What do you guys think of Syndicate?
May 21, 2006 23:46:29 GMT -5
Post by Discoalucard on May 21, 2006 23:46:29 GMT -5
I don't know why, but I've felt like revisiting this game again. I know Grand Theft Auto popularized the whole "kill lots of people randomly and steal their cars, bitch" thing that is sweeping the nation, but Syndicate did it years before - and why it may not have done it better, it certainly did it with more style.
The idea is, you're the head of an evil corporate that wants to take over the world. Each nation of the map is some mission, and clearing it will give you power over that territory. Usually, you just need to assassinate someone. Carrying out your deeds are four heavily armed cyborgs. They can be equipped with pistols, shotguns and more, but the coolest piece of equipment is the Persuadation, which will hypnotize random civilians into following you. If you build up enough of a crowd, you can persuade enemies, which will then fight along side you (although not directly under your control.) It's awesome leading a band of like thirty people, all led by a guy in a trench coat, through the city, killing anything you please. It's even more fun piling them all into the same car (and then blowing it up, if you feel that way.)
The computer versions were all point n click, giving it the feel of a real time strategy game. I've been told the console ports gave you more direct control over your units.
Anyway, there were some vague sim aspects, because you could raise or lower taxes on your conquered territories. This money could then be used to outfit your cyborgs with new weapons and enhancements. It's been awhile, but I think if you tax a territory too much, they'll revolt and you'll need to replay the mission. I'm not sure though.
Anyway, it was originally a PC game, and got ported to the Amiga, Genesis, SNES, Jaguar and 3DO. The PC game runs like trash on DOSBox, but the Amiga version is OK, even though it's saddled with a lot of loading and no cool music. I've been playing the Jaguar version, which is slow but keeps (mostly) the same controls as the PC version.
Anyone else have interest in this? I'm thinking of doing an article on it, along with it's sequel, Syndicate Wars.
The idea is, you're the head of an evil corporate that wants to take over the world. Each nation of the map is some mission, and clearing it will give you power over that territory. Usually, you just need to assassinate someone. Carrying out your deeds are four heavily armed cyborgs. They can be equipped with pistols, shotguns and more, but the coolest piece of equipment is the Persuadation, which will hypnotize random civilians into following you. If you build up enough of a crowd, you can persuade enemies, which will then fight along side you (although not directly under your control.) It's awesome leading a band of like thirty people, all led by a guy in a trench coat, through the city, killing anything you please. It's even more fun piling them all into the same car (and then blowing it up, if you feel that way.)
The computer versions were all point n click, giving it the feel of a real time strategy game. I've been told the console ports gave you more direct control over your units.
Anyway, there were some vague sim aspects, because you could raise or lower taxes on your conquered territories. This money could then be used to outfit your cyborgs with new weapons and enhancements. It's been awhile, but I think if you tax a territory too much, they'll revolt and you'll need to replay the mission. I'm not sure though.
Anyway, it was originally a PC game, and got ported to the Amiga, Genesis, SNES, Jaguar and 3DO. The PC game runs like trash on DOSBox, but the Amiga version is OK, even though it's saddled with a lot of loading and no cool music. I've been playing the Jaguar version, which is slow but keeps (mostly) the same controls as the PC version.
Anyone else have interest in this? I'm thinking of doing an article on it, along with it's sequel, Syndicate Wars.