As worst-kept secrets in the industry go, few secrets have been worse-kept than that of EA's upcoming Syndicate remake. Between leaked copyright filings, constant rumors of Swedish developer Starbreeze handling the project, and EA actually leaking the project's existence over the weekend by accidentally posting details to its own Origin service, it's safe to say that everyone saw this one coming.
But much as one might feign shock during a spoiled surprise birthday party, just so as not to disappoint their significant other who spent so much time putting this whole thing together and then just inadvertently left one of the party invites sitting around on the kitchen table for you to find, let's all sit here and pretend we're really surprised and shocked that EA today announced that it is, in fact, remaking Syndicate, with developer Starbreeze on board to turn the former tactical-strategy franchise into a first-person shooter. Seriously, look surprised, or EA's PR people are going to start sobbing again.
According to the press release, this new Syndicate doesn't sound too far off from its cyberpunk predecessors, taking place in a "Machiavellian society" in the year 2069 full of corporations running rampant over a government-less landscape. The three dominant corporations--Eurocorp, Cayman Global, and Aspari--are constantly jockeying for control of a world where everything is digitally interconnected, including its people.
Players will be able to take advantage of a specialized microchip technology that allows them to slow down time and "breach the digital world around them to take down their foes using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics." As an added bonus, Syndicate will also feature a four-player co-op mode, with reworked versions of missions from the original Syndicate.
If there is one detail of some surprise to be found in this announcement, it's that Syndicate is currently set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in early 2012. That is, as you may know, soon.