 | Gabe
Logan makes a dramatic return this fall in Syphon Filter™: Logan's
Shadow exclusively for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld
entertainment system. This original title created by Sony's Bend Studio
is the sequel to the award winning action title, Syphon Filter™: Dark
Mirror and features all-new combat mechanics, weapons and an engaging
storyline that will leave you wondering who to trust. In an all
new story, written by Greg Rucka, author of the Queen and Country
series of novels and graphic novels, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow
provides a sophisticated and gripping storyline that is sure to
resonate with comic book lovers and action enthusiasts. We find Gabe
Logan once again using a combination of stealth and "run-and-gun"
gameplay as he is called into action when a dangerous new technology is
hijacked by a criminal extremist group. In a story that takes him from
the depths of the Indian Ocean to the deserts of the Middle East, Gabe
is faced with the possibility that his long time partner, Lian Xing is
a double agent. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is complete with
a variety of combat mechanics including the ability to force enemies
into cover with "blind-fire", an advanced melee system that allows Gabe
to use enemies as human shields, and 360 degree underwater combat. For
the first time in the franchise "interactive moments" have been added
for increased player interaction, such as airlifting debris and
escaping wrist restraints. Returning to the franchise are buddy
missions which have been enhanced with a variety of new objectives. - Havok physics engine provides life-like physical reactions on both characters and environments.
- New and improved weapons, such as grenade launchers, sticky mines, smoke grenades, and flash bangs.
- New
character actions enable players to force enemies to take cover with
"blind fire" or protect health with the new "human shield" features.
- Underwater
physics allows players to experience 360 degrees of water navigation to
explore shipwrecks and target enemies with new underwater weapons like
the bolt pistol and spear gun.
- Improved buddy mechanics.
- New mini game features, brand new to the Syphon Filter franchise.
- All
new story written by Greg Rucka, critically acclaimed author of comic
books and novels (Batman, Gotham Central, Queen and Country).
- All new sound track featuring award winning composer Azam Ali.
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow Review by IGN
Can Gabe Logan work his magic on the PSP again?US, October 2, 2007
- When Dark Mirror was released last March, we were surprised at how
impressive the title was. By taking Gabe Logan away from the consoles
and putting him on the PSP, Sony Bend not only created an incredible
adventure, they showed off exactly what the handheld could do,
particularly in the hands of a skilled team. Excellent controls, deep
multiplayer with voice chat and a complex cinematic storyline made what
easily was one of the best titles of all of last year. In fact, when we
bestowed the Game of the Year award upon the title, we weren't sure if
a follow up to Dark Mirror would be nearly as good.
Fortunately, those concerns were completely unfounded. Logan's Shadow
not only is a worthy successor to Dark Mirror, it's a much better
title. There's a ton of new gameplay elements within the single player,
such as new combat tactics, underwater combat and action sequences that
improve on the fast paced action of the original title. Multiplayer
hasn't been left out either, with two new game modes, new and adjusted
maps and more balanced matches. The result: a deeper experience that
surpasses Dark Mirror in every way.
The story of Logan's Shadow
takes place shortly after the events of Dark Mirror, and once again
calls Gabe and his team to defeat another terrorist group that has
managed to get its hands on some dangerous technology that threatens
the world. Of course, things are never as simple as that sounds,
particularly when it becomes apparent that more than that group wants
its hands on the weapon; not only does the U.S. want to get its hands
on the device, but the Russians and Chinese have sent agents to track
its location. Things get worse when Logan's long time partner, Lian
Xing, is accused of being a double agent and working for the very
terrorist group he's targeting. With the Agency closed down by a
vindictive bureaucrat, Gabe and his fellow agents have to track the
steps of the terrorists and prevent their plans before it's too late,
defeat the rival country's soldiers and get down to the bottom of
Lian's apparent "defection."
Like previous Syphon Filter
titles, the number of twists, suspicious characters and flashback
sequences within the story provides a large amount of depth to the
tale. However, this is also a story of revenge and retribution, as Gabe
finds himself settling old scores with a terrorist, avenging the death
of a team member and going to extremes to clear his partner's name and
regain control of his department. While Dark Mirror went into Gabe's
past with his past relationship with Addison Hargrove, this one focuses
on Lian's secrets, some of which forces Logan to re-evaluate what he
thinks of his old partner. The script that was penned by Greg Rucka and
John Garvin is nicely paced and complex, and provides an intense arc
for the well known agent to travel through. Even better, it sets up a
huge cliff hanger ending that you won't see coming at all that makes
you wonder just what Sony Bend is going to do to resolve Logan's story.
 Gabe has a lot of new moves, including blindfiring over cover.
Another tweak is the inclusion of blind fire
when you've taken cover, which removes the need to constantly lean out
to make a shot. Obviously, your accuracy takes a dip when you're wildly
firing, but it can be used in some gunfights to take out charging
enemies. It can also be used to force enemies to run for cover, which
can give you a second to reload or move in on their position to take
them out in a number of ways. Obviously, you could shoot, knife or
taser these guys, but you can now use the new grappling mechanic to
drag soldiers around, kill them outright or using them as human
shields. There are two caveats to trying the new grappling mechanic
though. First, you won't be able to drag enemies around or use them as
a shield forever, because they will break free after a while. What's
more, you aren't guaranteed to succeed with your grapples. You'll have
to counter their defenses by inputting a random button press sequence,
which adds a level of tension, skill and unpredictability to a generic
combat element.
In fact, button presses now play a larger role
in Logan's Shadow than ever before, helping Gabe clear obstacles, grab
objects, and perform other actions. I can just hear the complaints now:
"Great, another game with tons of lame 'cineractive sequences.' Not
everything needs to be God of War or Spider-Man 3." Well, hold those
objections for a bit - the button press sequences are definitely spread
out across the entire title, so you're not going to be slowing down the
fast paced nature of the firefights to constantly input a button
sequence. What's more, you only use it for specific actions which take
a few seconds to complete before you're back into the title. The
implementation of the mechanic works surprisingly well, and gives you
more of a sense of succeeding or failing at a specific task, which
again increases the tension of a game moment. If you're trying to open
a gate while you're underwater and holding your breath, and you have
the possibility of failing and drowning, that's going to ramp up the
anxiety of getting the moment right.
 Never saw Gabe coming from the water.
What's even more impressive is
that all of these new features fit perfectly into the control scheme of
Logan's Shadow, regardless of which one of the three control schemes
you've selected. In fact, the only gripe (and it's somewhat minor) with
the new adjustments made to Gabe's arsenal of moves and attacks is the
removal of fire from taser shots. As fans of the series know,
continually holding a taser shot on an opponent will cause them to
burst into fire. For some reason, this feature has been stripped
entirely from Logan's Shadow in favor of smoke rising from their
uniform before they fall down. If you've played a previous Syphon
Filter title, you know that this is one of the more enjoyable ways to
receive a stealth kill. To have it removed feels like a loss to the
franchise, or at least a cop out compared to previous games in the
series.
 You're going to need a chiropractor.
Once
again, you'll also be commanding NPCs during certain battle sequences;
however, instead of doing the same basic "follow me to this location,"
or "pull this switch" commands, there are a lot more battle oriented
situations in Logan's Shadow. For instance, the aforementioned
helicopter battle will force you to draw fire from the chopper while an
MI6 agent takes a shot that you tell her to take with an RPG. Another
time, you'll be directing an Abrams tank, directing its fire towards
bunkered anti-personnel positions while clearing out foot soldiers.
Outside of these situations, many of the other friendly AI units will
fight on their own like they did in Dark Mirror, pulling their weight
in the midst of battle. These scenarios are still nicely interspersed
with the other action sequences, keeping the gameplay fresh.
Multiplayer has also received adjustments, making the strong play of
Dark Mirror even better. The basic elements of last year's game have
retuned, keeping the quick pace of the eight player battles over Ad Hoc
or Infrastructure lots of fun to jump into. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch
and Rogue Agent have been joined by the two new modes, Retrieval and
Sabotage. Retrieval is pretty similar to Capture the Flag, where you
and your teammates try to collect an item and bring it back to a base.
Sabotage (which replaces Dark Mirror's Objective mode), on the other
hand, has you performing specific tasks, such as collecting nuclear
missile codes and blowing up a warhead while the other side stops you.
All five game modes take place across seven maps, including returning
levels from Dark Mirror, although the older maps have also been
re-adjusted to include underwater combat depending on the gameplay
stage. For example, some of the Sabotage items are held underwater,
forcing you and your opponents to dive for key elements before you
complete the rest of your mission.
 Multiplayer has received a number of adjustments for Logan's Shadow.
At first glance, Logan's Shadow
may look similar to Dark Mirror, but the visuals are a bit sharper
across the board than the previous title. The HUD is much cleaner, with
the personnel radar popping up much more in focus as well as a redone
look for the weapon and item bar. Environments are a bit more detailed
as well, and it's really impressive to see what Logan's Shadow does
with the rendering of the underwater environments, particularly those
around the naval ship at the beginning of the game. Not only are the
lens flares and ambient light well done, but the underwater
presentation is handled well across the entire game and the animation
of Gabe transitioning from land to sea maneuvers and back again is
seamless.
Sharper visuals and more intense action make for an incredible game experience.
Closing Comments
Dark
Mirror was an incredible title that showed off the PSP, but Logan's
Shadow elevates the story, gameplay and multiplayer elements to new
heights. Not only does it keep the formula that made the first game so
good, it smoothly improves on it. The tense action and incredible gun
battles are strengthened with the addition of underwater combat and new
combat abilities that fit seamlessly into the control scheme.
Multiplayer has been bolstered with new modes and re-imagined maps,
along with a number of balancing aspects. Logan's Shadow is easily one
of the best titles to come out on the system this year. IGN Ratings for Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (PSP) | 9.5 | Presentation
With
a story full of twists and turns, and a huge cliffhanger ending,
Logan's Shadow is an excellent sequel to the award winning Dark Mirror. | | 9.5 | Graphics
Sharper
character models, environments, and underwater sequences are just the
tip of the iceberg with the visually incredible title. | | 9.5 | Sound
Azam Ali's soundtrack is excellent, as is the voice acting and sound effects in the title. | | 9.5 | Gameplay
New
gameplay elements, balanced battle and interactive sequences and tight
controls make this an incredible experience on the PSP. | | 9.5 | Lasting Appeal
Two
new multiplayer modes and redesigned maps, plus loads of balancing
elements and lots of unlockables for the single player makes this a
title you'll play for a long time. | 9.5
Incredible | OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average) |  |
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