After lenghty and cloudy months, the acclaimed PSP success Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror finally gets out in its PS2 adaptation. The venture was promising because of the potentiel of the game which had been a solid value in its PSP version. For those like me who do not share the PSP owners' fortune, this was finally the chance to discover the latest adventures of Gabe Logan and his team.

Fallowing the rather cold reception that The Omega Strain got as it proposed to play as an anonymous agent custumed by the player, developpers at Sony Bend opted for a return to the series roots. And so they're throwing Gabe Logan back in the middle of the action, with short intrusions over its partner Lian Xing. Most other main caracters actually play minor roles in this episode, often limited to the mission cinematics. As for the story, it is rather straightfoward. The Syphon Filter affair now definitaly closed, Gabe and his Agency are now facing new threats. This time, Gabe is chasing a paramiltary group calling itself Red Section, and which is trying to get its hands on a sinister research project named Dark Mirror that was conducted by KemSynth Petreleum. A kind of storyline that we are used to with the series, but this time featuring new names and new enemies. Whitout being profondly original, it offers though all the ingredients for a succession of events that will bring Gabe from one side of the world to the other, from the coldness of Alaska to the head of Peru, passing by a Moscow mafiosi casino amd a peace mission in Bosnia. The locations are once again varied, one of the series trademark, yet in a lesser number than in previous games. Indeed, the game is divided in seven episodes, each one composed of several short missions, a format that probably suited better the portable console needs. The plot is also probably less deep that was the one concerning the virus. This is simply because the intrigue of Dark Mirror buckles up at the end of the game, whereas the virus conspiracy took four episodes. But it also loose in deepness in comparison to The Omega Strain because it drops the concept of 'Zeus Files' that players were to read before each mission and that provided him with quantity of information on various aspects of the story that videos did not cover.

Graphically, this game proposes a clean improvment over its predecessor. The conversion to the big screen did not harm the graphic quality in any ways. On the contrary, textures are rich and detailed, thus creating realistic environments, with various effects of snow, fire and smoke, alterning smoothly between day and night missions. The caracters face are finaly worked and weapon models are convincing. What's truly a relief is the reduction of the number of glitches related to the background: they are practicaly non-existent in Dark Mirror. For the rest, the motion capture is up to the strong reputation that the previous games had built. The cutscenes are generally short, but sometimes a bit hard to fallow, as they switch from the present time of the mission to flashbacks of the breifing. Yet, the are generally short in order in appears to give more room to the action.

Sound is as usual a strong point of the game. The music is excellent, yet the contribution of more than one composer takes away personnality to the different themes, which are by the way more discreet than in previous Syphon Filter games. The dialogues, yet in a small number, are brief and straitfoward and the voice actors have recorded them with enthousiasm anc conviction. The several ambiant sound effects add up to the realism of each mission. Both the sounds for the weapons and the environmental effects (birds singing, machinery sounds, etc.) are beyond reproach. The enemies' lines are varied enough and always in the language in the country where the mission sets up. I've taken note however of a small glitch that happens when you are using a scoped weapon which makes the sound of what you see through the scope as loud as if you were beside it. Except for that, I have nothing to complain about.

The new controls will be of a concern for those who are used to the series. Probably because of the limited buttons that the PSP had, the gameplay has changed from top to bottom. A time of adjustment will be needed. Nevertheless, when mastered, they are very effective. The make use of both joystick of the PSP controller, one to move forward and backward and the other to move the target around. There are no lock-on targeting anymore, which makes moving enemies tougher to hit. Yet, PSP users will not that the 'Classic' configuration is not in the PS2 version, but maybe not for the worst. The default controls are far more efficient. Besides of the normal targeting mode, you can get in over-the-shoulder view for better accuracy. The greatest addition though is the ability to flatten against a wall or any flat surface. From there, you can peek out and jump out to fire a couple of bullets before taking cover again. The use of this technique is fluent and will bring about exciting firefights. On a nostalgic note, the fans of the series will be sad to learn that you can't do rolls anymore...

Dark Mirror offers two gaming modes: 'Story' and 'Missions'. Whereas the first one has you go through the whole story with no interruptions, the second allows you to do each mission one by one, with the possibility to choose your weapons before each. You will then have the latitude to go after hidden evidences which will eventualy grant you access to bonus material for each episode. Furthermore, you will get a chance to improve your statistics (headshots, stealth kills, knife kills, etc.) which thus will unlock new weapons as well as bonus missions. New addition to the series, you can now set the level of difficulty among three in Story Mode (Easy, Normal or Hard) and two in Mission mode (Normal or Hard), and so players can fit the game according to their level of experience. Obviously, you can not avoid the Difficult setting if you want to unlock everything in the game. Also, stealth becomes completely optional in this game, but you will need to use it in order to get all supplementary stuff. In other matters, the mission course also goes back to its roots and leaves behind the everything-goes concept that we experienced with The Omega Strain. Every objective must then be completed or you will have to start over from your last checkpoint. This makes the action more linear, indeed, but it is not more boring than it was in Syphon Filter 1, 2 and 3.

Many new weapons and gadget are introduced to the players who will have to decide which arsenal will suit best the type of mission. As it was the case in The Omega Strain, Gabe and Lian will not be able to carry an unlimited number of weapons on them and are limited to one per category (back, handgun, auxiliary, etc.). Besides, you will also carry at all time a special weapon: the MB-150, a sniper rifle using different kinds of darts, from explosives to taser and nerve gas. A few new gadgets are also brought in, like the RTL that allows Gabe to ride along cables over obstacles in order to reach new locations in the level. The game also features classic weapons of the series, like the Silenced Mark-23, the M016, the EDP (taser) and a variety of shotguns. We also take note of the addition of the laser mines, which will increase the number of possible tactics to eliminate an enemy. Finally, the characters will have various goggles at their disposal, from infrared to nightvision and EM (detects electro-magnetic fields), that will surely help you out in tough situations.

One aspect, however, hurts the PS2 version bad in comparison to the PSP game, and that's the dropping of the on-line mode. Even though the experience was a success with The Omega Strain, and and even greater one with the PSP version of Dark Mirror, it was not renewed on the PS2 edition. This is probably because that kind of adaptation of a game usually doesn't get much attention and that the cost of server maintenance was too high considering this. Whatsoever, it is something fans of the series will be disappointed with.

In conclusion, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is a solid title which holds up to the expectations of the series fans. Despite a few amputations here and there in comparison to the PSP game, the PS2 owners will not be dissatisfied as they have in their hands a complete and entertaining game. Both modes will give the game a considerable life, as will the numerous bonus. The SCEA producers had the moral duty to offer and adaptation of their latest games for the PS2, only in respect to the many fans who had kept the series alive until now, but who do not have a PSP (like me!). Now let's hope that em>Logan's Shadow will get the same threatment. Nevertheless, in the meantime, we have in our hands a game that we will be able to enjoy until the next episode!

Last update: 2007