Syndicate Launch Trailer is a Sinister Boom

[Andy Chalk]

Syndicate Launch Trailer is a Sinister Boom

​

Dubstep, gunfire and Brian Cox - it must be the Syndicate launch trailer!

Syndicate is almost here and as is tradition these days, that means it's about time we got a launch trailer. So how about some Brian Cox and Rosario Dawson doing what they do, a pounding backbeat by Nero and plenty of violent gameplay to get you in the mood?

Those of you who pay attention to such things may notice some similarities between this game and another recent release that told the tale of a man granted superpowers by way of technological enhancements, a point driven home by the statement "I never wanted this." Makes me wonder if the guy on the table asked for this. [If this game is anything like the original Syndicate, he didn't.] But in fairness, that kind of thematic crossover is inevitable given the similar settings, and Syndicate looks to me like it's going to be a much more straightforward shooter than Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Syndicate comes out on February 21 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. In the meantime, if you like the music - and why wouldn't you? - the Nero remix playing in the trailer and other mixes from Digitalism, Skrillex and Flux Pavilion are up for grabs on Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/Syndicate?sk=app_290625924286234].


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[Meight08]

Que pc gamers complaining about how they dumbed it down for console retards in
3...2...1....0 GO!

It was not dumbed down for consoles Ea just thought it needed to be dumbed down or wanted to leech of the syndicate license, its ea's fault not consoles get over it..

ot: looks really interesting but im not convinced till i get a pc demo.

 

[Sonicron]

Looks really appealing to me, but I'm pretty sure they're going to censor the hell out of it here in Germany, so I'll probably have to import an uncut copy yet again. My poor wallet...

 

[Blind Sight]

Hmmm despite the developers' pretty good record I think I'll pass. Now if someone releases information on Paradox's Cartel then I'll be excited.

 

[Arkley]

I played the multiplayer demo and was pretty impressed with it. Rather than just pleading with people to work together and then wringing its hands as they all run off in separate directions to get the highest kill count possible, its gameplay mechanics force you to work together.

If you're not healing, buffing, reviving, guarding and laying down covering fire for each other, things get very difficult very quickly. Tycho of Penny Arcade told a story recently that captured my interest. Basically, the game walks and talks like a shooter, but it has more in common with MMO endgame raiding. After getting his ass handed to him by the latter sections of the demo's level, his team eventually succeeding by porting over rudimentary MMO tactics such as tanking, main healing and add-handling.

I played it for myself, and found this to be very much true. There's a very RPG style character progression system in which you can choose abilities and passive upgrades to build your character a specific way. You can build a character with the ability to more quickly & effectively heal, revive and buff your allies, you can build one with high damage resistance, fast health recovery and higher base health, you can build for pure DPS, you can hybridise for a well-rounded character, and so on. The upgrades you make to your weapons work in the same way. Tanks built to hold enemy attention will want to upgrade their shotguns - their high damage at close range will offset a tank build's lack of damage upgrades, and their health/resistance will keep them alive at close range, and so on.

Also, the kill/assist/heal scoring system deserves serious credit for being the most fair I've ever seen. When an enemy dies, you get points equal to the amount of damage you dealt to it, simple as that. You know how in other multiplayer games, if you empty your clip into an enemy only to have someone else run by and kill it with with a single pistol round to the big toe, they get 100 points for the "kill" while you get 10 for the "assist"? That isn't the case in Syndicate. If that situation happens, you'll get 95 points and they'll get 5. Whoever gets the kill has the opportunity to score an additional 50 points if they get a headshot, though.

The scoring works the same way for healing allies, and you can get an enormous number of points by healing alone. If an ally has taken 120 points of damage and you heal them, you get 120 points. If they have less than 10% health remaining when you heal them, you get a 250 point bonus as their "savior". Points translate into EXP for weapon or ability upgrades, so it's not just an arbitrary dick-waving competition, either.

Also? You can hack enemy grenades in mid-air to neutralize them, then pick them up and throw them back. If that isn't the coolest fucking thing ever, I don't know what is.

What I'm trying to say with those waffling paragraphs is that this game shouldn't be written off as "just another shooter" quite yet. I get that a lot of people won't be happy that Syndicate's long-awaited revival is an FPS, but that certainly doesn't mean it's going to be a bad FPS, and it doesn't deserve negative press just because it isn't the genre you want it to be.

Lastly, the game's multiplayer won't be locked behind an online pass. They deserve some credit for that.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I played the multiplayer demo and was pretty impressed with it. Rather than just pleading with people to work together and then wringing its hands as they all run off in separate directions to get the highest kill count possible, its gameplay mechanics force you to work together.

If you're not healing, buffing, reviving, guarding and laying down covering fire for each other, things get very difficult very quickly. Tycho of Penny Arcade told a story recently that captured my interest. Basically, the game walks and talks like a shooter, but it has more in common with MMO endgame raiding. After getting his ass handed to him by the latter sections of the demo's level, his team eventually succeeding by porting over rudimentary MMO tactics such as tanking, main healing and add-handling.

I played it for myself, and found this to be very much true. There's a very RPG style character progression system in which you can choose abilities and passive upgrades to build your character a specific way. You can build a character with the ability to more quickly & effectively heal, revive and buff your allies, you can build one with high damage resistance, fast health recovery and higher base health, you can build for pure DPS, you can hybridise for a well-rounded character, and so on. The upgrades you make to your weapons work in the same way. Tanks built to hold enemy attention will want to upgrade their shotguns - their high damage at close range will offset a tank build's lack of damage upgrades, and their health/resistance will keep them alive at close range, and so on.

Also, the kill/assist/heal scoring system deserves serious credit for being the most fair I've ever seen. When an enemy dies, you get points equal to the amount of damage you dealt to it, simple as that. You know how in other multiplayer games, if you empty your clip into an enemy only to have someone else run by and kill it with with a single pistol round to the big toe, they get 100 points for the "kill" while you get 10 for the "assist"? That isn't the case in Syndicate. If that situation happens, you'll get 95 points and they'll get 5. Whoever gets the kill has the opportunity to score an additional 50 points if they get a headshot, though.

The scoring works the same way for healing allies, and you can get an enormous number of points by healing alone. If an ally has taken 120 points of damage and you heal them, you get 120 points. If they have less than 10% health remaining when you heal them, you get a 250 point bonus as their "savior". Points translate into EXP for weapon or ability upgrades, so it's not just an arbitrary dick-waving competition, either.

Also? You can hack enemy grenades in mid-air to neutralize them, then pick them up and throw them back. If that isn't the coolest fucking thing ever, I don't know what is.

What I'm trying to say with those waffling paragraphs is that this game shouldn't be written off as "just another shooter" quite yet. I get that a lot of people won't be happy that Syndicate's long-awaited revival is an FPS, but that certainly doesn't mean it's going to be a bad FPS, and it doesn't deserve negative press just because it isn't the genre you want it to be.

Also, the game's multiplayer won't be locked behind an online pass. They deserve some credit for that.

huh...very interesting. if my stupid wallet wasn't fried right now i would definitely consider getting this..

nice post.

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

Human Revolution minus the relatively non-linear gameplay?

Spoiler

I never asked for this.

 

[Corporal Yakob]

Who wouldn't want to work for Scolar Visari?

This looks very appealing, very appealing indeed-where can I get the demo (doesn't seem to be on PSN despite a PS3 owning friend playing it)?

 

[RicoGrey]

Que pc gamers complaining about how they dumbed it down for console retards in
3...2...1....0 GO!

It was not dumbed down for consoles Ea just thought it needed to be dumbed down or wanted to leech of the syndicate license, its ea's fault not consoles get over it..

ot: looks really interesting but im not convinced till i get a pc demo.

In what way do people think it is dumbed down? From what I can see it looks to embrace Syndicate's theme entirely. I know this game is FPS, but that is just a genre choice, has nothing to do with dumbing down.

Edit: Oh and I am strictly a PC gamer, and I am a huge fan of the original Syndicate games.

 

[bobmus]

Well this game looks pretty damn awesome, sign me up somewhere. Perhaps I'd better go try Deus Ex HR first though...

 

[Tiamat666]

Looks really appealing to me, but I'm pretty sure they're going to censor the hell out of it here in Germany, so I'll probably have to import an uncut copy yet again. My poor wallet...

Why poor wallet? Buying games via Amazon UK is always cheaper than DE. In the case of Syndicate, the difference is almost 8?. When I bought Skyrim and RAGE I even saved 15? per game.

 

[Sonicron]

Looks really appealing to me, but I'm pretty sure they're going to censor the hell out of it here in Germany, so I'll probably have to import an uncut copy yet again. My poor wallet...

Why poor wallet? Buying games via Amazon UK is always cheaper than DE. In the case of Syndicate, the difference is almost 8?. When I bought Skyrim and RAGE I even saved 15? per game.

Oh? Colour me egg-on-my-face'd. Never actually been to the UK branch of Amazon... do I need to make a new account for that? Anyway, sounds like I should check it out; until now I got my uncut games from an Austrian site, and while reliable, it's usually a bit more expensive than buying DE.
Thanks for the tip!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

So we're just re-imagining Demolition Man, I, Robot, Clone Wars, Half Life ep 2 and making sure there's a token scientist there for mass appeal.

Yay.

Why don't we add on "This was a mistake", "I'm going to finish what I started" and "Nothing's gonna stand in my way" just to underline which Tropes we're using at a particular drum beat?

 

[SlipperyJim]

Aw I thought Professor Brian Cox was going to be in it

Jim

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Wow, Brian Cox looked like a thinner version of his actual self there.

 

[Tiamat666]

Oh? Colour me egg-on-my-face'd. Never actually been to the UK branch of Amazon... do I need to make a new account for that? Anyway, sounds like I should check it out; until now I got my uncut games from an Austrian site, and while reliable, it's usually a bit more expensive than buying DE.
Thanks for the tip!

I don't remember exactly, but I don't think I had to create a new account. But German payment methods such as "Bankeinzug" won't work and you'll probably need a credit card for transactions. It goes without saying that the games will be in English, but I prefer it that way. In case you're wondering, activations with a German Steam account have never been a problem and you don't get any of that censorship crap that you get if you buy anywhere in DE or over German Steam account directly.

How much money you save also depends on the Pound/Euro exchange rate, so you might want to check that first.

 

[Metalrocks]

it has a ?A logo on it, which means origin. so no thanks. looks still like a simple shooter and doesnt remind me one bit of the original syndicate. more like a action packed version of deus ex HR.

 

[Giftmacher]

Que pc gamers complaining about how they dumbed it down for console retards in
3...2...1....0 GO!

On the subject of dumbing down, that should be "cue", right? Ok I'm a bad man... I've accidentally switched the two words myself before.

Personally, I lament the lack of a squad based tactical game, but I'm heartened by the feel of the trailer. That's the dark corporate world of Syndicate all right enough, so I'm hopeful the story will make up for the fact we're being offered yet another FPS.