Syndicate (2012 video game)

Syndicate (initially called Project RedLime) is a science fiction game by Starbreeze Studios, released on February 21, 2012 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. It is a reboot of the Syndicate series developed by Bullfrog Productions, changing the genre from a tactical shooter to an FPS.
==Gameplay==
In the game, the player can carry two weapons and grenades. Due to the player character's DART 6 bio-chip, the player can see the digital world where time is slowed and see the enemies via X-ray vision. The player can hack into enemies, called "breaching", where players can force three options on the enemy; "Suicide" where the enemy kills themselves and damages nearby foes, "Persuade" where the enemy temporarily becomes the player's ally, or "Backfire" where the enemy's weapon blows up, stunning them. A four-player co-operative mode has been confirmed, with a separate campaign based on missions from the original game. Syndicate will not use an online pass for the co-op modes. EA Partners executive producer Jeff Gamon stated that "If the game had included a competitive mode, it would have had an online pass. But because it didn't have competitive multiplayer and because we wanted as many people as possible to be playing co-op, we got away with it." He also stated that he wanted "as little resistance or barriers to entry as possible."
Multiplayer games take place in sequenced segments, with resupply points where the next segment begins. After completion, a player is promoted by experience points, which are received for kills, healing squadmates, and completing mission objectives. Certain enemies can also be "chip-ripped" to receive additional bonuses. Also acquired are research points, which can be applied to learn weapon upgrades, and programming changes to the Agent's individual powers.
==Plot==
In 2017, the Eurocorp mega-corporation is born after the world's largest corporate merger. Eurocorp releases the DART chip in 2025, a neural chip implant that allows users to access the dataverse and makes most electronic devices obsolete. As a result of the DART chip, the world is no longer ruled by governments, but by large mega-corporations known as "Syndicates". However, only half of the world's population embraces the chip, while the "unchipped" are abandoned and denied the same benefits afforded by their chipped counterparts. Furthermore, corporate espionage for dominance between the Syndicates has become the norm, resulting in the creation of "Agents": bio-engineered and chip-augmented enforcers who protect their corporate masters' interests.
The game begins in 2069, where the player controls Agent Miles Kilo, EuroCorp's latest agent equipped with the new prototype DART 6 chip created by Eurocorp scientist Lily Drawl (Rosario Dawson). After a successful test run of the chip's abilities, the CEO of Eurocorp Jack Denham (Brian Cox), gives Kilo his first mission to eliminate an Aspari Corporation scientist, Gary Chang, after receiving information that Chang has developed a DART 6 chip similar to Eurocorp's own; he wants Chang's chip to prevent Aspari getting a lead in DART chip research. Accompanied by his mentor Agent Jules Merit (voiced by Michael Wincott), Kilo and Merit attack the LA branch of Aspari, where Kilo kills Chang and retrieves his chip. Kilo also learns from an encrypted conversation that Lily has been sharing information with Chang on creating the DART 6 chip. After fighting off the West Meld Solutions security forces and an Aspari agent, Kilo and Merit escape from LA and return to Eurocorp's New York HQ.
While Denham is shocked by Lily's betrayal, he still considers her a vital asset to Eurocorp and doesn't want her to be recruited by the other Syndicates, so Denham hides the knowledge of her association with Chang and has Kilo and Merit spy on her instead to ensure that she doesn't continue to leak information. As they observe her in her apartment, Lily has an angry conversation with someone she doesn't want to be involved with before she is suddenly kidnapped by the Cayman-Global Syndicate. Kilo fights off the Cayman-Global forces and follows Lily's abductors by catching a ride on one of their transports to a Cayman-Global base in the Atlantic Ocean. Kilo recovers Lily, and the two learn that Cayman-Global is preparing for war against Eurocorp.
Arriving in New York, Kilo and Lily land in the New York slums, where the "un-chipped" lower class population lives. As the two of them split up and head towards Eurocorp HQ, Kilo is apparently betrayed by Lily and attacked by a terrorist group made up of the un-chipped who hate the Syndicates and their agents. Kilo is given orders to either capture or kill Lily. After fighting off the terrorists, Kilo learns that their leader Kris, Lily's ex-boyfriend, is responsible for instigating a war between the Syndicates. Kris reveals he started the war so he could hack into the Dataverse and kill the Syndicates and their chipped population as punishment for abandoning the un-chipped population. However, Lily is against the idea, as she wants to find a peaceful solution to make the Syndicates care about the un-chipped population. Eventually, Kilo fights Kris, which ends with Kris attempting to suicide bomb Kilo. Kilo apprehends Lily, but is voluntarily or involuntarily (depending on player actions) unable to kill her due to Lily having installed safety protocols in his DART chip to prevent such actions. Lily tells Kilo that he is being used and manipulated by Eurocorp and tells him to stop being their slave and think for himself. As Lily is about to escape, she is stunned by a Eurocorp security team led by Merit.
At Eurocorp New York HQ, Denham and Merit believe Kilo is brain dead and send him to be rebooted while they plan to retrieve Lily's chip for any useful information on DART 6. Kilo soon begins to remember his secret past: he learns that Denham led a Eurocorp team to kill his parents and abduct him as a baby, as he had the perfect genes to become an agent. Now knowing the truth, Kilo escapes from his restraints and rescues Lily. As Lily heals Kilo's injuries, she reveals all of Eurocorp's agents like him and Merit were abducted as children due to their genetic compatibility to become agents; their memories were modified so that they would remain loyal to Eurocorp. Lily created the DART 6 chip in hopes of using it to make the Syndicates retain their humanity and care about the chipped and un-chipped civilians, the victims of their wars, but she realizes she was naive in thinking this.
Kilo and Lily head towards Denham's office to prevent him from activating the kill switch on their DART chips but Cayman-Global attacks Eurocorp's New York HQ. As Kilo heads towards the top of the tower where Denham's office is located, he has to fight off both Eurocorp and Cayman-Global forces, as well as several Eurocorp agents. Finally reaching the top of the tower, Kilo is forced to fight Merit, who is under Denham's orders to kill him. Kilo finally overpowers Merit and beats him to death. Kilo heads towards Denham's office, only to find that Denham has activated his kill switch, which starts to affect Kilo's movements. As a weakened Kilo confronts Denham, Denham justifies abducting him when he was child by claiming he gave him a better life in order to realize his full potential and how the Syndicates are making the world better. As the kill switch slowly takes over his body, Denham gloats on destroying the slums. However, Kilo manages to fight back against the kill switch order and pushes Denham over a ledge to his death. Lily arrives and reveals to Kilo that she lied about Denham being able to kill them, as she was using him to distract Denham in order to free both of them from Eurocorp's control. Now a free man and with Eurocorp in ruins, Lily gives Kilo a gun and tells him it's now up to him to decide what he wants to do next.
==Reception==
Giant Bomb awarded Syndicate 5/5 stars and praised the weaponry and interesting world, as well as its co-operative mode.
IGN gave the game a 7.5 and praised the game's co-op, shooting, and "Breach" mechanics as fast-paced and original, while criticizing the single-player campaign for presenting interesting shooting scenarios juxtaposed with generic, repetitive, and aggravating boss-fights.
Gametrailers gave it a 8.2, citing the gameplay as fun and innovative, but reacted negatively towards its predictable conclusion, and short six-hour campaign.
Edge awarded the game a score of 6/10, criticising its generic mechanics, linear level structures, and conventional mission objectives. However, Edge concluded that despite this lack of "imagination and ambition", the game's shooting was still praiseworthy: "You'll do nothing that you haven't done before. You’re unlikely to have done it in this much style, though."
Many players have criticized the "light bloom" effect used in the game, which causes severe eye strain and in many cases completely obscures the player's view during gameplay. Some unofficial solutions for the "bloom effect" problem involve using the developer console (on the PC version of the game) to manually adjust the game's graphics settings.
==Controversy==
On 20 December 2011, it was reported that Syndicate has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board. The Board was especially critical of what it considered as the game's excessive violence, complaining about explicit depictions of dismemberment, decapitation, exposed flesh and bone from injuries, and copious blood spray. EA Australia has announced that they won't be appealing the decision or changing the game to meet the Board's concerns—in the process complaining about what it felt to be Australia's "arcane censorship on games"—and that Syndicate would be released on schedule and uncut in New Zealand with an adults-only rating.
==Links==
*"Syndicate Review - PC Review at IGN".
*"Syndicate Video Game, Review | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos".
*"Unplayable with that bloom! - Cheat Happens Syndicate Message Board (Page 1)".
*Official website
*Syndicate Wiki
Category:2012 video games
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