War never changes, unless its being fueled by corporations that want to rule the financial world. If you’re thinking of Perfect Dark, you have to go further back to 1993. We’re talking about Syndicate.
EA announced the launch of Syndicate today, the sequel/reimagining of the Bullfrog classic strategy game from 1993. The new Syndicate is a first-person shooter and the extreme genre change has angered some fans of the classic game. Looking at the game for what it is, however, there’s sure to be something here for fans of shooters and action games.
The game is set in 2069 and takes place in a cyberpunk setting that’s reminiscent of Ghost in the Shell or the aforementioned Perfect Dark. It’s a world with no government and the free market taken to its absolute extreme – all out corporate war.
The game was developed by Starbreeze Studios who made a name for themselves with the excellent Chronicles of Riddick games and my choice for best first-person shooter of the past five years, The Darkness.
EA is really banking on this game so they pulled out the star power with Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox taking on the roles as executives for one of the largest syndicates in the game’s world. The story should be no slacker either with the tale being written by Richard Morgan.
The game features your usual single-player campaign, but the main focus is definitely the four-player co-op mode. The co-op campaign is separate from the main campaign and has the player working for a start-up syndicate trying to take on the big guys.
The game’s major hook is the ability to use a chip implanted in the character’s head that allows players to slow down time, see through walls and other cool sci-fi technologies.
I had a chance to try out the co-op a few weeks ago and I can confirm that the game is a blast. I wish that the people I was teamed up with in the random lobby weren’t so selfish as the game relies on cooperation more than most other co-op games. The team sticking together and healing each other is the key to victory.
Starbreeze has not made a bad game yet and I don’t expect Syndicate to be any different. The game is definitely going to get a lot of flak for not being a turn-based strategy game like the original, but it’s for the best.
If you still can’t get over the fact that EA turned a precious turn-based cult classic into a first-person shooter, Good Old Games has you covered. They recently released the original game in all its glory and its fully compatible with modern machines.
The game launches today for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The PC version requires an Origin account which is why I’ll be getting it on consoles. Call me when EA and Valve stop fighting so I can buy their PC games on Steam again.
The game has received great reviews which may surprise some, especially those strategy gamers who were hoping the game would bomb critically. It even received a perfect score from Giant Bomb, which is a rare achievement from the house Jeff Gerstmann built.
What may be the best part about the game is that EA has hired various top-tier DJs to write music for the game. The launch trailer features music by Nero:
And just for kicks, here’s the trailer released last year featuring Skrillex: