Syndicate Remake Revealed as a Shooter - UPDATED

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Brand recognition people. A game with a name people will recognise will sell better than a brand new IP. If you want evidence of this, look at all the original games that are brought out, get rave reviews from the critics, but crash and burn in the sales charts.

Because if they use the brand recognition card from the start, they know it's not capable of making sales on it's own.

That means as soon as the brand recognition card is played...it's rubbish.

If the word "visceral" didn't give it away already. It's like "compelling" and "cinematic".

edit: "reinvention" - They just Lucas-ised it.

 

[Bobic]

I perfectly understand people being upset about this one because of the genre change.... but the majority of escapists here are console gamers. Why don't you guys understand that Consoles WON'T have over-the-top squad based strategy games. It's just NOT going to happen. Just get the fuck over it.

Alternatively if this was a PC exclusive: (which no big developer will make nowaydays anyway) A)it would undersell like dogshit. B)The majority of people here will whine about not being able to play it! It's a lose-lose situation.

Hence it's either THIS Syndicate or NO Syndicate. Choose.

Bet you're getting sick of people quoting you to say 'NO Syndicate' eh?

 

[Quellist]

Well first when i read it's going to be an FPS i was disappointed but then i read Richard 'Altered Carbon' Morgan was writing the story i guess i can forgive almost any other shortcoming it might have on the strength of that alone.

I feel like a traitor to my RPG and Strategy game roots when i say that but....Richard Morgan...

Seriously, anyone who likes sci-fi noir should check him out.

 

[Cogwheel]

This actually sounds like it could be a really good game. That said, they should have called it something else. This isn't really Syndicate. I would've been far happier if they did an RTS reboot, then an FPS spinoff in that order, but I suppose they need the money or something. Still needs a different name.

Oh well. At least it looks more promising than the X-Com game, I guess?

 

[Bonecrusher]

1- Take a classic IP because it was famous
2- Convert it to FPS because it is the easiest genre to make
3- ???
4- Profit

Ok I love FPS games, I love Cyberpunk games, I am not against to a new Cyberpunk FPS game.

But hey, it is "SYNDICATE". If you turn it to a dull console FPS game,
then you miss the point of the original game...

 

[Quiotu]

Lot of butthurt here.

Fallout 3 did such horrible things to that franchise, right?

I despise Fallout 3. All my experience prove was that it was a buggy, over-hyped piece of shit. But I also didn't play the original Fallout titles so I can't make the comparison.

In fact, this is the perfect time for EA to test the waters like this. A cyberpunk game reboot just came out (DX:HR), and the genre is going to have some attention.

It's just typical "Tit-for-tat" fad milking, rather than making a game that has its own personality. Something does well, everyone rips it off and generally fails to accomplish anything in the process.

Also, this couldn't possibly be a Deus Ex clone if they do it right.

"It won't be a clone if they don't make it a clone."

No kidding!

You know why so many games back in the old PC days were top down? Because most PCs couldn't handle first person perspective yet, and the shooter was relatively new. Ask the original designers what they'd do today, and they might say make a FPS with upgrades. You don't know... it's a different time now. Starcraft 2 is the most recent RTS game, and everyone else has pretty much run away from them. Same with top-down RPGs save for Dragon Age, and you know... whenever Diablo 3 decides to be done.

The technical limitations of the time may have spawned a new genre, but that doesn't mean the genre needs to die because of better computer tech.
Simply put: You NEEDED a macroscale view to command a squad. This isn't changing with the times: it's changing the genre entirely.

Dawn of War 2 does this on new tech, so why can't Syndicate?

Oh right. EA wants to make it a shooter so that it becomes more marketable. Just like how XCOM "had" to become a shooter for the same reasons...

You wanna relive your past, go download the fist two Syndicate games. If my ass can find them, anyone can. You can yell 'get off my lawn' all you want, but you're not gonna get a direct sequel 16 years later. Are you stupid? Human Revolution was criticized for a long time, but it turned out alright; not perfect, but worthy of the name Deus Ex. You all can keep living in your plastic bubble, but I'll at least give it a shot.

If you just want to play new shooters, then it's apparently OK.
But if you want to play a new squad-based tactics game?
"Too fucking bad. You're living in the past. Grow up. You're stupid."

This is why I hate the current gaming industry. You get ostracized and mocked for not accepting the "Push-button, take pellet" model of marketing.

Tell you what, I'll give your desires thought if you can name me more than three modern squad-based, tactical RTS games for consoles that actually sold well and got critical acclaim. I'll even give you the first two for free: Halo Wars and Dragon Age.

Otherwise it's a bit silly to rage about a developer changing the genre of a game because the old genre is one that doesn't sell and not many want, or that really doesn't work well on consoles. No one should expect any series over 10 years old to be rebooted into the same thing, because what worked 10 years ago is old and busted today.

Really, play the first two games again and tell me they work well anymore. I'm even a fan of the series, and I can admit that they did NOT age well. Putting HD textures on them and calling it a next gen title won't help that.

I get what you want... but you don't reboot a franchise by putting a new coat of paint on a 16 year old game and slapping it on Steam, bypassing consoles completely. Hell you barely know where they're going with the game save for some leaked press release and a few images that might be old and wrong now. At least wait for a trailer and some decent information before you cry heresy.

 

[b3nn3tt]

Brand recognition people. A game with a name people will recognise will sell better than a brand new IP. If you want evidence of this, look at all the original games that are brought out, get rave reviews from the critics, but crash and burn in the sales charts.

Because if they use the brand recognition card from the start, they know it's not capable of making sales on it's own.

That means as soon as the brand recognition card is played...it's rubbish.

If the word "visceral" didn't give it away already. It's like "compelling" and "cinematic".

edit: "reinvention" - They just Lucas-ised it.

I'm not sure that quality necessarily has any bearing on how well a game will sell though. Case in point, many people considered Okami to be an amzing game, yet it sold extremely poorly.

On the other hand, many people dislike the Call of Duty franchise, yet the games sell like hotcakes each year.

 

[Tiamat666]

its disapionting they aren't making a syndicate game. Why call it syndicate? just make it a new IP. First X-com now this

First post already steals the words from my mouth.

This Call of Duty game developer generation can kiss my ass. Seriously.

Up Next:

X-Wing, Infiltrator: play as Landino Landwalker as he infiltrates Star Destroyers and blows up TIE-Fighters in the hangar bay.

Civilization, Wonder Defender: Mahatma Ghandi, you have been called by your people to mount your shoulder based rocket launcher and travel the world in defense of the Seven World Wonders! Beat back the terrorist scum that threaten them before the culture bar is reduced to zero.

Populous, Rambo Edition: As God, run around the world with your AK-47 and shoot all the serfs of the rival God before he shoots all of yours.

Yay!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I'm not sure that quality necessarily has any bearing on how well a game will sell though. Case in point, many people considered Okami to be an amzing game, yet it sold extremely poorly.

Re-invention just nails it though. That's saying "We'll take the pieces we like that are easy and cut/paste our ideas in". That's not even making a game anymore.

They have to know that a re-made Syndicate would sell well, but it's too difficult so they're taking the faster "re-invention" route. That means any moments of genius is does have will be entirely accidental.

On the other hand, many people dislike the Call of Duty franchise, yet the games sell like hotcakes each year.

Shit, I could put a Call of Duty card game out online and I'd have 10,000 players - no matter how bad it was.

But why would you make something targetted to inflame your target audience - unless your audience would be buying it to spite the alleged target audience?

But yeah. They've not just missed the point of Syndicate, they've replaced it with one of their own. One of their cookie cutter, chest high wall, ironsight, regenerating health fiascos that sell so well because they've had their Persuadotron working for ages.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Next EA will make Dungeon Keeper into a cooking game(yes yes I know they sold the IP).

 

[b3nn3tt]

I'm not sure that quality necessarily has any bearing on how well a game will sell though. Case in point, many people considered Okami to be an amzing game, yet it sold extremely poorly.

Re-invention just nails it though. That's saying "We'll take the pieces we like that are easy and cut/paste our ideas in". That's not even making a game anymore.

They have to know that a re-made Syndicate would sell well, but it's too difficult so they're taking the faster "re-invention" route. That means any moments of genius is does have will be entirely accidental.

On the other hand, many people dislike the Call of Duty franchise, yet the games sell like hotcakes each year.

Shit, I could put a Call of Duty card game out online and I'd have 10,000 players - no matter how bad it was.

But why would you make something targetted to inflame your target audience - unless your audience would be buying it to spite the alleged target audience?

But yeah. They've not just missed the point of Syndicate, they've replaced it with one of their own. One of their cookie cutter, chest high wall, ironsight, regenerating health fiascos that sell so well because they've had their Persuadotron working for ages.

If I had to guess, I'd say that they were trying to steal the audience of other games by making a game that is similar. I'd guess that they also want the people who might be interested in this similar game to hopefully be aware that the old games exist but not necessarily have played them themselves.

So the potential customer would think: 'Oooh, this sounds like exactly the kind of game I like. I'm not sure I want to take a risk on an unknown IP though. But I think there was another game called Syndicate, so this is probably pretty good if there's already been one.'

Of course all of this is wild speculation. And to be honest, they probably could have made a game similar to the original and made a lot of money from the fans of that game. But I imagine there's more money to be (potentially) made by copying the market leader.

 

[Grampy_bone]

It better have the Persuadertron

 

[tetron]

Another generic looking fps game ? *Yawn* When they said they were remaking Syndicate I thought it was the one from 1993 for the PC.

 

[GrayJester]

I'll leave this here.
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/populous-syndicate-xcom.php

 

[Kathinka]

huh..i'd think that a vast majority of todays cod-console-gaming-kiddie-generation is way to young to remember the original syndicate. so i don't really know what they hope to achieve..

oh, and american revolt. that thing was bastard hard. tried and failed soooo many times.

 

[TheDooD]

See what bugs me here is not changing the genre, syndicate was always an action game and action - shooter is less of a jump than turn based strategy to shooter.. but look at the screenshots.

Syndicate was a really grim cyberpunk game about a world where guys with trenchcoats, ludicrously dyed hair and excessive cybernetics hack peoples brains or ventilate them with miniguns while hyped up on combat drugs, all in the name of corporate interest.

This game doesn't even have the distinction of looking like Human Revolution, it looks like Mass Effect or Half Life 2 with clean environments, sleek technology and rugged, dark haired protagonist types.

From what I remember from the Syndicate I played on the SNES it CAN be done on modern consoles its just that they over think things. How fucking hard is it to make an isometric game these days with the graphical tech we have. They're only making it a FPS as a cop out because they think "FPS = MONEY" when these days people are fucking tired of First Person games. The game would stand out if it stuck to that isometric view and improved on it. They could have made the game basically a top down shooter that you had to options to either hack people brains or make'em Swiss cheese. If publishers stop trying to make developers make movies instead of games then we can get some where.

 

[evilneko]

"No Syndicate," thanks.

This should've been the end of the thread.

To quote the AVGN, "What were they thinking?!"

Y'know, EA's been said to be the Microsoft of the gaming industry. I disagree: they are far, far worse.

 

[Social Pariah]

F######################################################################K.
I hate people. I hate people so much. Why must they make me hate them... why...

"Hey guys, I've got a great idea! Lets make Syndicate!"
"Ooo! Ooo! I've got an even better idea... lets NOT make Syndicate!"
"My god... he's really on to something..."

 

[SenseOfTumour]

This just reminds me of the exciting news that Shadowrun was getting an update...

'Yayy'

'as a tedious FPS, just case you thought we'd actually played the SNES classic.'

'you mother fu-'

Honestly, how intensely pointless.

Hey, maybe they'll make a great game out of this, but choosing to start from the memories of a great and well loved property isn't the best way to start.

I bought Shadowrun in a sale, for the PC, but got to play the 360 demo before I got home. I was so disappointed. It's still sat on my shelf sealed and untouched, I meant to resell it or give it away, but never got around to it.

I'll probably send it to the next charity store clear out.