As far as linear experiences go, the Battlefield 3s and Call of Dutys of this world are showing us that we gamers are willing to shell out shekels to blast their way from A to B in the way the developer dictates. Developers don’t need to necessarily offer us an open-world open-choice experience but, at least in the case of Syndicate, apparently they do have to offer cel-shaded graphics to get so-called high-impact violence past the Australian Classification Board (a la, The Darkness II).

For those unaware, Syndicate received the dreaded Refused Classification verdict from the Classification Board, and EA chose not to appeal the decision: neither offering an edited version of the game (as was the case with Left 4 Dead 2) nor arguing the case for the context of Syndicate’s violence (as SEGA successfully did with Aliens vs. Predator). But being the stubborn tyke that I am, I took a gamble and purchased an international copy of the game, banking on the fact that a) it would install b) it would unlock (Origin has a release date checking system) and c) that it would play. Thankfully, my gamble paid off.



Naturally, when playing a game banned from sale in Australia because of violence, that was the first thing I tested out; and I’ve got to say it’s pretty weak that this game got banned on the grounds of high-impact violence. Colour me desensitised, but particularly after playing through the brutal gore of The Darkness II, Syndicate feels like NHL 12 by comparison. Yes, there is blood spray, dismemberment and decapitations, but it feels both underplayed and organic in this sci-fi story about a bio-engineered chip-enhanced agent who is a veritable god amongst men.

Powerful enough weapons will blow enemies in half or separate limbs from torso but, outside of this and the occasional scripted up-close bloody chip extraction, the whole violence issue really is just a storm in a teacup. The post-mortem damage is consistent with the sort of damage that can be inflicted on the living, and the vast majority of enemies you’re fighting are more humanoid than human, boasting Iron Man levels of armour. As commented on by the Board, you can attack civilians—more often than not, they become collateral damage during intense firefights—but you can’t dismember or decapitate them. It’s all about context, really.

Further to the whole all-important ‘context’ factor that the Board love so much, Syndicate is set in a dystopian future where megacorporations have replaced traditional systems of government and consumers interact with the digital world by way of a neural chip implant. For everyday people, this makes it easier to do digital day-to-day things with the blink of an eye; for syndicate agents, such as the game protagonist Kilo, it offers whole new ways to take people out.

The onus of awesomeness is definitely on Kilo right from the get-go. Kilo is sporting the latest DART 6 bio-chip that enhances reflexes (reflected in-game as time slowing down), increases damage output, decreases damage input and lets him hack many items in the game world… including people. Make enemies’ weapons backfire, turn their guns or grenades on themselves or temporarily recruit them to fight for your cause. You’ll be able to hack into turrets to turn them on your foes, withdraw computer-controlled cover or even activate an elevator shaft that grunts are trying to use as cover with grisly results. You can even defuse grenades that are thrown at you or hack certain incoming rockets to activate ‘return to sender’ mode.



By far, the greatest thing about the hacking mechanic is how it doesn’t slow down gameplay in the slightest. Unlike BioShock or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, there is no hacking mini-game; instead, simply lock onto your target—be it a computer, turret or enemy head—and hold down the breach button (‘breach’ being the fancy word Starbreeze uses to describe hacking). This means that while you’re running through a frantic firefight, switching between weapons, fire modes, cover and which enemies you’re targeting, you’re also breaching various items in the game world.

The result is an extra level of player control mashed with a frequent feeling of frenzy as, for example, nullifying that incoming grenade might take your focus off incoming reinforcements, or an all-important headshot on a mini-boss who’s bearing down on you with a gatling gun. On the topic of gatling guns, Syndicate boasts the most satisfying gatling gun I’ve used in a game, to date. In fact, all of the sci-fi weapons offer a believable weight in terms of sound and impact; even, at times, erring on the side of overpowered.

Taking a page out of DICE’s book, Starbreeze has also run with the physicality motif, so you can take advantage of powerful single-hit takedowns, sprint and slide into cover or vault over waist-high objects. The vaulting doesn’t work as seamlessly as Battlefield 3, but considering how often you have to keep on the move, you will find yourself sprinting and sliding a lot.

It’s just a shame that the default controls don’t facilitate easier sprinting and sliding. Left Shift and left Control are the respective sprint and slide buttons, but it’s an awkward mess to roll your little finger to Control while holding Shift. You can release Shift and it will temporarily let you slide, but it doesn’t always work. This same default control-layout confusion carries over to having to hold Y to switch to grenades—completely removing your left hand from all-important navigation controls—and I wasn’t able to bind my third or fourth mouse buttons to any in-game functions, meaning I was constantly battling against my natural FPS control instincts. Couple this with the frustrating fact that the top-row numbers switch between breaches and not weapons, and a satisfyingly intense firefight can quickly descent into frustration.



But this criticism is tied into one of Syndicate’s strongest positives. The reason that the aforementioned gripe is so frustrating is because of how well the gunplay is handled. Most of this is down to Syndicate’s AI who are, for the most part, best in class. I played the campaign on the hardest difficulty, and was constantly humbled in my attempts at full-frontal assaults on what I perceived to be lesser enemies; even though I felt ridiculously overpowered in the first level. Your average grunts can be fodder for clever gun-and-breach combos, but they should never be underestimated. They will flank, use grenades liberally, slide into cover, roll out to shoot you and, most impressively, relocate in ways that feel like you’re playing against human foes.

There were a number of times when I sprinted in for a one-hit kill on a cover-hugging bad guy only to discover that he had cleverly relocated and was now pouring rounds into me. Even with the DART 6 overlay activated with all of its time-slowing damage-enhancing benefits, I would still regularly visit the reload screen if I ran into a big enough group of grunts.

And then there are the bosses. Considering how easy The Darkness II’s campaign was on hard, I definitely went in to Syndicate overconfident. Syndicate’s bosses aren’t difficult because they’re cheap or their patterns are impossible to learn; Syndicate’s bosses are tough because they’re relentless and, if you make the slightest mistake, you will go down. It’s rare to have frustration and determination unite in such a way to drive me to continually go back at them in a single session. The first boss alone took half a dozen tries. Of course, there was that awkward moment when he teleported into an area that I couldn’t get to, so I had was forced to reload. But these types of AI fails were few and far between during my time with the campaign.

Interestingly, given the strong narrative history of Starbreeze with the likes of The Darkness (the original) and The Chronicles of Riddick, the storyline seems to play second fiddle to the game world and the combat. This is by no means a bad thing as it doesn’t feel tacked on; it just feels like less of a focus, even if the voice work/likeness roster is pimped out with the likes of Brian Cox, Rosario Dawson and Michael Wincott. The story of corporate espionage and betrayal serves its purpose, but is happy to take a back seat to the fast-paced combat that’s the real star of Syndicate.



And once you’re done with the campaign, the separate co-op missions are well worth checking out. There are nine in total set in various parts of the world, and you’ll have to complete them chronologically to unlock later missions. The menu system isn’t the best, and the lack of dedicated server support means you’ll be limited to private matches with friends or rolling the dice and finding a laggy international match via the Quick Match option.

You can play with up to three other players, and if you’re only playing with one other person, expect to have your work cut out for you. These missions are clearly designed with four players in mind, and it didn’t appear to scale the difficulty when there were less players. After a few attempts at playing the first mission on hard, we bumped the difficulty down to normal in order to get past the first section: it really is that unforgiving.

But within this challenge is the beauty of the co-op. You are forced, by necessity, to work together to cover each other, as enemies will constantly attempt to flank or flush you out of cover with grenades. You can heal and revive each other, which emphasises the need for communication even more, and splitting away from the group tends to ensure certain death. It took me and my co-op buddy just shy of two hours to complete the first mission, with a lot of reloading checkpoints, and it was an absolutely satisfying experience from start to finish.

No matter which way you cut it, Australia really missed out on the first best FPS title of 2012. The list of cons seems minor in comparison to Syndicate’s overall win for linear shooter experiences. Hopefully Syndicate sells well enough so by the time Syndicate 2 hits shelves, we’ll have an R18+ rating in place that negates whatever gripes the future Classification Board might have with another classy shooter from a top-notch developer.