Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain

"Truly underrated gaming experience"

Now before I get into the specifics of this game let me be the first to tell you that I'm not really a fan of any of the Syphon Filter games. I remember getting the first Syphon Filter for like my thirteenth birthday or something like that and I never finished it because it was so damn hard. So it was only natural of me to steer clear of the second game in the series... and then the third. Then came along Sony's PlayStation 2 and it was only a matter of time before a fourth Syphon Filter game hit the shelves. Coupled with an innovative gameplay style and an addictive online co-op mode. Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain pulled all of the stops to overcome well.. the first game? The game was still hard though.

Here's the breakdown.

STORY:

Having only played a stint in the first game my knowledge going into this new installment of the series wasn't to hot. Fortunately, the game was very easy to get into and filled you in with what you needed to know. Apparently, from what I can tell, the Syphon Filter virus is still kicking Gabe Logan's ass because terrorists just loooove getting their hands on it and threatening to terrorize the world with it. But this time around an even more powerful mutation of the virus, the "Omega Strain" (oooOOooOOoo!) is what you'll contend with in this game. The catch is that you won't have control of Gabe this time around in this game, you'll actually create your own character from the start in the game and become a member of Gabe's reformed global espionage and counter-terrorism agency. Sounds neat? You bet it is.

GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay aspect of this game is what kept me addicted to this game for weeks. Aloong with creating your own likeness in the game (Okay, so I made a girl. So sue me. I've got other characters too you know!) you also have the chance to progress in Gabe's agency by performing well on each mission. ALL of your stats are recorded every time you finish a mission and I mean ALL of them. These all come into play in the long run when you eventually start earning things such as medals, commendations, new weapons, secret missions, new clothing and uniforms for your character, badges, and etc. This aspect alone in the game had me playing through multiple times just for the sheer fun of collecting stuff. I haven't had this much fun obtaining things in a video game since the first Jak and Daxter. The second biggest aspect of Omega Strain's gameplay is the online feature. I didn't go into this part of the game expecting too much, but I was totally blown away by the end result. Of the game's seventeen single player missions, nine of them could be played online with up to three other players (broadband only). Playing online offers the possibility of unlocking even more extras in the game as well as in each respective level, as there are some mission objectives that can only be achieved when playing online. These part of the game hooked me so badly that I immediately went to the nearest RadioShack to get a router just to play this game with my younger brother. I rented a copy from Blockbuster and had a three week late fee. Now that there are no more late fees at Blockbuster... I wonder if I still have to pay them back? Hehehe.

SOUND:

As far as sound is concerned I definitely didn't have any qualms with it during my play time. The music was pretty good and fit the mood of the game and the voice overs were well done. I would have liked it if the orders from your commanding officers would come through your headset much like in SOCOM, but that wasn't the case. This game sports multiple different languages and their all done pretty well with easily readable translation. I was impressed with the sound department in this game. Lets just hope the next game has that headset feature, eh?

CONTROL:

Now control-wise, I didn't have any real problems. I'm really trying to think of a time where I cursed the controls and I can't really think of anything. Ah, I remember now. I really wish that there was a more efficient way could choose your weapons in this game. I believe you had to hold down the select button and press either left or right on the D-pad to scroll through your weapons, or just tap on the select button to go to the next weapon. If I'm not mistake I believe that the L2 and R2 buttons weren't freely used at all in this game. How come you couldn't use those buttons to go to the next or previous weapon? It kind of stunk when I was trying to crouch down out of sight and scroll through my items because I had oh so many fingers. Cut us some slack next time, will ya Sony? I'll forgive you for making this game so damn fun though.

GRAPHICS:

Omega Strain's graphical engine isn't necessarily the best graphics engine I've ever seen in an action/stealth/shooter, but that doesn't mean it's that bad either. The environments in this game are large and very believable, packed to the hilt depth and a rich attention to detail. I will admit I was a bit disappointed by the game's FMVs though. With games out there today like Xenosaga, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Final Fantasy, you'd expect at least some sort of level of high quality cinematics when compared to these older games. Lets just say I wasn't too big a fan of the animated scenes, because they looked just like that. Animated. Get motion actors next time! It looked too fake. Well, at least the voices were cool.

REPLAY VALUE:

Ha, Omega Strain's replay value is a complete shoe-in. By far one of the best gameplay experiences if you can put up with fewer than a handful of tiny problems. Expect to get deep into this game and good luck getting out of it. If you're up for it maybe you can play with me some day! I'll see you in the battlefield.

OVERALL AVERAGE: 9 out of 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/05