Showing posts with label shooter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shooter. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Syphon Filter (1999) | Sony PlayStation | Game Review



By 1999, the year Syphon Filter was released on the Sony PlayStation, gaming was dominated by several trends. The first had actually evolved from a trend into the new standard for the vast majority of games going forward: 3D graphics and gameplay in partially 3D to fully 3D environments. 

The resounding success of Super Mario 64 in 1996 and many of the Nintendo 64 games that followed convinced publishers that 3D was not only the future of video games, it was the present. The PlayStation and Sega Saturn’s hardware weren’t as proficient as the 64’s when it came to 3D graphics but the pressure was on to produce 3D games. Both systems did go on to have some very good 3D games while 2D was seen as passé and games in that style dropped off significantly.

The other trend relevant to Syphon Filter was that of the stealth action genre. While 1997’s Goldeneye – the N64’s massively successful movie-based first person shooter – offered plenty of action and moments where the player must take on waves of enemies as is customary for the genre, the spy aspect did squeeze in a little sneaking around. It was to the player’s benefit to take out enemies quickly and quietly before the alarm was raised bringing reinforcements. The use of silencers was key as was good accuracy; often you only had one chance to silently take out an enemy and if you missed the heat would be on.



The following year saw the release of the game most responsible for the rise of stealth: Metal Gear Solid. Bringing in the elements that made its 8-bit predecessors in the series, Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, unique, as well as adding in some new ones to the 32-bit realm, Metal Gear Solid was a masterpiece of, in its own words “Tactical Espionage Action”. The game’s entire premise was that of infiltration and in most places, a strategy of avoiding enemies rather than engaging them was key. Not only was it still quite different from other games of the time, it was a lot of fun. As much as gamers had enjoyed titles with a “guns blazing” approach – blasting all enemies like a space marine – this sneaky alternative proved to be extremely enjoyable. Successfully passing through areas undetected forced the player to be more thoughtful and creative. The game was a success as big if not bigger than Goldeneye so a wave of imitators was inevitable. 

Metal Gear Solid: Often imitated, never duplicated.

Which brings us back to Syphon Filter. Possibly you forgot that’s what this article is about. You are forgiven.

Developed by the little-known Eidetic, whose only game to that point was one of the absolute worst of the aforementioned wave of fully 3D games, Bubsy 3D, Syphon Filter is no Metal Gear Solid clone, but it’s definitely strongly influenced by the Konami title. The player finds himself in control of a covert agent Gabriel Logan engaged in a series of missions. The agency is tracking terrorist Erich Rhoemer, who has acquired a deadly biological weapon called Syphon Filter (which, yes, is similar to Metal Gear Solid’s FOXDIE) and has just launched an attack on Washington, DC. Just like Goldeneye and most spy movies, Logan’s quest brings him to a variety of locations throughout the world. The story is fairly standard and it’s not necessary to relate it here. Logan himself is a fairly bland character and his voice actor makes him sound approximately seventy years old.

The gameplay takes place in third person with Logan going through 3D environments and the player can rotate the camera as needed. While the camera isn’t perfect and you can sometimes end up with some inconvenient angles, it’s usually not enough to truly hamper you. It’s not a platformer requiring precise jumps like Super Mario 64 after all.

That isn’t to say precision isn’t required, though. Aiming certain weapons shifts the perspective to first person and it can be tricky if you’re under pressure from enemies. While the game favours a stealthy approach, Gabe is still going to see plenty of combat as enemies sometimes come at him in waves. But the real challenge lies in entering new rooms or areas where enemies have already taken up firing positions. Cover isn’t always available and even when it is, it’s tenuous.

I haven’t watched videos of people playing Syphon Filter so I only really know how I chose to play it. My main strategy involves almost constant movement once I’m in a gun battle. This frantic style of play enables you to dodge bullets but makes aiming difficult and weapons do run out of ammo. So in some of the later levels it can take several attempts to figure out the best way to navigate a prolonged battle. A few years later, I’d apply a similar strategy to the Max Payne games but it was easier there because of that game’s feature of being able to slow down time.

While Syphon Filter falls well short of the standard set by Metal Gear Solid in terms of gameplay, story, voice acting and music, it still does add a few neat wrinkles of its own. For instance, in taking advantage of the game’s decent lighting effects, some areas are dark enough to require you to use a flashlight. In certain instances this can be a calculated risk as light can alert nearby enemies when you’re trying to sneak past them.


Syphon Filter was well received and spawned two sequels in quick succession. I’m fairly certain I’ve played both; I know for sure I did play Syphon Filter 2 but can’t really remember much about it beyond it playing exactly like the original game. Beyond that trilogy there came several more I never played: Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain in 2004, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror in 2006 and Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow in 2007. The latter three were all for the PlayStation 2 and were mostly lost in the shuffle during those years. But playing once more through the original has made me curious about them.

Syphon Filter may have been the byproduct of trends but it’s still a solid game that’s fairly fun to play and takes some skill to complete. I was even driven to frustration at some parts but I wouldn’t call the difficulty cheap or unforgiving. One just has to make the proper adjustments. In the end, Gabriel Logan never joined the upper echelon of classic video game characters but he sits somewhere comfortably in the middle as the protagonist of a pretty good series. That’s more than can be said for many others.

cole d'arc

Cole d'arc is a writer based out of Halifax, NS. He is a practiced blogeteer and professional lister at Five-O-Rama, is the man behind Cole Talks Comics on YouTube, and talks about movies and video games live from the Movie Discussion Pocket Dimension and The Final Dungeon

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Star Fox 64 (1997) - Nintendo 64

Gotta love that N64 box-art!
Star Fox 64 is a reboot of Star Fox, the wildly popular FX-powered Super Nintendo game released in 1993. SF64 was released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997. There had been a cancelled sequel in development for the SNES during the four years between these releases, so there was a lot of hype for a new 3D Star Fox game.

The game is an on-rails shooter in which you play as Fox McCloud, leader of a group of mercenaries known as - prepare yourselves - Star Fox. The team includes Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lambardi. In most of the stages of the game your team actually joins you in the battle and it is often up to you, their fearless leader, to help them out of jams. There are some benefits to keeping your team alive, such as Slippy's ability to scan bosses for weak points and a plethora of tips from Peppy.

The story goes that Andross, a mad scientist from the blue planet Corneria, banished to planet Venom for committing atrocities upon the people of Corneria several years prior, is attacking the Lylat System once again with new "bio-weapons". Fearing imminent defeat, General Pepper hires Star Fox to take down the evil Andross once and for all.

The Landmaster in action.
Thanks to the Nintendo 64's more powerful hardware, SF64 comes packed with several improvements over the SNES game. These include "all-range mode", which allows players to take control of Star Fox's Arwings in an open battlefield, complete with new moves that include a "loopdy-loop" (the technical term, I assure you) and the tried and true barrel roll. Some of the best stages in the game are dogfights against Star Fox's rivals, Star Wolf, in all-range mode. Also, several stages have been added with new environments, in which Fox will take control of the Blue Marine submarine or the Landmaster tank.

Star Fox 64 is a very short game, which most players will easily be able to pick up and finish in one sitting. As a result, Nintendo EAD had to pack a lot of replay value packed into that little grey cartridge. In order to get the true ending of Star Fox 64, you have to finish the game by taking on the different planets in the Lylat System in a certain order; the hard red path, the medium yellow path, and the easy blue path. The only way to unlock certain stages is to perform specific tasks along the way, such as defeating a certain number of enemies or saving a teammate.

Of course Nintendo had to make use of the four controller ports on the 64 and included a multiplayer component in Star Fox 64. There are three modes: Point Match, Battle Royale, and Time Trial.

There are also unlockables in the game in the form of medals. If a player can finish missions with all team members intact and obtain high kill counts they'll receive a medal. If you collect all of them you unlock an Expert Mode. You'll also unlock additions to multiplayer, like the ability to use the Landmaster tank or play as the members of Star Fox on foot and brandishing bazookas.

The Rumble Pak add-on makes for quite the behemoth.
To cap the whole thing off, Star Fox was the first N64 game to use the Rumble Pak, which was included with the game, This was one of the first implementations of "force feedback" or "haptic technology" in a home console game and would usher in similar technologies from the Playstation (Dualshock controller) and the Dreamcast (Jump Pack).

Is Star Fox 64 without its problems? Few games are. One serious downfall of SF64 is that unlocking some of the different planets in the Lylat System can be very vague and difficult to figure out. There's no clear direction. Coupled with the short playtime of the game, this isn't that big of deal honestly, but in order to replay a stage you have to sacrifice a life. This means that if you're running through Star Fox 64, play a level, and don't get to take the path you want you have to keep sacrificing Arwings in order to retry. This can get a little annoying when you just can't figure out how to unlock a certain planet. Get ready to play through the first stage of the game many, many times.

Another gripe is the aforementioned new vehicles. They do add a little variety to the game, but honestly can be a bit of a pain to pilot. For instance, when deep underwater in Aquas, the only way to light your path is to constantly fire off torpedoes in the Blue Marine. You have unlimited torpedoes (thanks, Slippy!) but it can be a serious pain to constantly spam the torpedo button. Also, one of the Landmaster stages has you having to constantly fire upon an escaping train. This wouldn't be a big deal, but the controls on the tank can be a bit clunky to begin with, and you have to be mindful of everything else going on, while trying to keep your attention on the train.

When I think about it, these are ultimately complaints about the level design. It does add some difficulty to the game, and honestly you can master these stages. It just seems unnecessarily hectic at times and probably could have been handled better.

Do a barrel roll.. in glasses-free 3D!
All-in-all I find Star Fox 64 a satisfying game. Some people don't appreciate a short play time, but I don't mind it one bit. Also, you'll find yourself wanting to play this game over and over anyway, because it is very fun, so figuring out how to access different planets in the Lylat System won't seem like too much of a chore.

It has been my experience that you can find a Star Fox 64 cartridge pretty easily at used game stores or flea markets/garage sales and they're typically pretty affordable. Rumble Paks are usually pretty easy to come by, too, if you want the authentic experience. You can also download SF64 on the Wii Virtual Console 1000 Nintendo Points, which is roughly $10, but you won't be able to play the game with any sort of force feedback functionality. Lastly, you can pick up Star Fox 64 3D for the 3DS, but be warned that it's becoming harder to find and like Nintendo's other popular N64-to-3DS remake, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, the price is rising and rising.

Star Fox 64 is May's game of the month for the Cartridge Club. If you want to join in on the fun, check out the Cartridge Bros. website and their dedicated Cartridge Club forum to chat about the game with other gamers. Also keep an eye out for their podcast dedicated to the game at the end of the month.

Good luck!
R