SYPHON FILTER 3 (PS)
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Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Bend Studio. Released: November 2001. Genre: Action/Adventure. Posted 19th January 2015. By Tom Clare © 2015 |
Ostensibly, Syphon Filter 3 isn’t all that different from its predecessors. No bad thing, you might think, but amidst scrum of half-interested reviews from a sixth-gen focused press and the increasing prevalence of the PlayStation 2, it was a little too easy for some to take that at face value when the game landed with much quality but little aplomb in late 2001. Spend some time with it however, and it comes to impress on you how a little tweaking and a few well-placed ideas can turn a decent espionage adventure into something close to the finished article. As such, SF3 is one of gaming’s real underappreciated gems, and likely the PSone’s last great exclusive.
It’s a model lesson in how to go about a sequel. The differences aren’t huge, they didn’t need to be, Syphon Filter 2 was already a really good game. But whilst part two had a tendency to get a bit bogged down with some unforgiving stealth missions that were rather less compelling than their action counterparts, part three gets the balance just right, playing like a non-stop, greatest hits of Syphon Filter. It offers bags of action at a furious pace, explosive set-pieces, a jet-setting variety of locations, and a fiendish design quality that leaves you suspecting something devious around every corner.
Gabe Logan’s adventure is a breathless and occasionally convoluted tale that sees our hero brought to answer before an enquiry in Congress about his past actions and links to shady former-employers the Agency. The game flits back and forth between origins-style missions as Gabe and partner Lian Xing relive campaigns from their formative years, and the odd current mission as the chase for the Syphon Filter virus intensifies. Rounding off the fun, associates Lawrence Mujari and Theresa Lipan also feature in their own retrospective vignettes.
It’s a model lesson in how to go about a sequel. The differences aren’t huge, they didn’t need to be, Syphon Filter 2 was already a really good game. But whilst part two had a tendency to get a bit bogged down with some unforgiving stealth missions that were rather less compelling than their action counterparts, part three gets the balance just right, playing like a non-stop, greatest hits of Syphon Filter. It offers bags of action at a furious pace, explosive set-pieces, a jet-setting variety of locations, and a fiendish design quality that leaves you suspecting something devious around every corner.
Gabe Logan’s adventure is a breathless and occasionally convoluted tale that sees our hero brought to answer before an enquiry in Congress about his past actions and links to shady former-employers the Agency. The game flits back and forth between origins-style missions as Gabe and partner Lian Xing relive campaigns from their formative years, and the odd current mission as the chase for the Syphon Filter virus intensifies. Rounding off the fun, associates Lawrence Mujari and Theresa Lipan also feature in their own retrospective vignettes.
Gabe and Lian, fighting together. Now THAT is fan service!
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Yeah, do what the game says
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Syphon Filter 3 throws the kitchen sink at the gamer in a dizzying array of action-packed missions. The Costa Rican jungle, which plays host to the second level, is a real tour de force. The dense greenery and open, exposed environs are at odds with the series’ more familiar urban habitats, but work tremendously well. As well as bringing the fight to the camouflaged militia alongside series stalwart Lian Xing (yes, you fight alongside Lian Xing!), Gabe must take out turrets with a few neatly-aimed grenades, collect a bevy of suspicious plant samples, disable a guarded helicopter, remove a hoard of snipers lurking in the trees, free a couple of hostages and navigate a minefield. It’s like being in a Bond film, and that’s all in one mission. There are nineteen in all.
Right from the opening sequence, which sees Logan dicing with death in a tense, cross-street sniper battle from a Japanese hotel room, the game is all quality. Highlights are numerous, and include a lovely short level on a plane that acts as an homage to the final sequences of Syphon Filter 2, as you have to work out how to defeat a boss donned head-to-toe in bullet proof armour. Lian Xing’s challenging Kabul level is hugely impressive; a marked change of pace, without any let up in the tension or immersion. The heroine skulks the Afghan streets, dealing with snipers and ambushes, whilst happening across a ridiculously cool gun that can fire through walls. It’s also among a number of missions that allows for a degree of non-linearity in the order and method with which you tackle objectives.
Controls remain sprightly and easily navigable, with smart lock-on targeting again proving an ideal match for the game’s breakneck pacing. It’s the first-person aiming though that still feels exceptional on a PSone game, as the ability to sneak out from cover and line-up headshots from a distance gives a sense of immersion and tangibility that set it apart from its contemporaries. The balance of stealth and action is also more dynamic than before, as levels no longer punish the player for being spotted, though mixing brute force with sneaky, clinical takedowns is often the more successful – and satisfying – plan of attack.
Right from the opening sequence, which sees Logan dicing with death in a tense, cross-street sniper battle from a Japanese hotel room, the game is all quality. Highlights are numerous, and include a lovely short level on a plane that acts as an homage to the final sequences of Syphon Filter 2, as you have to work out how to defeat a boss donned head-to-toe in bullet proof armour. Lian Xing’s challenging Kabul level is hugely impressive; a marked change of pace, without any let up in the tension or immersion. The heroine skulks the Afghan streets, dealing with snipers and ambushes, whilst happening across a ridiculously cool gun that can fire through walls. It’s also among a number of missions that allows for a degree of non-linearity in the order and method with which you tackle objectives.
Controls remain sprightly and easily navigable, with smart lock-on targeting again proving an ideal match for the game’s breakneck pacing. It’s the first-person aiming though that still feels exceptional on a PSone game, as the ability to sneak out from cover and line-up headshots from a distance gives a sense of immersion and tangibility that set it apart from its contemporaries. The balance of stealth and action is also more dynamic than before, as levels no longer punish the player for being spotted, though mixing brute force with sneaky, clinical takedowns is often the more successful – and satisfying – plan of attack.
Two words that are hard to argue with in the world of Syphon Filter
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That's one mean Elvis fan
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Syphon Filter has always looked a little rough around the edges, and there’s no denying that by its third iteration, the visuals look a touch untidy. However, the engine has always offered strong performance, with detail, functionality and effects that few of its contemporaries were able to match. SF3 is no different, and there’s a great deal of variety to the settings, and tonnes of detail. You’ll even note the exceedingly unusual sight (in a PSone game) of allies popping up to help you in a fight. The presentation in general remains immaculate, whilst the FMVs represent the biggest step forward visually from its predecessors, as we’re left to lament the loss of square-headed characters.
It’s exciting stuff, and the whole package gels together really cohesively. The soundtrack in particular is outstanding, with its pulsing tempos and panicky rhythms exciting and unsettling players in equal measure. The voicing of the central characters remains second-to-none, even if the volume drops out from some of the dialogues now and again.
It should be stressed that SF3 is incredibly generous in terms of its content, offering remarkable mileage for a latter-day PlayStation adventure. When you’re done with the main story (and have then, if you so choose, bested it once more on the additional Hard difficulty), there’s a mountain of challenges to undertake in the Mini-Game mode. Cleverly, maps are lifted from some of the more memorable locations from the first two games, including the labyrinthine Washington Park, and the breathless DC Subway. There’s a bunch of fun, quick-fire challenges that incorporate gun-toting, siege-like bomb-defusal, and stealing a briefcase without being spotted. Thanks to evolving parameters with escalating difficulties, each location comes packed with around twenty levels. Mini-Game and the less essential Deathmatch (just the two players still, sadly) it serves to enhance an already top-notch main game, as many of the maps are unlocked through meeting secondary objectives throughout the story.
The PSone may have been in its twilight years when Syphon Filter 3 made its bow, but this remarkable game delivered a more imaginative, rewarding, varied and enjoyable playing experience than the vast majority of adventures that had far more technology to play around with. It’s a truly great PlayStation adventure, and deserves to be remembered as such.
It’s exciting stuff, and the whole package gels together really cohesively. The soundtrack in particular is outstanding, with its pulsing tempos and panicky rhythms exciting and unsettling players in equal measure. The voicing of the central characters remains second-to-none, even if the volume drops out from some of the dialogues now and again.
It should be stressed that SF3 is incredibly generous in terms of its content, offering remarkable mileage for a latter-day PlayStation adventure. When you’re done with the main story (and have then, if you so choose, bested it once more on the additional Hard difficulty), there’s a mountain of challenges to undertake in the Mini-Game mode. Cleverly, maps are lifted from some of the more memorable locations from the first two games, including the labyrinthine Washington Park, and the breathless DC Subway. There’s a bunch of fun, quick-fire challenges that incorporate gun-toting, siege-like bomb-defusal, and stealing a briefcase without being spotted. Thanks to evolving parameters with escalating difficulties, each location comes packed with around twenty levels. Mini-Game and the less essential Deathmatch (just the two players still, sadly) it serves to enhance an already top-notch main game, as many of the maps are unlocked through meeting secondary objectives throughout the story.
The PSone may have been in its twilight years when Syphon Filter 3 made its bow, but this remarkable game delivered a more imaginative, rewarding, varied and enjoyable playing experience than the vast majority of adventures that had far more technology to play around with. It’s a truly great PlayStation adventure, and deserves to be remembered as such.
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VERDICT
Visual: 6/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 9/10 Longevity: 9/10 OVERALL: 9/10 |