Syphon Filter
After an infiltration incident in Costa Rica, the leader of the operation, Eric Rhoemer launches a surprise attack on Washington D.C. Special agent, Gabriel Logan is sent to put down the operation. After doing so, Gabe and his partner, Lian Xing discover a multitude of viral outbreaks similar to the ones they found during their mission in Costa Rica. It then falls into the hands of Gabe to discover what this viral outbreak is and its patterns.
The story was done by the same people who would later bring us the classic Uncharted series. The story to those games is fantastic and Syphon Filter is no exception. It has elements of movies like The Andromeda Strain and the execution and tension of what one would expect from Tom Clancy. There's a lot of espionage, trust, betrayal, action, and suspense. Everything comes together very nicely and unfolds itself greatly as the game progresses. 9.5/10
The graphics look pretty solid. The environments look big and massive. Movement and environmental details are captured quite nicely and run pretty smoothly. One thing I might bring up is that Gabe's running physics are laughable. His running physics look ridiculous and his movements are all over the place. I don't know if this was meant to be for subtle humor or if it was meant to capture the character's tensive attitude. Either way, it comes off as pretty humorous.
The music is also very well done. The soundtrack is very diverse and each track plays perfectly with each event. One of my favorite tracks is the fight with Anton Girduex. One thing I might add is that the voice acting isn't quite on par. The surrounding characters have decent voice-overs, but Gabe and Lian's lines are usually spoken at quite a fast pace. This can require one to play through the game multiple times to comprehend the story to the full degree. 8/10
Gameplay-wise Syphon Filter holds up. The gameplay merges the third-person rail shooter with stealth elements. Having been released one year after Tenchu and the classic Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter has unique gameplay elements that legitimately makes it stand out in the stealth action genre. The way the stealth mechanics are utilized, one could think of this game as a precursor to Splinter Cell.
Like with Tenchu, the levels are in episodic format. Each level takes place in different areas and places within the world. The player is given many mission objectives and is also given the freedom to complete each one in any order he/she chooses.
Unlike Tenchu and MGS, stealth is not functional in certain areas/levels of the game. Examples being the level where Gabe infiltrates the Alaskan base to retrieve the missile launch codes and the exhibit where Gabe has to save Phagan from being executed by Mara Aramov to name a few. Levels are straightforward enough, but there are some puzzles in the game where one has to find items or a switch that is concealed by shadow textures.
Also unlike the characters from the aforementioned games, Gabe Logan is a better fighter. Gunfights are intense and engaging. The player has a great variety of weapons and each one do a considerable amount of damage. The most iconic is the taser. It has infinite ammo, it comes in handy in most situations, and never gets old to use. One can not only shoot from a third person mode using an auto-aim feature that is activated by pressing the R1 button, but they also can shoot in first-person mode. Which is activated by the L1 button. This mode can come in handy to make head shots on enemies that are wearing flak jackets. It also comes in handy for shooting at long distances.
One feature that I love in this game is the meter system. There are three meters: Health, Target, and Danger. The health meter indicates the amount of damage the player is willing to sustain. The target meter indicates the likelihood of the character hitting the target. The longer the player has the auto-aim feature on the target, the more it increases. If the AI target runs for cover, the meter decreases. The danger meter indicates the danger of getting hit by the enemy. The closer and more stationary the player is to the enemy the more it increases and the more likely he is to get hit. The further away and more maneuvering the player is, the meter decreases and the less likely he gets hit. This system is great and makes the game very intuitive.
After having talked about the action dynamic, on may be asking how the stealth works. Stealth mode is activated by pressing and holding the X button. The character will crouch behind obstacles and maneuver slowly. To make stealth kills one has to activate this mode, enter first-person view, remain behind an obstacle, and peek either to the side or above the obstacle the character is behind. This can come in handy, but can also lead to frustration.
The control scheme hasn't really aged well. The stealth mechanics require that multiple buttons be held down at once. To peek around corners and obstacles in a stealthy first-person fashion, one has to hold down X, L1, L2/R2 (depending on whether one is looking left or right), and R1. The square button fires the selected weapon. Triangle automatically selects weapons in a specific fashion. Select activates the menu screen that allows the player to select any weapon, or item. Circle is used to make a dodge roll or roll to maneuver at a quicker pace while in stealth mode. Not only can X be used as stealth, but it can also be used to duck behind cover while in firefights. L2 and R2 can also be used to strife lift or right. While the controls are functional, they are slow but one gets used to them. Stealth not only consists of movement, but also of making manipulating the environment to ensure a successful stealth kill i.e. shooting out the lights.
While the environments look big and objectives can be completed in any order, they mostly consist of going from Point A to Point B. This makes Syphon Filter the most linear of the three stealth action game franchises on the PS1. There are checkpoints within the game that are activated when one completes an objective.
Gameplay remains very solid. The stealth can feel a little off at times and the controls may be slow, but everything else is greatly executed. Gunfights are very engaging and I love the meter system that this game utilizes. 9/10
Syphon Filter may be the most linear of the three stealth games for the PS1, but is also the most engaging. Having been released a year after MGS, many MGS fans accused Syphon Filter for being an MGS knockoff. Syphon Filter doesn't play anything like MGS and is legitimately a stand alone franchise. Although, since 3D action games were all the rage and just getting started, it's understandable as to why such criticism was made. I do wish there were extra features and bonus content that could be unlocked. While not as great as MGS and the controls may feel weird, Syphon Filter is a very engaging and fun game that any nostalgic PS1 gamer should own in his/her library.
