| Author | Review |
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BeyondNecroDome
55,937
TA Score for this game: 1,233
Posted on 23 February 12 at 04:05, Edited on 29 February 12 at 03:47 |
This review has 44 positive votes and 10 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Syndicate
Syndicate is a reimagination of the beloved cult classics, syndicate and syndicate wars. Like fallout, this is an attempt to reboot a top down rpg/rts as an fps. They had a lot to live up to, the originals had a wonderfully dark, futuristic atmosphere that felt totally unique. So does this version do justice to the original ?
Story 7.5
While this isnt exactly a deep, emotional tale, that isn't what you play a shooter for , is it ? The story remains almost exactly the same as before, Corporate warfare in the future with teams of bad-ass, trenchcoat-wearing cyborgs. There is an interesting new story, some added betrayal, twists and turns, and the game keeps you interested to see what will happen next. One thing some fans may decry is the lack of any real non hostile npc interaction, but this is after all a shooter. The important part, and where it got this rating, is how similar it feels to the originals, and they too had a somewhat impersonal feel, perhaps an intentional part of the heartless syndicate cyborg experience.
Graphics 8.5
The visuals in syndicate are eyepopingly beautiful, massive neon cityscapes, aerial highways full of flying cars, amazing skylines and awsome computer displays all over. This is truly a great looking game, and it retains the design and feel of the originals very well, which is very important to the fans. Everything from the vehicles to the enemies armor is wonderfully modeled and textured, and the enviroments are just fantastic. Even details you may not even notice, like a computer wall display in the back room of a rave, or the effects of a window shattered in a gunfight were done very well, It feels convincingly futuristic, and the hud information makes you really feel like a cyborg agent. Also, this game features plenty of graphic violence, a plus for fans of the originals or the style of a good 90's video game. Head shot clean off, Torsos torn in half by the blast of a shotgun, and limbs cleaved by revolver fire. Don't get me started on explosive damage or how cool a slow motion head shot looks in the stylized dart overlay !
Audio 10
The sonic effects in this game shine, paticularly in campaign. With a decent speaker setup you can hear bullets as if they are really zinging around your head, and you can even track enemies by their sound. I once had to open fire while inside a narrow halway, the echo was so realistic i had to fire off a couple more rounds to hear it again ! Surround sound isn't new, but this game makes it feel like it is. You can almost feel the heat from flames in the game just by the attention to the audio details, and the death rattles of your enemies are fairly well varied. Couple the fantasic sound quality with the futuristic, sci fi effects and you have a truly memorable audio experience. Not only that, but the atmospheric ambience and soundtrack really put you in the syndicate world, they worked hard to make sure fans wouldnt be let down, and it shows.
Gameplay 8
The game controls feel wonderful, and are fairly easy to get the hang of, but it will take some practice to master the harder difficulties.
The dart overlay augmentation allows you to see through walls, slow time, and your application chip allows you to do everything from make an enemies gun misfire to force them to act as your temporary ally, commiting suicide when they are all out of opponents. The melee neck snaps and various executions are bone crunchingly awsome, and the gameplay in general just makes you feel like a badass, something very important to fans of classic shooters. The gunplay and mechanics are also hardcore, and the game retains that sense of endless gunfire of the originals, with bullets pumping out of miniguns and powerful futuristic assault rifles at every turn. It's a good thing your character is a cyborg, no human could survive the syndicate world. You will face drones, enemy agents, turrets, bosses, and pretty much everything encountered in the traditional syndicate world. additionally, melee executions combined with the slow motion effects of the dart chip,or the cybernetically enhanced gunplay really lent to this score as well, and will also attract fans of matrix-like action gunfight sequences.
Fun Factor 9
This a severely underated reboot. Though they have adapted modern shooter mechanics to the franchise, the important part is that it remains the syndicate universe. It is finally like being in that universe, at least it's shooter incarnation. The beauty of the environments, the cyborg hud, and the gunplay make this a very fun futuristic blast em up , with enough coop action to keep you busy for months.
In fact , some of the best fun this game offers is in the coop mode, with a good team and in the harder difficultys. Your team will have to survive being pinned down by heavy gunfire much of the time, and good teamwork and healing will be the only thing between your team and death. Like many good coop games, you stray and you die, only a tightly moving, assistence minded squad with revival fever will survive some of the more difficult firefights. the good news is that there is a checkpoint system in the coop mode, very welcomed on the higher difficulty settings. Also, the level up system for coop keeps things interesting, via 2 traditional carrot on a string systems. Experience goes into your various researchs, and you also kill enemies to earn chips to upgrade guns, cyborg chip abilities, or your offense/defense applications in order to kill more enemies faster. Maximum carnage is the very point of a good shooter, right ?
In the end, this was a great redo, it remained true to the series in almost every way. If you are a fan of the originals do not hesitate to pick this up, i promise you will enjoy it. If you have never played the original, but are a fan of sci fi shooters, you also should check this out.
If there is one complaint to be made about this game, it has to be the lack of bigger mech enemies. i felt there should have been some present.
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Lucid Dreams84
118,715
TA Score for this game: 2,020
Posted on 09 May 12 at 18:41, Edited on 15 December 12 at 17:13 |
This review has 14 positive votes and 5 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Original
This is a re-imagining of the 1993 release with the same title that entail of a cyberpunk future with a large corporation that uses syndicates, who are cyborg assassins, to carry out dangerous tasks for them. A remake isn't something that many people like to hear when it comes to gaming because everything seems to be just a copy and paste these days. However, even though Syndicate seems like your typical FPS it is something that shouldn't be overlooked.
You play as Miles Kilo, who is a syndicate agent for a corporation known as Eurocorp. Kilo is the first solider to test out the latest chip upgrade known as DART 6 that was created by Lily Draw. Jack Denham, who is the CEO of Eurocorp, feels that Kilo is ready to end the test runs and go out in the field. Eurocorp has a mole within and jack wants Kilo and Jules Merit to find out who it is, while extracting all the information they have. A rebellion is beginning and Kilo will be a weapon either used against it or for it.
The story wasn't anything new. An evil corporation is trying to control mankind with technology and there is a rebel force trying to stop it. The chapters, or milestones, are also very short, but this is to be expected from games today. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but the ending was the main problem. You expected something big to happen. Instead, you are left with a lazy way out. They did leave it open for a sequel, but every game seems to be doing that now. There isn't anything wrong with giving something with closure in it.
However, hiding in plain sight is the info data that you can collect playing in the single player and multiplayer. There is a vast majority of information that you can find that tells an elaborate story behind the scenes of what you are currently playing. The game could have been more complex with this information instead of putting it into a text format...because who wants to read when playing video games.
The game allows you to carry two guns and a few grenades which your typical FPS allows you to do. The weapons are all actually unique with a wide variety of them switching around between levels with machine guns, pistols, a flamethrower and many more. You can also execute the enemy by pressing down on the right stick. The best part though is the DART 6 chip that Kilo uses to either hack into or destroy the enemy with. The chip can allow you to slow down time, or enhance the user's sense to take down the enemies around them. Later, you can cause weapons to backfire, make enemies commit suicide, or persuade them to help you fight. The environment around you can also be hacked to help you access certain areas or use gun turrets to fight for you. As you progress you can steal other chips to upgrade the DART 6 or weapons.
The online play was by far the most surprising and it is a shame that you see the lobbies pretty much empty. You can have up to four players where you play as syndicate soldiers given a mission to carry out. While you level up you can upgrade your weapons with blueprints and your abilities when you steal them from certain soldiers. The Co-Op in the game is incredibly fun and even better when played with friends. It incorporates everything the single player offers plus new upgrades and a whole new way to play. The Co-Op mode encourages a lot of teamwork to ensure survival and can be very complex if all players are on the same page.
Overall, the game was surprisingly fun. We had expected this to be just another shooter that fails to deliver, but Starbreeze did an extremely good job on this. The gameplay was a blast, but the story could have been worked on a bit. Other than that this is something you will want to play in 2012.
8/10
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silver DewSky
159,037
TA Score for this game: 218
Posted on 19 August 12 at 20:42, Edited on 19 August 12 at 20:44 |
This review has 5 positive votes and 5 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
With Syndicate, Starbreeze Studios brings back a strategy game from the 90's and turns it into a Sci-fi shooter with co-op multiplayer. In the game's campaign, you play as Miles Kilo, a silent protagonist and newest Syndicate for Eurocorp, a company with some shady dealings as they publicly promise the freedom of spreading information to their clients and the public. Behind the scenes though, they send out Syndicates to eliminate targets who are rebelling or competing with their progress and they plan to financially benefit from technology they are producing.
Syndicates are deadly assassins/corporate soldiers with little emotion or remorse for what they are doing and rely on built-in data chips to enhance their abilities. In this world, almost everyone has a date chip in their head for various purposes, but Syndicates have special uses that can make firefights and missions easier. Instead of simply wiping out all enemies with various weapons, you could instead hack into a enemy chip and force them to commit suicide and eliminate surrounding enemies, or convert them into a temporarily ally to fight alongside you – and back away as they kill themselves after helping you.
The story took me about 7 hours, but there were a few times where I was constantly replaying certain areas of the game, mainly the boss fights that you'll encounter in the game. I love a challenging game, but Syndicate has some pretty frustrating boss fights later in the campaign. Thankfully, killing the bosses will usually grant you access to their chip, allowing you to upgrade your abilities with points gained from the chip.
Aside from the ability to force enemies to help you or commit suicide, you'll also have the ability to slow down time with the Dart Overlay, which makes most situations a bit easier. As a member of the Syndicate, you have to ability to perform simple actions from a safe range with the breach ability. You can breach doors, computers, and the shields of invulnerable enemies. Combining the Dart Overlay slowdown with the breaching makes for good strategy and helps you get through most of the game. Those frustrating boss fights go by a bit better if you use this tactic.
Co-op play is the only form of multiplayer in Syndicate, but its pretty fun. No online pass is required, and up to four players can take on various missions and choose from characters unrelated to the main campaign.
Ever since the Chronicle of Riddick games, I've been a fan of Starbreeze's games. Their take on this game coupled with a intriguing story, fun game mechanics, and visuals, makes Syndicate a lot of fun to play. I would definitely recommend checking this game out if you have yet to play it.
 thebuttonpresser.com
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