Syphon Filter

With Syphon Filter, 989 Studios' thrilling new espionage actionfest, the PlayStation should finally score a shooter to rival the N64's revered GoldenEye.

In the never-ending battle over which system rules, PlayStation gamers may finally have an answer for N64 owners who wave the smash hit GoldenEye in their face: Syphon Filter. Okay, so the name doesn't have even close to the same ring, but the gameplay has the guts and the graphics have the glory to be tagged as the PlayStation's answer to GoldenEye.

Syphon Filter's set to strafe shelves in February with what will likely be the best third-person action game on the PlayStation. What about Metal Gear Solid? Syphon Filter will be pretty different, focusing more on run-n-gun battles and less on stealthy adventuring. The 75 percent preview version we played was on track with the style of a big-budget action flick and the right combo of smarts and gunplay. Three months before its release, Syphon Filter had the makings of a surefire hit.

Secret Agent
Like most good games, Syphon Filter will begin with a compelling story. When work started on the game back in January 1997, Ebola virus scares were as huge as X-Files conspiracy theories. Both influences echo throughout the tale of Gabe Logan, a counterterrorist operative for the mysterious Agency, who's tasked with taking down terrorists bent on unleashing a viral plague in the U.S. As Gabe takes names and kicks butts, it will gradually become clear that larger forces are at work... including some shady happenings inside the Agency that will ultimately lead to a showdown in Kazakhstan.

So what's a "syphon filter," anyway? "To tell you the honest truth," says Connie Booth, executive producer of Syphon Filter and producer of the first two Crash Bandicoot games, "it doesn't mean anything; it just looks cool. We tied it into the back story, though. It's the name of the virus that Gabe must prevent the terrorists from releasing." Uh, okay, that settles that...

Eat Lead, Punks
Syphon Filter's gritty one-player-only gameplay should breathe life into its cool story line with an action-heavy focus that will evoke the excitement of playing as a commando. Most of Gabe's problems will be solved with the right ammo and the skills to survive the gunfight, though you'll definitely need to dust off your gray matter now and then. The missions will usually dish out intense gun battles, accompanied by objectives like assassinating key figures, providing covering fire for bomb squads, and so on.

But, as with Gabe's Agency, things will never be what they seem. Lian Xing, Gabe's partner and mission controller, will often radio in with sudden changes in the plan, including new tasks and new threats. "We didn't want it to be this static thing where you go in, do your objective, and get out," explains Booth. "In real life, things happen. So surprises take place. Of course, they're scripted, but it feels like they're happening partly as a result of what you're doing." The result will be a volatile, fluid feel to the gameplay that'll ratchet up the excitement.

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