1. Pudenfuhrer

   9

   NOTE - the controls and instructions show as PC instructions ("press 'E' to open" or 'Return' or whatever) - it only gets confused if you have a joystick plugged in. There's a tiny fix (single file) available on internet for this also. It threw me for 10 minutes - then I GOT OVER IT and sorted the problem. Search for it people COME ON please!
   Now - onto things proper.
   I read that the gameplay is great, the guns feel amazing to shoot, the enemies are engaging, the graphics are good, the sound is thumping - and then "but it's not worth getting". And I hate that this is the tone of a lot of reviews. I loved the original game, and this is a completely different game, so that comparison stops there. I bought it when it came out because Starbreeze make very visceral, over bloomed, over thumping combat - I knew what I was getting. They make a game where dark is black and light is blinding. I love this style. Since we got it me and mates have played it non stop as our go-to co-operative multiplayer. In the Co-op part of the game, the RPG development elements, the relatively minimal signin nonsense, the solid feeling presentation and mechanics add another dimension to an already solid gameplay experience. You play this game for the feel of the guns, the feeling of managing a firefight, keeping your mates alive, ripping the armoured enemies, unleashing viruses. And MINIGUN - oh yes - MINIGUN.. Having the spoils to take home and invest in your weapon upgrades - that's just the icing. Although after a month or so of play you'll have most things fully upgraded, it's fun doing it. We found that there's a lot of replay potential too as the enemies seem to come in different patterns and spawns each time we play. They are smart too - and the close quarters stuff is nice, with them jinking and ducking out of fire, blind firing when the are suppressed, throwing grenades and storming locations.
   I enjoyed the single player too, but not without reservation. This game has some Deus Ex feel because the "world" it inhabits is Syndicate. My friend described it as "Deus Ex" - without all the rubbish - and in a way it is. It's a set piece shooter with no pretense. The acting is pretty good in the single player, the Eurocorp CEO in particular, and certainly the extra flavour of the single player makes a nice bonus to the co-op, but is "good not great" overall without the co-op taken into account (co-op can be played on your own - no bots tho). Only thing that annoys me is the low likelihood now that there'll be extra missions after the community response. While currently there are something like 10-15 missions (You travel to different countries -a la the first syndicate - and do reimaged missions from the first one in coop multiplayer game) How cool would it have been (via updates/dlc) if every country got to have a mission?… Expand

   • Helpful? 4 of 5 users said Yes.
2. czerro

   8

   This is actually a really good game. It's essentially a shoot'em up, with an upgrade system and some beautifully crafted environments and cinematic set-pieces. To address the major discrepancy in all these reviews. These same people gave 10's to Deus EX: Human Revolution! HR is alright, but the engine is inferior, the combat is no where near as streamlined, the story is mangled nonsense, and the icing on the cake: NONE of the choices you make in HR really effect anything! Isn't that why people are railing against ME3's ending? I don't get why HR gets handled with kiddy gloves and deserves GOTY status..end rant. Essentially, Syndicate strips away all the broken and pointless mechanics of HR and makes for a more cohesive game. Is it a GOTY game? No. Is it awesome? Yes. Is it worth 60 bucks? No, but definitely a must rent, or discount purchase once the price drops.
   
   Pro's: Solid gameplay, fun ride, absolutely beautiful, fairly optimized for pc (I get 40-70 fps everything maxed with a 5770, Athlon Kuma 7750, 4 gb DDR2). Pretty modest to low rig.
   
   Con's: Overly 'bloomy' renderer detracts from the beautiful environments at times depending on the light sources. Very short campaign.… Expand

   • Helpful? 8 of 11 users said Yes.
3. fryzee

   6

   It's OK, Simple as that, It runs fine on my i7, nvidia 240gtx. I read that many people had problems with it running poorly, which i'm yet to experience. I will never understand why it's banned in Australia. Stupid. But anyway, it's not worth anything above $50 and I would recommend it only to true FPS lovers and when you can find it on a cheap sale.… Expand

   • Helpful? 6 of 7 users said Yes.
4. Apis

   3

   Unengaging shooter that has nothing to do with the game from which it takes its name (stupid and dishonest to call it Syndicate). The combat powers are mostly useless except for DART overlay (time dilation and enemy highlighting). The ability to raise and lower covers in some areas are somewhat interesting but rarely used and in itself not enough to get excited about. Levels are the linear, repetitive stuff we have come to expect these days: enter room, kill five waves of enemies, repeat ten times with some seemingly pointless transport zones in between. During the single player campaign you pick up character profiles and data fragments. I assume they give more background to the story and characters, I do not know because I did never feel motivated to read them. As far as I can tell it had zero impact on the gameplay. The monochromatic visuals and monotone music theme seems strangely appropriate for the game. As others have pointed out, this is a console port. Having to press "F" repeatedly to open doors is extremely annoying. This effect reeks of console port and only makes sense in certain very dramatic scenes, not every time you open a bloody door! All in all, no aspect is a complete failure, the game is somewhat playable but not worth spending hard earned money on.… Expand

   • Helpful? 6 of 7 users said Yes.

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