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Product summary
Syphon Filter returns on the PSP, and it can still kill your spare time.
Specifications: ESRB: Teen; Genre: Adventure; Number of players: 1 Player See full specs
Price range: $9.99 - $38.99
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 10/08/2007
- Released on: 10/02/2007
Without a shadow of a doubt, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror was one of the most impressive sleeper hits of 2006. It combined a decent single-player campaign with robust online multiplayer and rejuvenated an aging PlayStation series all while scoring a headshot for the struggling PSP. So its recently released sequel, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, has a heck of an act to follow, which is exactly what it does. From the structure of the single-player campaign and the enemies to the puzzles and the online multiplayer, Logan's Shadow follows in its predecessor's footsteps like a sneaking spy. While it isn't likely to catch you unawares, you'll still be happy to act surprised.
Just don't expect anything resembling great spy fiction here. Oh, Gabe and company have been asked by a creepy spook to take on a dubious mission with no intel? You don't say! This time the "pencil neck" from the government is a Lex Luthor look-alike named Cordell. He wants Gabe to extract precious cargo from a besieged ship but refuses to say what's on board. At first, Gabe refuses, but then Cordell says the magic words: "You're the only option I've got!" Gabe responds the only way a superspy can: "I'll do it, but on my terms!" And so begins your globe-trotting mission to discover the boat's contents, thwart terror, and strike a blow for freedom all while saving multiple damsels in distress. Throughout your travels and travails, a badly tangled plot unfolds that fiddles with themes of trust, as well as identity, but mostly just fumbles around in the dark like a novice burglar.
Confusing plot and awkward dialogue aside, Logan's Shadow is full of the same solid combat you probably enjoyed so much in Dark Mirror. There are three control schemes, including a good one, a decent one, and a horrible one. The worst setup treats the face buttons like a second analog stick, which feels too imprecise. The middle one is a reversal of the first scheme, except that the face buttons act as a left analog stick (movement) and the nub acts as the right (free look). This can work, though it's hard to rewire your brain that way. The best sets lock-on, manual aim and strafe buttons, attributes basic movement to the thumb nub, and mostly gets out of your way. For easy mobility and straightforward sniping from behind boxes or around corners, this scheme is the most elegant. Oddly, the entire tutorial is geared toward the worst one, so it's kind of hard to figure out how the best one, called "classic," works. Once you do, though, you'll have no problem hiding behind walls or boxes, blasting bad guys, and working your way through sticky situations with the help of your pretty sidekicks, as well as your infrared goggles.
Most of the action is identical to what you saw in Dark Mirror. You hide behind boxes or walls and pop out to shoot bad guys. You'll do this with a variety of weapons, including pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, and assault rifles that become gradually more powerful toward the end of the game. Shoot-outs usually see you facing off against a corridor full of baddies who hide behind boxes and periodically peek at you. When they do, you shoot them in the head then move on. The bad guys never get smart, but they do get the next best thing: helmets.
You'll also encounter enemies in electromagnetic suits who are impervious to bullets. These guys were also in Dark Mirror and have been greatly improved. Before, killing them was a horrible process involving EMP grenades, frantic shooting, and frustrated tears (not always in that order). But in Logan's Shadow, you just shoot them in the knees and shoot their exposed air tanks. It makes less sense (why are their knees exposed?) but is definitely more fun. There is one little catch, though. If you're manually aiming when you shoot their knees--and you probably will be--the game takes you out of aiming mode. You can compensate for this when you know it's going to happen, but there's no reason you should have to, and it will definitely cost you a life here or there.
The sequences where you cooperate with a non-player character by sending signals return in Logan's Shadow and are mostly well done. Most of these rely on infrared vision, but a few are pretty original, such as a fight against a chopper. Here, you and a rocket launcher-wielding vixen are pinned behind a wall. You must pop out and draw the chopper's fire, then tell her to shoot when the gunship is focused on you.
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