Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain Preview

The enemies come in waves, up the street, from the rooftops or swarming out of corridors. They all seem intent on filling you as full of holes as they possibly can.

Some you can shoot back, others you have to avoid killing. After all, the mission parameters emphatically state that you cannot kill non-hostiles. Hmm, they are shooting at you – that seems pretty hostile. Oh well, take out the stun baton and immobilize them, then move on.

Sony’s Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is slated for release in May for the PlayStation2. Sony invited a group of journalists to the Bend, Oregon, studio developing the game for an up-close look at the title. That meant hands-on, and that meant stepping into the shoes of a new agent working for the venerable Gabe Logan and trying to uncover the forces behind the mutant virus threatening the world.

The Omega Strain treads new ground for this series, which debuted in 1999. It is the fourth in the series, but the first on the PS2 console system. And not only is the game huge, but it features cooperative play that mirrors the single-person game. You can play the majority of missions as either a single player or as part of team (up for four players) through a peer-to-peer connection. There are missions that are exclusively for teams, and bonus missions as well.

You begin the game by creating an agent. Gabe Logan has risen to the rank of head of the agency, and new agents can progress up the chain of command by successfully completing the missions, not only in terms of achieving the various objectives, but also within the time frame allowed for the missions. If you are good enough, you might even rise up to head the agency.

Character creation is a minor example of the depth and versatility of this title. There are 80 different faces and 144 different shirts available. And that is just the beginning of the customization. It seems reasonable to state that no two players will look exactly alike in this game.

The intro mission takes place in Carthage, Michigan. The objectives are seemingly simple: collect water and tissue samples, have them analyzed and don’t kill certain people who may be shooting at you.

The game does require that you work through puzzle elements, pick up weapons and ammo as you go, use buildings and other environment fixtures to shield yourself, and find and utilize the various vest strewn about the level. Some of the enemies will try to outgun you, some will be content with just detonating packs of C4 in your general vicinity, to turn you into a variation of the human torch.
 

The game is paced by a solid audio track (featuring the music of Mark Snow – the composer of the X-Files theme as well as a composer for many other television shows and motion pictures), along with radio chatter, explosions and a lot of gun fire.

Graphically the game suffers just a bit from the camera controls – or lack of them. The camera is fixed behind your avatar, which works when heading toward NPCs, but definitely does not when NPCs pop out from behind you, or you are retreating to find a defensible position. This may force players to rely on the radar, but the free camera control has been ingrained in the genre and is not easy to relinquish. However, the environments are sterling and the player models and animation are very well done, even at this stage in the development.

Other control elements are somewhat intuitive and players should find the learning curve of this game, even if picking it up for the first time, relatively short.

The core of the game’s action will revolve around the AI of the NPCs. This is an area that it is obvious has received a lot of attention. Whether it is moving back or trying to avail themselves of cover, the NPCs play somewhat smart. The advantage still lies with the player-controlled avatar, simply because for every move that the NPC makes, there are ways to counter it.  But Omega Strain has introduced an AI for NPCs that is close to mirroring what players are capable of doing, and this will lend itself to challenging missions and replayability. While the missions themselves will not change, the way the NPCs react certainly will.

When completed, Omega Strain will feature 17 missions, all in a sequential timeline. You will not be able to advance to the next mission without completing the previous one. The environments are big and it is easy to miss elements as you move through. While not all environmental elements are interactive, you should be able to ascertain that you are on the right track when you are able to blow out that wind, which leads to descending stairs.

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is the last in the current thread of the game. The conclusion of this game will reveal all that players wanted to know about the forces behind the release of the virus. That, in and of itself, is certain to draw in fans of the franchise, but this is a game that will appeal to a wide range of shooter fans, and fans of great action games. The multiplayer aspect of this title will be worth the price of admission.

Mark this one down on your lists of titles to play – it is certain to be a winner.