Syphon Filter 2

Written by Tom Clare in PSOne Game Reviews, Sunday 20 February, 2005

A serious game despite the name...

The gaming press was understandably rather sceptical as to the quality of the original Syphon Filter when it emerged in 1999. Released shortly after Konami had seen huge success with their stealth masterpiece Metal Gear Solid, Sony's own effort at first seemed thoroughly lacklustre in comparison. Rough looks and clichéd plot aside, Syphon Filter would actually prove the surprise hit of late '99; delivering frantic and enjoyable shoot 'em up action and beating a certain horror classic by the name of Silent Hill to the top of the sales charts.

Fast-forward a year to 2000 and in similarly low-key fashion, a second Syphon Filter snuck on to the PlayStation scene via the backdoor. On the surface, it certainly appeared to be packing a bigger armoury than before; two playable characters rather than just the one, 20 levels spanning 2 discs and a brand new 2-player Deathmatch mode for added longevity. Big statistics are all well good, but could SF2 deliver in the gameplay stakes?

Things have just gone spectacularly wrong for Gabe Logan, the square-jawed hero who returns from the first game; his former employer, The Agency, has turned on him and he has subsequently gone from being best agent to number one on their hit list. Furthermore, he has become stranded in the Colorado Rockies along with a smattering of friendly G.I's and a small army of terrorists closing in from the skies. Oh, and to cap it all off his one remaining trusted accomplice, Lian Xing, has been captured by the enemy and infected with the deadly 'Syphon Filter' virus. All in all, a bad day at the office I'm sure you'll agree.

And so we have a third-person action/adventure game that is essentially split into two parts; Gabe's and Lian's. Though their levels are interlaced, each tells their own story and whilst Gabe's levels are predominantly action-orientated, Lian's require patience, timing and not a little stealth too.

Syphon Filter 2 is a difficult game. In fact, there are times when you'll be close to kicking the TV over in sheer frustration. But it's also a very clever game and the preferred Syphon Filter title for those who love a meaty challenge.

It doesn't suffer fools gladly - SF2 is absolute hell to get into, especially if you have never played the original. It never intends to go easy on you, and right from the word go you are thrown in at the deep end. Level One sees dozens of enemies raining down on your position, most of your colleagues are injured, missing or dead and you have to remain alert, sharp and agile to avoid being shot to pieces within the opening minutes of play. This level, along with the following 19, is driven by a series of objectives that must be completed to allow you to progress - complete an objective and you are (mercifully) awarded a checkpoint and a chance to save game. Helping matters are the excellent controls - unchanged from SF part 1, they allow simple, nimble movements as well as easy-to-use techniques such as side-stepping, auto-targeting and, in true secret-agent fashion, forwards-rolling.

Having limped through the lengthy opening level, you've managed to get a feel for the all-guns-blazing attitude the game seems to adopt. What seems to hamper Syphon Filter 2 from there on in is the apparent clash of its sub-genres - shooting and stealth. After the breathless opening level, you are expecting more running and shooting. But no, the second level couldn't be more different; no guns/weaponry are provided and the mission is automatically terminated if you are so much as spotted by the enemy. Cunning and well-designed as this stealth level may be, it is absolute torture trudging round on tip-toes, memorising guards' patrol routes so as to find the ideal moment to slip past and so on. It can take a long time, and the wait is further emphasised by the rapid-pace and simplicity of the previous mission.

And this, to a certain degree, is how things continue. For the sake of the games momentum it is lucky that 'action' plays a larger role in the later stages, with parameters on later stealth missions fortunately being relaxed. But perhaps I'm being unnecessarily harsh, as Syphon Filter 2 does manage to deliver some superb action-orientated moments. At one time or another you'll find yourself darting across train carriages; sprinting through the streets of Moscow with bullets peppering down on you from snipers; attempting a daring breakout from a high-security prison, and there is even a brilliant shoot out in a disco with flashing lights and huge sound systems included.

Several sections require a fair bit of cunning to conquer, and though Gabe and Lian will inevitably die on multiple occasions, you'll find that you can't help but persevere - it's addictive stuff, and when you get hold of some of the larger weapons (Grenade Launchers, Shotguns and Magnum's among them) you'll be having a ball.

It won't win any awards for graphical finesse, but then it wouldn't really be Syphon Filter if it didn't look a little rough around the edges. The environments themselves are top-notch; detailed, well-defined and pleasingly, there is a fair bit of variety between each area. Not only can walls and debris be used as cover, but many seemingly inanimate objects can also be used to your advantage - a good example is a boss encounter towards the later stages of the game whereby you are situated in a small park at night-time, with your opponent slowly circling a monument. Using the monument as cover, you must shoot out four lamps that lie above it one-by-one so as to darken the area and therefore neutralise the threat safely. On a more negative note, the characters still sport ridiculous 'square-heads' in the slightly-underwhelming FMV sequences, and in-game the character animations/movements seem quite minimal.

The background music is of a decent quality and usually fits the atmosphere well - it pulses along menacingly in the shooting stages whilst settling into a quieter, more ominous rhythm for the stealth sections. Neither the music nor the sound effects are particularly memorable though needless to say they both do their jobs just fine.

Syphon Filter 2's twenty levels present good value, and the long-term appeal of the package is helped by the addition of the two-player Deathmatch. Furthermore, there are several unlockable levels and characters for the two-player section as well as an 'expert' mode for the main game, in which you can unlock early unseen footage of the original Syphon Filter concept, which is a super little touch. It should last a good few weeks I would think.

ELSPA's recommended age-rating is 18+, though I feel this represents the difficulty of the game more than any extreme levels of violence. Granted, it is aimed more towards adults and does include blood, killing and other unsavoury practices that we have come to associate with gaming in recent years, though most people over the age of 12 should be fairly used to this in action/adventures now anyway.

Ultimately, Syphon Filter 2 contains a great shoot 'em up and a good stealth game in one very nice package. It's far from perfect and can become really tough at times, though extended play reveals a clever, innovative adventure with brilliant levels and an interesting storyline. It will far outlast many of its rivals, even if it can't compete with Metal Gear Solid. Mission successful.

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