Don’t hide this in the shadows!
For a long time I have avoided the whole stealth em up genre. In fact, I can trace it back to playing Metal Gear Solid on the original Playstation many moons ago. I just didn’t get it. As a hardened Duke Nuke ’em 3D and Quake player, the whole idea of slowly creeping around, avoiding conflict where possible and generally not running about like a nut case just didn’t make any sense.
And so it remained, until a copy of Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow dropped through my letter box. My first instinct was to send it to another reviewer, but I decided to just give it one go, see if it was going to be of any interest to me. Good God, I am so glad I did.
Right from the opening sequence I was hooked. The more I played the more addicted I became. From the exquisitely detailed graphics, to the Hollywood Movie style storyline, this game has taken over my life!
Everything about Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow oozes class and good development.
But I digress. For those not in the know, Syphon Filter is a long running stealth em up game, harking back to the days of the original Playstation. You play as gravelley voiced Gabe Logan, secret agent and all round tough guy. His team of Theresa, the hot looking comms expert and Lian, the semi love interest and partner agent, are involved in an extremely convoluted plot which sees a terrorist organisation generally trying to do bad things. The story is very, very well written. The twists and turns will, at times, even surprise you!
The scope of the game, for what it is, is impressive. The story is well written with characters that have well documented and developed histories. The script is well read (a novelty for most script heavy games I have played recently!) and just cheesy enough to not be annoying! This coupled with the well composed and atmospheric music give the game a very “Hollywood Movie” feel. This was, in fact, the feeling through out the game. I constantly found my self saying, “This would make a great film!”
Locations are all realistic and rendered with great detail as are the characters. Cut scenes are full motion video affairs, but this actually helps to make the game feel more like a PS2 title than a PSP game.
Controls in Third and First person shooters can be a hit and miss affair on the PSP. Syphon Filter gets it spot on. The analogue nub is in charge of movement and strafing whilst the face buttons are used to look around. After just a few minutes this feels nearly as natural as using a mouse on a pc!
Inventory and weapons are handled by the D-Pad, giving you quick access to certain items at a press, or detailed access when you hold a direction. All of this works in perfect harmony, giving a totally intuitive experience, be it sniping, stealthy creeping up to someone and kicking them in the nuts (yep you can) or running about with guns blazing!.
The only thing stopping this getting a straight 10 on everything is the disappointing multiplayer. It is a fairly generic affair, that could have been so much more! (Just look at SOCOM for that!). But, at least it has a multiplayer mode and what’s more you can go online with it!!
Everything about Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow oozes class and good development. With almost no glitches (again rare in a lot of games I review these days) and no downtime in the action, this is a near perfect game. Missions last about a train journey (my usual bench mark for portable games) and just wait for the underwater section, genius!
If you play one game this year, make it Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow!
The Bad: Um, it’s not free?
Gold Y Award