Be the Bad Guy in Syndicate

[Andy Chalk]

Be the Bad Guy in Syndicate

EA says the "hero" in Syndicate is not a good guy and gamers shouldn't expect him to become one midway through the game.

Based on what we've seen [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113640-Watch-Ten-Minutes-of-Brutal-Bloody-Syndicate-Mayhem] of Syndicate so far, it's safe to say that the protagonist isn't a particularly pleasant person. He kills people without hesitation or remorse, and not for some noble cause or greater good, but for profit margins and quarterly bonuses. It's an ugly business, which is exactly what EA and Starbreeze are aiming for.

"You're certainly not playing a good guy. You follow him in the narrative, and that narrative will obviously unfold in different ways," EA Partners Producer Ben O'Donnell told Videogamer [http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/syndicate/news/syndicates_hero_wont_turn_into_a_good_guy.html#]. "When you first start you're playing as this agent working for EuroCorp, and you do their wet work for them. You have this really high-end chip in your head, and you can do things to people that they really wouldn't want to do - like commit suicide or change allegiance. You're by no means a good guy, you're there to do the dirty work."

And while some games feature a mid-point moral awakening for the lead characters, O'Donnell suggested that players shouldn't hold their breath waiting for the same thing here. "This isn't good and evil - it's not about that really," he continued. "We're following the story of this guy who's an agent, so there's only a certain number of ways that can pan out really."

That sort of amorality always struck me as an interesting and very appealing point of the original Syndicate [http://www.amazon.com/Syndicate-pc/dp/B000CE8EUC/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1320356058&sr=8-12]. Your corporation wasn't some kind of force for good, standing up against the oppressive forces of the evil conglomerates; it was an evil conglomerate and arguably the worst of the bunch, using vicious amounts of force and subterfuge to crush the competition and bring the entire world under its control. I'm still not sure what to make of this new game, but it's nice to know that I won't be expected to learn anything about the value of human decency and compassion.

Syndicate [http://www.amazon.com/Syndicate-Playstation-3/dp/B0050SX2MK/ref=sr_tr_sr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320356058&sr=8-1] comes out on February 21, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.


Permalink

 

[Frost27]

At first I was ready to write this incarnation of Syndicate off as a soulless cash in on a great IP. Being a fan of the original I think I was sort of predisposed to feel this way. The more I read about it and the direction it plans to go, the more I am leaning toward giving it a look when it comes out.

It will be coming out right as the October through December releases I am interested in are starting to get old so it might fit in nicely.

I'm glad I don't need to expect some forced moral switch or dilemma part way through, that's what I liked about the original, there was no question about the overall goal and mission or the morality of it all. I just wish I could pick the name of my corporation. I'm going to miss the days when Microsoft finally invades the Atlantic Accelerator.

 

[Baresark]

I have but one issue with this. No matter what you think is so exciting about this, it will just be wrapped in another FPS skin. You can play a dick in a lot of games, you can play a hero in a lot of games, all that is moot when it comes to the same old gameplay, which I haven't seen a single thing that makes it look different than anything else.

The story matters only in-so-far as it drives the game (at least in this case). Well, the gameplay is unextraordinary looking, as it stands now. I hate to say it, but a franchise is lead by it's gameplay style. The original Syndicate was unique, challenging, and fun. It even offered no illusion as you being a dick working for an evil corporation, only it did it with an interesting style of play.

 

[Stryc9]

I'm really looking forward to eventually getting to play this version of Syndicate. I really don't care that it's 'just another shooter' as long as they can nail the setting and atmosphere of the original I'm gonna enjoy it.

 

[Sonicron]

Never played the original, so (as was the case with DX:HR) I'll be playing this one without nostalgia goggles.
The more I learn about this game, the better it looks to me. So many games come across as half-baked in the narrative department because of the whole moral choice deal; being an unapologetically amoral corporate fucknugget (with it also being a central element of the game's driving force) sounds deliciously appealing. As the trailer said - "Business is war." And I'm gonna fight dirty. >

 

[Farther than stars]

Looks like DX:HR got ahead of its competition. That said, DX:HR looks real good to me, so so does this. For a split second though I was hoping this might be some more news about Saints Row the Third (I cannot wait), but we can only dream. =/

 

[Frostbite3789]

Never played the original, so (as was the case with DX:HR) I'll be playing this one without nostalgia goggles.
The more I learn about this game, the better it looks to me. So many games come across as half-baked in the narrative department because of the whole moral choice deal; being an unapologetically amoral corporate fucknugget (with it also being a central element of the game's driving force) sounds deliciously appealing. As the trailer said - "Business is war." And I'm gonna fight dirty. >

To me it almost seems like a single player MAG. Why are you fighting where you're fighting? Who cares, you're being paid to do it rather handsomely. You have no true tie to what you're doing other than it's a job.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

good, at least with this one they're not in the paradox of trying to make a block of concrete (like Marcus Fenix or Kratos) likeable or tragic.

That's just stupid. If they don't want morality to be a factor, then they are making the wrong sort of game. The style they are using for this game very much encourages morality judgements. They can't just turn around and say 'NO NO ITS OK, U R TEH BAD GUY'.

Also, comparisons to the original Syndicate are misleading, since Syndicate was a very different game.

Says what? Playing an actual villain is a far more interesting idea than the many, many, MANY other games where people claim "complex" morality choices that are little more than fundamentalist decisions that only affect the ending.

 

[Sonicron]

To me it almost seems like a single player MAG. Why are you fighting where you're fighting? Who cares, you're being paid to do it rather handsomely. You have no true tie to what you're doing other than it's a job.

Exactly! And honestly, why wouldn't this be good enough as motivation? Keeping in mind the context of the game, the kind of behaviour displayed by the protagonist appears to be rather common (if ugly) business practice, and if doing wetwork for the suits means you get a free swim in the big Scrooge McDuck money bin on a regular basis, who are we to argue?

 

[Marohen]

Rant time!

From what I've seen by the trailers you -do- do some morally reprehensible things, but you're also a silent protagonist--I could be wrong in this area but for the moment let's work under the assumption that this is true--the inherent idea of a silent protagonist (at least by HL2s reckoning) is that they exist as a blank slate for the player.

For brevity lets not explore the idea of whether or not players want to be a "Bad guy", if a linear FPS with a silent protagonist is generally doing good things and nobody has a problem with this then why shouldn't the opposite be true? The problem here is that being some corporate assassin stuck between two equally nefarious companies isn't -compelling- because I don't care about who wins or loses.

In the gameplay trailer you appear to have a "partner" who's your "friend", problem is he's a complete asshole and has no redeeming qualities and the first thing you'd want to do is shoot the idiot but of course you're with him in a non-interactive cutscene and it ends when he's gone so you just have to play along and pretend to like him because the game assumes you share his juvenile perception of being a "badass".

Now lets turn this around and say he's not a silent protagonist, now the explanation that he's your "Friend" means you share key ideals/personality traits and if that's the case then I can't connect with the individual you're sticking me with for the next several hours. Worse yet, they say in this article that you won't be seeing that change through the game.

Now, I can understand not wanting him to just be arbitrarily good by some ridiculous narrative leap but what they fail to understand is the "trope" they're dismissing is called a -character arc-. You know, the thing where the protagonist comes out of the story with more than he came in, the thing that's designed to make him more compelling and at the same time potentially teach us something about ourselves? Nope! He's a cold killer 24/7, that's so -dark- and -gritty-.

The more I hear from this game the more I dread its arrival.

 

[LorienvArden]

Hmm... until I see more gameplay and a bit more about the storytelling, I'ld still call it a DE:HR cash in. It MIGHT not suck as hard as I first anticipated, but I'm still not won over yet. It definitly looks better then that abysmal excuse for an Xcom game...

 

[Sonicron]

-snip-

Oh? Well, that's different, then. Thanks setting me straight on that!

Still, it makes the decision of having the protagonist remain a bad guy throughout the game no less valid.

 

[Marohen]

He has no choice. There is no free will in this world anymore. The chips do all your thinking. Everything about you can be changed at a whim. It was only in the sequels when the chips were infected by a virus did people start to see the real world. Even then that was fixed very quickly.

When you live in the syndicate world, you are a literal "jar head."

You're assuming it follows the narrative of the original (At least I think this is what you're referencing, I've never even touched the original Syndicate) which is quite an assumption.

However, that kind of plot point -would- be compelling if Bioshock hadn't already done it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

So instead of playing a team of soulless cyborg, you're playing a cyborg with a soul who doesn't care.

And seriously, you're doing wetwork, how the frag could you be a good guy?

It's an ugly business, which is exactly what EA and Starbreeze are aiming for.

I'm sorry, are we still talking about the game?

 

[Marohen]

So instead of playing a team of soulless cyborg, you're playing a cyborg with a soul who doesn't care.

And seriously, you're doing wetwork, how the frag could you be a good guy?

It's an ugly business, which is exactly what EA and Starbreeze are aiming for.

I'm sorry, are we still talking about the game?

Damn it, there's no sort of +1 button or the likes on this forum to I have to take up space voicing my approval.

 

[Laser Priest]

I have to say, if they play off of that it might be interesting.

If I'm kind of just playing through the entire campaign thinking "Wow, this guy's a prick" and they never really bring it to the forefront, then I will be fully convinced that these people are shit.

 

[The Random One]

Translation:

EA Producer: You will not want to punch me in the face.
Me: I already do.
EA Producer: Well, the game will not make you want to punch me in the face even more.
Me: Good.