Post by wafflerevolution on Sept 11, 2013 17:44:09 GMT
by Apathetic_Prick
Hostile Takeover In A Dystopic Techno Hell Hole
As creatures that love diversity, the ultimate gamer seeks the ultimate blend in gameplay styles much like the ultimate beer connoisseur searches for the ultimate blend of hops, malt and barley to suit their tastes. Bullfrog's dystopic and brutally violent gem, Syndicate is much like that. Released in 1993 on the Commodore Amiga and then again in 1994 on the PC, Syndicate was definitely a breath of fresh air. Mac users even got a version in 1995. It was also released on consoles, although console version was different, considering there was no keyboard or mouse available. The console releases were: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (1994), SNES (1995) and the Panasonic 3D0 (1995). So far as I'm aware of, there's also a version of it on the Atari Jaguar, as well. Syndicate also has also an expansion, American Revolt, originally released for the Amiga in 1993 and then ported to PC later on in a bundle called Syndicate Plus. I unfortunately don't have a date for the release, but I'm going to assume it was around 1996, 1997 because that's when I saw copies of it available for sale.
Syndicate also has a sequel, Syndicate Wars, which was released on PC in 1996 and the PlayStation in 1997.
The genres that Syndicate fall under are action and strategy, anthough it does have a bit of an RPG touch to it, and the game plays entirely in real time. The unit that you control consists of 4 members that outfit individually. They're controlled entirely by the mouse, the left button dictating where to move and the right button uses whichever weapon or item you have selected.
The premise is that sometime in the future, conglomerates (aka corporations owned by other corporations owned by other corporations...you get the idea) rule the world. Wait a second...Anyway, excluding present day realities, these supercorperations are literally at war with each other, and they wage this war using elite unites of cybernetic enforcers. The population (and your agents) is controlled via narcotic means (this game's world is a cross between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Brave New World. No VR sex shows, though, sorry) and people drive hover cars and trucks. The world is littered with huge neon signs with a slight neo-asian look and the soundtrack (which is composed of...4 tracks, iirc) is moody and pulsating. The world is divided up into 50 nationstates, each governed by a rival Syndicate, and it's your job to take control and become the Syndicate of Syndicates.
What's unique about Syndicate is that you have to research the majority of your equipment; you're not going to start off with the coveted minigun right off the bat (although that would be exceptionally sweet). You start off withe the basic gear available - which you have to purchase - and the basic cyborg endoskeleton is the only one available.
Endoskeleton parts also have to be researched, and it must be done so piece-by-piece. And then purchased piece by piece. Weapons are researched by category; you'll have to complete research on one weapon before you can research another, but it's worth it. The game has around 9 weapons and 5 items, and the weapons themselves are worth the research. It's pretty easy to wipe out enemies with a squad loaded down with miniguns, let me tell ya!
The great thing about researching is that it's done in your menu screen when you're not in mission. The only pressure you actually have when it comes to researching is money. It's a bit of a finite resource, although after you've taken over a few territories, you're pretty much set. Money is made by taxing the populations that you control (after violently wresting control of a nation from another syndicate), and you can control the level of taxation up or down, depending on the nation's mood. Tax them too hard, and they'll revolt, which forces you to repeat the mission there to regain control of that territory. I personally deliberately tax them hard. Is gunning down civilians really that wrong? Ahem. It is however, also very expensive; ammo is not only not infinite, but it's also not cheap ($5000 a pop to completely reload a minigun), and early on in the game, emptying your bigger guns into the city streets just for the hell of it is not a wise idea.
Aside from your means of destruction (and there are many), life is not just about gunning down, torching, blasting or disintigrating anything that moves. As fun as it may be. Some missions actually require you to escort or "persuade" targets. Remember how I'd previously mentioned how the people are controlled with narcotics? Well, you've got a device called the "Persuadertron" that, when you come in contact with people, makes them join your cause. If they can find a weapon, they'll even fight for you. So, while the name kinda sucks (even by 1993's standards), the end result is pretty wicked. As a side bonus, If you persuade enough people The also respond to your agents' narcotics, referred to as API levels. These govern your speed, range and AI (A for Agility, P for Perception and I for Intelligence), so if the I level is maxed, they'll shoot at anything hostile which you may not notice. You also have a panic mode that jumps all drug levels and makes your agent pull their most powerful weapon, which works very well in just about any situation, whether you're actually concerned about your team's welfare or not. Just because you can hear the warning track that an enemy agent (or agents) are nearby doesn't mean you can see them, but when you max the I drug level or pop into panic mode, someone might just catch a bead.
And that's another thing; originally the game had 8 bit sounds, but was rereleased with a 16-bit audio package, and it sounds stellar. As previously mentioned, the game has a very limited soundtrack, but it's very fitting. There's a track for intro/ending, mission success, mission failure, on-mission music and a track that warns you that enemy cyborg agents are nearby, and it's suitably sinister. And this brings up a pretty interesting point. Dynamic soundtracks were, up until the end of 90's, much rarer on PC than console. Anyone who's played the original Metal Gear games on the NES knows this. But, this is a little bit more sophisticated. It's not just an indicator of battle, but of impending battle, so it keeps you on your toes a lot more. Another nice touch is that you can blow out windows, drive vehicles (and do drive-by's), and the game has a physics system; the type and amount of equipment you carry affects your speed, and the main offsetting modifier to that are your sybernetic parts (which also ad bonuses to health, defense and range).
Syndicate's expansion, American Revolt's premise is pretty much the same as Syndicate, except that it's much harder, and there's only one theatre of operations, that being the Americas (as opposed to the whole friggin' world). Pretty much, the Americas have revolted (duh), and you have to suppress it. However, it wasn't just new missions, but there was also some new equipment, namely an aerial bombardment that costs $50,000 per use. The final level, the Atlantic Accelerator, is brutal because all of the enemy agents spam you with it. Fun times.
As previously mentioned, Syndicate also has a sequel, Syndicate Wars, which appeared on the PC and Sony PlayStation in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Aside from much-enhanced visuals, it also featured the ability to blow up buildings, and ammo was replaced by a regenerating bar. The premise of Syndicate Wars was that of Science vs. Religion. And Religion uses and abuses the means of Science. Unfortunately, due to software incompatibilities (and possibly hardware), I haven't been able to run Syndicate Wars on my PC, but I have been lucky enough to play the demo.
Syndicate was also, as previously mentioned, released to consoles. The console version is a simplified (well, sort of, the controls on the SNES version were hard to learn, although once learned were pretty much mastered) version that features auto-aim (although the SNES version does support a mouse) and changes were made as well. The flamethrower in the SNES version was replaced with the freezethrower, and in the SNES and Genesis version at the lease, there was no blood or destructible sprites in the environment (cars being the exception), although the premise remained the same. You were also still able to research weapons and equipment, although some weapons had their ammo limits dropped (the minigun only carried 24 rds. in Syndicate for the SNES), but you didn't have to buy reloads anymore.
Syndicate has stood the test of time because there really has yet to be an action game that brings action, strategy and micromanagement to such an accessible level. The game is moody, tactical, violent and allows for unconventional strategies (although most people just load up on miniguns and have at it). It's so novel that Moyneux has carried some of its core ideas in other games, such as Fable (where you'd raise your abilities with your experience points at your choosing instead of building a c-l-a-s-s and just going with it), and its influence can be seen in everything from Jagged Alliance to Grand Theft Auto. It's also one of the first games that proved that it's damned good to be damnably bad!
Hostile Takeover In A Dystopic Techno Hell Hole
As creatures that love diversity, the ultimate gamer seeks the ultimate blend in gameplay styles much like the ultimate beer connoisseur searches for the ultimate blend of hops, malt and barley to suit their tastes. Bullfrog's dystopic and brutally violent gem, Syndicate is much like that. Released in 1993 on the Commodore Amiga and then again in 1994 on the PC, Syndicate was definitely a breath of fresh air. Mac users even got a version in 1995. It was also released on consoles, although console version was different, considering there was no keyboard or mouse available. The console releases were: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (1994), SNES (1995) and the Panasonic 3D0 (1995). So far as I'm aware of, there's also a version of it on the Atari Jaguar, as well. Syndicate also has also an expansion, American Revolt, originally released for the Amiga in 1993 and then ported to PC later on in a bundle called Syndicate Plus. I unfortunately don't have a date for the release, but I'm going to assume it was around 1996, 1997 because that's when I saw copies of it available for sale.
Syndicate also has a sequel, Syndicate Wars, which was released on PC in 1996 and the PlayStation in 1997.
The genres that Syndicate fall under are action and strategy, anthough it does have a bit of an RPG touch to it, and the game plays entirely in real time. The unit that you control consists of 4 members that outfit individually. They're controlled entirely by the mouse, the left button dictating where to move and the right button uses whichever weapon or item you have selected.
The premise is that sometime in the future, conglomerates (aka corporations owned by other corporations owned by other corporations...you get the idea) rule the world. Wait a second...Anyway, excluding present day realities, these supercorperations are literally at war with each other, and they wage this war using elite unites of cybernetic enforcers. The population (and your agents) is controlled via narcotic means (this game's world is a cross between Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Brave New World. No VR sex shows, though, sorry) and people drive hover cars and trucks. The world is littered with huge neon signs with a slight neo-asian look and the soundtrack (which is composed of...4 tracks, iirc) is moody and pulsating. The world is divided up into 50 nationstates, each governed by a rival Syndicate, and it's your job to take control and become the Syndicate of Syndicates.
What's unique about Syndicate is that you have to research the majority of your equipment; you're not going to start off with the coveted minigun right off the bat (although that would be exceptionally sweet). You start off withe the basic gear available - which you have to purchase - and the basic cyborg endoskeleton is the only one available.
Endoskeleton parts also have to be researched, and it must be done so piece-by-piece. And then purchased piece by piece. Weapons are researched by category; you'll have to complete research on one weapon before you can research another, but it's worth it. The game has around 9 weapons and 5 items, and the weapons themselves are worth the research. It's pretty easy to wipe out enemies with a squad loaded down with miniguns, let me tell ya!
The great thing about researching is that it's done in your menu screen when you're not in mission. The only pressure you actually have when it comes to researching is money. It's a bit of a finite resource, although after you've taken over a few territories, you're pretty much set. Money is made by taxing the populations that you control (after violently wresting control of a nation from another syndicate), and you can control the level of taxation up or down, depending on the nation's mood. Tax them too hard, and they'll revolt, which forces you to repeat the mission there to regain control of that territory. I personally deliberately tax them hard. Is gunning down civilians really that wrong? Ahem. It is however, also very expensive; ammo is not only not infinite, but it's also not cheap ($5000 a pop to completely reload a minigun), and early on in the game, emptying your bigger guns into the city streets just for the hell of it is not a wise idea.
Aside from your means of destruction (and there are many), life is not just about gunning down, torching, blasting or disintigrating anything that moves. As fun as it may be. Some missions actually require you to escort or "persuade" targets. Remember how I'd previously mentioned how the people are controlled with narcotics? Well, you've got a device called the "Persuadertron" that, when you come in contact with people, makes them join your cause. If they can find a weapon, they'll even fight for you. So, while the name kinda sucks (even by 1993's standards), the end result is pretty wicked. As a side bonus, If you persuade enough people The also respond to your agents' narcotics, referred to as API levels. These govern your speed, range and AI (A for Agility, P for Perception and I for Intelligence), so if the I level is maxed, they'll shoot at anything hostile which you may not notice. You also have a panic mode that jumps all drug levels and makes your agent pull their most powerful weapon, which works very well in just about any situation, whether you're actually concerned about your team's welfare or not. Just because you can hear the warning track that an enemy agent (or agents) are nearby doesn't mean you can see them, but when you max the I drug level or pop into panic mode, someone might just catch a bead.
And that's another thing; originally the game had 8 bit sounds, but was rereleased with a 16-bit audio package, and it sounds stellar. As previously mentioned, the game has a very limited soundtrack, but it's very fitting. There's a track for intro/ending, mission success, mission failure, on-mission music and a track that warns you that enemy cyborg agents are nearby, and it's suitably sinister. And this brings up a pretty interesting point. Dynamic soundtracks were, up until the end of 90's, much rarer on PC than console. Anyone who's played the original Metal Gear games on the NES knows this. But, this is a little bit more sophisticated. It's not just an indicator of battle, but of impending battle, so it keeps you on your toes a lot more. Another nice touch is that you can blow out windows, drive vehicles (and do drive-by's), and the game has a physics system; the type and amount of equipment you carry affects your speed, and the main offsetting modifier to that are your sybernetic parts (which also ad bonuses to health, defense and range).
Syndicate's expansion, American Revolt's premise is pretty much the same as Syndicate, except that it's much harder, and there's only one theatre of operations, that being the Americas (as opposed to the whole friggin' world). Pretty much, the Americas have revolted (duh), and you have to suppress it. However, it wasn't just new missions, but there was also some new equipment, namely an aerial bombardment that costs $50,000 per use. The final level, the Atlantic Accelerator, is brutal because all of the enemy agents spam you with it. Fun times.
As previously mentioned, Syndicate also has a sequel, Syndicate Wars, which appeared on the PC and Sony PlayStation in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Aside from much-enhanced visuals, it also featured the ability to blow up buildings, and ammo was replaced by a regenerating bar. The premise of Syndicate Wars was that of Science vs. Religion. And Religion uses and abuses the means of Science. Unfortunately, due to software incompatibilities (and possibly hardware), I haven't been able to run Syndicate Wars on my PC, but I have been lucky enough to play the demo.
Syndicate was also, as previously mentioned, released to consoles. The console version is a simplified (well, sort of, the controls on the SNES version were hard to learn, although once learned were pretty much mastered) version that features auto-aim (although the SNES version does support a mouse) and changes were made as well. The flamethrower in the SNES version was replaced with the freezethrower, and in the SNES and Genesis version at the lease, there was no blood or destructible sprites in the environment (cars being the exception), although the premise remained the same. You were also still able to research weapons and equipment, although some weapons had their ammo limits dropped (the minigun only carried 24 rds. in Syndicate for the SNES), but you didn't have to buy reloads anymore.
Syndicate has stood the test of time because there really has yet to be an action game that brings action, strategy and micromanagement to such an accessible level. The game is moody, tactical, violent and allows for unconventional strategies (although most people just load up on miniguns and have at it). It's so novel that Moyneux has carried some of its core ideas in other games, such as Fable (where you'd raise your abilities with your experience points at your choosing instead of building a c-l-a-s-s and just going with it), and its influence can be seen in everything from Jagged Alliance to Grand Theft Auto. It's also one of the first games that proved that it's damned good to be damnably bad!