Back in 1993 Bullfrog Productions graced the DOS environment with Syndicate, a real-time tactical shooter. In 1996 it received a sequel, Syndicate Wars, and the series achieved a milestone for video gaming. Not only did it use one of the most demanding engines at the time, it also featured destructible objects and a wide array of weapons and vehicles that’s strung together by tight strategy-orientated gameplay.

19 years later Starbreeze Studios reboots the series by modernising the game into the most popular genre of late – an FPS. The new Syndicate is drastically different from its ancient roots and might even have a thing or two to show the FPS scene.

The game takes place in 2069 – a time where giant corporations govern the world and neural chip implants are the BlackBerries of the day. Each large corporation manufactures their own version of implants and there’s nothing they won’t do to attain supremacy in the market. Each company also manages their own military division to protect its assets and conduct corporate espionage.

The story revolves around one such company, EuroCorp, who recently developed a new chip called DART 6. The chip is intended for military use and offers a unique breaching ability that renders all electronic devices obsolete.

This experimental chip is implanted into our protagonist, Agent Miles Kilo, and turns him into the CEO’s puppet. Agent Kilo is sent out to mess with a rival firm’s operations and this leads to an all out war between the various corporations. Let the anarchy commence.

While the story has a sci-fi nature it somehow still feels pretty plausible. If the 2012 doomsday doesn’t come to pass, I can totally see myself sporting a brain implant in just a few decades. I can also see myself living in the environment depicted in Syndicate – and it might be because of the credible nature of all these futuristic concepts that the storyline of the game is so incredibly boring.

Right from the start you can virtually figure out how it’s all going to end. There aren’t a lot of thrills or plot twists and the only way to really get in touch with the setting or a sense of character depth is to read page after page of collectible character profiles and diary entries. I believe I speak for most gamers when I say that if it isn’t narrated, it isn’t important enough to bother about.

Syndicate

While the game fails in the storytelling department there is a glimmer of hope in the action packed gameplay.

The DART 6 chip allows Kilo to breach electronic devices, including chip implants in other humans. While breaching electronics like switches and elevators usually results in a way to progress to the next section there’s a bit more depth when breaching humans.

DART 6 offers three ways of disrupting your enemies. By breaching their chips you can force them to commit suicide, have their weapons malfunction and even persuade them to change allegiance.

Your chip also allows you to switch into ‘DART Overlay’ mode which momentarily grants you X-Ray vision and slows down time. When in DART Overlay mode enemies will glow a bright orange and you can continue to track them even when they’re behind cover.

The breaching abilities are a nice addition to the fast paced nature of the shooter that are supposed to encourage strategic thinking during the normal gush of flying bullets. Unfortunately, as you’ll quickly realise, there’s very little reason to bother with any form of tactical manoeuvres because every situation will always end up in a gunfight. Always.

No matter how hard you try you simply can’t avoid enemy detection. Enemies will always know your exact position and hiding behind cover is futile thanks to a very broken cover system. You can’t sneak up to enemies, you can’t bypass enemies and you can’t escape enemies without drawing your gun.

Syndicate

This begs the question – why give us the illusion of strategic play when there’s clearly no point in using them? If you’re giving me the tools to choose if I want a stealthy or guns-blazing approach why won’t you let me play the style I want?

It’s all very frustrating until you remember that most shooters don’t have such power-ups in the first place. You then reload your gun and continue through the campaign by mindlessly using the first available breaching power on the first enemy you encounter.

One aspect of the game that deserves commendation is the boss battles. Syndicate got this right – there are various bosses and each one requires a unique approach. For example, one boss creates copies of himself while another turns invisible. The key to defeating a boss isn’t always apparent and you’ll have to use the environment and weapons at your disposal to outsmart them.

The boss battles are extremely fast paced and will probably require multiple attempts. Other shooters should take note of what Syndicate did here; boss battles are a fundamental aspect of video gaming and should never be neglected.

Thankfully the lacklustre campaign plays off in an appealing art style. Syndicate doesn’t set any benchmarks in terms of graphical quality but it does a great job of conveying a sense of coldness you expect in a world where people spend most of their time between concrete walls. The game makes heavy use of lighting effects and you might want to review the included epilepsy warning – just in case.

Another hat tip goes to the HUD and menu interface which is smooth and responsive. Everything from the objective marker to the gun’s clip counter looks polished and ultramodern.

Syndicate

Syndicate only offers a co-op mode and no traditional multiplayer. In co-op mode you can create a party with up to four friends or jump into a worldwide party with random players. In co-op your team plays a skirmish mission that has nothing to do with the actual campaign.

Co-op players receive different breaching abilities than those found in the single player and each player can change their weapon and ability loadouts. The missions emphasise team play and award bonus points for assisting the team.

After every mission you receive an arcade-like score that governs the amount of experience points you’ll get. The co-op missions are a lot of fun but due to the lack of local hosts it can turn into a lag-fest.

In essence Syndicate is an FPS that tries to sell itself as a tactical shooter. While, like most shooters, it has a dismissible story there’s plenty of fast-paced action to keep you interested. The futuristic theme coupled with the splendid Skrillex remix should appeal to a number of gamers – just don’t expect too much from this game.