Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow - Review

This review originally posted on Gamers' Temple.

Player(s): 1-8
Memory: 624 KB
Wi-Fi Compatibility: Ad Hoc, Infrastructure

Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is the follow up to last year's Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror that ushered in a new camera and control system for the Syphon Filter series in order to fit the PSP control setup. Dark Mirror was received with much praise and helped to showcase the way a third person action game should be controlled with the lack of a right analog. Now, Logan's Shadow improves upon that gameplay by adding new features that make the overall control scheme feel even better.

Gabe Logan once again finds himself thrown into another terrorist situation, only this time out in the middle of the ocean, while his partner Lian Xing is on vacation. He sweeps through a tanker in order to keep terrorists from getting their hands on an item in a certain cargo hold that government officials will not reveal the content of. Later Gabe returns to base only to find that his partner Lian Xing is not on vacation, but she is on the run, accused of being a double agent. Gabe and his crew set out on a mission to search for Lian and find out exactly what she is doing.

The overall story of Logan's Shadow takes just as many twists and turns as Dark Mirror. Basically, no one is to be trusted. It has some rather surprising turn of events at times and one hell of a cliffhanger ending. The single player portion of the game carries on with the same action gameplay that Dark Mirror upgraded and this time Gabe has a few new abilities.

Gabe now has a new grab move where he can grab an enemy that gets close to him and use that enemy as a shield while aiming at others. This is really useful for when an enemy decides to run up and try to shoot you from your hiding spot - instead of having to quickly aim at him, you can now just grab him and use him as a temporary cover shield while aiming at other enemies. A gauge will appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen that displays how much the enemy is struggling. Once it fills then the enemy will break free, but you can always kill the enemy by simply pressing down on the D-pad and pressing the appropriate button that appears on the QTE (Quick Time Event) afterward.

Speaking of QTE's, Logan's Shadow incorporates many of them throughout the course of the game. Many of them are not included in cutscenes however, they are mainly used to perform a specific action while Gabe tries to lift an object or force an object into place. They are usually few and far between.

Blind fire can now be used while taking cover behind a wall or crate. Press the fire button to make Gabe stick his arms out and fire his gun to the side or overhead. There is no targeting cursor while performing this but it has a chance of hitting an enemy. Blind fire is mainly used for distracting the enemy so Gabe can quickly move to another area while enemies hide from the gunfire.

Like a multitude of other shooters, explosive canisters have now been placed in the background and can be shot in order to take down several enemies at once. One noticeable aspect of this feature is that most of the time enemies do not even try to run or take any kind of cover while a flame-spewing canister rolls behind them ready to explode. The enemies will run from a grenade, but usually not from a canister.

Gabe also regains his health if he sustains damage and doesn't receive any for a certain amount of time. This eliminates the need of first aid kits and having to worry about whether or not you have enough life to get through the remainder of the level. One might think that this would make the game too easy, but when enemies can take you down in a matter of seconds in later levels, it is a very welcome addition!

Once again the camera is linked to the face buttons, so you have to hold a face button to move the camera just like in Dark Mirror. There is a new over-the-shoulder view, which was first introduced in Dark Mirror for the PS2 that has been implemented in Logan's Shadow in place of the auto-aim that was in the PSP Dark Mirror. Yes, you heard that right; there is no auto-aim this time on the default control setup - you'll have to turn it on in the options menu if you want it this time. By default, the L button pulls up an over-the-shoulder view and zooms in on the action in front of Gabe. This makes aiming a bit easier mainly because of the zooming. It's a welcome feature for a game that relies on face button aiming.

The overall control setup actually feels more comfortable this time when compared to the controls for Dark Mirror. Dark Mirror's overall control scheme was one of the best for a 3rd person shooter on the PSP, but the extra moves and features that are in Logan's Shadow make the controls even better. I still find myself panicking at times while trying to shoot an approaching enemy since the aiming is still hard to adjust, but the grab now gives me another option for when enemies get too close.

Along with his new moves, Logan's Shadow also throws in a few underwater levels. Controls for underwater sequences are, in one word, "good" - they're not mediocre, very good, or fantastic, just "good". While swimming around on the surface, the controls remain the same as when Gabe moves around on dry land. Once Gabe dives under, the face buttons must be used for steering and the left analog is used to move in whatever direction that the camera is pointing. It all works, but it takes some getting used to - especially when it comes to fighting enemies underwater. You have to keep in mind that projectile weapons fire slower while underwater, so a moving target can get quite annoying. There is one underwater portion where Gabe is forced to hit falling depth charges in order to hit a sub - this portion takes a bit of patience and some good aiming skills.

Boss fights can still be just as easy as they were in Dark Mirror if you use just the right weapon or have some good aim. A heavily armored boss may fall victim to a single EDT dart. Shoot the boss with a dart then watch as he dies instantly from being shocked. Some boss fights require a bit more skill however.

The overall look of Logan's Shadow looks about the same as Dark Mirror, which already pushed the PSP quite a bit. A few touch-ups have been added here and there. The environments look much more solid in Logan's Shadow and it has some really good water effects while moving on the top of the water for a PSP game. The water has a shiny appearance and ripples flow across the surface while Gabe moves through it. Some environmental effects help Gabe to make use of his thermal goggles this time - like when an enemy shoots a fire extinguisher, Gabe must put on his thermal goggles to see through the mist. Facial expressions during cutscenes add a lot of life to the characters when they speak - they're noticeably better this time and the camera seems to focus on faces much more whenever a character speaks. Once again they have changed the look of Gabe Logan - it seems that he looks different with every new installment in the series while everyone else remains basically the same.

The audio once again sounds pleasing much like Dark Mirror's soundtrack. Logan's Shadow incorporates vocal tracks and soothing music in place of the epic feel of Dark Mirror's but it matches the overall character-driven plot of Logan's Shadow between Gabe and Lian. The voices are still the exact same as they were in Dark Mirror thanks to the returning cast.

The game comes complete with a multiplayer mode and a few unlockable bonus missions. Just like in Dark Mirror, you can still find Hidden Evidence throughout the story missions to unlock bonus content for each chapter. Training missions are included yet again, but some of the training missions are direct copies of the ones from Dark Mirror.

It's good to have played the other Syphon Filters in the series before playing this one (mainly for familiarity with Gabe's team - especially Lian) but it will not handicap you too much if you haven't. A few names will fly right over your head and you won't be as familiar with some of the characters that Gabe meets up with (like Maggie from Syphon Filter 3), but you'll still be able to understand most of the plot. Gabe also mentions a few events from his past during the story as well, but all of them are just hinted at and have little relevance to the story - he mainly uses the information for comparison to what is happening at that time.

Logan's Shadow is an easy pickup for fans of the Syphon Filter series. Do you like Dark Mirror and want more? Then get Logan's Shadow. If you've been putting off Gabe's games because of his mediocre adventures (Syphon Filter 3, Omega Strain) then it is time for you to pick up his PSP adventures and rejoice at Gabe Logan's return to glory. Sure, his aiming may be off at times, but Gabe Logan can still hold his ground very well while next to Sam Fisher and Solid Snake.

The Good

+ Great sound and voice acting
+ Graphics have been upgraded from Dark Mirror and include some better environments and realistic water effects
+ Many new techniques - swimming, grappling opponents, blind fire, in-game healing
+ Improved controls, especially with the over-the-shoulder aiming, which helps to make face button targeting more precise

The Bad

- Swimming controls work, but they can lead to frustration at times
- Enemy AI can be dumb at times
- Some boss fights are way too easy

Graphics: 9.0
Controls: 9.0
Sound: 9.0
Gameplay: 9.0

Once again, Gabe Logan sets out on another PSP adventure that plays just as smoothly as his last one.

And therefore, Berserker dubs thee: 9/10

Current Gaming - Assassin's Creed, Logan's Shadow, Silent Hill Origins

Assassin's Creed

I said that I wasn't going to pick up Assassin's Creed this year, but seeing the game on the store shelves got the best of me. Dear god, I picked up the Limited Edition! :D

It was kind of funny how I wound up with the Limited Edition since I was looking for the normal version at Best Buy. They were out of the normal version on the shelves and I asked a BB employee about the game. He went to search for it then I spotted the Limited Edition to the side while he searched on for the normal version. At that point, I basically fanned him away and said, "This will do."

Anyway, yeah, the game has some fantastic gameplay so far. I love how quickly Altair can move throughout the city - it makes chases really fun! The story isn't exactly what I expected, mainly the setup of the story. I won't spoil anything, so I won't mention anything about it. The setup does work well for the overall game however.

Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

I'm quite surprised at the controls for this more than anything else. There is no auto-aim this time. It has been replaced by an over-the-shoulder aiming that was presented in the PS2 version of Dark Mirror. It helps out quite a bit for aiming since it causes the screen to zoom in a bit when the camera switches to the over-the-shoulder view.

Gabe can actually regain health in this one by hiding himself for a while. For those of you that know how intense Syphon Filter shootouts can be, this is a most welcome feature.

I really haven't gotten far enough to judge the story yet, but so far it is about as interesting as Dark Mirror was. The sound for this one is much more lively than previous games. Dark Mirror's sound was very epic but so far this one's soundtrack sounds even better. When I turned off the PSP for the first time since playing it, I was actually humming the tune from the first few levels still. There is even a vocal song at one point.

Silent Hill: Origins

I'm almost done with my guide for this game. I'm about halfway through the Riverside Motel, so I'm coming along very well! I was hoping to post this up by Friday, but I doubt I'll have it completely finished by then. It should be released for sure by next week though. Still haven't really decided if I'm going to move on to a guide for Umbrella Chronicles after this or not. UC didn't really amaze me as much as I thought it would so I'm not really sure if I could stay focused on a guide for it and also there is still something else I would like to add to this Silent Hill: Origins guide before I move on - I was thinking about a Story Synopsis.

11/29 UPDATE for Silent Hill: Origins FAQ

Nah, this guide won't be up tomorrow but it will be up next week for sure. I spent a good chunk of the day on just the ASCII art for this guide and it is looking quite good at the moment. The walkthrough is completely finished, though lacking proofreading in some parts which I will get to tomorrow and this weekend.

Current Gaming - Syphon Filter 1 & 2, Chaos Legion

Syphon Filter

Just finished this up a few days ago. It has some frustrating levels at times and I was about ready to stop playing and move onto the second game in the series but I'm VERY glad that I didn't - read Syphon Filter 2 description to understand why.

The story was interesting, but the gameplay took some getting used to, especially when enemies wore flak jackets. Good lord, I can't even count how many times that I died in the earlier levels because an enemy would dart out from a corner with a flak jacket on and run toward me guns a'blazin! Needless to say, headshots are a must in this game as you progress.

Syphon Filter 2

As I said with Syphon Filter 1, I am so glad that I finished that one before playing this game. It starts out directly after the first game and tosses around the names of the characters from the first game back and forth just like you came right out from playing the first game when starting this one up. There are no flashbacks to help out.

The gameplay has much more variety on the whole. You have shooter missions and sneaking missions placed throughout the game that help to keep it from the feeling repetitive. There are many more cutscenes this time - at least one before each mission.

In terms of story, the sequel makes the first game seem like a mere stepping stone to the events that happen in this one. The plot involves both Lian and Gabe this time equally instead of everything centering around Gabe's progress. Lian is also played quite a bit in this one - much more than she was used in Dark Mirror.

The first stage for this game was a major turnoff though. It takes place on a snowy mountain and the stage can get a bit confusing at times. Also, why in the world do they throw in so many enemies with flak jackets on the first stage? Come on, this is the very beginning of the game!

Overall, I'm really happy with this one and can't wait to beat it in a few hours most likely. I'm at one of the final stages right now.

UPDATE: Just finished Syphon Filter 2. What a wonderful game! I think I will not proclaim it as my favorite storyline in the series - even over Dark Mirror. Even with the downgraded graphics, if you can learn the controls then the game is really a blast. Now on to Syphon Filter 3!

Chaos Legion

I decided to return to this game after nearly a three year break from it. I've already beaten it before but I decided to return to it since I wanted a difficult action game to play. I started a new game - for better or for worse. The reason I say this is because this game is so incredibly unforgiving on your first time through while playing on normal mode. If I was to sum up the difficulty of this game in five words or less then it would be as follows: This game fucking hates you!

I've played Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry on the hardest modes and those are pretty much equal to the difficulty that is faced on normal mode in Chaos Legion. Normal enemies in normal mode sometimes have an incredible amount of life that will force me to wail on them to no end. It's like some enemies are devil triggered. And to think that Chaos Legion has a hard mode... That's one of the main aspects that I enjoy about this game though. It's hard as hell. Well, that and the legions, because the legions are fun to use and really help out for some of these harder enemies.

I was thinking about trying to get all the Thanatos chips this time on my way through. Maybe that would help out for the final areas just a bit.

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (PS2) - Review

- this review originally posted on Gamers' Temple

Syphon Filter's first PS2 outing was an online game that offered little of a single player experience reminiscent of the rest of the Syphon Filter series. Later Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror was released for the PSP and achieved high-level status for its interesting story and online multiplayer gameplay. Now Dark Mirror has been brought over to the PS2 but this is no mere straight port like GTA. The PS2 version drops the online multiplayer and adds enhanced graphics as well as enhanced controls.

The story of Syphon Filter throws around many names and organizations and takes Gabe to numerous areas of the world. To summarize the basics of the plot, a para-military group known as "Red Section" uncovers a project known as Dark Mirror. Gabe Logan, along with his partner Lian Xing, is sent to several destinations around the world to infiltrate this group. The story builds with each mission until ultimately the key players are exposed then the plot really takes off for the remainder of the game. It delves a lot more into Gabe's past than one might expect as the main story progresses.

Dark Mirror features a training mode, story mode, and mission mode. Training mode allows a player to get the feel of the gameplay and I would highly recommend starting with this mode since the game doesn't really teach the basics during the story mode. Story mode is the basic single player experience of Dark Mirror. Once each mission in story mode is completed, that mission will be added to mission mode and can be replayed at any time.

Each story mission has a set of objectives that must be completed and will usually offer a checkpoint once each objective is fulfilled. Once each mission is complete the game will automatically autosave then load the next mission. "Hidden Evidence" is strewn throughout each level and can be optionally found to unlock a few bonus extras per mission. There is also a ranking system that judges Gabe based on his approach taken to finishing a level (such as stealth kills, knife kills, certain weapon use, etc.) and this can lead to unlocking a bunch of extra weapons and content.

The gameplay itself is loaded with tons of action, but there are still plenty of stealth opportunities. It's basically up to the player how to handle a situation most of the time. The gunfights in Dark Mirror can get very intense with the smart enemy AI. The enemies can run, climb, use ziplines, and roll all while in pursuit, so most of the time they don't just sit and wait to be shot.

To let you know what this enemy AI is like, one time, I was on the first floor and a guard started to fire at me from the second floor walkway near a column. I quickly crouch and take cover behind the side of a bar table. When I pop out to fire at him from my cover, he quickly moves back behind the column. I think to myself, "OK, I'll just pop him when he decides to shoot again". Well, he darted out from behind the column and ran behind the column across from him then actually ran to the side of the second floor that was up above me and started to fire from the railing. The enemy AI starts to become more aggressive and smarter later in the game such as this little example - they try to take cover as much as possible and can be surprising with their actions.

Shootouts often force Gabe to take cover behind a crate or wall and wait for a chance to shoot during the constant gunfire from the other end. And these shootouts can get quite intense at times making enemy encounters very enjoyable. The levels are set up to where there is almost always an opportunity to take cover behind a wall or other object. While flattened against a wall, Gabe can peak out just a bit and get a steady aim on any advancing enemy then jump out and fire once the target is pinpointed, which works well for quick headshots.

Dark Mirror uses the ragdoll physics engine, so bodies will fly quite easily from gunfire. Shooting enemies in the legs can cripple them - they will actually hobble or move slowly toward Gabe when he shoots them as such. The familiar headshot can still take out just about any enemy in one hit.

There is quite a bit of variety within the shooting action. There are a few escort missions, boss fights, collection missions, and even a few platforming areas - such as grabbing a ledge to move across a gap or climbing some boxes to get up to a high walkway.

The escort missions don't get frustrating like in a few other action games. The allies will listen to commands that can be issued out by Gabe and there are some allies that will run ahead of Gabe and try to take on a situation by themselves. Fortunately Gabe can heal his allies so escort missions never really are annoying like they could be. The ally AI is usually pretty smart and the escort missions are spread out enough to offer variety when needed, so they don't overstay their welcome.

The PSP version used it's four face buttons to control the camera at all times and had a lock-on button (L1) since it was hard to pinpoint shots at times but thanks to the second analog on the PS2 version players can easily make a precise shot at any time by simply moving the right analog without even needing a lock-on button. The aiming icon is always displayed on the screen while moving, so just aim with the right analog and shoot while moving or standing still. The L1 button on the PS2 version provides an over-shoulder view while aiming instead of a lock-on like in the PSP version. Overall, the control setup on the PS2 version feels much more comfortable, allowing one to maintain a greater focus on avoiding and taking cover instead of constant precise targeting.

Gun variety is extremely detailed in Dark Mirror, even more so than past Syphon Filters. There is a whole onslaught of guns to choose from throughout the main game and there are quite a few of unlockable firearms as well. Many guns can be changed to a different setting (such as fully automatic or single fire) or can be loaded with a different type of ammo (such as normal shots, explosive, gas). There is a bunch of variety in the weapons though Gabe can only hold a few at a time. His main inventory is composed of a pistol, automatic weapon, grenade, rifle, heavy weapon, bare hands (fists, knife, taser) - he can carry one of each of those types of weapons.

Gabe now has grapple moves that can help with stealth situations such as a neck break or throat slash much like in Omega Strain. He can also performs melee attacks on enemies from up close, so while advancing toward an enemy - say, when Gabe is out of bullets and needs to reload - he can hit the enemy with the back of his gun, reload, then shoot the grounded enemy before that enemy recovers.

Along with all the extra weapons and combat techniques, Gabe has thermal goggles, EDSU goggles, and the familiar night vision goggles. EDSU goggles allow you to see objects that can be interacted with in the environments. These really help out quite a bunch when you're stuck in a level. All of the headgear is used quite a bit throughout the game. I use the thermal goggles for almost all shootouts since the enemies are usually far away and this helps to make them much more visible.

As already mentioned, the PS2 version offers minor enhancements for the overall environments and character models. All character models and overall environments are sharper and cleaner than the PSP version. The textures for the characters aren't quite up to par with more recent PS2 games, most notably in the faces - this is just about the only area that helps to reveal the fact that this was a PSP game. The controlled character still has that strange lean when he/she runs that is shown in all Syphon Filter games, but it seems much more realistic than the leaning in Omega Strain or previous games in the series.

The environments are rendered very well for a PS2 game and remain solid without any glitching or breaking of polygons. The lighting effects look realistic in the environments, but the flashlight that Gabe can use could have much better lighting effects overall. Instead of lighting up a wall it only seems to project a massive white circle and provides little lighting for the object it is pointed at. The flashlight looked normal in the PSP version and offered actual lighting effects that would light up a dark room, but in the PS2 version the flashlight is rather useless.

The PSP version had a "Mature Audience" rating and the PS2 version has a "Teen" rating. The blood and taser fire (fire resulting from prolonged taser shock) have been removed from the PS2 version in favor of a lower rating. The blood is barely even noticed to be missing from a neck slice or from gunfire since there wasn't that much in the PSP version to begin with, but the taser fire is a bit of a let down. At times, enemies would actually run toward Gabe while on fire after a tasering overload in the PSP version, but they only spasm and fall at all times in the PS2 version. For all other burnings, the bodies simply turn black and smoke a bit.

The sound has many techno tracks and epic scores that help to boost excitement during shootouts or boss fights. Voices seem to fit all the characters rather well. Gabe remains fairly emotionless throughout most of the cutscenes - basically the way his character is almost always portrayed in other Syphon Filters and the way you would expect him to sound.

Dark Mirror is just about everything that you would expect from a solid PS2 game. Whether it is bought on PSP or PS2 this game deserves to be played by an action fan or, for sure, by any fan of the Syphon Filter series. In all honesty, I am not that big of a Syphon Filter fan but this game had me hooked from beginning to end and I even wanted to replay it to unlock hidden content once I was done.

Owners with a PSP and a PS2 that plan to pick up Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror need to decide whether they want a portable version with a multiplayer mode or if they want the full single player experience complete with enhanced graphics and controls. The camera controls for PSP version are not near as bad as one might expect for a PSP game since it uses the face buttons to move the camera, but the right analog still has a more natural feel to it in the case of the PS2 version and it doesn't need an auto-aim whatsoever to compensate for any lack of aiming. Even though the PS2 version drops the multiplayer, the enhanced graphics and (mainly) enhanced controls make the single player experience much better than its PSP counterpart. Whichever version is chosen, Dark Mirror will deliver one of the best action/shooter/stealth experiences out there for either console.

The Good

+ enhanced graphics that match the PS2 rather well (especially environments)
+ enhanced controls that make aiming much more precise than it was in the PSP version
+ engaging story
+ fitting sound that sounds really good with surround speakers

The Bad

- character models aren't quite up to par with current PS2 releases
- no multiplayer mode
- some weapon effects were dropped from the PS2 version in favor of a "Teen" rating (blood from knife and weapon fire, taser burning animation)
- flashlight lighting effects that were fine in the PSP version look downgraded in the PS2 version

Dark Mirror has its ups and downs with the transition over to the PS2, but that still can't change what a solid action game it truly is.

Graphics: 8.5
Controls: 9.0
Sound: 9.0
Gameplay: 9.0

And therefore Berserker dubs thee: 8.9/10