Way back when, I was playing Syndicate on this blog, and while I found it fiddly and willingly ignored key systems in the game because I didn't understand how to use them, I liked the ideas it presented - that the future is bleak and mind-controlled cyborgs armed to the teeth roam the streets with murderous intent, all in the name of whatever corporation controls them.
A sequel should be welcomed then, and Syndicate Wars is upon us. Same sort of gameplay, much more going on with the visuals. Is there any more to this game than that?
Fun Times
Syndicate Wars feels damn near identical to the original Syndicate, starting with you staring at a mission briefing and equipping cyborgs with Uzis from the comfort of your desk. If you fail, you're expected to take a cyanide capsule, so it's best that you get comfortable with your desktop and its many options before you head into a mission, which, for me, took me to London to quell some unrest.
After fumbling around with the controls for a few minutes, my death squad was on its way in a largely point-and-click kind of way. Your troops will move to wherever you point, and they'll shoot whatever you point at, once you provide confirmation to fire with a right-click, so to speak.
So far, so Syndicate. And then the mission really started going, and the unrest was found.
For five minutes or so, all you need to do is follow the map for blips of unrest, shoot whatever is shooting at you, and then move on to the next point of interest.
Frustrations
That sucks. Time for some elaboration...
From my recollection of Syndicate, missions were a case of sending your squad forward and picking enemies off with some amount of care, preferably by getting the first shot off yourself and quickly mopping the floor with the remains of your foes.
In Syndicate Wars, my job was to wander around the level, get shot at, tank those shots until I worked out which building the shooter was hiding behind, maneuver my squad to a position where I could shoot back, which meant being able to click on my target, which meant moving again to try and coax him or her out into the open in order to turn them into red goo.
This was repeated for every foe. I don't ever remember getting to a foe before my foe got to me, even when I was staring at the minimap and watching their every move.
As first impressions go, Syndicate Wars' graphics were working, but its gameplay was certainly not, to the point where I didn't bother finishing my second mission. I've done nothing else in the game apart from equipping weapons I didn't mean to equip, get shot, and cause the odd explosion. Accidentally. Because I still don't know how to do anything useful.
Final Word
I don't have a strong memory of Syndicate, but I played it a hell of a lot longer than I played here, all because of that first impression.
This should be better. This should be a step up. It is better, I'm sure it is, so why do I get this sense that it isn't? Am I misremembering Syndicate? Did I forget to read a sentence in my briefing that says "Oh, yeah, and everyone will shoot you on sight because that's how shit the world has gotten since the first game"?
I'm quite torn between this and Syndicate. Syndicate was bright, albeit shades of brown, but Syndicate Wars is dark and grey unless the thermal vision is on - though that probably costs some kind of resource or currency I've not read up on...
Both games show a promising world, but one that I won't scratch the surface of until I invest the time into it, and I'm fairly certain that won't happen with me at the controls. I might watch it sometime. I might have a change of heart and come back to it. I probably won't have a change of heart or come back to it, let's be honest.
Syndicate Wars is better than Syndicate and worse than Syndicate. One day, I'll find out why.
Fun Fact
The game featured in-game advertising for various 2000AD comics, including Judge Dredd and Ghost in the Shell, which actually kinda fit the theme. Let's hope they weren't in your face or out of place or anything.
Syndicate Wars, developed by Bullfrog Productions, first released in 1996.
Version played: DOS, 1996, via emulation.