110°

Syndicate Developers Doing What's Best for the Series

Starbreeze Studios, the Swedish minds behind both critically-acclaimed The Chronicles of Riddick games, are reviving a long-dormant franchise tomorrow. Syndicate will release in just a few short hours, and fans of the first game, also titled Syndicate (released way back in 1993), are hesitant considering the switch from an isometric tactical shooter to a more modern, first-person perspective. I’m going to attempt to allay their fears and disappointment, as I firmly believe that this is the correct transition to get this futuristic sci-fi shooter into the attention of gamers everywhere.

Those of us who played the first game all the way back in the early 90’s know how outdated it is. The game has not aged well at all, and I found myself struggling to adjust to the gameplay that would best be described as moving at a snail’s pace. The fact is that these types of top-down squad shooters just don’t exist anymore. Believe it or not, there’s a reason behind this; they don’t move quickly enough to keep the interest of all the shortened attention spans out there nowadays. Social commentary aside, I think the switch to FPS was both necessary and warranted, and in the end, it will give us a superior perspective to witness the interactions between Syndicate’s mega-corporations battling it out for consumer control.

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playeraffinity.com
NYC_Gamer4867d ago

Nope,they did what share-holders/the publisher thought was right.Starbreeze ran after that fps market with the illusion of breaking charts/mega sales.

Jdoki4866d ago

I have a lot of respect for Starbreeze as a developer. But seems to me that this 'Syndicate' game was just trying to cash in on the nostalgia the name brings.

As a new IP this would be a mediocre shooter, with the Syndicate name attached it becomes a mediocre shooter that sells a few more copies to people hoping it captures the spirit of the isometric original.

I have the same fears for the X-Com FPS (although higher hopes for the proper turn based strategy reboot).

Rabidgummibear4865d ago

I think they are trying to make the best game they can with pressure from a publisher. Sure they are reusing a name but I dont think thats in hopes of it selling a few more copies.

Grimhammer004866d ago

I'm loving it right now. Jumped straight into co-op.
It's very huge on unlocks. I just hope 9 maps with 3 difficulties can really keep me motivated long enough to Mac a chracter.

Rabidgummibear4865d ago

I've heard a lot of people saying they really dug the co-op and the game so far!

130°

Syndicate Reboot Servers to Close

Electronic Arts has announced a number of server closures in the coming months, including Apex Mobile and the 2012 Syndicate reboot.

MadLad818d ago

What online functionality did Shadows of the Damned even have?

kevco33818d ago

My thoughts exactly! Some kind of score chart I've forgotten about?

coolbeans818d ago

Syndicate's big saving grace will soon be erased for good. I'll give *some* credit to EA in keeping servers up for 10+ years.

mastershredder817d ago

Oh yeah, an actual cyberpunk game. I have fond memories of the old bullfrog Syndicates.

IamTylerDurden1817d ago

Syndicate was a fun and high quality late PS3 fps that got swallowed in the sea of fps at the time. It was short and it didn't innovate but it had good visuals and fun combat. Starbreeze i believe. Rip Torn and Rosario Dawson.

90°

Syndicate - 10 Years with no Reboot Reboot

10 years since the Syndicate series was rebooted as an FPS, perhaps it's time we got another reboot as a strategy game?

ABizzel11171d ago

I enjoyed this game, especially the co-op. It was solid sleeper hit IMO.

MeteorPanda1171d ago

was this the game with the cars on rails and you could blow up killing everyone in it? l loved this game, lol

porkChop1171d ago

I couldn't get past the first half hour or something. Hard to remember but I didn't play long. I don't know if there was something wrong with the PC version or not, but the bloom was so bad it hurt my eyes. I started getting a horrible headache. I could hardly see anything because there was extremely intense bloom everywhere.

annoyedgamer1171d ago

EA always let their PC versions fall by the wayside. The same thing happened with Dead Space 1.

Gheritt_White1171d ago

This remains one of my fave hard sci-fi FPS games from the X360 era. A compelling premise with an interesting setting and solid characters, plus outstanding special ability mechanics. Def deserves more love.

150°

Five Abused Video Game Visual Effects

Like children with new toys, developers can excitedly overdo it with visual effects until good sense prevails - here are five examples of exactly that from across video games history

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techstomper.com
fr0sty1450d ago (Edited 1450d ago )

Dirt on the lens (and JJ Abrahms style overuse of lens flare) is the worst, especially in war games like Battlefield. We're not supposed to be a camera! Way to ruin the illusion of actually being the player we're controlling.

PrimeVinister1450d ago

Yeah, that's a bad one that is missing from the list

FPS_D3TH1450d ago

Most soldiers today wear goggles or tactical glasses so dirt on the lens isn’t that much of a stretch tbh

isarai1450d ago

Vignettes, chromatic aberration, and that annoying thing where they blur the corners of the screen. Also film grain.

FPS_D3TH1450d ago

All those immediately get turned off when I load up my settings haha. Unless I’m going for screenshots it’s more than annoying

PrimeVinister1450d ago

You are mostly stuck with whatever terrible effects on console. There are some options like motion blur that can switched off but it's not common

PrimeVinister1450d ago

Depth of field is annoying. Along with most camera or lens effects.

But DoF will be cool in the future when they can track what you are looking at and apply DoF accordingly.

DeviateFish1450d ago

Don't forget camera shake and "realistic" camera movement in cutscenes.

porkChop1450d ago

The Syndicate reboot had the absolute worst bloom I've ever seen. It literally hurt my eyes and gave me a headache just from playing. I could never finish it.

PrimeVinister1450d ago

Absolutely. Beyond the distraction and obstruction, it looked unpleasant a lot of the time.

1449d ago