The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
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Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
by Lord Spencer Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:57 am
#A32
Game: C-12: Final Resistance:-
Year: 2001, 2002.
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Publisher: Sony
Developer: Sony
Released in the tail end of the PS's cycle, more than a year after the release of the PS2, C-12: Final Resistance was incredibly late to the party. Yet, being so late in its release may have been in its favor, as all the development secrets and tricks for the console were uncovered by then.
Unfortunately, despite taking advantage of vast collected knowledge in PS1 development, the game lacks the good application to make that knowledge count. It doesn't matter that the game may somehow be "technically" better than many other PS1 games before it because that expertise is in the service of a mediocre game at the end.
"We've been reduced to making our finest soldier a walking mutant... We don't stand a chance otherwise"
This "finest soldier" is Lieutenant Riley Vaughan, a man who has been "cybernetically" enhanced with alien technology to be able to combat the same aliens that are now ravishing earth. As the game's subtitle suggests, it's a desperate struggle, and each mission throws Vaughan from a bad situation to a worst one.
As PS1 stories go, this is neither offensively boring nor brilliant by any stretch. With some basic, competent, voice-acting and a clear forward thrust, it at least does the job of providing context to what you are doing. Yet, while the plot may not be that boring, the world's design sure is.
Video Games are visual media, which is why the world's design can carry as much story weight as the actual writing and dialogue. Here, the world of C-12 is as boring as it can get. It's entirely indistinct with its greyish and brownish tones, and other than the striking cybernetic eye of the main character is devoid of any character itself.
Consequently, neither the game's story nor its world design does a good job of driving the player to play the game, leaving most of the responsibility on the shoulders of the gameplay.
"God knows we need all the help we can get right now"
Sadly, the gameplay's shoulders are not broad enough to hold the game aloft. Again, this is a case where we have largely competent gameplay that becomes a bit boring by design. Missions take place in similiar-looking levels with uninspiring environments, where Vaughan must complete a set of objectives within the level to progress forward.
In theory, each level is a kind of sandbox in which you fulfill the objectives, but the reality is much more linear than how it first appears. There are no optional objectives, and every area of the small map will need to be visited to complete the levels.
With first-person aiming capabilities and full camera movements, the shooting combat feels fine and is exceptional for the PS1. However, enemy designs are boring and repetitive, and the game doesn't do anything interesting for its combat to stand out.
Actually, the game does try to add in some environmental obstacles and puzzles to shake things up, but these are boring at best, and tedious most of the time. Take a mine-field you have to navigate as an example. You could only see the mines through your first-person cybernetic eye, which forces you to sop and start to recalibrate your movements labriously throughout the stupid exercise.
Again, we see excellent technical capabilities, especially regarding camera controls, in the service of basic and uninspiring gameplay.
"I'm not concerned for Vaughan. I'm confident he can take care of himself"
Finally, let's talk about the graphical abilities that are responsible for this boring and poorly designed world. Its obvious that at this stage in the console's life cycle that the polygonal graphics of C-12 is some of the console's best.
Yet, raw graphical power cannot compensate for poor art direction, and that's the case here. Even though this game has better graphical capabilities than the original Metal Gear Solid and all three Resident Evil games, its style is so boring that you will struggle to remember anything about it.
Other than the always-glowing eye of Luitenant Vaughan.
Similiarly, the music is indistincitve, with suitable action rhythms and environmental sounds playing at times, but without any track standing out in any way. The game does have some solid voice acting though.
In Conclusion:
C-12 was probably one of the final high profile releases on the PS1, and despite the technical experience it had going for it, the late release may have belied a lack of ambition in the title. This is obvious in how bland the game's world and combat feels.
Now that the game's tech has aged a bit, its design shortcomings are as obvious to see as the cybernetic eye in Vaughan's low-res face.
Final: 4/10
Pros:
Cons:
"Tips"
1- Use your gun often because bullets are plenty.
2- Also use your sub-attack to shoot greneades.
3- The sub-weapon for te rocket launcher is GREAT against bosses.
4- Use the first-person view to "snipe" targets from safe distances.
5- Often when in the middle of gunfights.
"Next Game"
As I expected, C-12: Final Resistance was a disappointment from start to finish. Its clear that it had some technical knowledge behind it, but that's not enough to make a good game.
The next game in the list should have LSD: Dream Emulator, a crazy surreal game with no clear objectives. However, its Japan only, so I am going to go aheadand review a game requested by some of you, which The Granstream Saga, the "failed" spiritual successor to Quintet's creation trilogy on the SNES. Let's see if it deserved its grim fate or not.
Stay Tuned
Game: C-12: Final Resistance:-
Year: 2001, 2002.
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Publisher: Sony
Developer: Sony
Released in the tail end of the PS's cycle, more than a year after the release of the PS2, C-12: Final Resistance was incredibly late to the party. Yet, being so late in its release may have been in its favor, as all the development secrets and tricks for the console were uncovered by then.
Unfortunately, despite taking advantage of vast collected knowledge in PS1 development, the game lacks the good application to make that knowledge count. It doesn't matter that the game may somehow be "technically" better than many other PS1 games before it because that expertise is in the service of a mediocre game at the end.
"We've been reduced to making our finest soldier a walking mutant... We don't stand a chance otherwise"
This "finest soldier" is Lieutenant Riley Vaughan, a man who has been "cybernetically" enhanced with alien technology to be able to combat the same aliens that are now ravishing earth. As the game's subtitle suggests, it's a desperate struggle, and each mission throws Vaughan from a bad situation to a worst one.
As PS1 stories go, this is neither offensively boring nor brilliant by any stretch. With some basic, competent, voice-acting and a clear forward thrust, it at least does the job of providing context to what you are doing. Yet, while the plot may not be that boring, the world's design sure is.
Video Games are visual media, which is why the world's design can carry as much story weight as the actual writing and dialogue. Here, the world of C-12 is as boring as it can get. It's entirely indistinct with its greyish and brownish tones, and other than the striking cybernetic eye of the main character is devoid of any character itself.
Consequently, neither the game's story nor its world design does a good job of driving the player to play the game, leaving most of the responsibility on the shoulders of the gameplay.
"God knows we need all the help we can get right now"
Sadly, the gameplay's shoulders are not broad enough to hold the game aloft. Again, this is a case where we have largely competent gameplay that becomes a bit boring by design. Missions take place in similiar-looking levels with uninspiring environments, where Vaughan must complete a set of objectives within the level to progress forward.
In theory, each level is a kind of sandbox in which you fulfill the objectives, but the reality is much more linear than how it first appears. There are no optional objectives, and every area of the small map will need to be visited to complete the levels.
With first-person aiming capabilities and full camera movements, the shooting combat feels fine and is exceptional for the PS1. However, enemy designs are boring and repetitive, and the game doesn't do anything interesting for its combat to stand out.
Actually, the game does try to add in some environmental obstacles and puzzles to shake things up, but these are boring at best, and tedious most of the time. Take a mine-field you have to navigate as an example. You could only see the mines through your first-person cybernetic eye, which forces you to sop and start to recalibrate your movements labriously throughout the stupid exercise.
Again, we see excellent technical capabilities, especially regarding camera controls, in the service of basic and uninspiring gameplay.
"I'm not concerned for Vaughan. I'm confident he can take care of himself"
Finally, let's talk about the graphical abilities that are responsible for this boring and poorly designed world. Its obvious that at this stage in the console's life cycle that the polygonal graphics of C-12 is some of the console's best.
Yet, raw graphical power cannot compensate for poor art direction, and that's the case here. Even though this game has better graphical capabilities than the original Metal Gear Solid and all three Resident Evil games, its style is so boring that you will struggle to remember anything about it.
Other than the always-glowing eye of Luitenant Vaughan.
Similiarly, the music is indistincitve, with suitable action rhythms and environmental sounds playing at times, but without any track standing out in any way. The game does have some solid voice acting though.
In Conclusion:
C-12 was probably one of the final high profile releases on the PS1, and despite the technical experience it had going for it, the late release may have belied a lack of ambition in the title. This is obvious in how bland the game's world and combat feels.
Now that the game's tech has aged a bit, its design shortcomings are as obvious to see as the cybernetic eye in Vaughan's low-res face.
Final: 4/10
Pros:
- Competent voice-acting
- Great camera control options
- Impressive graphics technically
Cons:
- Forgettable story
- Forgettable and indistinct world-building
- Basic and boring gameplay structure
- Combat is unimpressive and repetitive
- Poor art direction and design
- Bland soundtrack
"Tips"
1- Use your gun often because bullets are plenty.
2- Also use your sub-attack to shoot greneades.
3- The sub-weapon for te rocket launcher is GREAT against bosses.
4- Use the first-person view to "snipe" targets from safe distances.
5- Often when in the middle of gunfights.
"Next Game"
As I expected, C-12: Final Resistance was a disappointment from start to finish. Its clear that it had some technical knowledge behind it, but that's not enough to make a good game.
The next game in the list should have LSD: Dream Emulator, a crazy surreal game with no clear objectives. However, its Japan only, so I am going to go aheadand review a game requested by some of you, which The Granstream Saga, the "failed" spiritual successor to Quintet's creation trilogy on the SNES. Let's see if it deserved its grim fate or not.
Stay Tuned
Lord Spencer- First Team
- Posts : 4488
Join date : 2011-06-23
Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
by Lord Spencer Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:36 pm
#R1
Game: The Granstream Saga-
Year: 1997, 1998.
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher: Sony, THQ
Developer: Shade
Quintet was a legendary under-the-radar developer in the days of the SNES, responsible for making games such as ActRaiser and the brilliant Heaven and Earth Trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma. The fact that this brilliant developer is no longer active today points to a surprising decline, and that decline, unfortunately, started with The Granstream Saga.
From a conceptual level, this is a game that made sense, with an interesting story and setting and an intriguing real-time Action combat system. Developing a game for a new and exciting system, Quintet rebranded into Shade, and decided to make a game that takes advantage of the 3D capabilities of the hardware.
Yet, the game fails to be as snappy and satisfying as the developer's early SNES titles, and you can see how the uninspiring polygonal graphics conspired to add tedium to what should have been an exciting gameplay system, eventually creating a tedious game.
"Without the new Wisemen, the lands are beginning to slowly sink into the sea. Once again, an entire civilization is threatened with extinction"
From the opening anime cut-scene, which is a tool that this game uses extensively and effectively, it is clear that the game is set in an interesting world. A past conflict between various nations and a suspicious Empire lead to the world nearly being completely annihilated.
What remained of the world were a few small floating "continents" are kept from sinking into the sea by a line of "Wise Men" that elevated the landmasses upwards in the first place. In this world, where the contents are constantly shrinking (being intentionally cut by mages) to keep them from sinking, you can imagine the repair of the population.
An extremely interesting showcase of the complex world-building in this game can be seen in the continent of Volcos where an active volcano (how it operates when it's not linked to the magma at the center of the planet is never explained) is in the middle of it. This led to the creation of the ministry of balance, which ensures that the weight on both sides of the continent is the same so that neither side tips causing the volcano to erupt into it.
In this dying world, Eon is thrust as a chosen hero who can summon the memories of the past through a special bracelet to save the lands from sinking into the sea. In his quest, he is joined by two archetypical Anime ladies who help along the way while the remnants of the Empire are hell-bent on pursuing power for its own sake.
Besides its interesting setting, the narrative is not far from the usual anime cliches, even somehow shoehorning a "shower scene" for that tried-and-true Tsundre female characterization. However, this was at a time when dialogue and story were still being figured out and are frankly rather effective here.
Unfortunately, it's inconsistent in many ways due to poor dialogue writing and some odd scene direction. While the anime scenes are competently voice-acted, the in-game dialogue scenes are not, which is expected. However, there is an inconsistent use of character portraits, which could convey emotions much better than the game's primitive polygonal faces could ever do.
"As the lands continue to sink to their doom, the struggle for more power goes on..."
Two things you will immediately notice about this game. First, it is a top-down Action game in the same style as most of Quintet's SNES games, and the second is that you cannot change the awful view angle the developers perplexingly chose for the game. It's obvious that the team was more comfortable with the handcrafted artistry of sprites than the "freedom" that polygons game them.
As such, I was happy when I realized that game's main gameplay mechanic jumps into a completely different perspective. When you touch enemies in the dungeon, you zoom into a one-on-one battle with that enemy in the arena with a much better camera angle.
In battle, you try to strafe around the enemy, looking for an opening to attack. Utilizing guards and quick steps, you alternated between attack and defense in real-time action battles against a variety of cool enemies.
At least, that's what I imagine the concept was, which is completely undermined in reality by a few poor design choices.
First, there is a shortage of enemy designs and patterns that ensure that battles become repetitive before long. Second, is the lack of offensive choices for the player to engage with and customize, which eventually means you will try and avoid most fights.
Hence, the gameplay consists of running through boring dungeons viewed from an unattractive angle, trying to avoid fighting as many enemies as possible, so that you get from point A to B in the story until you hit the more exciting boss battle. If the game is been better served by a fast-forward button in a YouTube video, then it's not really fun to play.
That's, unfortunately, going to be the enduring sentiment of most players with this game. A creeping tedium permeates through the act of playing this game, obliterating any promise the game's plot or setting could ever have.
"Journeys are about meeting new and parting old... It is a cycle like the waves"
Yet, even if a game is boring to play, its visual and audio strength when coupled with a good story could still power players through it, but that's alas not the case here. In fact, I would argue, is that the game's poor use of polygonal graphics is the root cause of all its issues.
In the past, Quintent crafted interesting worlds coupled with snappy and exciting gameplay in their sprite-filled SNES worlds. It is my suspicion that they simply did not know how to do that on the PS1's hardware. From the choice of camera angle to the featureless character faces, the limitations of polygonal graphics were clear to see.
What's less clear is how it affected the gameplay. I imagine that the time spent to make sure it worked at all cut into the design of interesting dungeons and enemies to fight, which completely wasted the game's unique combat system and the developer's past in creating great levels.
So, we are left with a game world that betrays the imagination of its storytellers and its great anime cutscenes, where blank faces try to emote instead of the lovely character portraits, and you can only sigh at what could have been made on the SNES instead.
One thing that couldn't have been done on the SNES was the limited voice acting and orchestral score in the anime scenes, which were really good. Even better is the game's soundtrack, which is made by the same composers that made the soundtrack for Terranigma .
It's made in the same style as the developer's earlier work, with an excellent fusion of instruments and styles that creates a mystical and distinct cultural flavor to the game. That's evident in both town themes such as "Pixim (Pixim Town – Troubled)" theme or dungeon themes like "Shrine (Inside Kilia Shrine)".
In Conclusion:
Despite their critical success, none of Quintet's previous games were seriously successful. This may have been a precursor to difficulties in the company that both caused them to rebrand to Shade, and then fail to succeed with their first game on the PS1.
While The Granstrea Saga clearly has the fingerprints of Quintet's past titles in its story, setting, and music, it lacked the finesse that made them so fun to play, I blame that massively on the jump to 3D polygonal graphics which affected every facet of the game's design.
Overall, it's a shame that Quintet's final original game went out with a thud.
Final: 5/10
Pros:
Cons:
"Tips"
1- When beating an enemy you get a colored "chest" that you can not open. This "chest" gets stronger if you beat other enemies in sequence without getting hit.
2- The increase in reward is useless unless you are a completionist, and you shouldn't be a completionist for this game.
3- Hold the R button to do quick steps, or double tap the directional buttons.
4- The sword is usually the most useful weapon.
5- Explore jars and barrels to find useful items.
6- Talk to everyone in town.
7- Interact with weird things in the environment.
"Next Game"
As a huge fan of Quintet's SNES games, I really hoped that The Granstream Saga did not deserve its mediocre reputation. Alas, it really did deserve that reputation, and it was clear that it is part of the reason that Quintet disappeared later (equally possible, Quintet's own problems could have been the cause of this game's problems as well).
I am going back to the regular Top 100 PS1 games list with a review of Syphon Filter 2, which sits at number 36 in Retro Sanctuary's list. However, I am going to first review the first Syphon Filter game first.
Stay Tuned
Game: The Granstream Saga-
Year: 1997, 1998.
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher: Sony, THQ
Developer: Shade
Quintet was a legendary under-the-radar developer in the days of the SNES, responsible for making games such as ActRaiser and the brilliant Heaven and Earth Trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma. The fact that this brilliant developer is no longer active today points to a surprising decline, and that decline, unfortunately, started with The Granstream Saga.
From a conceptual level, this is a game that made sense, with an interesting story and setting and an intriguing real-time Action combat system. Developing a game for a new and exciting system, Quintet rebranded into Shade, and decided to make a game that takes advantage of the 3D capabilities of the hardware.
Yet, the game fails to be as snappy and satisfying as the developer's early SNES titles, and you can see how the uninspiring polygonal graphics conspired to add tedium to what should have been an exciting gameplay system, eventually creating a tedious game.
"Without the new Wisemen, the lands are beginning to slowly sink into the sea. Once again, an entire civilization is threatened with extinction"
From the opening anime cut-scene, which is a tool that this game uses extensively and effectively, it is clear that the game is set in an interesting world. A past conflict between various nations and a suspicious Empire lead to the world nearly being completely annihilated.
What remained of the world were a few small floating "continents" are kept from sinking into the sea by a line of "Wise Men" that elevated the landmasses upwards in the first place. In this world, where the contents are constantly shrinking (being intentionally cut by mages) to keep them from sinking, you can imagine the repair of the population.
An extremely interesting showcase of the complex world-building in this game can be seen in the continent of Volcos where an active volcano (how it operates when it's not linked to the magma at the center of the planet is never explained) is in the middle of it. This led to the creation of the ministry of balance, which ensures that the weight on both sides of the continent is the same so that neither side tips causing the volcano to erupt into it.
In this dying world, Eon is thrust as a chosen hero who can summon the memories of the past through a special bracelet to save the lands from sinking into the sea. In his quest, he is joined by two archetypical Anime ladies who help along the way while the remnants of the Empire are hell-bent on pursuing power for its own sake.
Besides its interesting setting, the narrative is not far from the usual anime cliches, even somehow shoehorning a "shower scene" for that tried-and-true Tsundre female characterization. However, this was at a time when dialogue and story were still being figured out and are frankly rather effective here.
Unfortunately, it's inconsistent in many ways due to poor dialogue writing and some odd scene direction. While the anime scenes are competently voice-acted, the in-game dialogue scenes are not, which is expected. However, there is an inconsistent use of character portraits, which could convey emotions much better than the game's primitive polygonal faces could ever do.
"As the lands continue to sink to their doom, the struggle for more power goes on..."
Two things you will immediately notice about this game. First, it is a top-down Action game in the same style as most of Quintet's SNES games, and the second is that you cannot change the awful view angle the developers perplexingly chose for the game. It's obvious that the team was more comfortable with the handcrafted artistry of sprites than the "freedom" that polygons game them.
As such, I was happy when I realized that game's main gameplay mechanic jumps into a completely different perspective. When you touch enemies in the dungeon, you zoom into a one-on-one battle with that enemy in the arena with a much better camera angle.
In battle, you try to strafe around the enemy, looking for an opening to attack. Utilizing guards and quick steps, you alternated between attack and defense in real-time action battles against a variety of cool enemies.
At least, that's what I imagine the concept was, which is completely undermined in reality by a few poor design choices.
First, there is a shortage of enemy designs and patterns that ensure that battles become repetitive before long. Second, is the lack of offensive choices for the player to engage with and customize, which eventually means you will try and avoid most fights.
Hence, the gameplay consists of running through boring dungeons viewed from an unattractive angle, trying to avoid fighting as many enemies as possible, so that you get from point A to B in the story until you hit the more exciting boss battle. If the game is been better served by a fast-forward button in a YouTube video, then it's not really fun to play.
That's, unfortunately, going to be the enduring sentiment of most players with this game. A creeping tedium permeates through the act of playing this game, obliterating any promise the game's plot or setting could ever have.
"Journeys are about meeting new and parting old... It is a cycle like the waves"
Yet, even if a game is boring to play, its visual and audio strength when coupled with a good story could still power players through it, but that's alas not the case here. In fact, I would argue, is that the game's poor use of polygonal graphics is the root cause of all its issues.
In the past, Quintent crafted interesting worlds coupled with snappy and exciting gameplay in their sprite-filled SNES worlds. It is my suspicion that they simply did not know how to do that on the PS1's hardware. From the choice of camera angle to the featureless character faces, the limitations of polygonal graphics were clear to see.
What's less clear is how it affected the gameplay. I imagine that the time spent to make sure it worked at all cut into the design of interesting dungeons and enemies to fight, which completely wasted the game's unique combat system and the developer's past in creating great levels.
So, we are left with a game world that betrays the imagination of its storytellers and its great anime cutscenes, where blank faces try to emote instead of the lovely character portraits, and you can only sigh at what could have been made on the SNES instead.
One thing that couldn't have been done on the SNES was the limited voice acting and orchestral score in the anime scenes, which were really good. Even better is the game's soundtrack, which is made by the same composers that made the soundtrack for Terranigma .
It's made in the same style as the developer's earlier work, with an excellent fusion of instruments and styles that creates a mystical and distinct cultural flavor to the game. That's evident in both town themes such as "Pixim (Pixim Town – Troubled)" theme or dungeon themes like "Shrine (Inside Kilia Shrine)".
In Conclusion:
Despite their critical success, none of Quintet's previous games were seriously successful. This may have been a precursor to difficulties in the company that both caused them to rebrand to Shade, and then fail to succeed with their first game on the PS1.
While The Granstrea Saga clearly has the fingerprints of Quintet's past titles in its story, setting, and music, it lacked the finesse that made them so fun to play, I blame that massively on the jump to 3D polygonal graphics which affected every facet of the game's design.
Overall, it's a shame that Quintet's final original game went out with a thud.
Final: 5/10
Pros:
- Great Worl Setting
- Nice use of anime cut-scenes
- Interesting cast of characters despite the cliches
- A unique real-time Action combat system
- Great soundtrack
Cons:
- Inconsistent use of character portraits
- Battles become stale fast
- Extremely boring dungeon design
- Little incentive not to simply run through a dungeon instead of playing it
- Terrible camera angle for the majority of the game
- Ugly and blank polygonal world
"Tips"
1- When beating an enemy you get a colored "chest" that you can not open. This "chest" gets stronger if you beat other enemies in sequence without getting hit.
2- The increase in reward is useless unless you are a completionist, and you shouldn't be a completionist for this game.
3- Hold the R button to do quick steps, or double tap the directional buttons.
4- The sword is usually the most useful weapon.
5- Explore jars and barrels to find useful items.
6- Talk to everyone in town.
7- Interact with weird things in the environment.
"Next Game"
As a huge fan of Quintet's SNES games, I really hoped that The Granstream Saga did not deserve its mediocre reputation. Alas, it really did deserve that reputation, and it was clear that it is part of the reason that Quintet disappeared later (equally possible, Quintet's own problems could have been the cause of this game's problems as well).
I am going back to the regular Top 100 PS1 games list with a review of Syphon Filter 2, which sits at number 36 in Retro Sanctuary's list. However, I am going to first review the first Syphon Filter game first.
Stay Tuned
Lord Spencer- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 4488
Join date : 2011-06-23
Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
by Lord Spencer Sat Apr 08, 2023 5:09 pm
#36 (S1)
Game: Syphon Filter:-
Year: 1999.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: 989 Studios
Developer: Eidetic
Games like Metal Gear Solid showcased the development in gameplay and storytelling that was possible on the PS1, and many aspiring developers raced to follow its example. Several attempts failed at providing a compelling narrative, compelling gameplay, or both.
Syphon Filter is one of the few games that succeeded in that regard, offering a solid story within an innovative and fun game. Despite its polygonal graphics and early 3rd Person mechanics showing their age, the first game in the series is still fun to play.
"Imagine a weapon that can target specific demographics, ethnic groups. It can wipe out whole continents, except those chosen to survive"
Set like a typical Bond movie, Syphon Filter starts with a cut scene in a Costa Rican jungle, where special agent Gabriel Logan and his partner Lian Xi uncover a viral attack plan by the terrorist mastermind Erich Roamer. The plot of the game is to discover the full details of Roamer's plan and eventually stop it.
It's a solid spy-thriller with the requisite number of betrayals, action set-pieces, countdown segments, and infiltration of bases in foreign lands. With solid voice acting by the main characters, the story is not a throwaway and is in fact one of the game's strengths. Another strength is the direction of the game's cut scenes, which wears its Bond influence on its sleeve.
One thing worth noting is the variety of mission structures and locations in the game. The first mission is set in Washington D.C. where Logan attempts to diffuse a bomb threat in a Subway station and ends up chasing the villains all the way to the Capitol building. Another has him wear a Tuxedo and infiltrate a private museum of a pharmaceutical company.
Even in areas where the game has some awkward voice acting or the odd boring mission location, it is still easy to forgive the game thanks to its ambitions and the very good things it has going.
"We do what it takes Logan. All of us..."
An interesting story doesn't make for a compelling game, and interesting mission locations wouldn't work without interesting gameplay to back it up, which is thankfully mostly the case in Syphon Filter. While it contains some stealth elements, the game is mostly a 3rd Person shooter at heart.
Logan can target enemies through a lock-on function, which is useful against enemies early on but is useless once they start wearing flak jackets. Those elite enemies can only be effectively dispatched by using the game's free-aim system, which allows the player to control an aiming reticule to snatch those precious headshots.
Unfortunately, free aiming in the age before universal dual stick control is a bit awkward, and mastering this mechanic will be necessary to overcome the game's later stage which increases rapidly in difficulty.
Thankfully, Logan moves really well in the 3D environment, with the camera following him mostly being smart about it. With the ability to strafe, which you can use while free aiming to lean out of cover, you have many survival options.
Many of these options don't work much with the game's limited number of bosses, who are all both boring and cheap, making the generous checkpoint system something to be thankful about.
"Be aware that you're now completely cut off from all reinforcements"
One you probably noticed I am yet to comment on is the stealth portion of the gameplay, which is tangential to one of the brilliant things about the game, and that's the varied mission structure. Each mission has several objectives, which, along with the level's map, are visible on the briefing (start) screen.
These objectives vary greatly, from saving a hostage to simply killing a target. Some missions introduce a fresh idea to the gameplay that isn't seen elsewhere, like a scanner to look for dead bodies or a maze-like stage where you need to look for scientists to kill (Logan doesn't have a moral compass about his orders).
Some missions are more focused on stealth than regular open shooting, and these are usually the game's weakest points. Not only are these sections painfully slow given Logan's glacial squat walking speed, but the game's poor draw distance makes them much harder than they should be.
This doesn't mean that stealth missions are completely unplayable in the game, but that they are just not as fun as everything else. Especially when getting found will summon an army of goons that will surely overwhelm you.
It's ironic that one of the game's leading aspects is actually one of its weakest. Thankfully, it is mostly peripheral in most of the game, and a little care in movement can help alleviate some of the stress in the few stealth-focused missions.
"I hope Roemer is paying you enough to die for him"
I already briefly mentioned the poor draw distance of the game, which was a common complaint about most if not all 3D games in the 5th generation of consoles. Of course, frequent pop-ins were a bigger issue in shooter games since enemies could attack you "beyond the veil". But what about other issues common to 3d games in the past?
Cameras were usually the biggest challenge in making games work in 3D space, and Syphon Filter was not an exception to that rule despite having a decent camera. Specifically, in about 20% of the game's levels, the camera is prone to errors in trailing transparency, showing pieces of the environment the player leaves behind. This greatly affects free aiming at those levels.
Other than these issues and the expected low quality of its textures, the game's graphics are surprisingly smooth, especially in motion. Characters have decent detail to them, and the polygonal make-up of the game's world lacks the jagged edges of similar games.
Musically, the game has a decent and genre-appropriate soundtrack that plays organically as you progress through a map. It isn't anything special or memorable, but it adds excitement and tension where it needs to.
In Conclusion:
As the first game in its franchise, Syphon Filter doesn't an admirable job in crafting a 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth game in a post-MGS world. Not only does it have a decent and cinematic story, but also has a solid and compelling gameplay structure and mechanics.
That doesn't mean that the game is free from flaws though, although many of those flaws were standard fare in its era. Poor draw distances and the occasional transparency flaws show the game's age, but the relative smoothness of its movement and solid gameplay systems keeps it fun even for the modern gamer.
Final: 7/10
Pros:
Cons:
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Some dark areas will require you to use a flashlight.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Final boss only dies with a gas grenade (which you can find in the room you fight him in).
"Next Game"
It looks like I am going to enjoy the Syphon Filter games on the PS1, which is good since I am going into a blogging collaboration with another member of the site on the franchise.
The second game is supposed to be better, and it's the one that sits on the Top 100 PS1 Games list by Retro Sanctuary at number 36. Here is hoping the incremental improvements of the sequel fulfill the solid potential of the first game.
Stay Tuned
Game: Syphon Filter:-
Year: 1999.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: 989 Studios
Developer: Eidetic
Games like Metal Gear Solid showcased the development in gameplay and storytelling that was possible on the PS1, and many aspiring developers raced to follow its example. Several attempts failed at providing a compelling narrative, compelling gameplay, or both.
Syphon Filter is one of the few games that succeeded in that regard, offering a solid story within an innovative and fun game. Despite its polygonal graphics and early 3rd Person mechanics showing their age, the first game in the series is still fun to play.
"Imagine a weapon that can target specific demographics, ethnic groups. It can wipe out whole continents, except those chosen to survive"
Set like a typical Bond movie, Syphon Filter starts with a cut scene in a Costa Rican jungle, where special agent Gabriel Logan and his partner Lian Xi uncover a viral attack plan by the terrorist mastermind Erich Roamer. The plot of the game is to discover the full details of Roamer's plan and eventually stop it.
It's a solid spy-thriller with the requisite number of betrayals, action set-pieces, countdown segments, and infiltration of bases in foreign lands. With solid voice acting by the main characters, the story is not a throwaway and is in fact one of the game's strengths. Another strength is the direction of the game's cut scenes, which wears its Bond influence on its sleeve.
One thing worth noting is the variety of mission structures and locations in the game. The first mission is set in Washington D.C. where Logan attempts to diffuse a bomb threat in a Subway station and ends up chasing the villains all the way to the Capitol building. Another has him wear a Tuxedo and infiltrate a private museum of a pharmaceutical company.
Even in areas where the game has some awkward voice acting or the odd boring mission location, it is still easy to forgive the game thanks to its ambitions and the very good things it has going.
"We do what it takes Logan. All of us..."
An interesting story doesn't make for a compelling game, and interesting mission locations wouldn't work without interesting gameplay to back it up, which is thankfully mostly the case in Syphon Filter. While it contains some stealth elements, the game is mostly a 3rd Person shooter at heart.
Logan can target enemies through a lock-on function, which is useful against enemies early on but is useless once they start wearing flak jackets. Those elite enemies can only be effectively dispatched by using the game's free-aim system, which allows the player to control an aiming reticule to snatch those precious headshots.
Unfortunately, free aiming in the age before universal dual stick control is a bit awkward, and mastering this mechanic will be necessary to overcome the game's later stage which increases rapidly in difficulty.
Thankfully, Logan moves really well in the 3D environment, with the camera following him mostly being smart about it. With the ability to strafe, which you can use while free aiming to lean out of cover, you have many survival options.
Many of these options don't work much with the game's limited number of bosses, who are all both boring and cheap, making the generous checkpoint system something to be thankful about.
"Be aware that you're now completely cut off from all reinforcements"
One you probably noticed I am yet to comment on is the stealth portion of the gameplay, which is tangential to one of the brilliant things about the game, and that's the varied mission structure. Each mission has several objectives, which, along with the level's map, are visible on the briefing (start) screen.
These objectives vary greatly, from saving a hostage to simply killing a target. Some missions introduce a fresh idea to the gameplay that isn't seen elsewhere, like a scanner to look for dead bodies or a maze-like stage where you need to look for scientists to kill (Logan doesn't have a moral compass about his orders).
Some missions are more focused on stealth than regular open shooting, and these are usually the game's weakest points. Not only are these sections painfully slow given Logan's glacial squat walking speed, but the game's poor draw distance makes them much harder than they should be.
This doesn't mean that stealth missions are completely unplayable in the game, but that they are just not as fun as everything else. Especially when getting found will summon an army of goons that will surely overwhelm you.
It's ironic that one of the game's leading aspects is actually one of its weakest. Thankfully, it is mostly peripheral in most of the game, and a little care in movement can help alleviate some of the stress in the few stealth-focused missions.
"I hope Roemer is paying you enough to die for him"
I already briefly mentioned the poor draw distance of the game, which was a common complaint about most if not all 3D games in the 5th generation of consoles. Of course, frequent pop-ins were a bigger issue in shooter games since enemies could attack you "beyond the veil". But what about other issues common to 3d games in the past?
Cameras were usually the biggest challenge in making games work in 3D space, and Syphon Filter was not an exception to that rule despite having a decent camera. Specifically, in about 20% of the game's levels, the camera is prone to errors in trailing transparency, showing pieces of the environment the player leaves behind. This greatly affects free aiming at those levels.
Other than these issues and the expected low quality of its textures, the game's graphics are surprisingly smooth, especially in motion. Characters have decent detail to them, and the polygonal make-up of the game's world lacks the jagged edges of similar games.
Musically, the game has a decent and genre-appropriate soundtrack that plays organically as you progress through a map. It isn't anything special or memorable, but it adds excitement and tension where it needs to.
In Conclusion:
As the first game in its franchise, Syphon Filter doesn't an admirable job in crafting a 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth game in a post-MGS world. Not only does it have a decent and cinematic story, but also has a solid and compelling gameplay structure and mechanics.
That doesn't mean that the game is free from flaws though, although many of those flaws were standard fare in its era. Poor draw distances and the occasional transparency flaws show the game's age, but the relative smoothness of its movement and solid gameplay systems keeps it fun even for the modern gamer.
Final: 7/10
Pros:
- Very good Bond-inspired story
- Very good voice acting
- Good 3rd Person shooting mechanics
- Good movement options
- Varied mission structure
- Decent polygonal graphics
Cons:
- Free aiming is awkward at first
- Boss battles aren't fun
- Stealth gameplay isn't a lot of fun
- Wierd difficulty spikes
- Poor draw distance
- Frequent trailing transparency errors
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Some dark areas will require you to use a flashlight.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Final boss only dies with a gas grenade (which you can find in the room you fight him in).
"Next Game"
It looks like I am going to enjoy the Syphon Filter games on the PS1, which is good since I am going into a blogging collaboration with another member of the site on the franchise.
The second game is supposed to be better, and it's the one that sits on the Top 100 PS1 Games list by Retro Sanctuary at number 36. Here is hoping the incremental improvements of the sequel fulfill the solid potential of the first game.
Stay Tuned
Lord Spencer- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 4488
Join date : 2011-06-23
Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
by Lord Spencer Mon Apr 24, 2023 7:24 am
#36
Game: Syphon Filter 2:-
Year: 2000.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: 989 Studios
Developer: Eidetic
The first Syphon Filter game followed the steps of Metal Gear in making an Action-packed game with some cinematic sensibilities, and it proved to be one of the better games that partially imitated the great PS1 classic.
Syphon Filter 2 is more of the same, but thanks to the lessons the development team learned, it is a much tighter experience in both its gameplay and story. As a result, I have no doubt that it is one of the greatest PS1 action games at the time and one that is still fun to play today.
"Use any and all means necessary to reach that location. The data discs must be retrieved to find a cure for Syphon Filter, and to save Lian"
If we want to compare the Syphone Filter story to Action-Espionage movies, and the first one can best be linked to a James Bond flick, then the second game is best compared to the Jason Bourne films, which is surprising considering the game released two years before the first Bourne film.
This time around, Gabriel Logan is a special agent running away from the agency that hired him, desperately trying to find a cure to the genetically modified virus that infected his partner, Lian Xing, in the first game. Initially, I thought that the otherwise strong and capable Lian would play a damsel in distress role, but I was thankfully mistaken. She becomes a playable character for almost half of the game and the narrative is better for it.
The runaway plotline makes for a consistently high-stakes story, where Logan and his allies face off against the evil conspiracies of the secretive "Agency" not to save the world or America, but simply to survive and find a cure to the virus. Yet, the "Agency" actually needs Lian's living body to extract the information necessary to mass produce the virus.
Naturally, this cat-and-mouse game leads to interesting scenarios, with the team switching from sneaking into a museum to engaging in a shoot-out in a Moscow nightclub. There are a lot of nods to action movies of the time, and the game is no slouch in introducing its own ridiculous contributions to the genre.
Overall, this game's story is more engaging and tightly paced than the original. However, due to its increased dialogue, the weakness in some of the voice-acted lines are more apparent, especially regarding the main voice of Logan which has some improper inflictions and emphasis points that fail to sell some of his lines.
"How are you going to get out of this alive? Not really sure, I'm making it up as I go"
While the series is billed as an Action-Stealth game, the first title's stealth segments felt awkward and stiff compared to the base 3rd Person Shooting gameplay. Thankfully, the promise of that billing is more fulfilled with the second game, which manages to fix many of the first game's issues.
Mainly, the crouching speed is noticeably faster, leading to more fluid movement. In addition, the draw distance both visually and in the compass radar is slightly improved. These improvements, coupled with increased stealth-weapon options made stealth missions more fun to play.
This is great considering nearly half the missions in the game are stealth-focused this time around. The majority of Lian Xing's missions are stealth-oriented, with some missions even completely stripping you of your offensive capabilities. Thankfully, the game's mechanical improvements go a long way in making these missions actually fun to play.
Not to be outdone by its newfound stealth competency, the action-oriented missions are no slouches either, with a nice mix of adrenaline-pumping shooting fests and more methodical infiltration/escape missions throughout.
Generally, I found the stage design better built this time around, and I rarely got lost regarding my surroundings and objective, with missions making more physical sense within each stage. At any point, if you need more information, you can consult a rather useful map and even check the location of your objectives, which was a feature that was inadequate in the first game.
"I want him finished, even if you have to blow up the whole state to do it"
Other than minor improvements to its movement/stealth mechanics and general mission structure, the game is technically the same as its prequel. This means that the 3rd Person Shooting mechanics, with a mixture of lock-on targeting and first-person free-aim, is nearly identical to the first game.
In 3rd Person mode, you can easily move around, run, and strafe, while locking on to your target to shoot. As long as you are fast enough to dispatch your enemies before they get a good chance at fixing their aim, Logan or Lian will be fine. However, you need to be more precise with enemies wearing flak jackets, and here is where free-aiming shines.
This system works surprisingly well, especially when you can utilize the free-aim in conjuction with the strafe buttons to aim while taking cover, yet it is still an incomplete solution to the aiming problem in 3D games at the time. A dedicated camera control scheme is notably lacking, and you can imagine the game being better with a modern twin-stick aiming method.
These issues are most apparent in the later game, where the difficulty spikes considerably, with many enemies able to immediately destroy you at first sight. In those instances, you will clamor for a better and more responsive aiming style, even though the base mechanics still work really well.
Besides some unfortunately unbalanced situations and minor graphical hiccups here and there, the gameplay is solid throughout the game and remains fun despite the "historical" mechanics in both stealth and action missions.
"What I am is a tired angry fugitive whose partner is dying. Don't try me!!"
Following so closely after the first game, there probably wasn't much time for the development team to improve their grasp of the PS1 technology, resulting in a very similar-looking game, which looks nice compared to other PS1 games but is not spectacular by any definition. Ironically, the best-looking areas were places you revised from the first game which now have more detail.
Yet, some of you may notice that the game is divided into two discs, so what's up with that?
Most likely, this is to account for the increased number of CGI scenes, which are expertly directed and while not technically impressive even by the standards of the day, are actually quite decent for their number and proximity to the in-game engine.
Also, another major contributor to the size of the is the number of audio files, especially regarding the voice acting which I touched upon earlier. Other than Logan, who is decent but has the toughest job and consequently higher standards to aspire to, the other actors do a professional job most of the time.
Notably, the music is more involved and apparent in this game, which is great since the soundtrack by Chuck Doud is on-point and nicely integrated into the game. Cool suspenseful tunes play while you are sneaking around, suddenly turning into tense guitar riffs when you are in the middle of a shootout.
Other than some minor audio and graphical errors here and there (audio suddenly missing, some camera transparency issues), this clearly a better-produced game than the first, continuing the trend of marginal but noticeable improvements for the sequel.
In Conclusion:
My main surprise when playing Syphon Filter 2 is the fact that it reviewed lower than the first game, which I think is purely due to its lacking of originality since it copies much of what the first game does. However, I think that is a poor metric to judge games by at the time and would be poorer still today.
While it is true that this sequel is heavily iterative, it improves a game with a solid foundation in almost every way, making this game much more polished and more fun to play by a noticeable margin. Playing these games back to back, I felt forced to play the first for completion's sake, while I really enjoyed playing the second, making it a clearly better game in my book.
Originality has its value, but so does excellence.
Final: 8/10
Pros:
Cons:
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Stealth missions REQUIRE stealth.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Use the roll to approach quietly while sneaking.
9- Beware of shooting friendly targets.
10-Take advantage of cover when fighting multiple targets.
"Next Game"
While the first Syphone Filter had clear potential, the incremental improvements of the second game made it a much more enjoyable game for me.
The third and final game of the series on the PS1 game is considered the weakest of the bunch. Yet, given the fact that the second game was reviewed worse than the first, I wonder how much that has to do with familiarity.
Stay Tuned
Game: Syphon Filter 2:-
Year: 2000.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: 989 Studios
Developer: Eidetic
The first Syphon Filter game followed the steps of Metal Gear in making an Action-packed game with some cinematic sensibilities, and it proved to be one of the better games that partially imitated the great PS1 classic.
Syphon Filter 2 is more of the same, but thanks to the lessons the development team learned, it is a much tighter experience in both its gameplay and story. As a result, I have no doubt that it is one of the greatest PS1 action games at the time and one that is still fun to play today.
"Use any and all means necessary to reach that location. The data discs must be retrieved to find a cure for Syphon Filter, and to save Lian"
If we want to compare the Syphone Filter story to Action-Espionage movies, and the first one can best be linked to a James Bond flick, then the second game is best compared to the Jason Bourne films, which is surprising considering the game released two years before the first Bourne film.
This time around, Gabriel Logan is a special agent running away from the agency that hired him, desperately trying to find a cure to the genetically modified virus that infected his partner, Lian Xing, in the first game. Initially, I thought that the otherwise strong and capable Lian would play a damsel in distress role, but I was thankfully mistaken. She becomes a playable character for almost half of the game and the narrative is better for it.
The runaway plotline makes for a consistently high-stakes story, where Logan and his allies face off against the evil conspiracies of the secretive "Agency" not to save the world or America, but simply to survive and find a cure to the virus. Yet, the "Agency" actually needs Lian's living body to extract the information necessary to mass produce the virus.
Naturally, this cat-and-mouse game leads to interesting scenarios, with the team switching from sneaking into a museum to engaging in a shoot-out in a Moscow nightclub. There are a lot of nods to action movies of the time, and the game is no slouch in introducing its own ridiculous contributions to the genre.
Overall, this game's story is more engaging and tightly paced than the original. However, due to its increased dialogue, the weakness in some of the voice-acted lines are more apparent, especially regarding the main voice of Logan which has some improper inflictions and emphasis points that fail to sell some of his lines.
"How are you going to get out of this alive? Not really sure, I'm making it up as I go"
While the series is billed as an Action-Stealth game, the first title's stealth segments felt awkward and stiff compared to the base 3rd Person Shooting gameplay. Thankfully, the promise of that billing is more fulfilled with the second game, which manages to fix many of the first game's issues.
Mainly, the crouching speed is noticeably faster, leading to more fluid movement. In addition, the draw distance both visually and in the compass radar is slightly improved. These improvements, coupled with increased stealth-weapon options made stealth missions more fun to play.
This is great considering nearly half the missions in the game are stealth-focused this time around. The majority of Lian Xing's missions are stealth-oriented, with some missions even completely stripping you of your offensive capabilities. Thankfully, the game's mechanical improvements go a long way in making these missions actually fun to play.
Not to be outdone by its newfound stealth competency, the action-oriented missions are no slouches either, with a nice mix of adrenaline-pumping shooting fests and more methodical infiltration/escape missions throughout.
Generally, I found the stage design better built this time around, and I rarely got lost regarding my surroundings and objective, with missions making more physical sense within each stage. At any point, if you need more information, you can consult a rather useful map and even check the location of your objectives, which was a feature that was inadequate in the first game.
"I want him finished, even if you have to blow up the whole state to do it"
Other than minor improvements to its movement/stealth mechanics and general mission structure, the game is technically the same as its prequel. This means that the 3rd Person Shooting mechanics, with a mixture of lock-on targeting and first-person free-aim, is nearly identical to the first game.
In 3rd Person mode, you can easily move around, run, and strafe, while locking on to your target to shoot. As long as you are fast enough to dispatch your enemies before they get a good chance at fixing their aim, Logan or Lian will be fine. However, you need to be more precise with enemies wearing flak jackets, and here is where free-aiming shines.
This system works surprisingly well, especially when you can utilize the free-aim in conjuction with the strafe buttons to aim while taking cover, yet it is still an incomplete solution to the aiming problem in 3D games at the time. A dedicated camera control scheme is notably lacking, and you can imagine the game being better with a modern twin-stick aiming method.
These issues are most apparent in the later game, where the difficulty spikes considerably, with many enemies able to immediately destroy you at first sight. In those instances, you will clamor for a better and more responsive aiming style, even though the base mechanics still work really well.
Besides some unfortunately unbalanced situations and minor graphical hiccups here and there, the gameplay is solid throughout the game and remains fun despite the "historical" mechanics in both stealth and action missions.
"What I am is a tired angry fugitive whose partner is dying. Don't try me!!"
Following so closely after the first game, there probably wasn't much time for the development team to improve their grasp of the PS1 technology, resulting in a very similar-looking game, which looks nice compared to other PS1 games but is not spectacular by any definition. Ironically, the best-looking areas were places you revised from the first game which now have more detail.
Yet, some of you may notice that the game is divided into two discs, so what's up with that?
Most likely, this is to account for the increased number of CGI scenes, which are expertly directed and while not technically impressive even by the standards of the day, are actually quite decent for their number and proximity to the in-game engine.
Also, another major contributor to the size of the is the number of audio files, especially regarding the voice acting which I touched upon earlier. Other than Logan, who is decent but has the toughest job and consequently higher standards to aspire to, the other actors do a professional job most of the time.
Notably, the music is more involved and apparent in this game, which is great since the soundtrack by Chuck Doud is on-point and nicely integrated into the game. Cool suspenseful tunes play while you are sneaking around, suddenly turning into tense guitar riffs when you are in the middle of a shootout.
Other than some minor audio and graphical errors here and there (audio suddenly missing, some camera transparency issues), this clearly a better-produced game than the first, continuing the trend of marginal but noticeable improvements for the sequel.
In Conclusion:
My main surprise when playing Syphon Filter 2 is the fact that it reviewed lower than the first game, which I think is purely due to its lacking of originality since it copies much of what the first game does. However, I think that is a poor metric to judge games by at the time and would be poorer still today.
While it is true that this sequel is heavily iterative, it improves a game with a solid foundation in almost every way, making this game much more polished and more fun to play by a noticeable margin. Playing these games back to back, I felt forced to play the first for completion's sake, while I really enjoyed playing the second, making it a clearly better game in my book.
Originality has its value, but so does excellence.
Final: 8/10
Pros:
- Very good runaway agent story
- Very good scene and story direction
- Great pacing throughout
- Improved stealth mechanics
- Solid mission and level design
- The Third/First Person shooting hybrid works
- A lot of decent CGI scenes
- Suitable soundtrack
Cons:
- Clear awkwardness in Logan's Voice Acting
- Free aiming is awkward at first
- Wierd difficulty spikes
- Some graphical and audio errors
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Stealth missions REQUIRE stealth.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Use the roll to approach quietly while sneaking.
9- Beware of shooting friendly targets.
10-Take advantage of cover when fighting multiple targets.
"Next Game"
While the first Syphone Filter had clear potential, the incremental improvements of the second game made it a much more enjoyable game for me.
The third and final game of the series on the PS1 game is considered the weakest of the bunch. Yet, given the fact that the second game was reviewed worse than the first, I wonder how much that has to do with familiarity.
Stay Tuned
Lord Spencer- First Team
- Club Supported :
Posts : 4488
Join date : 2011-06-23
Re: The Official PlayStation 1 Gaming Threads
by Lord Spencer Mon May 22, 2023 11:58 am
#36(S)
Game: Syphon Filter 3:-
Year: 2001.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Bend Studio
If you thought that a third Syphon Filter game in three years is a sign of creative fatigue, then you have thought right. For all intents and purposes, Syphon Filter 3 is almost identical to the second game but with poorer pacing and story beats.
That explains why this third outing of Gabriel Logan and friends had the lowest scores on the PS1, but is too much of a good thing necessarily bad? I actually don't think so, which is why despite the game being clearly inferior to the second outing, I still enjoyed my time with it at its best.
"She gave her life for mine, how can I live with that? The same way I will, by surviving, by not giving up, by fighting for what you believe in"
Right off the bat, you are treated to the aftermath of the death of a beloved character in a cutscene. Here, you will notice how the story immediately starts with high stakes, and you will also notice the updated technology used in the CGI cutscenes, which now show significantly better-developed facial animations than its predecessors.
Unfortunately, the game's plot and pacing take a nosedive from there, and that's mainly due to its poor choice of hinging its story on a flash-back-heavy narrative design. For more than half the game, various characters in Logan's crew testify to the US Congress (in the form of the VP) about their past relationship with the now rogue Agency.
Through each hearing, you go back in time and play a mission with that character, which does little to advance their characterization and even less in advancing the central plot. It may have been interesting to play the missions where Xian Ling and Logan first met, but all the others were completely unnecessary.
This narrative choice hampers the series's otherwise satisfying plotline and massively reduces the stakes. You know the character testifying about their history is going to survive, so why play the flashback?
At least the voice acting is a bit improved from the second game with Logan and remains solid for the rest as expected.
"Not Gabe and I, we worked for the greater good"
In many ways, I could just copy and paste the gameplay portions of my Syphon Filter 2 review, and much would apply here. This is the second time where the franchise's Action-Stealth gameplay actually works since the second game already fixed the issues of the first.
It is as satisfying as it has always been to control Logan, both when you are in a firefight or when you are sneaking around. Thankfully, there are levels catering to both styles of play. Also, the game plays exactly the same regardless of the character you choose, so it doesn't have any impact on the game which character is testifying to Congress at the moment.
One thing that is annoying here, just as it was annoying in the other games, is the sudden spikes of difficulty. In some missions, you are tasked to save hostages, and you have to headshot two or more enemies in mere seconds. In others, enemies suddenly gain a huge boost in power and accuracy, managing to deplete your armor with one barrage of bullets.
Thankfully, the checkpoints are close enough that it rarely becomes frustrating, and you could always use the trustworthy strafe to look around corners and covers.
"Discover who is behind the shadowy organization controlling the Agency"
With almost the exact same gameplay and mechanics as its predecessor, the only way Syphon Filter 3 could have differentiated itself and justified its existence was to be equally as creative in crafting new missions. Mostly, the game succeeds in that mission.
Some missions introduce interesting weaponry and/or gadgets, such as Xian Ling's mission in Afghanistan where she finds a weapon that can fire through walls. Others are simply well-crafted levels that take full advantage of the game's mechanics. Variety is key here. From a hotel in Tokyo to a survivalist camp in Colorado, there are different locations, different objectives, and different styles for many missions.
Naturally, this means that some missions are weaker than others. Personally, I don't care much about some of the escort missions, with one particular mission escorting a truck having some nasty difficulty spikes within it. Also, some missions are very short, seemingly being inserted to use the same area in a different way to pad the run time.
Generally, though, the stage design in the better levels is really good. Thanks to the handy map and objective list, you won't get lost, and the stages are built in a way you can logically navigate with ease. Missions are almost divided equally between stealth and combat focus, which showcases the best the series has to offer.
"Trust, Miss Xing, would seem to be in short supply in your agency"
For the third game in a row, not many advancements were actually made to the game's graphics or animation. Admittedly, there were fewer instances of the camera clipping through the environment, but the environment is also slightly more bland in a majority of the stages.
So, don't expect anything better than the admittedly high-tier PS1 polygonal graphics and animation in-game, with the only upgrade here being for the CGI cut-scenes. These cut-scenes are ironically reduced as a result, with the focus on the improved facial animations taking away from the masterful direction of action scenes in the previous games.
Thankfully, the audio production continued its positive trend slightly by producing another suitable soundtrack to the game. While no track immediately stands out, I can remember clearly how effectively it conveyed the various areas you traversed in the game. From the tribal sounds on the jungle missions to the spy-thriller tunes in the city.
Lastly, the voice acting is as solid this time as it has always been. Even Logan's VA slightly improved, no longer emphasizing each line as if he had some mysterious constipation.
In Conclusion:
Familiarity breeds contempt. It doesn't go as far as that in this case, but Syphon Filter 3 is an almost similar package to the second game in the series but one that is wrapped in a worse-told story.
So, while it is true that the game's mechanics and the majority of its missions meet the same high standard, you can't help but expect a sequel to be better. Failing to achieve that, I think this game is a minor disappointment, and in a way, it was common for games in the same franchise to fall on their face with the fast development cycles of the PS1 days. This one manages to fall with some dignity intact.
Final: 7/10
Pros:
Cons:
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Stealth missions REQUIRE stealth.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Use the roll to approach quietly while sneaking.
9- Beware of shooting friendly targets.
10-Take advantage of cover when fighting multiple targets.
11-Sometimes running through enemy fire is your best option.
"Next Game"
Well, that takes care of my playthrough of the Syphon Filter franchise on the PS1. I really think this franchise is one of the premium upper-middle-tier Action-Shooter games on that console. It was clearly inspired by the success of Metal Gear and I think made a decent attempt at copying some of that formula while forging its own strong identity.
Next on the list is another Square cult classic. Threads of Fate sits comfortably in number 35 on the list. I actually played this game a long time ago, but I don't remember much of it (other than the fact that I enjoyed it) so it will be interesting going back.
Stay Tuned
Game: Syphon Filter 3:-
Year: 2001.
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter/Stealth
Publisher: Sony.
Developer: Bend Studio
If you thought that a third Syphon Filter game in three years is a sign of creative fatigue, then you have thought right. For all intents and purposes, Syphon Filter 3 is almost identical to the second game but with poorer pacing and story beats.
That explains why this third outing of Gabriel Logan and friends had the lowest scores on the PS1, but is too much of a good thing necessarily bad? I actually don't think so, which is why despite the game being clearly inferior to the second outing, I still enjoyed my time with it at its best.
"She gave her life for mine, how can I live with that? The same way I will, by surviving, by not giving up, by fighting for what you believe in"
Right off the bat, you are treated to the aftermath of the death of a beloved character in a cutscene. Here, you will notice how the story immediately starts with high stakes, and you will also notice the updated technology used in the CGI cutscenes, which now show significantly better-developed facial animations than its predecessors.
Unfortunately, the game's plot and pacing take a nosedive from there, and that's mainly due to its poor choice of hinging its story on a flash-back-heavy narrative design. For more than half the game, various characters in Logan's crew testify to the US Congress (in the form of the VP) about their past relationship with the now rogue Agency.
Through each hearing, you go back in time and play a mission with that character, which does little to advance their characterization and even less in advancing the central plot. It may have been interesting to play the missions where Xian Ling and Logan first met, but all the others were completely unnecessary.
This narrative choice hampers the series's otherwise satisfying plotline and massively reduces the stakes. You know the character testifying about their history is going to survive, so why play the flashback?
At least the voice acting is a bit improved from the second game with Logan and remains solid for the rest as expected.
"Not Gabe and I, we worked for the greater good"
In many ways, I could just copy and paste the gameplay portions of my Syphon Filter 2 review, and much would apply here. This is the second time where the franchise's Action-Stealth gameplay actually works since the second game already fixed the issues of the first.
It is as satisfying as it has always been to control Logan, both when you are in a firefight or when you are sneaking around. Thankfully, there are levels catering to both styles of play. Also, the game plays exactly the same regardless of the character you choose, so it doesn't have any impact on the game which character is testifying to Congress at the moment.
One thing that is annoying here, just as it was annoying in the other games, is the sudden spikes of difficulty. In some missions, you are tasked to save hostages, and you have to headshot two or more enemies in mere seconds. In others, enemies suddenly gain a huge boost in power and accuracy, managing to deplete your armor with one barrage of bullets.
Thankfully, the checkpoints are close enough that it rarely becomes frustrating, and you could always use the trustworthy strafe to look around corners and covers.
"Discover who is behind the shadowy organization controlling the Agency"
With almost the exact same gameplay and mechanics as its predecessor, the only way Syphon Filter 3 could have differentiated itself and justified its existence was to be equally as creative in crafting new missions. Mostly, the game succeeds in that mission.
Some missions introduce interesting weaponry and/or gadgets, such as Xian Ling's mission in Afghanistan where she finds a weapon that can fire through walls. Others are simply well-crafted levels that take full advantage of the game's mechanics. Variety is key here. From a hotel in Tokyo to a survivalist camp in Colorado, there are different locations, different objectives, and different styles for many missions.
Naturally, this means that some missions are weaker than others. Personally, I don't care much about some of the escort missions, with one particular mission escorting a truck having some nasty difficulty spikes within it. Also, some missions are very short, seemingly being inserted to use the same area in a different way to pad the run time.
Generally, though, the stage design in the better levels is really good. Thanks to the handy map and objective list, you won't get lost, and the stages are built in a way you can logically navigate with ease. Missions are almost divided equally between stealth and combat focus, which showcases the best the series has to offer.
"Trust, Miss Xing, would seem to be in short supply in your agency"
For the third game in a row, not many advancements were actually made to the game's graphics or animation. Admittedly, there were fewer instances of the camera clipping through the environment, but the environment is also slightly more bland in a majority of the stages.
So, don't expect anything better than the admittedly high-tier PS1 polygonal graphics and animation in-game, with the only upgrade here being for the CGI cut-scenes. These cut-scenes are ironically reduced as a result, with the focus on the improved facial animations taking away from the masterful direction of action scenes in the previous games.
Thankfully, the audio production continued its positive trend slightly by producing another suitable soundtrack to the game. While no track immediately stands out, I can remember clearly how effectively it conveyed the various areas you traversed in the game. From the tribal sounds on the jungle missions to the spy-thriller tunes in the city.
Lastly, the voice acting is as solid this time as it has always been. Even Logan's VA slightly improved, no longer emphasizing each line as if he had some mysterious constipation.
In Conclusion:
Familiarity breeds contempt. It doesn't go as far as that in this case, but Syphon Filter 3 is an almost similar package to the second game in the series but one that is wrapped in a worse-told story.
So, while it is true that the game's mechanics and the majority of its missions meet the same high standard, you can't help but expect a sequel to be better. Failing to achieve that, I think this game is a minor disappointment, and in a way, it was common for games in the same franchise to fall on their face with the fast development cycles of the PS1 days. This one manages to fall with some dignity intact.
Final: 7/10
Pros:
- Improved facial animation in the CG scenes
- Retains the solid gameplay of the second game
- Solid mission and level design
- The Third/First Person shooting hybrid works
- A lot of decent CGI scenes
- Suitable soundtrack
Cons:
- The plot's pacing is off
- The flashback-heavy narrative device is boring
- Same camera issues as the second game
- Wierd difficulty spikes here and there
- More throwaway missions this time around
- Some graphical and audio errors
"Tips"
1- You can shoot locks to break them (and electric panels as well).
2- Learn to take advantage of your map to figure things out.
3- Beware of enemy grenades.
4- Some levels require some vertical climbing, so look up often.
5- Stealth missions REQUIRE stealth.
6- Learn how to reliably get headshots with free aim.
7- Grenades are useful against multiple targets.
8- Use the roll to approach quietly while sneaking.
9- Beware of shooting friendly targets.
10-Take advantage of cover when fighting multiple targets.
11-Sometimes running through enemy fire is your best option.
"Next Game"
Well, that takes care of my playthrough of the Syphon Filter franchise on the PS1. I really think this franchise is one of the premium upper-middle-tier Action-Shooter games on that console. It was clearly inspired by the success of Metal Gear and I think made a decent attempt at copying some of that formula while forging its own strong identity.
Next on the list is another Square cult classic. Threads of Fate sits comfortably in number 35 on the list. I actually played this game a long time ago, but I don't remember much of it (other than the fact that I enjoyed it) so it will be interesting going back.
Stay Tuned
Lord Spencer- First Team
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Posts : 4488
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