Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain

Other products by Sony

Product Features

• Create your characters, with a host of customizable options -- the character you create will be a new recruit training under Logan
• Stop terrorists from destroying a mall, taking out a SWAT team and carrying the injured to safety
• Work through puzzle elements and use strategy to think ahead, when picking up weapons -- the game challenges your mind and your reflexes
• Vast options for cooperative play -- multiple solo missions combined with two-person gameplay
• Online play with nine fantastic multiplayer levels - Lay down cover fire while your teammates go in after the terrorists

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000099T2K
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches ; 6.7 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: June 15, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,575 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

Product Description

Game Informer Review

This wildly ambitious release offers two different ways that players can work through the game. You can simply play through it as a single player, which offers up an experience that is very similar to the PSone trilogy, or you can hop online and partner with up to three additional human players for an action-packed extravganza that is quite unlike anything you've come across before. Interestingly, the content for both methods of play is virtually identical. In such, you can bounce back and forth between online and offline play with the same save data. I found this to be extremely beneficial. Of course, I'd prefer to work my way through the game with teammates, but I did find that if my friends are not logged in and the only people I can partner with give new meaning to the word "annoying," I'll play offline.

Sticking to its guns, the gameplay hasn't changed too much over the years. Headshots are once again highlighted with text, the lower shoulders are used for strafing, and you still have the luxury of tapping into a handy auto targeting system for frenzied fightss. The one area where you will see significant change is in the missions. In past Syphon Filter games, you had to complete most of the objectives and be mindful of parameters to progress to the next stage. In The Omega Strain, the theory has changed to "anything goes." Usually, there is only one critical objective on each stage that must be completed to move on. The remainder of the goals (which can number close to 15 for a level) are more or less optional for the player(s). The game won't come to a screeching halt if you ignore them. You can even finish a level by disregarding all parameters (like don't shoot the good guys) and still move on. So why would you even bother messing with additional feats? Simply because the rewards that they bring couldn't be more delicious.

All of your accomplishments and performances are tracked. Everything from shot accuracy to time you spend in a level are taken into consideration. Much like a role-playing game, your character will gain levels as experience is accumulated. You'll begin the game as a Field Agent and can eventually work your way through 21 additional ranks to Commander in Chief. Through extensive play, you can also earn medals, commendations from the NPCs, and Special Agency Ratings. Each one of these attainments (which number close to 100) rewards the player with a new weapon or power-up.

The density of unlockable armaments that you can wrap your hands around is truly unheard of, and is reason enough for players to work their way through the game over and over again. Although Omega Strain is the same, playing solo and with a group of friends produces two completely different results. Given the gargantuan size of the levels, never before has vocal communication (via the headset) been so necessary and constant. Also, you can reach areas that are not accessible in single player with teamwork.

Some of the missions are a bit ambiguous, the respawn points don't work as well as they should, and the visuals really haven't evolved too much since the previous installment, but as a whole, The Omega Strain emerges as one of the PlayStation 2's most irresistible online titles.

Concept:
Amusing single-player and four-player co-op mixed with traditional run-and-gun Syphon Filter gameplay and role-playing elements

Graphics:
This game won't win any beauty pageants. Some of the effects are decent, but the lighting, animations, and texturing lack significant detail

Sound:
Does a great job of forcing gamers to use voice chat

Playability:
Smooth controls and tons of weapons, but missions can be confusing

Entertainment:
Both methods of play are enjoyable and loaded with unlockable material

Replay:
High

Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: May 2004

2nd Opinion:
I've been eagerly anticipating Omega Strain as a bold new beginning for the Syphon Filter franchise. I'm happy to report that, while this is clearly a groundbreaking game, it does keep most of the strengths (and some of the weaknesses) of its forebears. The way this title manages to meld the multiplayer and single-player portions into a cohesive whole is quite amazing, and I think this may well point to the direction that many games will head in the future. I love the fact that, while you can tackle the missions alone, playing in co-op actually creates a different experience, allowing you to access previously inaccessible areas and use teamwork for both strategy and to more quickly complete level goals. It's great fun, if a bit uneven. If not for the unimpressive graphics, sometimes suspect auto-targeting, and its irritating habit of re-spawning your character in seemingly random locations; this could have been an all-time classic. As it is, it's another great addition to the PS2 online library.

Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Matt Helgeson


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Product Description

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is a new level of fast-paced gaming action. Gabe Logan, the hero of previous Syphon Filter games, has recruited you and you'll be working together on deadly missions. Face off well-trained terrorists in a series of mission in a huge, interactive 3D game world. Voice chat options for more interactive gameplay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A mixed experience., May 21, 2004

By	D. Mok (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

I'm an old-timer at this game who had played the first two games of this series so many times that I knew the location of every enemy, every bug that could happen, and could play through most levels without suffering a single hit. I'd missed Syphon Filter 3, so it was with great anticipation that I opened up this PlayStation 2 update on the franchise.

What followed wasn't far from what I'd expected: Given the much larger storage capability of a DVD and the PS2's processing power, the designers piled on everything and the kitchen sink -- and not surprisingly, not all the pieces are great.

The ability to design your own agent is smart; you can now add a tinge of RPG to the experience by customizing your agent more or less to your specs. More hairstyles would've been nice, though. There are way too many new stock characters -- as another reviewer mentioned, Imani Gray is a pain in the neck which drifts farther down towards the butt the more you have to listen to her. I was glad to see the return of Teresa Lipan, killed in SF2 but apparently revived later; I'd loved voice actress Shannon Tilton's smart-aleck voice for Teresa way back in SF2 and it's telling that she's the only voice actor left from the cast of SF2. The look of the game is good, though I'm peeved by games that concentrate so much on making moody lighting that they forget to make your enemies visible. No amount of noir visuals can compensate for having to fire blindly into the dark, especially in this game, when you have to pull off headshots on targets the size of a pea. The controls took some getting used to -- if you're an old-timer, you have to learn never to touch the directional pad -- but similar enough to the old games that it wasn't a problem. There's a vast array of weapons to be used, a big bonus, though the side effect is that if you pick the wrong weapon, you may find yourself out of ammo quickly. In previous SF games, by killing an enemy whose weapon you don't have, you can pick up new weapons you didn't start out with. This was a useful mechanical device so that the player wouldn't find himself completely defenseless. Now, you can pick up hundreds of rounds for a weapon but never come across that weapon for the ammo to become useful. I had to replay an entire level I'd already finished up to about 75 per cent just because I chose a different gun in the beginning, a gun whose ammo can't be found anywhere in the level. Hello?

The most glaring problem lies in mission design. It is true what the other reviewers said about the missions being repetitive and confusing. I've never been shy about using strategy guides, but even with the Prima guide in hand this time, I wasn't able to avoid bumbling about like a blind bee. You have to enter buildings and areas in exact orders and the designers made so many unnecessary detours, areas that don't do anything to advance your mission, that you'll find yourself going round and round. I'd finished Syphon Filter 2 without a guide and had been able to follow SF1 all through with the help of a guide, but Omega Strain's levels are simply overlarge, the missions overlong. They gave you more checkpoints this time, but you're no longer able to temporarily stop a game and pick it up later with your checkpoints intact, a major flaw in the design. What's wrong with giving us manual game saves?

My least favourite feature in this game is the enemy respawning. When you have to take such a snaky route through the level, revisiting areas multiple times, the last thing you want is to have to fight the exact same enemies all over again. It's also always frustrating to have enemies jump out of a hole above your head and blast you to death with two shots from a combat shotgun, or worse still, come out of the door you'd just exited and cleared of opposition. How about some logic? I've always hated games that respawn enemies indefinitely, and unfortunately Syphon Filter just joined those ranks.

I'm enjoying this game, but it's far more laborious than playing SF1 and SF2. I'm not even trying to meet their par times at this point. You're supposed to be able to finish 10 objectives in Mission 2 in nine minutes. Nine minutes! My time was more like 45. Frankly, given that you have to run back and forth four, five times among three buildings in this level, that's just insulting. I guess if your whole life is playing games, the depth and size of the missions is a good thing. Me? I play games to relax, and this is just too much material, with no way to break it down into chunks because of the save-game system. At a certain point, too much of something just spoils the fun.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WATCH OUT if you plan on buying this game, May 9, 2004

By	Dave (NJ) - See all my reviews

If you were a huge fan of the other games in the Syphon Filter series, you might just go out and instantly buy this game, expecting it to be exactly like the rest.. this is what I did, and I was horribly disappointed.

Unlike the other games in the series, this one is designed ALMOST ENTIRELY around *online play*. If you don't plan on playing this game online, you're probably better off not buying it at all. I bought it and tried playing it offline, and after finishing the first mission, I was thoroughly disgusted with it.

I'm sure it's a great online game, but as far as offline single player goes, it's extremely frustrating and annoying to play.

Some of the reasons for this are:
- Unlike in the previous games, hardly any actions actually pause the game other than pressing the pause button. Checking your map or changing weapons keeps the rest of the game moving.
- The missions have checkpoints that act as quick saves for if you die, but the game isn't actually reset back to that point when you die.. so if you fail a critical objective and then die, you'll go back to the checkpoint with the objective still failed. Any timersthat were counting down will still be counting down.
- Speaking of which, if you fail objectives, the game lets you keep playing. You have to actually quit the mission and go back to the title screen before you can start it over. Very irritating.
- Enemies constantly respawn within seconds of killing them. In the previous games, you could dispatch all the enemies and then move on at your own pace, but with enemies respawning instantly, the only thing that makes sense is to run past everything.

Anyway, I'm just warning you, watch out if you plan on playing this game offline..

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For Really Patient People Only, April 1, 2006

By	Matt The Man (Florida) - See all my reviews

Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

I have really enjoyed the SF series over the years but this game was extremely frustrating to learn. Gameplay is godawful! You used to be able to start a mission over quickly with a push of a couple of buttons; now you have to quit the mission and then wait for the darn thing to reload. This is progress??? Furthermore, you also used to be able to go back to your last checkpoint and start over again with your previous progress. Not anymore. If you are playing a "stealth" level and lose your stealth you are out of luck! You have to start the level over in order to regain your stealthiness. I cant count the number of times I threw my joystick down in disgust.

Also, some of the level objectives are downright unreasonable. In one mission you have to carry a fallen comrade a very long distance on your back at literally a snails pace while under fire and not being able to defend yourself without dropping the body. All of this while under time constraints to "properly" finish the level. Also, many of the levels are "maze-like" with many "avenues" not contributing to the outcome of the game. Throw in enemies that often times cant miss when they are shooting at you,(not to mention they have weapons that kill you twice as fast as you can kill them with similar or identical weapons), and you have a very frustrating experience in my opinion.

THE GOOD NEWS: If you are a patient person there is considerable replay value in this game. It may take you many hours to master it. Perhaps thats what the gamemakers were going for but in my opinion they went overboard. WAY OVERBOARD!! Ive been playing for a month now and I'm just about ready to hit the "cheat" sites to figure out the last remaining obstacles for me. Admittedly, there is a sense of reward if you stick with it and master it, but geez it takes a long time and a lot of cussing to do so :)~. Good luck!