Syphon Filter is in my mind the greatest success of the PlayStation era! Recognized as a classic of the action genre since its release, it does not revotionnize the industry, but it brings every aspect of the game close to perfection.

Syphon Filter is a third-person shooter in which you play as special agent Gabriel Logan, member of the most renowned and secret Agency. Gabe finds himself in the center of a dark conspiracy aiming to create a terrifying weapon nammed Syphon Filter. He will have to fallow the trail of the evil minds behind this project, discovering along the way that its roots are deeper than he had ever anticipated. Although the game is pretty much action-centered, it also offers many stealth mission where discretion will be your only concern.

The player travels through twenty missions which will bring him to several parts of the world : from Washington D.C. to the North of Kazakstan, and from New York to Ukraine. A briefing is presented before each mission, allowing the player to be situated and to story to go forward. Each environment is detailed and their spectacular variety will keep you from having déjà-vu. Textures are rich and of an impressive realism, including plenty of details such as bottles in a bar. Furthermore, many visual effects increase this realism, like rain or snow, as well as footsteps that the characters leaves behind. But what truly defines this game in terms of graphics is the interaction with the environment: every single light, window or computer screen may be destroyed by bullets. You will also notice the effect of destroying a light, and you could even use this against enemies.

The cinematics are ok, with sometimes a bit of a cartoonish look to them, and it seems obvious that the emphasis was not put on this aspect durgin game development. Yet, motion capture, both for the cinematics and for the game itself, is impeccable and create even more living characters.

The game offers a range of weapon from the good'ol 9mm to the powerful Shotgun, the sniper rifle, the classic M-16 and of course grenades, not to mention the unforgetable Taser. You also have a few gadgets to help you out, like flashlight or magnetic security cardkeys that let you inside locked locations.

A special mention for the music, which quality is worth insisting on. Composer Chuck Doud has accomplished a tremendous work and his music contributes to immerge the player into the atmosphere of the level. Moreover, the intensity of the music varies with the level of action on screen, and transitions are smooth and without interruptions. The overall sound is also remarquable. The several sound effects are brillantly rendered, from the footstep sound to the sound of bullet ricochets. As for the dialogues, they are played with conviction by the voice actors.

Syphon Filter gameplay is quite original and requires a little adaptation time in order to master it in all its subtleties. Indeed, the character movements are wide and makes moving around laborious at the beginning, although it rapidly ceases to be a problem. On the contrary, from my point of view, it makes the game feel even more realistic: a character should not be able to turn 90° straigth while running On another subject, the game has two aiming mode to choose from according to the situation and the player's preferences: automatic aiming for intense firefights or manual aiming for precision shots. Finally, the character can perform various movements, like rolling to avoid enemy fire.

The only small downside is that the game does not provides the player with secret material to unlock. Still, the game grips so much that you'll want to play it over and over again! As a matter of fact, some missions may be completed in alternate ways. I myself played through the game countless times and I never get bored!

Syphon Filter is in conclusion a game of exception which will please the genre fans, while turning some into inconditionnel amateurs of the series to come. Not only a commercial success, Syphon Filter was also a the prelude to a historic series on the PlayStation franchise.

by Gabe Logan

Last update: 2008-02-16