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SYPHON FILTER REVEIW
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Extreme Prejudice
The first thing I thought when I saw the publisher of Syphon Filter was, "Oh no! I don't trust 989 Studios after what they did with Twisted Metal III". Fortunately,
my thoughts were (as they seldom are) misguided. Syphon Filter is far better than anticipated, and a worthy release from Sony's 989.
The story-line is fairly standard for the genre. You assume the role of Gabriel Logan, a topnotch, gun-toting,
underground operative; a cross between James Bond and Rambo. Pharcom Inc. has secretly been developing a
virus known as "Syphon Filter" (Hey! Just like the name of this game! Coincidence?). This virus can be genetically
programmed to attack a specific human target or group of targets. Looks like it's all up to you, your controller, and
"Gabe" to stop Pharcom and their plot for world domination.
Control in Syphon Filter is a little difficult. It's not as tight or as precise as Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, for example.
Though the game supports the analog joysticks of the "Dual Shock" controller, the standard D-pad is a lot easier to
work with as Syphon Filter fails to take advantage of the incremental precision of joysticks.
You manipulate Gabe in a three dimensional environment using the now-familiar third person perspective. Any
gamers who have seen and played any game since Tomb Raider will instantly recognize and quickly become used to
the action. You can climb, walk, shoot, strafe, sneak, fall off of buildings, and run... well... oddly, just like Rick Moranis.
The enemy AI is great; perhaps the best part of the game. Enemies will roll, crouch, sidestep and run to evade your fire. They'll even attempt to sneak up and
ambush you. They can die in different ways and will react if a comrade of theirs is killed nearby.
Gameplay itself is also well above average. Some games have the misfortune of being completely played out as soon as you beat 'em (see StarFox). But in Syphon
Filter, even though you've done it before, it seems as though it's always fun to do it again. Therefore we have a fair replayability bonus!
Level design is quite good. Like Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter uses a stealth/action combination with emphasis on the latter. Some missions require special
assault tactics while others require more puzzling stealth operations.
The 13 3D environments are all fully rendered. Levels are nonlinear but not too confusing, just complicated enough so that you won't get bored of them easily;
making it perfect for action-oriented players. Some levels have many obstacles and traps, while others are perfect for blowing up everything in sight, and a few are
meant only for stealth tactics and sneaky progression.
Graphics are good, with realistic rainfall and snow simulations and textures that are all well planned and rendered. Lighting effects actually surpass the standard seen
in most games for the PlayStation. However, there is still room for improvements. The graphics just aren't as 'solid' and detailed as Metal Gear Solid. The
characters need some work as well; though Gabe moves smoothly, his body motion is slightly off; he still looks very 'Gumby'ish.
Syphon Filter also suffers from many typical PSX polygonal errors. Textures become warped when viewed from an
angle and grenades sometimes get thrown right through walls. I have even experienced occasions when enemies
have spotted me through a wall. Fortunately, these common errors do not affect gameplay in any major way, though
it is sometimes funny to see Gabe standing halfway through the pavement.
Sound you say? Sound is good. The stereo ambient sound is great. The sound effects themselves are crisp and clear
while music is decent. Voice acting (where most games usually fail horribly) is actually ok. None of the actors
deserve an Oscar, but hey, they did their part.
Now on to the cool weapons. Gabe has a variety 17 real-world weapons he must use to survive each mission.
These include a .45 magnum, M16 assault rifle, sniper rifle, the taser, and the ever-popular grenade launcher.
Targeting is easy in Syphon Filter. You can choose to auto-aim with a touch of a button or aim manually. This type of aim control is perfect for quick targeting and
snap decisions. It also works great with some of the more difficult weapons and those oh-so-important head shots. Limbs, head and body can all be targeted
seperately.
Along with Syphon Filter's many good offerings there are some unfortunate problems. First of all, stealth in this game was not done as well as it could have been
(compared to Tenchu). The enemy line of sight just seems a bit random at times.
Another problem is its striking resemblance to Metal Gear Solid's story details. If you've played MGS you'll remember "FoxDie", a retro-virus that can be
programmed to attack only the defined target(s). Amazingly similar to the "Syphon Filter" virus isn't it? There's another sequence in Syphon Filter with a rooftop
battle against a helicopter. Sound familiar?
Despite Syphon Filter's little flaws, we have a great game here; definitely worth the 40 dollars. This action packed spy game is great for what it is, but still could be
taken a few steps further (Syphon Filter 2?). I recommend that the developers include some sort of cooperative multiplayer so I can get my friends in on the action.
Either way, I'll be playing this one for hours to come.
Revolution Report Card
B+
+ Cool surgical spy action
+ Cool gun-toting action
+ Nice gameplay
- Sloppy stealth
- Storyline details similar to MGS
+ The taser.. make 'em dance!
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SILENT HILL REVIEW
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by Baldric
Ahhhh...blessed, peaceful silence.
Well, at least you'll get some peace and quiet after you turn that damned radio off. My advice to anyone who buys Silent Hill (and many of you should because it's
a good game) is to turn off the radio! Better yet, don't even pick it up. The sound and music are good, and they will set you on edge if you can actually hear over the
awful hissing, suspense-spoiling radio. Is it off now? Good. We may begin.
The world of computer gaming got its first real taste of horror from Alone In The Dark, a terrific, terrifying and
revolutionary title. Then the Resident Evil series reared its gruesome head on the PlayStation, a captivating bit of
'survival horror' that combined special forces teams, bad acting, and brain-eating zombies. Now the next level is here
in Silent Hill, which is both better and worse, more disturbing and yet somehow less jump-out-of-your-seat scary
than its predecessors.
Every time I think that game programmers have reached the limits of the PSX hardware, I am proven wrong. Silent
Hill breaks that envelope because the whole world is truly 3D. No more fixed camera angles. No more pre-rendered
sets and constant blips of CD access. Instead, you get full freedom of movement, incredible graphical detail and very
cool lighting effects. This is partly accomplished through an almost constant fog affect, which only allows you to see a
short distance in any direction at any time. While this is normally a bummer, it actually works in Silent Hill by heightening the suspense.
Of course, the key to having fun in 3D worlds is the camera. Put a stupid camera in a game, and objects will block the view and interrupt gameplay, spoiling
otherwise decent games like Akuji The Heartless. Silent Hill, on the other hand, has the best camera I have ever seen. Not only does it provide fast and clear
views, but it also manages to have a distinct editing style: eerie and spooky with lots of interesting angles. It really feels like playing through a horror movie.
And what a sick horror movie it is. Silent Hill moves us away from the campy, Roger Corman style horror of Resident Evil, and into the truly disturbed worlds of
H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker. You play Harry Mason, a simple guy. You're not a cop, or an FBI agent, or anything vaguely heroic. You swerve and crash
your jeep just outside the mountain town of Silent Hill. When you come to, your daughter is missing. You think you spot her running off in the distance, and you
follow...
Every part of the town of Silent Hill seems to have two sides. There's the regular-world part, which is pretty bad and full of vicious hell dogs and flying demon
things; and an other-worldly nightmarish mirror that is much worse and will simply make your skin crawl. You will have to explore large parts of both worlds to solve
the puzzle of Silent Hill and find your daughter.
Speaking of puzzles, they are almost exactly the same as in Resident Evil. Find the Silver and Gold disks, then put
them in the right place. Gotta locate that next key, because you certainly shouldn't kick open any doors in a
depopulated town full of demons. These puzzles do make a bit more sense in Silent Hill's nightmarish setting, rather
than having them all confined to psuedo-rational explanations in a zombie-infested police station as in Resident Evil 2.
That's another great thing about Silent Hill: the freedom of movement. You can go all over the town and into many of
the buildings. The maps and floorplans actually make sense, unlike the random, unlikely corridors of Resident Evil.
But Resident Evil did some things better. The enemies in Silent Hill are all sort of pinkish and don't move very well.
The settings and the mood are actually scarier than the creatures themselves. To make it worse, the combat is pretty
bad. While the controls are almost exactly the same as Resident Evil, combat is much more sluggish, less fun, and
less interesting. It just feels like you have very little control during a fight.
And so far, Silent Hill hasn't made me fall out of my seat in terror like a couple of the inspired moments from Resident Evil.
But even if your heart doesn't skip a beat because something really startled you, your pulse rate will be throbbing thanks to the ghoulish settings, the confusing horror,
and the perfect set-your-nerves-on-edge music (which you can hear because your turned off that crackling radio, remember?). It's just too bad the voice acting
continues to be terrible in these games. With bizarre pauses in the dialogue, it spoils the otherwise perfect mood.
I only complain so much about the flaws in Silent Hill because I really like the game. The little problems are thrown into sharp contrast by the brilliant vision of
horror. And with multiple endings, you may not even discover the true evil that stalks the town your first time through.
Silent Hill is definitely the scariest monster in town until we see what Resident Evil 3 for the Dreamcast looks like. It also brings video game horror into the 3rd
dimension. Add to that a more intelligent, more disturbing plot than its B-movie predecessors, and this is definitely not a game for little kids. So if you don't fall into
that category, go buy Silent Hill, pour yourself a strong drink, turn out all the lights, and immerse yourself in the sickness. It's a hell of a lot better than going to see
the latest Wes Craven movie.
Revolution Report Card
B+
+ Really Creepy
+ Disturbing
+ Great Camera
+ Huge 3D Town
- Flawed Combat
- Uninspired Monsters
- Bad Voiceovers
- That Damn Radio
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