Syndicate Plus
1994
- real time strategy (rts)
- strategy
- tactical
- action
- science fiction
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
Syndicate is Bullfrog’s masterpiece of a game in which you aren’t saving the world or protecting innocents. You just make sure that your employers get what they want. At your disposal are four cyborg agents, an impressive arsenal of weapons and gadgets, and a massive selection of cybernetic upgrades. You are free to unleash this power on a highly interactive map where you can blow up buildings, steal cars, light trees on fire, or just shoot stuff. Produced by Peter Molyneux himself, Syndicate is the essence of cyberpunk and, with its great music, stylized visuals, and mind-blowing atmosphere, it has earned its place among the best games of all time. The "Plus" release includes both the original base game and the American Revolt expansion pack.
What it’s like
Hard-edged isometric cyberpunk rendered in pixel sprites, with a palette of smoky greys, acid greens and hazard oranges washed over rain-slick city blocks, corporate towers and flat grey sprawl. The camera hangs above the action at a fixed angle, so the city reads like a tabletop diorama, and the signature touch is the sound: a dense, driving electronic score by The Juliana Theory-era synth crew, punctuated by gunfire, explosions and the wet crunch of civilians being cut down. The mood is cold and cynical, a dark tactical toy box where you feel more like a contractor than a hero. The pace is deliberate and stop-start, with long planning pauses between brief, violent missions, and the stakes rise through corporate espionage and cybernetic creep rather than any tender human arc. Violence is constant, cartoonishly bloody with sudden deaths, mind-control and stylised carnage, but never lingered on in gore. It suits a late night alone, a stretch of focused strategy on a rainy evening, or anyone who wants dystopian grime with a dark sense of humour. For players who enjoy tactical squad management and moody, unsentimental cyberpunk.
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