awoolcott's Full Review: Syphon Filter for PlayStation 1
989 Studios' effort, Syphon Filter, is a classic in every sense of the word. Good graphics, control, story, and a long quest equals a game that will get plenty of spins in any PlayStation.
The story revolves around Gabe Logan, a top agent for the oh-so innovative name The Agency. Some crazy nut named Erich Rohemer (I think that's spelled right) has this virus named Syphon Filter, which slowly weakens the body until death. And your job is to find Rohemer and eliminate him. But it's not that easy.
The game features 20 levels, some short, some very looooooong. They feature locales like parks, city streets, caverns and military installations. Most of the levels feature straight out action, with solid level design, but the real gems are the stealth levels. The first of them puts you inside an exhibit hall, in tuxedo and all. You need to follow a certain person, without alerting others or you are done. So you slowly cap guards, one at a time, with head shots, without alerting them. Sounds easy right? Not so fast. Head shots need to be aligned perfectly. One miss and you may be out of luck.
My favorite level is the military base. There, you need to tag I believe 6 tanks, without being seen. If you are seen, you will be just assaulted by guards, so you are screwed. You need to shoot out searchlights, cap snipers from high above, and kill others with gas grenades. All without letting anyone know you exist.
There is also a series of levels in a monestary, with monks with flak jackets and machine guns. And also scientists that you MUST kill, no matter how much they plead (and they do make you think twice), they must be killed to finish the level. In these levels, you can shoot down lights from above and smash enemies from a distance. Safe to say a dull moment is rare in this game.
The graphics are good, but nothing special. There are a few invisible wall effects here and there, but the levels are well detailed, with coke machines in the subway, basketball and tennis courts in the park, and so on. Logan, though, runs kinda funny, but you get used to it.
The sound is great. The music is some of the best for any game I have ever played. Each level has the appropriate theme: stealthy music for the stealth levels, upbeat action music for the action levels. The voices are better than Syphon Fliter 2, but not to par with Metal Gear's spectacular acting. But then again, Syphon Filter is a better game than MGS everywhere else (which is saying something because MGS is in my top 5 PlayStation games ever. Guess where SF is?).
The game also controls very well, but Gabe is a bit touchy sometimes, leading to unnecessary deaths. You just need to get used to it that is all. Auto-aim is also here, and it is a life saver. That way, you can have dead on aim for an enemy. Head shots are a bit more difficult, but the more you do, the better you get. And trust me you will need it. Selecting weapons is easy too.
Overall, while Syphon Filter 2 is out, if you don't have this one, get the original first. First, the difficulty is not as bad. I am not saying it is easy, but it's a lot easier than SF2. Second of all, you can now pick it up for $20 in the greatest hits line. So if you don't have it yet, now is the time. What are you waiting for? For a mere $20, you can have one of the all-time best PlayStation games. This is truly a must own.
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