SYNDICATE (X360)
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Publisher: EA.
Developer: Starbreeze Studios. Released: February 2012. Genre: FPS. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 20th February 2014. By Shane Battams © 2014 |
Originally released way back in the early nineties on PC, Syndicate was lauded as a tough strategy masterpiece by many despite controversial levels of violence. Consequently, gamers have been clamouring for a next-gen sequel to arrive to further the franchise. But when it was announced that Syndicate was to be rebooted as a first-person shooter, many eyebrows were raised. Some anticipation was restored when it was announced that Starbreeze, developer of Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness, were placed on the project, but it makes it all the more disappointing that this game ended up being starkly uninspired.
Opening with a rather unattractive FMV, Syndicate’s story follows Miles Kilo, an agent of the Eurocorp institution. As Eurocorp pioneered the DART chip, the need for machines became obsolete and consequently dismantled governments from power. After both a tutorial and a test mission, the big cheese - played by Brian Cox - orders you to destroy the counterpart of co-agent called Lily Drawl. Naturally, things start going wrong from there, including predictable double-crosses and the like. The characters aren’t memorable, the storyline is pretty convoluted and the ending is completely dissatisfying, making for a forgettable story altogether.
It’s clear from the opening missions that Syndicate is about as bland a shooter as you’ll get, if arguably functional. Structurally identical to most of its peers, you merely run through each of the completely linear levels, blasting whatever enemies block your path, and rinse/repeat for the game’s 20 missions. You gain a small variety of assault rifles, shotguns and pistols along the way and most of them feel weak, though the occasional mini-gun and flamethrower adds some much needed pizzazz. Some levels attempt to break from this rigid and bland structure, either with a story-focused section or boss fights. However, story sections – which rely on a bland story to retain interest – completely kill the pace, while boss fights feel tedious due to a combination of straightforward shooting and copious amounts of health.
You can do this in quite a few games these days, apparently
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Ever get the impression everyone's staring at you?
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The lone facet of Syndicate which doesn’t follow generic shooting tropes is the DART system. You quickly acquire the DART Vision, a visor to help spot the orange-lit enemies. It also comes with three powers you earn as you progress. Backfire stuns foes and leaves them vulnerable, Suicide causes opponents to shoot themselves and kill any close-range friendlies and Persuade turns enemies on their own allies. The DART mechanic is also used frequently to progress levels, such as opening doors. There’s an element of strategy, as timing your button presses just right will cause a breach spike, helping restore abilities quicker. These abilities can be satisfying, but it’s also a double-edged sword. Once you gain all three abilities, the game becomes a complete cakewalk. The AI is only really good because of their numbers, but this can be combated easily with your DART powers. Even on the hardest difficulty, most players won’t break a sweat.
The generic campaign is also rather breezy, as it shouldn’t take you more than 6 hours to complete. The collectibles may add incentive, as well as a ranking system which rewards precision, efficiency and use of breach spikes, but it’s not enough. Syndicate does come packed with a multiplayer component, however, and it’s actually a fair bit better than the campaign. Up to four players can take part in a selection of missions, involving a lot of killing and objective completion. Players can choose from a selection of standard classes, and these earn XP through kills, revives and objective completion. You can also “chip-rip” certain enemies, giving special rewards, and perform research on weapons to create upgrades. It’s definitely a fun mode to grab a group of friends and strategise with, choosing the right classes to gain maximum efficiency. It’s just a pity plenty of superior games offer both compelling single-player and multiplayer modes.
The generic campaign is also rather breezy, as it shouldn’t take you more than 6 hours to complete. The collectibles may add incentive, as well as a ranking system which rewards precision, efficiency and use of breach spikes, but it’s not enough. Syndicate does come packed with a multiplayer component, however, and it’s actually a fair bit better than the campaign. Up to four players can take part in a selection of missions, involving a lot of killing and objective completion. Players can choose from a selection of standard classes, and these earn XP through kills, revives and objective completion. You can also “chip-rip” certain enemies, giving special rewards, and perform research on weapons to create upgrades. It’s definitely a fun mode to grab a group of friends and strategise with, choosing the right classes to gain maximum efficiency. It’s just a pity plenty of superior games offer both compelling single-player and multiplayer modes.
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Just Dance meets Rez... meets an FPS
Syndicate’s presentation isn’t too much to boast about either. A ho-hum selection of bland office blocks and boring grey rooms mostly comprise the campaigns dull backdrops, and character models are nothing to write home about. The texturing looks good from a distance, but close inspection causes textures to pixelate. One major eyesore is the overuse of bloom-lighting, which can completely block your vision during combat and seems to be a failed attempt to buff the game’s visuals. Audio isn’t too much better, with an uninteresting set of tunes accompanying the already mediocre shooting and average gun sounds. The voice work is a little better, especially considering a mo-capped Brian Cox makes a strong appearance, but it’s a shame the uninteresting story gives these characters little to do.
Syndicate is a major step down for Starbreeze. Considering the pedigree of this previously enchanting developer, it’s amazed how perfunctory the experience presented here is. The bland campaign suffers from a multitude of issues, most concerning a lack of inspired or exciting moments, as well as any lack of challenge or interesting plot points. Though a superior co-op mode attempts to salvage the overall experience, it is simply not enough. And as a reboot, fans of the original games won’t find anything of value here. Even on its own merits, this shooter has been done before and – to the detriment of Syndicate - done better.
Syndicate is a major step down for Starbreeze. Considering the pedigree of this previously enchanting developer, it’s amazed how perfunctory the experience presented here is. The bland campaign suffers from a multitude of issues, most concerning a lack of inspired or exciting moments, as well as any lack of challenge or interesting plot points. Though a superior co-op mode attempts to salvage the overall experience, it is simply not enough. And as a reboot, fans of the original games won’t find anything of value here. Even on its own merits, this shooter has been done before and – to the detriment of Syndicate - done better.
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VERDICT
Visual: 5/10
Audio: 5/10 Gameplay: 5/10 Longevity: 5/10 OVERALL: 5/10 |