Home » Previews » Preview: Syndicate
Previews

Preview: Syndicate

The year is 2069. Society has advanced to the point where everyone has adopted brain implants in the form of micro-chips. These chips allow access to the world’s data as well as the ability to manipulate and control technology. Controlling these neural implants are giant corporations — or Syndicates — who are all vying for dominance in a world without a clear government presence. With the every move of the population being tracked, information becomes the measure of power and it’s what each corporation needs to get the edge in this science fiction story of espionage, corruption and moral ambiguity. Welcome to Syndicate, a franchise reimaging developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by EA. EA was kind enough to have me over at their Sydney headquarters earlier in the week to get in some play time!

In a market crowded with first person shooters, I tend to gravitate towards the ones that offer something different to that of the modern military shooter archetype (see Bioshock and Deus Ex). I like having variance in my weaponry — and the options in gameplay that they afford me — as opposed to having 17 versions of the same gun. I also like having alternate abilities to use in tandem with my weapons, as well as being able to interact with the environment in interesting ways other than just for cover. Luckily for me and players like me, Syndicate seems to incorporate all of these elements and presents them in a vivid and detailed world that seems rich with narrative and intrigue.

The demo places you — an agent named Miles — outside of the entrance to a building that you enter with a companion agent. Both of you are charged with the task of bringing in a scientist, or at the very least, the chip in his brain. As the two of you burst in to the laboratory, it is clear that a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude is well in effect (the attitude of both your partner and the developer) as you watch your partner take down a few unarmed scientists in the first room in a brief but confronting scene. You split up and go it alone just before you are taught how to ‘breach’ the chips located in environmental objects and in the brains of your enemies; you learn this during a pretty awesome scene where an ex-employee is being interrogated. You can detect which objects you are able to control using a Batman-styled scan feature, as well as being able to see a heat image of your enemy, which can be seen through walls.

The ‘breach’ mechanic is the ability system you will use and upgrade during the course of the game. Your abilities at the start include being able to overload your enemy’s weapons, which stuns them for a short period, manipulating items in your environment, like gun turrets and retractable cover (which you can remove from a hidden enemy, leaving him vulnerable), you can ‘persuade’ an enemy to fight with you for a brief period, or you can even have the AI commit suicide by pulling the pin on one of their grenades. Each of these abilities have an energy bar that refills over time, and can all be upgraded by collecting items of interest (such as the chip from said scientist’s brain).

The game starts you off with a pistol, but you’ll quickly come across the first Syndicate-specific gun in the game – the Gausse gun, a semi automatic rifle that uses an intuitive lock on system. Once you’re locked on, your bullets will seek out a target around corners or behind cover. As well as taking out covered enemies, you are asked to solve a simple puzzle with it in which you use the gun to shoot the lock of another, physically-unreachable door. This is one of the more promising aspects for me, and I hope the full game will focus on puzzles like this throughout the campaign.

Syndicate looks and plays great, and has the potential to be a gripping ride through the world Starbreeze Studios has built. It is pretty violent; enough for me to wonder if it will make it through classification unscathed. Cases in point: several executions, plenty of blood spraying from victims (which can include unarmed scientists if you choose) and a pretty brutal scene in which you retrieve the chip from a person’s head using a tool that was very reminiscent of the one used on Neo’s belly button in The Matrix. There is certainly nothing that I would describe as “excessive” in the game, but Australia has a record of finding very odd things to take issue with. My fingers are crossed that Syndicate reaches our shores unedited and that we get to experience Starbreeze’s complete vision.

For me, Syndicate hits all the right targets, and has the potential for some really interesting encounters, player builds and puzzles. I suggest you keep an eye out if it you like something a little different; at the very least, download the demo when it hits early next year.

Syndicate is due for release 23 February 2012 for Xbox 360, PC and PS3, and will also include a 4 player co-op campaign. Whether multiplayer is a separate mode altogether or just a co-op experience is not clear just yet.


This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

About the author

Daniel Robey

Gamer. Armchair Philosopher. Perpetually Irritated. Jesus look-a-likey outside of Coles at Xmas time.