pretty much every button on the
controller for one thing or another. You can aim your weapon, train your
weapon automatically on an enemy's body, crouch, roll, strafe, and more.
You can't jump, but one button (called the "interaction" button)
basically serves this purpose, allowing you to climb on objects, jump to
grab overhead objects, push buttons, flip switches, and so on. Many of
the functions can be used in tandem to create interesting effects, and
to produce tactics that become more and more necessary as the game
progresses. It can be a bit trying at first, but experienced gamers will
get the hang of it before too long.
The graphics and sound are excellent. Everything looks great, the
environments are deep and detailed, and everything moves smoothly when
you travel around. The music is very nice, too, subtle enough at most
times to just settle into the background, and then increasing in tempo
and urgency when a threat is encountered. Only occasionally do problems
appear with seams and pop-up, and when they do, they're fleeting. The
sounds themselves are well-done and useful as well. Trained ears can
determine what weapon is being fired at them by listening close, and the
ambient noise is amazing, particularly in one stage that takes place in
a rain shower.
The difficulty of the game is hard to describe. Some of the stages are
very extensive and long, and on occasion, the player will encounter
situations that have no obvious solution. Serious exploration and
improvisation becomes the norm, and at times, intense frustration can
build up. Often, you will encounter a particular situation that is
especially troubling, and that requires several attempts to get through.
This is complicated slightly by the fact that there is no in-game save
function. In its place, the game uses a series of checkpoints within
each level. Reach a checkpoint, and the next time you bite the dust (and
you will, believe me) you are returned to that checkpoint, rather than
the beginning of the stage. But, at the same time, it seems that some
situations are too easy or inconsequential to get out of. You can find
yourself surrounded by a group of 6 terrorists with machine guns, and
simply shoot them all down, often without taking any damage whatsoever.
In all, everything averages out to make it a fairly difficult game, and
with twenty levels in all, one that will keep even the expert gamers
busy for a while.
As a whole, this is just one f'n fun game, and a seriously addictive one
to boot. I can't express the malicious glee that is produced by being
able to electrocute a guy until he catches fire, open fire on a group of
bad guys with a machine pistol, shoot a guy in the leg and watch him
stagger, or to shoot an unsuspecting target in the temple from long
distance, then watch him go down like a wet sack of shit. Maybe that
makes me warped, or a bad person, or indicates that I have a repressed
desire to kill. I can't say for sure, but at least it's an outlet for
all my pent-up hostilities at being passed over for that promotion in
the Loud Bassoon offices. The Big Boss is just lucky that I do have
Syphon Filter, or otherwise I might have to just mention how,
late at night after all the employees have gone home, he likes to jerk off in the company Sno-Cone Machine.
Review by ICE |