SW KASKETDARKFYRE REVIEW

Syndicate Wars (PC)

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"A story about four guys in trenchcoats..."


Review by KasketDarkfyre for GameFaqs.com (GameSpot)


Syndicate Wars has just enough going for it to keep it one of the more interesting variations on the strategy games that we have today. Ranging from assassinations to genocide, you must guide four assassins through several different cities and complete goals along the way. While that might seem rather drab in the eyes of those who are playing more extensive strategy games, you'll still find that Syndicate Wars has just enough of the guilty pleasure to keep you coming back for more. Dark visuals and a single music track is what will greet you in the presentation and while that is a plus for some, there are some glaring problems that might make this a once in a while type of game to play through. Veteran gamers might do well to check this title out at least once, but beginners might want to stray away from the steep difficulty curve and overall computer challenges.

Futuristic Gang Wars

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Set in the future, you take control of one of three different factions that is trying to take control of different cities across the world. Ranging from bank robberies to car bombings, from armored car heists to out and out assassinations, your group is pit to the test against several different enemies that outnumber you 15 to 1. While this isn't a bad thing, it does set the difficulty level up a few notches, so beginners need not apply unless they're willing to go through the game and learn. Once you've gotten a good handle on the fact that the game forces you to use strategy rather than all out brutal attacks, you'll find that the game has some good merits along with the challenge.

Possibly one of the most challenging strategy games that I've played up to date, there are several different aspects that you have to take under consideration when you play through Syndicate Wars. One of those considerations and aspects that you have to understand is that the missions and the goals that you have to undertake are sometimes a little vague on what to do and when to do it. You'll see that some of the missions and some of the goals do have impressive base to them, though it takes quite a bit of practice and sometimes wasting your men in order to get any of them accomplished. Once you've been through the game though, you'll find that the pattern that you use is essentially what you'll use for all of the missions, so the chance of replay is dropped dramatically.

One of the most interesting aspects, is the fact that the storyline is deep and involved, spanning across the world to several real-life cities, set in a futuristic timeline. With that being said, every group can be upgraded with bionic parts that increase their defense, damage intake, damage dealing capabilities and then several different styles of weapons that can range from spread shotguns to rocket launchers. Once you've gained enough money in order to do these different things, then you'll find that the game becomes that much easier when you have more powerful armaments at your disposal. With the amount of weapons and the amount of damage that you need to cause in some of the missions, the spending of your money is best done wisely or you'll screw yourself later on.

Possibly some of the steepest control to learn, Syndicate Wars interface can be very confusing to learn for the first hour of play. Most of the game revolves around being able to switch in-between four different street soldiers, control them to different sub-missions, complete them, and not get killed in the process all at once. Now that may not seem so hard, but you have to do all of this while controlling all four characters at once. This will be damn near impossible for novice gamers, and even expert gamers will have some trouble at first.

It's A Dark World

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The overall theme of Syndicate Wars is dark and dreary with plenty of shadow and darkness to accompany you throughout the game. Though the detail of the game is somewhat extensive, it's tough to see anything special because the game has that dark tone to it. The character models also tend to be a little on the small side, which leads to some of the battles you get into seeming to have little or no detailed action to them. The cities that you travel around to are also large and expansive, but you might find that they are all generally alike in the way that they are set up and even how they look. This is not to say that some of the more interesting effects in the game are missing, because explosions and even people getting drilled with gunfire tend to splash on the screen with little or no problem at all.

Killing To A Funky Beat

A robotic type voice tells you what's going on at all times, and the music blends into the background without really giving you much to listen to. Although you can hear the music, it seems to loop from stage to stage with very little difference, so be prepared to hit the mute button. The sound effects do get repetitive with tinny explosions, firecracker gunshots and the grunts, groans and screams of people dying all over the place can be a little hard on the ears. What would have been nice is something that is a music track that is more user friendly than what is featured here. To say that it is completely bad would be wrong, but it definitely isn't a treat on the ears, hence the reason you might want to play with something else in the background.

Hi, I'm A Hitman

Syndicate Wars is an interesting, though difficult strategy game that takes you out of the standard myth and history and places you in the future with some truly interesting weapons and challenging missions. Some of the main complaints that this game will probably rack up is that the visuals are a little too dark in most cases and the game play missions are a little vague in others. You might find that Syndicate Wars will whet your whistle long enough to take you away from the Star Craft and War Craft games that are so dominating in the market. If you want some violence with a Shadow Run twist, then you're looking at a good place to start, though your stay in the futuristic world will be a long and hard one to say the least.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/03