Grade: A-
The Good
Thrilling Story. Same Great Syphon Filter action.
The Bad
Occasional ?bug? which affects gameplay.
Introduction
Syphon Filter is one of my favorite action series. I?ve finished 1 & 2 on the original PlayStation and Dark Mirror on the PSP. Logan?s Shadow is a great addition to the series. It takes everything that made Dark Mirror great and expands on it, creating a better game in the process.
Although I estimate that it took me about 10 hours to beat the game on Normal difficulty, and it felt like it needed to be a little longer. Maybe that?s evidence of how great the game is?
Story
Logan?s Shadow?s story is much more thrilling and is a major driving force in the game. Quoting the back of the case: ?Gabe Logan stands alone. They?ve disbanded his team. His partner is missing and accused of treason.? This is only a summary of the main plot, but the story itself is filled with a lot of back-story to the Syphon Filter series.
While Gabe Logan does stand alone with no government backing, Teresa is always with him, keeping contact through Logan?s ear piece. This subdues the feeling of him being alone. But the risks taken to keep in contact makes it feel more thrilling.
The story is told in four different mediums: FMV?s (Full Motion Video), evidence hidden in the levels, two paragraphs of text at the beginning of each level, and dialogue during the levels. The FMV?s are entertaining with great voice acting and facial expressions. The text and hidden evidence are also fun to read. I actually enjoy finding the hidden evidence and reading them as soon as I do. And finally, the story told during gameplay as a dialogue between Gabe and others sets the mood for each level and adds realism to the events. Great voice acting is also featured here.
The whole premise behind the title, ?Logan?s Shadow,? is explained before the last level and it is short and uninteresting. The explanation is too vague. And it sounds somewhat deceiving considering the previous game. I thought we were going to find a darker side of Logan.
Gameplay
The controls are the same great controls of Dark Mirror. The analog stub is used to move Logan in all directions and the 4-shapes are used to look around. Using the d-pad you can open up menus and select from them with the 4-shapes. It?s very intuitive and easy to use, even when in the middle of a fire fight.
Most of the time, Logan?s shadow has you hiding behind cover and taking shots at enemies. Whether they?re in your way, or you?re protecting an NPC, or fighting beside it, there are enemies that need shooting at, and that?s what this game?s all about. I find it a lot of fun shooting at enemies: hiding, taking my shot and going back into hiding ? it?s sneaky; it?s dastardly; oh yeah, it?s fun.
The other time, Logan?s in a wet suit fighting divers in the ocean deep, which changes the way weapons fire. Bullets now take longer to reach their target, increasing the challenge, but hitting oxygen tanks can even the odds. The movement under water is also very intuitive using the same controls as on land.
Generally, you are put in a variety of fun situations to shoot enemies. However, protecting NPCs by taking out enemies while they access a new area of the map may get repetitive. Shooting waves of enemies during the underwater level may also get repetitive. However, these types of fights ceased as soon as they started to get repetitive.
There are some bugs that hurt gameplay, which I?ve experienced a few times. I?ve shot an enemy, dead on target, many times with a shotgun and he didn?t die. Another instance is where I unloaded an entire 50 round clip into an enemy?s head, those with helmets, hitting him with at least every other bullet, according to the red flashes on the crosshair and he never died. Another bug that much more often is when zooming, while behind cover. It never stays zoomed. It only zooms for a few seconds, most of the time enough for me to get one shot, but that?s it. These issues really kills the immersion.
Logan?s Shadow introduces three new moves to Syphon Filter. The first, Context Sensitive Actions, happen during cut-scenes, when unlocking a computer, and when you need to apply physical force during gameplay. A series of random buttons will appear on the screen and you have to press them within a certain time limit or you risk failure or death depending on your task. Sometimes they appear simultaneously on the screen, or to keep you guessing, one right after the other, or it?s just one button that you have to tap repeatedly. This new addition adds variety to the gameplay, especially, when the buttons are completely random each time you access the puzzle. It?s no longer: you tap a button and it opens or it?s unlocked. Having to work at it is much more fun.
The second new move is Grappling People. This means you can sneak up behind and enemy as use it as a human shield; thereafter killing it is optional. But you have to be careful because there is a time limit and eventually the enemy will break free of you hold. Because of this and because I did most of my killing with a gun, I never got to use this move much. But when I did, it was to kill. Killing this way is another Context Sensitive Action in which you press two buttons, one after the other. If you don?t succeed, the enemy will break free.
The third new move is Blind Fire. This means you can shoot while being completely under cover. While your accuracy won?t be great, you?re still shooting. Since you can?t aim this way, I never found this move very useful. It?s more fun to aim.
During you?re wandering and killing, you have a chance to use goggles which can save your life and make killing easier for you. There are three goggles and I have no idea what they?re called. One allows you to see body heat, which can help during a smoky room. One allows you to see explosive devices and ammo boxes. And the least used is Nightvision. These goggles add more variety to the gameplay and one especially means you can?t just walk around the halls without a hall bomb-pass lest your legs get blown to bits.
There are a small variety of weapons and a good amount of ammo that makes sure you don?t always use just one weapon. There are a few pistols, SMGs, rifles, and a shotgun. I love using the rifles, but ammo for it is scarce since your main resource of ammo is enemies and they don?t always carry rifles. Depending on how well you complete a level and the achievements gained thereof, you will unlock new weapons. But these weapons are only useable when you replay levels in Mission Mode.
The health bar has been changed in Logan?s Shadow. It automatically refills after a certain amount of time without getting hit. Now you worry more about killing than finding health packs.
The AI is a decent challenge. They are smart enough to stop you from being too stealthy, although you can be stealthier than in Dark Mirror. About 2-4 enemies attack you at once. They also take cover, move from cover to cover, and move back and fourth to make it harder for you to get a shot. If you injure them bad enough, they walk sluggish and hurt to safety, which only makes them a sitting duck.
The AI knows when they have the upper hand. If you encounter a fully armored enemy, one with a flak jacket and a bullet resistant helmet, he may not hesitate to approach you because he knows that it takes 5+ shots in the head to die, and possibly a similar amount in the chest as well. A shotgun equipped enemy may also be very confident... or maybe I?m just scared of them. It only takes two bullets from a shotgun to kill you, one for the flak jacket and one for your life. And then there?s the most bad-ass enemyenemies, wearing a weird bullet PROOF uniform. He just keeps coming at you like Nemesis, but walking. The enemy variety is fun and challenging. I thoroughly enjoyed shooting them in the head, exploding bombs near them, lighting them on fire, electrocuting them, etc.
Level Design
Logan?s Shadow continues to impress with the variety in level design. Logan goes across six different, action-packed areas. Each has its own theme and great music to accompany it. I was really surprised at what they achieved.
Generally, the levels are linear. You go from one point to the next, only opening certain doors which the map allows. But the highly detailed environment, as well as not providing a direct path to the exit within a room, the variety of gameplay, and all the action taking place meanwhile does too good a job of hiding it.
Conclusion
Logan?s Shadow is one of the best Syphon Filter games. If you were to play any game from the series, this one probably has the most to offer: excellent story; variety in gameplay; plenty of enemies to kill; and great atmosphere.
The Good
Thrilling Story. Same Great Syphon Filter action.
The Bad
Occasional ?bug? which affects gameplay.
Introduction
Syphon Filter is one of my favorite action series. I?ve finished 1 & 2 on the original PlayStation and Dark Mirror on the PSP. Logan?s Shadow is a great addition to the series. It takes everything that made Dark Mirror great and expands on it, creating a better game in the process.
Although I estimate that it took me about 10 hours to beat the game on Normal difficulty, and it felt like it needed to be a little longer. Maybe that?s evidence of how great the game is?
Story
Logan?s Shadow?s story is much more thrilling and is a major driving force in the game. Quoting the back of the case: ?Gabe Logan stands alone. They?ve disbanded his team. His partner is missing and accused of treason.? This is only a summary of the main plot, but the story itself is filled with a lot of back-story to the Syphon Filter series.
While Gabe Logan does stand alone with no government backing, Teresa is always with him, keeping contact through Logan?s ear piece. This subdues the feeling of him being alone. But the risks taken to keep in contact makes it feel more thrilling.
The story is told in four different mediums: FMV?s (Full Motion Video), evidence hidden in the levels, two paragraphs of text at the beginning of each level, and dialogue during the levels. The FMV?s are entertaining with great voice acting and facial expressions. The text and hidden evidence are also fun to read. I actually enjoy finding the hidden evidence and reading them as soon as I do. And finally, the story told during gameplay as a dialogue between Gabe and others sets the mood for each level and adds realism to the events. Great voice acting is also featured here.
The whole premise behind the title, ?Logan?s Shadow,? is explained before the last level and it is short and uninteresting. The explanation is too vague. And it sounds somewhat deceiving considering the previous game. I thought we were going to find a darker side of Logan.
Gameplay
The controls are the same great controls of Dark Mirror. The analog stub is used to move Logan in all directions and the 4-shapes are used to look around. Using the d-pad you can open up menus and select from them with the 4-shapes. It?s very intuitive and easy to use, even when in the middle of a fire fight.
Most of the time, Logan?s shadow has you hiding behind cover and taking shots at enemies. Whether they?re in your way, or you?re protecting an NPC, or fighting beside it, there are enemies that need shooting at, and that?s what this game?s all about. I find it a lot of fun shooting at enemies: hiding, taking my shot and going back into hiding ? it?s sneaky; it?s dastardly; oh yeah, it?s fun.
The other time, Logan?s in a wet suit fighting divers in the ocean deep, which changes the way weapons fire. Bullets now take longer to reach their target, increasing the challenge, but hitting oxygen tanks can even the odds. The movement under water is also very intuitive using the same controls as on land.
Generally, you are put in a variety of fun situations to shoot enemies. However, protecting NPCs by taking out enemies while they access a new area of the map may get repetitive. Shooting waves of enemies during the underwater level may also get repetitive. However, these types of fights ceased as soon as they started to get repetitive.
There are some bugs that hurt gameplay, which I?ve experienced a few times. I?ve shot an enemy, dead on target, many times with a shotgun and he didn?t die. Another instance is where I unloaded an entire 50 round clip into an enemy?s head, those with helmets, hitting him with at least every other bullet, according to the red flashes on the crosshair and he never died. Another bug that much more often is when zooming, while behind cover. It never stays zoomed. It only zooms for a few seconds, most of the time enough for me to get one shot, but that?s it. These issues really kills the immersion.
Logan?s Shadow introduces three new moves to Syphon Filter. The first, Context Sensitive Actions, happen during cut-scenes, when unlocking a computer, and when you need to apply physical force during gameplay. A series of random buttons will appear on the screen and you have to press them within a certain time limit or you risk failure or death depending on your task. Sometimes they appear simultaneously on the screen, or to keep you guessing, one right after the other, or it?s just one button that you have to tap repeatedly. This new addition adds variety to the gameplay, especially, when the buttons are completely random each time you access the puzzle. It?s no longer: you tap a button and it opens or it?s unlocked. Having to work at it is much more fun.
The second new move is Grappling People. This means you can sneak up behind and enemy as use it as a human shield; thereafter killing it is optional. But you have to be careful because there is a time limit and eventually the enemy will break free of you hold. Because of this and because I did most of my killing with a gun, I never got to use this move much. But when I did, it was to kill. Killing this way is another Context Sensitive Action in which you press two buttons, one after the other. If you don?t succeed, the enemy will break free.
The third new move is Blind Fire. This means you can shoot while being completely under cover. While your accuracy won?t be great, you?re still shooting. Since you can?t aim this way, I never found this move very useful. It?s more fun to aim.
During you?re wandering and killing, you have a chance to use goggles which can save your life and make killing easier for you. There are three goggles and I have no idea what they?re called. One allows you to see body heat, which can help during a smoky room. One allows you to see explosive devices and ammo boxes. And the least used is Nightvision. These goggles add more variety to the gameplay and one especially means you can?t just walk around the halls without a hall bomb-pass lest your legs get blown to bits.
There are a small variety of weapons and a good amount of ammo that makes sure you don?t always use just one weapon. There are a few pistols, SMGs, rifles, and a shotgun. I love using the rifles, but ammo for it is scarce since your main resource of ammo is enemies and they don?t always carry rifles. Depending on how well you complete a level and the achievements gained thereof, you will unlock new weapons. But these weapons are only useable when you replay levels in Mission Mode.
The health bar has been changed in Logan?s Shadow. It automatically refills after a certain amount of time without getting hit. Now you worry more about killing than finding health packs.
The AI is a decent challenge. They are smart enough to stop you from being too stealthy, although you can be stealthier than in Dark Mirror. About 2-4 enemies attack you at once. They also take cover, move from cover to cover, and move back and fourth to make it harder for you to get a shot. If you injure them bad enough, they walk sluggish and hurt to safety, which only makes them a sitting duck.
The AI knows when they have the upper hand. If you encounter a fully armored enemy, one with a flak jacket and a bullet resistant helmet, he may not hesitate to approach you because he knows that it takes 5+ shots in the head to die, and possibly a similar amount in the chest as well. A shotgun equipped enemy may also be very confident... or maybe I?m just scared of them. It only takes two bullets from a shotgun to kill you, one for the flak jacket and one for your life. And then there?s the most bad-ass enemyenemies, wearing a weird bullet PROOF uniform. He just keeps coming at you like Nemesis, but walking. The enemy variety is fun and challenging. I thoroughly enjoyed shooting them in the head, exploding bombs near them, lighting them on fire, electrocuting them, etc.
Level Design
Logan?s Shadow continues to impress with the variety in level design. Logan goes across six different, action-packed areas. Each has its own theme and great music to accompany it. I was really surprised at what they achieved.
Generally, the levels are linear. You go from one point to the next, only opening certain doors which the map allows. But the highly detailed environment, as well as not providing a direct path to the exit within a room, the variety of gameplay, and all the action taking place meanwhile does too good a job of hiding it.
Conclusion
Logan?s Shadow is one of the best Syphon Filter games. If you were to play any game from the series, this one probably has the most to offer: excellent story; variety in gameplay; plenty of enemies to kill; and great atmosphere.
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