Syndicate

The story mode is a fairly weak and linear 12-15 hour experience, but the online co-op will keep you and your friends entertained for weeks and months to come. I can see this game having a nice long life as long as they can keep the DLC coming.

Even with a few flaws in the single player area, Syndicate offers a very worthwhile experience that deserves your attention.

Syndicate delivers a convincing performance on the Microsoft console. Especially the fact that there is no online pass needed for the multiplayer mode is reason to rejoice.

Syndicate is an excellent shooter that does a lot of things right in the gameplay department. A fun combination of excellent gunplay combined with an okay range of abilities and powers and some well put together melee moves makes the game a mixed bag that never gets too old.

Impressive lighting, gorgeous art direction, and a smooth framerate really pretty-up the experience, while voice-acting from Hollywood veterans Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox add weight to the audio.

Syndicate has the potential of a masterpiece but some level design problems and an abbreviated development turn the last Starbreeze production into only a very good shooter.

Syndicate may not be the game that fans of the original were hoping for many years later, but sci-fi and shooter fans will be pleased with the overall execution of not only the story, but also the weapon techniques, game play, and co-op fun. It will provide them with enough depth and complexity to the FPS genre that it will make its own mark among similar games and never be mistaken for just another sci-fi shooter. The story may not be fresh and original, but the game play ideas, co-op action, and visual stylings sure are, which at least deserves your attention and admiration even if you haven't had this title in your sights.

Syndicate may not be for everyone. Purists who enjoyed the original back in the day might well be disappointed by the direction Starbreeze took it. But if you're into sci-fi shooters this is definitely worth a look.

Starbreeze's Syndicate isn't the RTS you may all remember, but it's certainly an FPS you won't forget any time soon.

Syndicate has a lot of ideas, but seems unwilling to let some of them out of the bag, instead parading them around at key moments, while some mechanics, like running through weak walls, never amounting to much.

A game that's merely good, rather than great. Still, the good part is well worth the investment, provided you can find the right team members to join you in a firefight.

The game doesn't create a massive fissure in the first-person shooter genre, but the DART and breach systems do add some cool wrinkles to an otherwise straightforward experience with some of the best gun play I've had in recent memory.

It manages to overcome its linearity problems in some imaginative ways and is well worth your time. [Issue#83, p.84]

Syndicate looks great and oozes proper cyberpunk atmosphere, but as a shooter it lacks any defining characteristics of its own. It's all very basic – if well done – run'n'gun, even the hacking part doesn't really bring anything new into the game. The four player co-op is fun for a few evenings. [March 2012]

EA has kept the base of the popular game from the nineties and given it a modern twist which works. In a time where there are a plethora of first person shooters it's difficult to really stand out from the rest and it would be a lie to say it's a ground breaker but if you're tired of Modern Warfare and just want an enjoyable and rewarding experience then try Syndicate. You won't be disappointed.

Despite some mistakes and minor flaws, Syndicate is a very good shooter that should satisfy gamers in need of a challenge. The game is hard, sometimes too hard - you die more often than in most modern shooters, even though health recharges itself. But thanks to a great fighting model having to complete a difficult part for a tenth time should still be enjoyable.

The new Syndicate works especially well in its cooperative mode, where the whole reboot idea is completely justified.

The single player is short, but offers up a decent little take on futuristic corporate espionage. The multiplayer is where the game really shines. If you have some friends to play with, you'll have a blast.

Syndicate shines for its great visuals, the intriguing world they depict and the brilliant co-op mode, while we would have liked a better developed story and more freedom during the missions. The augmented interface is sometimes confusing too, with too much information on screen and often too tiny and difficult fonts. It looks like a missed opportunity: it could have been a real gem instead of a simply good FPS.

While Syndicate's sense of atmosphere leads to rare shining moments, they are thwarted at every turn by a stilted storyline, unlikable characters, and numerous pacing issues that make the experience difficult enjoy. The co-op, however, surpasses almost anything else available in the genre.

Syndicate manages to mesh the spirit of the old with the style of the new. It's not the return some fans would have hoped for, but it expands the franchise into new territory where business is booming.

Electronic Arts has resurrected the franchise after many years, transforming it from an isometric strategy game to a first-person shooter. If you're a hardcore superfan of the original who has an issue with this decision, nothing anyone says is going to change your mind. But if you're open to an FPS reinterpretation with loads of references to the old games, or if you've never heard of Syndicate and like sci-fi shooters, this may be the game for you.

It's tight, focused and despite its flaws is easily the best shooter to arrive so far this year. In this sense, we can't help but wonder why EA has not made a bigger deal out of Syndicate.

While Starbreeze Studios may have some trouble convincing die-hard Syndicate fans to open their hearts and minds to the series' new style and direction, its multiplayer offering should breach many a gaming session for some time to come.

Take some time to get into Syndicate and you'll discover it's not just another shooter with a pretty Blade Runner paint job.

While I can't help like feel like Starbreeze missed the mark in relaunching the single player experience, they have locked onto my neural pathways in a big way in multiplayer.

Syndicate is a good and entertaining game, sometimes frantic, which has a great atmosphere but also can be understood as a lost chance to make the most of the story and the legacy of the series. It is a very linear game that could have made some more to differenciate itself from the usual shooters, but it is also a fun and addictive one, with a noteworthy cooperative mode. A recommended title for those who like action and sci-fy themes.

The idea behind Syndicate is great, but the execution makes the game just solid. The re-imagination of the Bullfrog's game is a nice action game, but its story and gameplay are just average.

A competent shooter. It has some good ideas that are unfortunately marred by repetitive gameplay and out-of-place puzzle elements. Its true strengths lie in its interesting setting and fast-paced gameplay.

Syndicate might not offer the same amount of content as comparable first-person shooters, but the cyberpunk visuals and innovative cybernetic powers combine for a highly-entertaining and worthwhile experience.

Starbreeze's Syndicate may be a far cry from the isometric squad-based tactical shooter of yestercentury, but it delivers a solid campaign and great co-op. Sadly, civilians cannot be gathered for use as meat shields using a persuadertron, and there are no comical car-related deaths to be found, but what is on offer here is - for the most part - slick, violent and most entertaining.

As it stands, Syndicate is a pretty fun experience, but it lacks the innovation and heart that I've come to expect from Starbreeze as a studio.

Syndicate is an incredibly ambitious, stylized, but definitely flawed game. I'm confident with another attempt, Syndicate could be something really special. I just hope that it gets the chance.

Starbreeze Studios reboots a classic, real-time tactical game, turning it into a first-person shooter that doesn't manage to stand out within the saturated genre.

The new Syndicate is a very different game. It's a first-person shooter that offers a huge new array of gameplay posibilities, a game that should be taken into account for what it is, not for its legacy. Its ambition is huge, but it doesn't deliver all that we expected. A good game that will please fans of the genre.

Syndicate's cooperative play is undeniably thrilling. Too bad the single-player campaign doesn't reach the same heights.

While Syndicate's a good solid FPS, it wastes its world, its unique ideas and its potential. And that's just a damn shame. Bloody corporations.

At certain moments, Syndicate was a beautiful, engaging shooter that had me on the edge of my seat, but there were just as many phoned-in, shoot-by-numbers sequences that left me feeling that it's bound a bit too tightly by a set of conventions that lead to an unfortunately predictable experience. Starbreeze definitely knows its way around the genre, but I can't help but wish that they would've strayed a bit farther from the script with this one.

Grabbing three friends and battling for corporate supremacy online is well worth your time, but don't expect to be wowed by playing alone.

Syndicate has flashes of brilliance, but these flashes are just that... flashes. The game has a great look a vibrant feel and strong shooting mechanics. However it doesn`t always click into the super-polished AAA title it wants to be.

Syndicate shows a lot of potential, but never seems to come out of its shell. For that, it just feels all too familiar. It delivers on a delightful atmosphere though, and the coöp mode will keep players busy for a couple of intense hours. A fine snack, but definitely not the cult classic the old Syndicate was.

A complete overhaul of a remake that might disappoint fans of the original series. With that said, it's in no way a bad game. The setting, the weapons and the hacking mechanics provides a fun experience. Especially in the cooperative online mode.

While Syndicate has a great premise and story, the story telling is paced too slow to keep interest high, a plot twist you'll see coming because it's been done many times before, and sadly the ending is very disappointing and unsatisfying. Syndicate in the end felt very mediocre aside from a few of the weapons and the boss fights. I know I'll forget this game in a short time, and if it wasn't for the interesting co-op, it probably would have been scored lower.

Challenging enemy AI and a bag of cyber tricks aren't enough to make up for weak atmosphere and story.

Although the new Syndicate has very few to no ties with the legendary game from the '90s, it's a solid FPS, with great atmosphere and some very interesting gameplay mechanics.

Looking past the glorious environments and solid four play co-op, Syndicate is mostly a technically competent shooter lacking the edge to truly stand out in the homogenous climate of its genre.

While Syndicate's campaign lacks emphasis, playing the cooperative mode more than satisfies anyone's needs for challenging squad-based gameplay.

Just one warning: The co-op missions do not scale with player count at all, and they are definitely designed to be tackled with four players. Three players? You'll probably do fine, if you're careful. Two? Really stretching it. And solo? You'd have to be a masochist to even try.

Starts off brilliantly, but after a while the futuristic shooting gets just a bit boring.

Syndicate is a game struggling to be all things to all people and underselling its strongest points in the process. The story is a perfunctory thing, worth playing once for the robust gunplay, but it fails to make Syndicate stand out from the cyberpunk herd.

The co-op is actually very fun and leaves more room for tactics and combat variation, unlike the single-player segment. This may be enough to warrant a purchase or a rent for gamers who appreciate that type of entertainment. Those seeking a deeper experience with a richer story and generally more content will be sorely disappointed.

But the reality of a game in this class is that gamers may leave the whole thing to die, waiting for price drops or getting their fill of it over the course of a weekend rental.

EA's try to reboot the Syndicate franchise didn't succeed. Although the shooter offers some interesting ideas they are overshadowed by a feeble story and lackluster mechanics.

It's a videogame about guns that pretends to be something deeper while striving for nothing more. If you keep that in mind, and you're happy to play along, you'll get what you paid for...But you won't get anything else.

Despite lush visuals Syndicate doesn't have what it takes to compete with modern shooters. [Apr 2012, p.82]

This is a title that jumps back and forth from great to average and back again, and though it's far from perfect, it's worth experiencing.

Syndicate is a decent albeit uninspired shooter. While there are a few highlights, it mostly feels bland and homogenized from other games and cyberpunk fiction.

Syndicate offers a multi-tasking challenge that will appeal to shooting games aficionados, with brutal and overwhelming ennemies to dispatch both with skills and brains, but its poor story and average level-design have a tendency to nullify its better qualities. It's pretty, dynamic and even nicely polished in some regards, but fails to fully capture interest and immerse the player in its cyberpunk world.

It's not a bad game, but a reasonable one. There are much better proposals in the market if you're looking for science fiction.

It's good shooting, of course, pulled off with the studio's signature style, but it's come at the cost of Syndicate's imagination and ambition.

Syndicate is by no means a bad game, many of its elements work perfectly fine - the problem is that they don't work that well when combined, resulting in a grinding of the individual cogs rather than a smooth clockwork motion.

Syndicate feels like a deeply average game in a cunning, expensive disguise. Stare at the screenshots and you'll wonder how something that looks so slick can be as disappointing as it is.

It's the supreme joke, in a way: Syndicate is a game about huge corporations and has been published by one of the biggest in the business...and it fails because nearly every element of it feels designed by committee. The shooting is competent, the co-op fierce, but in a saturated market where consumers are spoiled for choice those two plus points aren't enough to recommend the entire game on.