Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

"Two steps forward and one step back. But worth it none the less."

Anyone who's played the previous Syphon Filter title for the PSP should be familiar with the series by now. But for those who aren't, I'll fill you in. Syphon Filter is essentially Sony's take on the stealth action genre. Where the original games on the PS1 emphasized more stealth, the PSP titles have branched heavily into the action side of the genre. Logan's Shadow is no different. With new gameplay elements and a lowered ESRB rating, Logan's Shadow turns out to be the sequel we "mostly" hoped it would be.

The game begins with our hero Gabe Logan being ordered to investigate an assault on a heavily armored American battle cruiser. Apparently some generic middle-eastern terrorists have learned of a secret device being stored in on the ship and decided they wanted to own it. Making matters worse, it appears that Gabe's long time partner Lian may have been in on the take... There's much more to learn though, and not everything is what it first appears to be to Gabe. And yet for the most part the story in Logan's Shadow follows a very A-typical "terrorists with weapons!' storyline. The character development between Gabe and Lian reaches a level untouched by the series until this point, but teeters off and seemingly goes nowhere in the end. So although the story isn't quite bad, I don't believe you'll be remembering this one down the road unless you're a gigantic Syphon Filter fan. That's with a massive cliffhanger ending to boot. And it's too bad really, because the gameplay is well above standard third-person shooter fare.

Although the Syphon Filter series is somewhat known as a "stealth" based series, you can kiss that image good-bye this time around. This is balls to the walls, cover-based, shooting action. The game plays a lot like Dark Mirror in most aspects. The Hidden Evidence remains, and there are many unlockables to be found this time around. A training feature helps people new to the franchise become familiar with its controls. But new elements have been added to the mix.

For starters Gabe can now pull a Solid Snake on his enemies. If you manage to sneak up behind an enemy, you'll be able to grab them and use them as a human shield... Or you can just break their neck. This is a great new combat maneuver, but theres a small problem here. The number of times you'll be able to make effective use of it is very limited, as most stealth sections are very tiny. Also, the situations in which you are able to pull this off usually involve minimal or no enemies to fight, so why bother? You're better off shooting the poor guy with a silenced pistol. Cover is more effective anyways, so it's kind of sad to see this new move downplayed in the core gameplay.

Another new addition to the series is the use of context sensitive button presses ala God of War. Yes, it's another game that's following after, but thankfully these button presses are pretty well thought out. For the most part they don't intrude into the gameplay, and actually offer a bit of a nice break from the standard cover and fire action.

Bosses make their return here as well, and I'm all for awesome boss encounters. Sadly Logan's Shadow doesn't deliver. Most of the time a "boss" is merely an ordinary solider with better health. In fact, a few of the bosses are killed simple by shooting them in the head once, or taking out their legs and shooting them in the head. That's it. With the exception of the Sub boss battle and the final encounter, all the bosses are extremely generic characters that go down with just a couple well placed bullets. There's a particular boss you need to fight on a hijacked Russian plane. The plane is going through turbulence, you've fought your way through dozens of deadly enemies, your partner flying the plane will die if you fail, and this man had both you and your friend tortured almost to death just moments earlier. There's a good deal of tension as the fight begins. I shot him in the head once and he died. Can you say anti-climactic?

Moving on to the graphics end of things, Syphon Filter offers one hell of a presentation. You can really tell this was a PSP title from the start. Textures are crisp and clean, models look fantastic, and special effects dazzle. I don't think I've seen fog and dust used so cleverly even in some console titles, so that's saying something. Logan's Shadow really goes and proves what you can do with the system if you actually develop specifically for it, and it's great to see. My only potential issue is the use of physics. There was a deal of buzz surrounding the game for being the first PSP title to use the full 333Mhz of the PSP system and yet I don't see any great use of his untold handheld power. Sure the enemies have ragdoll now, but that doesn't improve gameplay. In fact, very little of the environment ever has any physics applied to it. Explosive barrels and human bodies seem to be the only benefactors of this special power, and it's a complete shame it wasn't used in more appropriately clever ways.

The soundtrack for the game is good. Damn good. Dramatic orchestrated tunes fill in the majority of the games soundtrack, and believe when I say it'll pump your blood. Voice acting is as good as it has ever been, which is really a compliment. all in all this game scores with its presentation.

After all that, the biggest question remains is what everyone who owned Dark Mirror wants answered. How is the multiplayer? Well let me tell you... it's good. Very good. But there are hitches. Some menu changes have been made that make navigation easier once you get used to the new scheme. It's nice to enter the multiplayer menu and have a detailed list of available games right at the opening. As far as battles go they work same as they always did in Dark Mirror. There are some new maps and modes to kick around in which is nice. Gameplay has been altered, however. Is someone running around like a rabbit? Shoot their legs out. This can be very aggravating and rewarding at the same time. Also, many of the maps have been populated with explosive barrels, which means you really need to watch your step while trying to fight other players. For some, these new features will be extremely helpful, or downright annoying. Personally I still found multiplayer to be engaging and fun, and a great way to kill time after completing the main quest.

Logan's Shadow is kind of a mixed sequel. The gameplay essentially remains as solid as it was in Dark Mirror. The game still has the most effective control scheme for a PSP shooter I have encountered, and the presentation is largely above par. Multiplayer is also a god-send that helps boost this titles replayability, which is essential because it's only a few hours long. And yet, there are a lot of things that nagged me this time around. The story felt weak despite uncovering more layers of Lian's character. Levels just don't feel as cleverly designed and have a more generic action approach to everything. Bosses were very generic, and most battles required little more than a quick finger. Stealth has essentially become shooting two guys with a silenced pistol before being forced to fight wave after wave of enemies. Levels involve a more corridor run and gun approach. The new grapple move is almost useless, but the button presses actually worked out well. The new physics don't enhance the gameplay in any special way, and are almost completely non-existant. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the games rating has been lowered to a T. No more swearing, blood, or the Syphon Filter trademark setting people on fire with a Taser.

Despite all that, this is still one of the best third-person shooters I've come across. It doesn't do anything special to lift it levels beyond Dark Mirror, but it nails the most important aspects. I would pick this up without a question, but be aware ahead of time that anyone who played the original is not as likely to be impressed. A worthy shooter entry on the PSP, and a worthy Syphon Filter title. Just not the best of either.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/07

Game Release: Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (US, 10/02/07)