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the best game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this it is the best game of syphon filter of date. I wait anxious a title for ps3

The game that ended it all...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has below-standard graphics for a PS2 engine. However, its not complete junk. The game forces you to play online, which is not a good thing since not everyone has internet or an internet adaptor for the PS2 (unlesss you have the slim model). The controls are adaptable, but for the casual gamer, this title will prove troublesome time and time again... However its an excellent online experience, not like SOCOM but very cool nonetheless...Be warned, this game is only good for Syphon Filter fans (like myself) who want to finish their collection. Its not recommended for the up-and-coming gamer.

A great PS2 game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Syphon Filter was a great PS1 game. I think there was 3 of them. I was real excited to hear they made one for PS2. My friend had this game a couple years ago and he was addicted to it for a while. I got to play it and ever since it was a game I planned to get and just never picked up. I was looking on amazon for a new game to pass the time (and also on the cheap side) and I saw this game for around $9. Pick up this game!

Catering to the tenacious types...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The key to truly enjoying Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (SF:TOS)is dedication. The whole game carries with it a progression of learning and skill-building that will turn off the casual crowds. SF:TOS begins by letting you customize your own agent (which gets very detailed and extensive as you go along). It then throws you into a mission where you are a rookie in the agency. You will have no idea what you are doing, where you are going, etc. but the game gently guides you. By gently I mean it points you in the right direction but never tells you outright how to accomplish a task. This lets you get creative and learn through doing. This is indicative of the entire game from start to finish: learn, get better and be rewarded every step of the way.

You will never finish all mission objectives on the the first playthru. Some of the most difficult objectives must be completed once you've progressed further in the game and have acquired new skills and gear you didn't have access to before. When you do complete these more advanced goals and show to the agency that you have indeed become more skilled, you will again be rewarded. Rewards come in the form of new weaponry, new abilities, new customization options (and there are oodles), new ranks, unlocked levels, etc.

The missions have a nice pace to them and the scenery almost never repeats itself. You will see arctic climates, deep tropical jungle, urban sprawl, rural trainyards, oil platforms and more. Some situations during a mission require stealth in order to execute them properly. Unlike most games, breaking stealth does not end your mission (unless it is one of the 4 bonus levels). It simply makes things much much more difficult for you and you will need to run the mission again later to meet that objective. You can complete objectives in seperate runs of the missions, which is great because you can learn from your mistakes. Death too is a learnign experience. You won't be forced to restart the level but instead are placed at the last checkpoint you hit (which are all logical and well spaced out).

The story can be a little complex but is very interesting and laid out via mission files you can read for youself, including memos, photos, personnel files, newspaper articles, etc.

The controls allow you to move and fire and interact with great ease, although the setup cannot be changed and does take some getting used to. Never have I wanted to do something and not had the game/controls respond to my whims immediately. The control is tight. Firefights have a beautiful variety to them as well, mixing close-quarters with long-range, controlled with reactionary. Objectives are varied as well. You are given a lot of freedom with how you go about completing a mission. Some routes and tactics make things easier but you are never punished for doing things the hard way. You simply learn from your mistakes and get better.

The whole game gets better as you dedicate more time to actually learning and growing in skill. In that regard, it's akin to a fighting game. Few titles cater to this kind of persistant gaming style, but I absolutely love it. The gratification you get from TOS (aside from the never-dull firefights) is rarely immediate, but from a job well-done. There is always at least one direction to branch out in... and at the end is always a reward.

Davenport Iowa Dubuque Iowa

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My name is Adam and am [...]. Almost my whole life video games have been like a 2nd religion not mention wrestling. My all time favorite games series are Grand theft Auto, Resident Evil, Max Payne, Doom, Twisted Metal, about any rockstar game and of course all syphon filters. I love this game so much. never played on line but i have done everything offline for this. somehow i completed the online objective in the mall all by myself and i thought i had died and gone 2 heaven. This game had some hard objectives like the stealth operations ratings so i got the cheat book just in time. i only used it for a few things. other then that everything else was a piece of german chocolate cake. I like the characters stone and logan the best. I also liked taking out those frogs in charthage michigan. Thank you amazon.

For Really Patient People Only

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have really enjoyed the SF series over the years but this game was extremely frustrating to learn. Gameplay is godawful! You used to be able to start a mission over quickly with a push of a couple of buttons; now you have to quit the mission and then wait for the darn thing to reload. This is progress??? Furthermore, you also used to be able to go back to your last checkpoint and start over again with your previous progress. Not anymore. If you are playing a "stealth" level and lose your stealth you are out of luck! You have to start the level over in order to regain your stealthiness. I cant count the number of times I threw my joystick down in disgust.

Also, some of the level objectives are downright unreasonable. In one mission you have to carry a fallen comrade a very long distance on your back at literally a snails pace while under fire and not being able to defend yourself without dropping the body. All of this while under time constraints to "properly" finish the level. Also, many of the levels are "maze-like" with many "avenues" not contributing to the outcome of the game. Throw in enemies that often times cant miss when they are shooting at you,(not to mention they have weapons that kill you twice as fast as you can kill them with similar or identical weapons), and you have a very frustrating experience in my opinion.

THE GOOD NEWS: If you are a patient person there is considerable replay value in this game. It may take you many hours to master it. Perhaps thats what the gamemakers were going for but in my opinion they went overboard. WAY OVERBOARD!! Ive been playing for a month now and I'm just about ready to hit the "cheat" sites to figure out the last remaining obstacles for me. Admittedly, there is a sense of reward if you stick with it and master it, but geez it takes a long time and a lot of cussing to do so :)~. Good luck!

Fail.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok, i rented omega stream because i was a syphon filter fan of 1-3, this one just disappointed me, The graphics almost compare with the first game,Gameplay is crap, Online just wont cut it, Mindless Shot em up game. If you are a playstaion gamer,I Recomend the older ones to this, 1.Save money 2.save time insted of wasting it on this.

Overall, Sucked.

Omega Stain - Gabe Has Left the Building

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I thought I wasted my time writing a review on this crap, but apparently not. I played it for about an hour and wanted to get rid of it the same day. Syphon Filter used to be a sure thing, but now it's up the creak without a paddle. The controls suck, the mission objectives are unclear, and the map is hard to read. I'd swear the developers that made the previous Syphon Filter editions enjoyable retired and passed on the torch to the makers of "No One Lives Forever." That game is as fun as having your your legs broken twice a year, every year, for 10 years straight. I'd give this game 1/2 star if it were possible.

Disappointing, complicated and not on par with predecessors.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you like the Syphon Filter series, perhaps you felt the same anticipation for this first of the series on PS2 that I did. I was disappointed. The story concept was still good...but the designers missed the mark in many ways. Graphics, music and mood are all top-notch. So what didn't I like? First, they deviated from having Gabe Logan as the central character. Instead they offer the ability to engineer your own character. Secondly, the storyline within each mission is cluttered and busy to the point of being overwhelming. Third, the character motion is not good. Specifically, aiming is slow. Turning to view the surroundings is not fluid or quick enough. I have trouble with motion sickness (which only permits me to play 3rd-person games -- and this game is 3rd-person), but I was still affected with dizziness by this game to the point of not being able to complete it. Sorry...I WANTED to like this game, but couldn't rate it higher than a 2.

Mindless Shoot em' up--would be fun if you could see it

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Relating to it's previous games, Syphon FilterLOmega Stain is a 3rd person shooter with little (to almost none) planning of strategy of the shootout. The game usually sends you in a base filled with terrorists of dumb AI but big weapon power (their accuracy can later into the levels be almost bullseye every time)and those terrorists you fight usually will teleport right before your eyes (this does not actually do with the story at all, it is merely a bad placement error in the levels).
The graphics being a little over mid par of the PS2's is also stained by the fact of the game known as: Darkness. You'll be wandering and shooting blindlessy through a place of dim and dark darkness and the enemys seem to not even notice. The enemies will shoot you through the darkness--and you will be hit--very, very many times.
Lets face it--The control stinks. Its touchy and complicating at sometimes and you probably wont ever get the total feel of control. Sometimes you might send your agent rolling around or doing something completely different then wat you would normally comand.
Then comes the part that really excited me before i got it--The fact that you can create the agent you play in the levels...Yes, they messed that up too. The creation system is veyr limited. Very limited and it will leave you creating an agent who will look like every one elses.
The good part of the game is the sound. All of the many weapons (theres a lot of good ones!) sound realistic. This gives you the feel of the gun for a little bit more fun.
Yes thats the game.
GRAPHICS: 3.5/5.0
PRESENTATION AND MENUS: 5.0/5.0
SOUND: 4.5/5.0
CONTROL: 2.5/5.0
GAMEPLAY: 3.5/5.0
RE-PLAY VALUE: 2.0/5.0 (The levels get frustating because of those too-perfect, teleporting, huge numerous enemies!)

OVERALL: 3.5/5.0
The game delivers mindless shooting and frustating and boring levels. Unless you just want to a shoot a gun blindlessy at enemies on dark levels and die many times on snowy moutains leave this game on the shelf.
Such a big disapointment here.

THE GOODSIDE OF SYPHON FILTER: OMEGA STRAIN:
The fact of being like Ps1's great Syphon Fighter with better graphics.
THE BADSIDE OF THAT:
WE wanted it to be something that could stand up in today's game world but this one is just being bought because the others were so good of being that 3rd Person Shooter.

PROGAMER REVIEWER, CHRIS

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