Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
SF finally makes the 128-bit leap. Hands-on impressions, story details, screens and more.
Published: September 21, 2003
One of the best things about having a development house in the same place where new technology is being rolled out is the ability to capitalize on all that minty fresh hardware. When the HDD finally hits stores next March, at least a couple games will have shipped with support for the peripheral, including the next chapter in the Syphon Filter series that started back at the end of 1998. The Omega Strain refers to an advanced version of the virus that had SF mainstay Gabe Logan trotting the globe to prevent potential mass outbreaks.
The problem with this new Omega strain is that it's far too contractible for one man to prevent or contain, so Logan forms his own agency to train and guide a handful of new recruits to tackle the growing threat of bio-terrorism. This is where the game deviates from the series' past. Instead of jumping into Gabe's combat boots, you'll have the ability to create your own character with hundreds (if not thousands) of different face, body and hair combinations.
With all that variety, it should be tough for two players to create the same likeness, which will come in handy for the game's second big change. With the advent of online play, the series' entire single-player gameplay experience can be moved online, enabling the full game to be played via co-op. While it's smaller in scale than, say, SOCOM, the ability to cooperate and communicate with another player (the game fully supports VoIP, so you can talk back and forth with the other player via a headset), coordinating attacks and moving more as a team than just a lone gunman can't be underestimated.
This presents an interesting duality in the way you can tackle the game. Things can definitely be handled solo for those that either don't want to play with another person or simply haven't bought into the idea of online play via the Network Adaptor, but all the levels are actually designed to be played both ways. When two players work together, areas that are normally out of reach are now accessible with just a simple boost from one player. Each of the levels has also been designed from the ground up to be so large that a single or even a few play-throughs won't be enough to explore the whole level, and there will be sections that will only be seen when cooperating with another player.
In classic Syphon Filter form, over 100 real-world weapons will be available, though only three will be equippable per level, one each on the back and chest and sidearm. There's still the ability to loot ammo and weapons off of downed enemies, of course, but before each level you'll be able to balance out your payload before running into the fray.
With a couple years between Syphon Filter 3 and this game, and a wealth of games that tackle the same genre, it's easy to forget how uniquely the controls are, and while you no longer control a guy who looks like he's running with a load in his pants, there is still that classic SF gait to deal with. Luckily, things are a bit tighter, and the now-familiar lock-on system in place makes identifying and staffing around targets a breeze. The Gamers' Day build we spent some time with had us bucking multiple enemies with a shotgun, sniping them from afar and capping them at close range with a couple different tasty pistols.
Of course all of these pale in comparison to using the taser pistol, one of the best carry-overs from the old games. There's something oddly satisfying about watching an impossibly long line arc out and kiss an opponent, only to watch them writhe as a couple hundred volts pass through their bodies, eventually causing them to burst into flame. Gruesome? Sure, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to pull off. Did we mention this is an M-rated game?
The Gamers' Day events, while less hectic than, say, E3, are woefully short on productive free time, so the mad dash from one game to the next didn't leave us enough time to really delve into what major – if any – changes to gameplay and storyline from the previous games exist as the game jumps from 32- to 128-bit, but with just a couple months to go before the game's November release, we won't have to wait long to find out.
The problem with this new Omega strain is that it's far too contractible for one man to prevent or contain, so Logan forms his own agency to train and guide a handful of new recruits to tackle the growing threat of bio-terrorism. This is where the game deviates from the series' past. Instead of jumping into Gabe's combat boots, you'll have the ability to create your own character with hundreds (if not thousands) of different face, body and hair combinations.
With all that variety, it should be tough for two players to create the same likeness, which will come in handy for the game's second big change. With the advent of online play, the series' entire single-player gameplay experience can be moved online, enabling the full game to be played via co-op. While it's smaller in scale than, say, SOCOM, the ability to cooperate and communicate with another player (the game fully supports VoIP, so you can talk back and forth with the other player via a headset), coordinating attacks and moving more as a team than just a lone gunman can't be underestimated.
This presents an interesting duality in the way you can tackle the game. Things can definitely be handled solo for those that either don't want to play with another person or simply haven't bought into the idea of online play via the Network Adaptor, but all the levels are actually designed to be played both ways. When two players work together, areas that are normally out of reach are now accessible with just a simple boost from one player. Each of the levels has also been designed from the ground up to be so large that a single or even a few play-throughs won't be enough to explore the whole level, and there will be sections that will only be seen when cooperating with another player.
In classic Syphon Filter form, over 100 real-world weapons will be available, though only three will be equippable per level, one each on the back and chest and sidearm. There's still the ability to loot ammo and weapons off of downed enemies, of course, but before each level you'll be able to balance out your payload before running into the fray.
With a couple years between Syphon Filter 3 and this game, and a wealth of games that tackle the same genre, it's easy to forget how uniquely the controls are, and while you no longer control a guy who looks like he's running with a load in his pants, there is still that classic SF gait to deal with. Luckily, things are a bit tighter, and the now-familiar lock-on system in place makes identifying and staffing around targets a breeze. The Gamers' Day build we spent some time with had us bucking multiple enemies with a shotgun, sniping them from afar and capping them at close range with a couple different tasty pistols.
Of course all of these pale in comparison to using the taser pistol, one of the best carry-overs from the old games. There's something oddly satisfying about watching an impossibly long line arc out and kiss an opponent, only to watch them writhe as a couple hundred volts pass through their bodies, eventually causing them to burst into flame. Gruesome? Sure, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to pull off. Did we mention this is an M-rated game?
The Gamers' Day events, while less hectic than, say, E3, are woefully short on productive free time, so the mad dash from one game to the next didn't leave us enough time to really delve into what major – if any – changes to gameplay and storyline from the previous games exist as the game jumps from 32- to 128-bit, but with just a couple months to go before the game's November release, we won't have to wait long to find out.
