Syndicate (Video Game)
Kenny King
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Developed by Starbreeze
Distributed by Electronic Arts
Rated M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language and Suggestive Themes
Available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC (reviewed)
Obviously, there is a great chance of failure when rebooting a classic gaming franchise.Syndicate was originally available in 1993 on PC. Developers Starbreeze knew it would be difficult to take up rebooting this classic game, because it would have to stay true to its roots while appealing to the modern gaming audience. Luckily, the new Syndicate manages to do both tasks very well.
Syndicate revolves around a futuristic world where giant business corporations control civilization. The businesses implant chips into to the brains of every citizen to monitor their actions from afar. The different corporations are constantly fighting one another to secure power and new technologies, and you just happen to control soldiers from Eurocorp–the most technologically advanced corporation in existence. The single player campaign follows the story of a soldier named Miles Kilo, as he struggles to remember his mysterious origin and piece together his lost memories. The multiplayer campaign has a less dramatic story offering up the fact that you are simply a team of up to 4 soldiers completing the missions at hand.
The futuristic first-person shooter makes up for a lackluster story with some insanely fun gameplay. Of course, there is your normal HUDs, regenerative health and other game mechanics that is typical in your modern first-person shooter; however, Syndicate is able to differentiate itself with other unique abilities and accessories for your soldiers. Breach abilities allow your soldier to use his advanced chip in order to hack into other’s chips, essentially, controlling the minds of your enemies. You can make your enemies do just about anything with a successful hack including killing their teammates or themselves. There are different abilities available to you in both the single player and multiplayer campaigns, and the effects are typically weaker in multiplayer to balance out the difficulty of the game.
Syndicate offers up the best graphical display of 2012 so far. The eye-popping textures are capable of rivaling fellow EA game Battlefield 3, especially, in its lighting effects. The variety in both futuristic weaponry and environments only create a much more immersive and entertaining world in which to play. The game’s soundtrack is also pretty awesome with a ton of bass-heavy club beats and futuristic tunes.
While Syndicate isn’t going to go down in gaming history as one of the most revolutionary games of this generation, it is a whole hell of a lot of fun to play–especially with friends. The competitive nature of the scoring systems and cooperation required to take down some of the game’s tougher enemies keep the multiplayer fun for many hours after single player may have grown old. The puzzle and breach mechanics keep gameplay from being too repetitive, and the variety of futuristic weapons and accessories really make the world of Syndicate that much more engaging. If you’re a fan of first-person shooters, you’ve got to play Syndicate.
Syndicate was released on February 21, 2012. For more information on the game, check out the official Syndicate website.
Game Features
4 out of 5
Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
