Hands on with Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow
Logan's running into a great sequel
You can't have too much of a good thing. Take cake, holidays, a great book and video games, to name the four that first come to mind and irrefutably prove that opening statement.
So when an awesome action adventure hits your PSP, it's pretty normal to want another helping. Thankfully, game publishers tend to be keen on sequels which is why, courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment, there is a follow-up to the excellent Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the way.
Announced last week at the company's Gamers' Day in San Diego, we got our hands on Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow and walked away hungry for more.
The game opens with Gabe being called in to deal with a high seas hijacking. Having taken over USS Mount Saint Helens, a terrorist cell has claimed classified military technology from the ship's cargo hold. At the same time, Gabe's long time patner, Lian Xing, has gone missing. With doubts lingering over the reason for his partner's disappearance, Gabe heads to the hijacked ship to quell the extremist threat.
We played the opening mission, Pirates of Somalia, which had us approaching USS Mount St Helens via helicopter. With Gabe manning a machine gun turret, it's up to the player to take out anti-air rocket launchers on the vessel's deck. The action ensued from the first-person, enabling us to use the analog stick to adjust the view and then fire by pressing R.
With the launchers destroyed, we hastily moved on to killing terrorists equipped with rocket-propelled grenades. After clearing the deck of foes, Gabe dropped onboard to continue the mission, leaving us with the impression that Logan's Shadow will be a diverse experience, ranging from visceral action sequences to contemplative adventure sections.
"We want to not just meet expectations – we're going to surpass them," claimed creative director John Garvin. It may be the kind of comment developers come out with for seemingly every sequel but for once there's reason to believe it. New combat mechanics, context-sensitive mini-games (such as having to button mash to have you escaping restraints), and improved buddy missions promise to do just that.
Okay, buddy missions return from the previous game, but they come laden with welcome tweaks. For one, your buddy will respond to enemies in a more believable manner, says Garvin, and you'll interact more with him/her in order to complete objectives.
Gabe can also now 'blind fire' against opponents, taking cover and then raising his weapon to unload a volley of bullets to suppress his adversaries. And you're able to grab enemies and use them as a shield, of course.
One of the more intriguing new developments is full 3D underwater combat. While we weren't able to try it out for ourselves in order to evaluate its effectiveness, Garvin did at least promise a functioning spear gun and bolt pistol.
Generally, changes have been made to bolster the range of combat moves, but also to more effectively engage the player with Gabe's adventure. Garvin explains, "Logan's Shadow is about exploring the relationship between Gabe and Xian as much as it is about action." To reinforce this, author Greg Rucka has been drafted to pen the story, which Garvin confirmed focuses on the series' main characters.
Video gaming is littered with titles attempting similarly ambitious blends of action and storytelling, of course, but it's encouraging to come away from playing Logan's Shadow feeling it has a great shot at being one of the few to achieve this lofty goal.
In fact, the only thing we're currently worried about is its European release (given the delays that plagued its predecessor). But that obviously doesn't affect the fact this game is looking brilliant. Make certain to click 'Track It!' to be updated the moment we get more info (and if you haven't already, check out the game's trailer below).
