


Syndicate, by EA/ Bullfrog
After long last, EA's classic game of cyberpunk corporate corruption has hit the 3DO. Emphasis on the word, "classic," because Syndicate 3DO is virtually unchanged from the previous Amiga and PC versions--a fact that is especially annoying when you take a gander at Bullfrog's (the maker of Syndicate) upcoming Sony Playstation version. What we have here is, simply put, a solid, if unimpressive conversion of an old game that, when first released, was one of the most innovative, original and entertaining titles to come down from the English Channel in a while.
	For those who aren't familar with previous computer versions, Syndicate places you in the position of an upwardly mobile minded executive of a new criminal corporation (dubbed as a "Syndicate"-- a term that came about during the 1940's heyday of organized crime, as in, "Murder, Inc."). To secure your place in the company (and also your continued existance) you must send a group of cyborgs into the cities and countries of the future to perform usually violent objectives. Success means continued assurance that the country will be kept under your thumb, thus allowing you to tax the mindless, chip addicted citizens into repression.
	Frankly, Syndicate makes Mortal Kombat look downright virtuous. The game has you assassinating would-be competitors, drugging citizens for human shield and mob usage, kidnapping, destroying and just generally engaging in acts of rampant, remorseless violence. Blood and bodies sometimes, quite literally, cover the streets in this game. Use a flame thrower and watch your unlucky target go screaming, engulfed in flames and that's not even the half of the sadistic touches to the game. And the odd thing about all of this immorality and political incorrectness is that Syndicate is still a highly original, intelligent and entertaining game. Had anyone but Bullfrog (famous for their other titles like Magic Carpet, Theme Park, Populous and Powermonger) tried, the results might have been disastrous. Fortunately, Bullfrog put intelligent, addictive and strategy intensive gameplay first, as opposed to emphasizing the violence.  
	It's hard to put Syndicate in a set genre, though. At heart, it takes the strategy element of the so-called "God Games" and combines it with the real time intensity and firepower of a great action game. Syndicate takes place from an overhead perspective, allowing you to view the active, living cities and all the roving inhabitants, while still keeping an eye on your cyborgs. You can scroll around the cityscape to see what might be lurking further on, or just to watch the extremely realistic urban mechanisms. Pedestrians scurry from place to place, cops keep order (almost), cars roam the streets and buildings have flow-through traffic. 
	You control your cyborg henchmen either as a group or individually, depending on the situation. Before a mission, you arm and equip them to your personal specifications. And all the while, your Research and Development people are working on creating new weapons and cybernetic attachments--like better limbs, chests, brains and other useful add-ons. 
	During the mission, you can adjust levels of steroid-like drugs in the cyborg's body to alter their intelligence, perception and adrenaline factors. Doing this will affect the cyborg's semi-independent actions and can improve their aim, sight and speed for short periods of time. Of course, the cyborgs build up drug tolerances, so you can't alter the drug levels haphazardly or keep the level up for long without suffering consequences.
	Syndicate contains over 50 different missions that span the globe. The game's main goal is to work your way through all the missions successfully, thus conquering the entire world a country at a time. Ultimate success would make your Syndicate the most powerful crime organization of all time and make you the most powerful Boss as well. Of course, if you fail to complete a mission and loose all your cyborgs, then your executive functions are terminated, permanently.
	As mentioned, the 3DO version of Syndicate is a virtual carbon copy of the PC versions. The most notable flaw of the earlier versions is unfortunately visible here as well--that being graphic flickering and improper overlay. When your cyborgs (or other pedestrians) are too close to a building, sometimes they will disappear for a second, or other parts of the landscape around them will. It was a very minor flaw when I reviewed the Amiga version of Syndicate over a year ago, but on a 32 bit 3DO, there's really no excuse for it. Also, you still can't blow up, or even hurt, the buildings.
	The computer versions of Syndicate were mouse driven games. Syndicate requires the player to control and monitor a great deal of things simultaneously and the mouse's quick, pinpoint response was a necessity for the game. The 3DO pad's layout for Syndicate takes some getting used to (to put it mildly) and tries too hard to emulate the mouse-style controls. Unfortunately, the control pad's response time isn't as good, the pinpoint accuracy is gone and the game makes no mention of any mouse support at all. Why Bullfrog didn't try to be a bit more creative with the control layout, I have no idea. The controls should have been tweaked to accommodate a console style controller and, indeed, a console system--giving you direct joypad control of your cyborg's movement for instance, instead of the sometimes urksome babystep clicking required to get your cyborgs from point A to point B safely.
	I'm not trying to say that Syndicate's control is bad--it isn't-- but it should have been handled more carefully and creatively with the 3DO and its controller in mind. The complex nature of the controls warranted a bit more effort by the designers and you'll probably need the manual next to you while you get used to playing.
	Despite the fact that it's a straight, unenhanced port-over and despite my gripes on the control layout, Syndicate is still a one of kind, entertaining and intelligently done piece of software. It's just a real shame that such an eagerly awaited (and belated) title like this should get such a shovelware treatment. EA and Bullfrog could have done much more with Syndicate to utilize the 3DO's power. But, just the same, Syndicate has no peer on the 3DO shelves, as there has never really been another game quite like it and that makes it more than just worth a look. 
	One last note: Check out that K-A ("Kids to Adults (6+). Animated Violence") rating. If that's not a sign of problems in the ratings board, then I don't know what is. I don't want to know the 6 year old that plays this game (or its parents). Syndicate should have gotten a Teen rating, period.
