Syndicate
Innovative and phenomenally violent.
The streets are awash with the blood of mangled corpses. No, it is not a typical night on the town for the CU crew. It is, in fact, the latest ultra-violent game from Bullfrog.
Review by CU Crew for CU Amiga, August 1993, p.p.48-49, 51-52
Since Bullfrog burst on the scene with
Populous,
they have gone from strength to strength building a reputation as one
of the finest development houses this country has seen. With their
latest game, Syndicate, they appear set to surpass all their previous achievements.
Syndicate has been in development for over three years now,
and almost everyone at Bullfrog has had a hand in it at some time>
The result is one of the most violent and original games the Amiga
has ever seen.
It is set almost 100 years in the future, when the world is run by giant corporations. These syndicates forgo the traditional backstabbing and under-the-counter deals of present day business. When they have a problem they reach for the button marked 'the lads' and send them in to blast the opposition into submission.
When a new syndicate agent is press-ganged he or she is chosen for the simple fact that they are naturally hard. All the muscles in the world, though, do not mean diddly-squat when they go up against the agents of a rival syndicate. To prepare them for whatever they may encounter you can pay for them to have cybernetic add-ons. Robotic limbs, eyes, organs and even a brain can replace their organic counterparts and imbue your agent with super-human abilities. Naturally, buying such parts puts a serious strain on your budget, so it is best to create two agents with different abilities and chop and change between them, rather than create a squad of Terminators who cost a fortune to build. Replacing an agent's chest gives him increased protection from bullet wounds, while a synthetic heart increases stamina. New limbs increase strength and speed while a quick brain transplant will give you an agent capable of getting himself out of trouble as quickly as you get him into it. |
MOB HANDED
As a young exec in a small, rapidly failing syndicate, it is your job
to turn business around through a series of kidnappings and
assassinations. Naturally you do not want to get your hands dirty, so
you pay a visit to the vaults to thaw out some of your cryogenically
frozen operatives. These are everyday people who were snatched off the
streets by other agents then sent to the company labs to be 'altered'.
This process involves erasing their memory, inserting computer chips
into their spinal column and replacing various limbs and organs with
synthetic parts. These agents are so hard they make the Terminator look
like Bambi. Completely devoid of feeling they will shoot anything you
tell them too, and when they get nervous they will open up at anyone
who gets too close for comfort. Bullet wounds are just ignored, it
takes a rocket launcher to bring one of these guys down.
From your position in a blimp high above the play area you control one to four agents per mission. The control system is very easy to get to grips with – you simply click on an agent’s icon, then at the part of the town you want him to go to. Alternatively, using the right mouse button instructs him to shoot in that direction. They can also make use of public transport such as trains, or simply steal a car. Nobody wants to argue with a group of six-footers wearing trench coats and bearing big guns.
Clicking between the agent icons lets you control all of them at once. This is very handy when you have got a lot of city to traverse in order to reach your target. Unfortunately, those agents carrying heavy weapons, or without artificial legs, tend to lag behind so you have to slow the others down and wait for them to catch up.
GREEN KING IPA
Special drugs can be administered to the agents during the course
of a mission. There are three kinds which alter his IPA (Intelligence,
Perception and Adrenaline) levels. Intelligence dictates how an agent
will react to certain situations. If it is boosted he will back off
when the odds seem too great, or advance if he has enough ammo.
Perception allows him to spot dangerous situations earlier as well as
shoot with more accuracy. Adrenaline is the fun one. When this is
boosted, and the others re not, the agent goes pretty much crazy ape.
His reaction times are greatly increased and he will just blow the hell
out of anything on two legs.
Although you have to use the IPA-boosting drugs on the later missions you cannot go too overboard. Use the drugs too many times and the agents will become addicts and not be able to perform without them. Strung out agent are not very effective, but luckily any dibilating effects are only temporary.
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BIG GUNS
The game may seem extremely over the top to some people, but that fact is big guns sell. Where would Arnold Schwarzenegger be if he never had the chance to utter the words ‘Uzi Nine Millimetre’? Gun culture has also taken the comic world by storm. Back in the eighties we had DR and Quinch and The Punisher shoes guns’ sizes where only exceeded by their body counts. Surprisingly, with the millions of dollars raked in by the movies, there has not actually been a good game based on the gun cult anti-heroes. The Terminator has had his reputation systematically slaughtered on multiple formats, while Van Damme had his name attached to the dubious Universal Soldier game, which had nothing to do with the film and fortunately never actually never made it to the Amiga. One reason for the low-key computer appearances of such characters is that companies are a trifle reluctant to reproduce their more horrific aspects in games. With Syndicate featuring what is probably the highest civilian and police body count of any action game ever, it could trigger a precedent that leads to a better representation of today’s movie heroes in computer games. Finally, there is Judge Dredd, probably the single most violent character in the history of fiction. With a film on its way and probably a whole series of games, let us hope that the producers have the bottle to recreate the skull-cracking violence that is his trademark on our computer screens. 
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If a battle is going badly there are two options open to you. Clicking both mouse buttons at once boosts all the IPA levels to maximum and instructs your agent to draw his biggest gun. Now you either run or fight. As a last resort hitting Ctrl-D triggers the self-destruct mechanism. This utterly destroys the agent along with everything else on the screen, so it is only worth using if you are extremely desperate.
IT'S THE COZZERS!
The one group of people who really have it tough are the police. Sworn
to uphold the law, they won’t go near your agents unless they draw
a weapon, at which point the police are obliged to shoot. Unfortunately
for them they only have puny shotguns which are not much good against
heavily armoured cyborgs brandishing mini-guns. In this kind of
situation the police can be either utterly ignored, or make good
targets when you want to try out the latest weapon the R&D have
come up with.
What you have to keep an eye on is ammunition. For some reason your agents will always forget to pack spare clips and there is nothing more embarrassing than running out of bullets in the middle of a street battle. The only thing they can do is bring three or four back up weapons with them. If these come up empty they either have to run for it or grab a gun from the body of a downed agent.
Not every mission involves buckets of gore and insane amounts of violence. Occasionally you are called upon to ‘persuade’ enemy scientists to join your syndicate. Obviously this is not a case of asking them nicely, but neither is it a matter of systematically breaking their fingers until they agree to do so. Instead you have a device called a persuadatron. This gadget administers a small dose of chemicals to anyone in close proximity, nullifying their will to resist. After that you have just got to lead them to a collection point without encountering enemy agents.
The persuadatron is also necessary if you want to boost your army of agents. Your company’s funding for the cyborg program has all but dried up and the only way you are going to get any more is by persuading enemy agents to join your team. This is not as easy as it sounds, though. First you have to recruit 32 civilians, then 16 police officers before you get your hands on an enemy cyborg. It is wise to get going on this as soon as possible because you only start with eight agents. In my case it was soon reduced to four after my crack squad leapt boldly from their hijacked police car, shot it to pieces and died in the ensuing explosion.
Money is your biggest enemy. Equipping agents with new parts and weapons costs a fortune, as does research into new technology. The best tactic is to search enemy agents after a battle and steal their equipment – the extra cash you will save can be put towards patching up your men.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
One of the most important departments in your syndicate is the R&D
rooms. Here is where your scientists beaver away trying to create new
mega weapons for your agents. They classify weapons as automatic (which
includes shot guns and Uzis), heavy (which feature mini-guns and
flamethrowers) and assault (rocket launchers and such like).
Developing weapons costs time as well as money. The more money you plough into a project the quicker the R&D bods will invent it for you. The only way to speed up the process further is by capturing enemy weapons. These are instantly submitted for analysis and then duplicated for your team. A technological advantage is not essential in the earlier missions, as you are only up against shotgunwielding police and body guards. Before long though you are sent out to eliminate enemy agents.
They also have the advantage of replacement body parts and the backing of well-funded R&D departments. Like your men, they are easily identified by the long trench coats they wear, and the fact that they start shooting the second your guys come into range.
There are a total of 50 missions, with each one set in a different part of the world. When you successfully complete one, all the territory belonging to the company that you stitched up, becomes yours. Along with the real estate comes 50,000,000 or so people. Naturally you get to tax the pants off of them in order to finance your dodgy deals. If you really get carried away and push the standard tax rate above 55 percent the people start revolting. When that happens, a rival syndicate can move in and claim that territory, so it pays to give the people the odd break now and then. The ultimate aim is to eliminate all the other syndicates and rule the world from the comfort of your office – something Dan has been trying for years.
Different syndicates have different tactics. Of these the IIA are the hardest. Formed from the old CIA, they only employ the biggest, most brutal agents, give them weapons to match their temperaments and then send them out with a pat on the back and a direct order to enjoy themselves. As such they will carve a swathe of destruction through civilians in an attempt to get at your men. At the other end of the scale is the Tasmanian Liberation Consortium. They spend most of their time drunk on fizzy lager taking potshots at what they hope are your agents.
CROSSFIRE
This is not a game for nice guys. When a fire starts, it is tough luck
for anyone caught in the cross fire. Civilians are brutally gunned
down, or burned and nobody really minds – apart from the civilians,
that is. In some missions it is impossible to get to your target
without wasting a few bystanders, but you are supposed to be playing
a right bastard in the game, so who cares?
While the graphics are small, they are certainly detailed. Blade Runner-style
TV screens adorn the building, pumping out commercials for soft drinks.
The graphics used to depict the individual citizens of the game are
small, but very ell detailed, especially when they are shot. Pump a
civilian full of lead and he or she will fly backwards, landing in a
bloody heap.
Blow up a police car and the occupant will leap out,
on fire and screaming. While these graphics add immensely to the game’s
overall look and feel, it is not exactly suitable for younger players.
| ELECTRONIC ARTS £34.99 | |||
A500 A1500
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A500+ A2000
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A600 A3000
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A1200 A4000 
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ELECTRONIC ARTS, LANGLEY BUSINESS CENTRE, 11-49 STATION ROAD, LANGLEY, SLOUGH, BERKS, SL3 8YN. TEL: 0753 549442 |
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RELEASE DATE: GENRE: TEAM: CONTROLS: NUMBER OF DISKS: NUMBER OF PLAYERS: HARD DISK INSTALLABLE: MEMORY: |
OUT NOW STRATEGY/ACTION BULLFROG MOUSE 4 1 YES 1Mb |
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GRAPHICS SOUND LASTABILITY PLAYABILITY |
 82% 71% 92%94% |
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 Innovative and phenomenally violent.
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| OVERALL: 94% | |||
This is the game I have been waiting for for years. No holds barred, full-out mega-death violence. No morals, no prisoners, just grab the biggest sod-off gun you can find and total a town. The only thing this game could be compared to is a real-time version of Laser Squad, but then that is in the loosest sense of the word.
I only have one real criticism. When you walk into a building,
you cannot see what is going on. The only way to keep track of the action
is to use the scanner and move the cursor around the general area
as it changes shape when it is over another person.
This makes for some extremely frustrating moments, especially
when you are attempting to kidnap someone without actually being able
to see where they are standing. A much better system would have been
for the roof of the building you are in to disappear – it might not
be easy to program, but I suspect that I won’t be the only one
with this particular whinge.
Apart from that this is one of the best games I have played in years.
The sheer size, violence and the huge among of action makes for totally
addictive gameplay. Put all other purchases to hold, this is an
essential buy.
CU Amiga, August 1993, p.p.48-49, 51-52