Syndicate: Human Rev...uhhh..., First screens leaked Options

[hermit]

Huh, another publisher like Cliffhanger trying to develop a game that maintains the spirit of an IP that has seen some abuse and obviously treis to market itself to the hardcore long-time game fan demographic (us). Not on a shoestring like Cliffhanger though, which tries to port such games to browsers (and that looks a lot more promising than I think it would, but nonetheless, you certainly could do more with your own engine, something Primetide has been very open about), but as a sideline to an otherwise successful business that is done because the developers like to, not because management tells them to, apparently. Nice to see this actually still is possible.

Sounds a LOT more like Syndicate than "Syndicate: I want to be Deus Ex 3,5". Thanks for bringing this up. Definitly something worth following.

[Adarael]

Oh, it's definitely still possible! Just not possible within the context of "Wants to be AAA title, with AAA budget, released as a multiplatform title by a major publisher." Paradox's main advantage is that they eschew all of those restrictions, generally by using the XNA toolset to keep costs down, and say, "Hey. We're PC only, for gamers that like this shit only. Everybody else can screw."

The caveat here, for reference, is that all of their games have some heinously crippling bugs/quirks with particular motherboards, video cards, and certain combos therein. And their avowed stance on these is "Fuck it, we won't fix it. Buy a different setup." I love Magicka, but I don't love that my FPS drops from about 55 to about *5* over the course of 30 minutes, and then resets itself to 55 arbitrarily after about 8-10 minutes of running shitty. When I asked about why it did that, their explanation was, "Sometimes this shit happens. We're working on a new game, so be quiet." They seem to assume that I, being someone who will play wierd games on the PC, will suck it up and deal with this kind of quirkyness - and they're absolutely right, cuz I am that guy.

It won't make you the billions of Call of Duty 27: World of Modern Black Warfare Operations Double Ex Second Strike, but I'll buy it and like it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Stahlseele]

veddy innerestink!
also, i have said it before elsewhere:
the SR MMO will probably be pretty close to how we'd like a syndicate game to be . .

[hermit]

Good to see there is still more to the games market than AAA titles.

[Adarael]

On that note, everybody should check out Sengoku. Because everyone deserves to set fire to Mt. Hiei and crush Bitchu Province under their feet, if they so desire.

[CanadianWolverin...]

Speaking of Syndicate, it looks like Paradox Interactive (publishers of Magicka and Sengoku, both of which are fine, fine games) will be making their own thematic successor to the game. It's called Cartel.

Paradox’s Cartel: The True Syndicate Sequel?

This is the best news, thanks for passing it along Adarael.

[Platinum]

I love Magicka, but I don't love that my FPS drops from about 55 to about *5* over the course of 30 minutes, and then resets itself to 55 arbitrarily after about 8-10 minutes of running shitty. When I asked about why it did that, their explanation was, "Sometimes this shit happens. We're working on a new game, so be quiet." They seem to assume that I, being someone who will play wierd games on the PC, will suck it up and deal with this kind of quirkyness - and they're absolutely right, cuz I am that guy.

It won't make you the billions of Call of Duty 27: World of Modern Black Warfare Operations Double Ex Second Strike, but I'll buy it and like it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I am that guy as well. I never got the impression from them that they were a suck it up and upgrade type of company. Arrowhead, the developers were pushed to release it before it was ready. They acknowledge that.

What I am hoping they learned from Magicka:
1 commitment is everything
2 we will forgive rushed broken games once
3 there isn't a point to rushing broken games out. Take another 2 weeks and kill the glaring bugs and promise some further patches for extra features. People don't mind patches on working software that gives extras
4 keep the game cheap and offer DLC
5 if you keep listening to your players, then you will swim in a pool of money

I am so excited for Cartel

[CanadianWolverin...]

So, there is this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lKCG_EBQVg&feature=feedu

I like the music, at least.

[Adarael]

If the game delivers on the shit the trailer's motions seem to promise - which is a risky wish - I will be very happy and will buy this game ASAP.

[hermit]

To be honest, this looks like it could also be a DLC pack for DX3. Down to the huge oil rig .... thing. Looks pretty slick, but if the game delivers remains to be seen. Deus Ex 3 makes you forgive it's gameplay flaws with an incredibly detailed and lovingly created game world. If this game can do the same or deliver better gameplay ... well, as Adarael says, that's a risky wish.

[Stahlseele]

The Huge Oil-Rig-Thingie may be a nod to the original first game . .
Anybody else think back to that very last mission and curse like a sailor?
If that Mission is anything as hard as it was back then, i am not playing without cheats <.<

[Seriously Mike]

So, there is this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lKCG_EBQVg&feature=feedu

I like the music, at least.

Ah, the music could have been phatter. The downloadable MP3 is definitely underwhelming, it's like a raw mix that starts suddenly and trails off into white noise.

[Adarael]

The Huge Oil-Rig-Thingie may be a nod to the original first game . .
Anybody else think back to that very last mission and curse like a sailor?
If that Mission is anything as hard as it was back then, i am not playing without cheats <.<

I assumed the same thing. Nobody who's ever played the original could possibly forget that fucking Atlantic Accelerator mission.

For those of you who don't recall it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qSWqAC51w

Yes, those are dozens of full borgs running at you with miniguns.

Edit: Quick note on the music in that trailer - it's a remix of the base Syndicate theme from way back when. It's the "action is happening" context music. http://youtu.be/XQ-ILNMaZQs?t=24s

[Seriously Mike]

Edit: Quick note on the music in that trailer - it's a remix of the base Syndicate theme from way back when. It's the "action is happening" context music. http://youtu.be/XQ-ILNMaZQs?t=24s

Yeah, I know. When I said that all the people who remember the first Syndicate are in nursing homes now, I was joking. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Blade]

With the music, the oil rig and the overall style, it seems like they're not just using the IP for the brand recognition. The biggest problem I have with the trailer is that there's no sign of crowded cyberpunk streets.

[Seriously Mike]

It's not an oilrig. It's a city. Big freakin' floatin' city. At least that's how it is mentioned in the script leaks.

[Wounded Ronin]

The Huge Oil-Rig-Thingie may be a nod to the original first game . .
Anybody else think back to that very last mission and curse like a sailor?
If that Mission is anything as hard as it was back then, i am not playing without cheats <.<

I remember that. I think I ended up equipping the whole squad with gauss guns and flamers and gaussed every single tower.

[Blade]

I remember that. I think I ended up equipping the whole squad with gauss guns and flamers and gaussed every single tower.

I equipped the whole squad with nothing but shield belts (that made you invulnerable as long as it lasted) ran around in the middle of enemy agents and waited for other enemy agents to shoot us with rocket launchers, leaving only my agents standing. Once there were fewer enemies left and the shield belts were starting to run out, I took the weapons of the dead enemies and finished the job.

[Wounded Ronin]

On that note, everybody should check out Sengoku. Because everyone deserves to set fire to Mt. Hiei and crush Bitchu Province under their feet, if they so desire.

I just started Empire: Total War, and my head exploded. Talk about geopolitical complexity! It's the only Total War game where I feel like I might lose battles on normal difficulty.

[Adarael]

I honestly think Sengoku is the #1 game I wish I had worked on, ever. Because not only is it right up my alley, it's painfully obvious the UI was tacked on. Because it seriously one of the hardest games to *use* I have ever seen. It's taken me like... four games to figure out even the most basic shit, and that's after watching tutorials on youtube and re-reading the manual several times. I'm still unclear on how to trigger some of the plots you can engage in.

[X-Kalibur]

Damn, I missed a lot of the good conversation thinking this was simply about the new Syndicate game, blah. I'll just say a few points.

PC gaming is not going to die any time soon as certainly hasn't been dying either, it simply hasn't thrived like the console market. This of course being due to many factors, but hardware being the main one. The console you bought 4 years ago is still playing the newest games no problem. The PC? Probably not, and you already spent 3x more on the PC before upgrades were required. I still prefer the PC for most games, myself.

As a long time player of video games (23 of my 28 years of life) I love the little niches that have been carved out for indie devs, games like Frozen Synapse, EYE, Braid, Cthulu Saves the World, Mount and Blade, all great games that would not have existed a decade ago because the market wasn't big enough to realistically support them. Plus we still have smaller companies like XSeed, Aksys, and Atlus that do small releases of games that would be deemed "unpopular" in the US market.

I for one, wish that the new X-Com was strategy based liked the old ones (up until Enforcer and Interceptor at least) but I'm fine with the direction they are headed with it, provided it has good playability and an engaging storyline beyond - kill/capture the aliens. It is unfortunate that Syndicate looks to just be riding the coattails of Deus Ex 3, but such is life.

There is, however, still plenty of room for those odd ducks to come into the limelight and really excel, despite their content. I love using Demon's Souls, and now Dark Souls as well. Dark Souls already has a 9.5 rating listed and hasn't even been officially released stateside yet (not that there weren't retailers selling it on Friday, I chose to wait for my CE of it). Here we have a hard, old school style game (my friend asked if it was like Dragon's Lair, I told him he'd die way more than Dirk did) that ended up being lightning in a bottle. I mean really, they took the recipie for old NES era games, and tacked on some pretty graphics and more advanced control scheme. Not only did it sell well enough for reprints, it sold well enough for a sequel on both major consoles, rather than limiting itself.

Speaking of strategy games, I would KILL to get more SRW games over here, stupid licensing issues regarding anime over here versus Japan, where Banpresto just has all the rights.

[CanadianWolverin...]

Here's another Syndicate video, showing off some gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJY58Kq1UJg

[Backgammon]

Anyone getting or already has this? Graphics are a little underwhelming, but from the promo video I like how it's pretty solidly cyberpunk. Thoughts?

[Erebus]

It certainly gets the feel of the first two games down pat.
In fact I think the first person aspect of it makes it a bit darker.

So far I'm having a lot of fun with it.

[CanRay]

Pity my games budget has to be so tight this year. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)