Previews

GC: Hands on with Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow on PSP

Taking out the Pirates of Somalia (again)

GC: Hands on with Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow on PSP

When we got to play Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow at the Gamers' Day in San Diego back in May, we were impressed with what we saw and left confident the game would match up to the standards of the first PSP title, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror. The latter's ridiculous delay in getting to Europe left us biting our nails regarding the game's release schedule, however, so it was comforting to come across several demo units running the game in one of Sony's opulent stands at the Games Convention.

Like God of War: Chains of Olympus, on loading Logan's Shadow it's clear where the PSP's new unlocked power has been spent. This is a visually stunning game, with presentation to match, and should be another agenda setter for the handheld, as Sony finally begins to get into its first-party development stride.

Before beginning the first level, we were treated to a fairly lengthy and impressive cinematic detailing the plot, setting the scene and introducing us to the ship we were about to cause all sorts of havoc on. Then it was time to start the first-person helicopter-based attack that we played on our first hands-on. The fact that, after three months, no new content was available was disappointing, of course, but we didn't take it to mean the game has hit late production delays – more a case of the developer not having the time to produce a new demo (a lengthy process).

Still, taking the opportunity to focus more on the eye candy than the gameplay, we infiltrated the level. Second time around, we were struck how much of a leap the water and fire effects are over other PSP titles. Similarly, thanks to its effective use of the Havok's physics system, Logan's Shadow seems to have much more in the way of realistic dynamics and ragdoll animations than its contemporaries. We took a perverse pleasure in watching the henchmen we dispatched sail over the ship's banisters and clatter into the on-deck objects amid the explosions and gunfire.

After spending too much time admiring the visuals – and hence taking three attempts to get past the initial heli-drop stage – we finally made it onto the ship's deck for some stealth action. The controls are similar to most PSP first-person shooters; the nub deals with forwards, backwards and strafing movement, while the four face buttons are assigned to weapon aiming.

At this point in the action, we noticed there was little explanation on offer about what to do and were left floundering somewhat, though we eventually were able to enjoy the mix of stealth and third-person demolition action as we worked our way through a series of reasonably intelligent goons.

Indeed, the whole experience had a distinctly Metal Gear Solid 2 flavour, helped in no small part by the opening level being a ship infiltration. That isn't to say that Logan's Shadow apes its spiritual inspiration in terms of content but rather, in its own way, shares the same feel of polish, considered structure and high production values.

Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is due to be released on October 19th and it better not be late.