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A.P.I Review:	SYNDICATE WARS
Developer:	Bullfrog	OPTIONS:	SCREENSHOTS: No.1   No.2   No.3
Distributor:	E.A	1-4 Player
Game Type:	Shoot-em-up	Memory Card
Availability:	Out Now	Multi-Tap

Rapid Review

Bullfrog, the company responsible for Theme Park and Magic Carpet, 
have had a team locked away for nigh on two years developing the 
follow up to the popular Amiga game, Syndicate. Released last year 
on PC, Syndicate Wars has since been receiving graphical enhancements 
prior to its eventual release on the Playstation. Enough of the griping 
as it is here now, but has it been worth the wait? 

Syndicate had you cast as the head of a huge corporation, in a world 
where each inhabitant has a computer chip implanted in the back of 
their heads. The player used armies of Cyborgs and technical advancements 
to grow from fledglings to corporate rulers of the world.

Syndicate Wars takes up the story a century later, when the chips 
used to control the minds of the population are cutting out, and 
the citizens are awaking to the horrors that have been created 
around them. With the cities in the hands of notorious biker gangs, 
many are banding together in a recently formed religious cult, 
the Church of the New Epoch.

There are two ways to play Syndicate Wars. You may choose to be 
the leader of the corporation with full control over four agents 
and a mission to return the citizens to their former state. Your 
second choice is to play the elder of the religious group, who 
must persuade the people to rebel against the leaders of the Syndicate 
Empire. There ain't much difference between the two of them but 
it's nice to know a choice has been included.

Syndicate Wars uses a fully rotatable playing area, with the ability 
to explore and interact with any part of the setting. The cities 
are set in a true 3D environment, with each building capable of 
being reduced to a smouldering pile of rubble by using one of the 
24 available weapons. Banks and city vaults can be raided to 
acquire huge wealth for your weapons research team, while one of 
the twelve different types of vehicle can be used for your getaway. 
The city environment extends to the ability to even board trains 
on the underground system which may be used to escape from a 
tricky situation.

There are many ways to succeed in each mission, but if an important 
person is eliminated, then your objectives may be altered. You 
must also be aware of the many chain reactions, as one incident 
could set off numerous events, such as the shooting of a single 
officer could lead to twenty others racing from the barracks in 
retaliation.

The only changes from the PC version worth mentioning is the fact 
that you can now rotate the camera viewpoint to keep an eye on your 
operatives rather than constantly lose sight of them as they wander 
off the screen. Buildings also become transparent to help your 
observation while street lights and video screens break up the 
grey backgrounds. The only polygon presence in the city are the 
cars which happen to be a nightmare to drive because they will follow 
at set route rather than adhere to your commands. This usually 
results in the vehicle being blasted by a dozen enemy agents before 
you reach your destination. Walk, it's safer. Generally the graphics 
are not as stunning as I had hoped, but nice enough to look at.

It takes a while to get to grips with the game before you soon realize 
that simply charging in with your guns blazing will rarely lead to s
uccess. Use you noggin and understand that most missions will not be 
successful without casualties therefore sending a couple of your 
agents ahead on suicide missions will reap the most benefits.

Comment

This game will take an age to complete for two reasons. First, there 
are so many multi button combinations used on the joypad that the 
old trial and error will eventually take over resulting in your 
agent death. I mean - R2+Down to get out of a vehicle, R2+Left or 
Right to pick up a weapon, there are dozens of these to learn before 
you play. Secondly, there does not appear to be set solutions to the 
problems. This offers you the opportunity to experiment with each 
approach and therefore prolong the games life-span. All in all a 
definite purchase for fans of games like Command & Conquer, Carnage 
Heart and X-Com.