| Syndicate | |
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European cover art for Syndicate |
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| Developer(s) | Bullfrog Productions |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Designer(s) | Sean Cooper |
| Composer(s) | Russell Shaw |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amiga CD32, PC, Mac, Sega Mega Drive, SNES, 3DO, Atari Jaguar, Acorn Archimedes, NEC PC-9801 |
| Release date(s) | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Tactical shooting Real-time tactics |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (13+) |
Syndicate is an isometric real-time tactical game from Bullfrog Productions created in 1993. It is the first title in the Syndicate series. An expansion pack, Syndicate: American Revolt, and a sequel, Syndicate Wars, have also been released. The original game and expansion pack were re-released together in 1996 as Syndicate Plus.
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The game puts the player in charge of a self-named corporation in a gritty near-future cyberpunk-style world. [Up to] four cyborg agents are sent on a series of deadly missions, which include assassinations, infiltration, theft and persuasion (using a device called a 'persuadertron' to capture individuals of importance -- scientists, for example). The game's objective is to establish world-wide dominance with the established syndicate, one territory at a time, while engaging and eliminating rival syndicates.
Game play involves ordering a four-person team of cyborg agents around cities displayed in a fixed-view isometric style, in pursuit of mission goals such as assassinating executives of a rival syndicate, rescuing captured allies, "persuading" civilians and scientists to join the player's company or simply killing all enemy agents.
As the player progresses through the game, they must manage the research and development of new weaponry and cyborg upgrades. The player has only limited funds, requiring taxation of the conquered territories while ensuring that they are not so over-taxed that they revolt against the player. The player begins the game with simple pistols, progressing through increasingly destructive weaponry that includes Uzis, miniguns, flamethrowers, sniper rifles, time bombs, lasers and the enormously destructive Gauss gun (a rocket launcher). In addition, the player can use items such as medikits to heal his agents, scanners to locate pedestrians/vehicles and the "Persuadertron" to brainwash the player's targets into blind obedience.
The game first appeared in 1993 on the Commodore Amiga and PC (MS-DOS) and was subsequently ported across to a wide variety of other formats. The DOS version was unique in that it did not use 320x240 256 color mode, rather a higher resolution mode with only 16 colors. The higher resolution permitted finer detail in the graphics and allowed for the illusion that more than 16 colors were used by means of dithering. Similar graphics and same levels design were used in Macintosh, 3DO, Atari Jaguar and Acorn RiscPC ports.
A separate version was made for the simpler, 16-bit consoles, as the hardware couldn't support the complexity of the original game. It contained completely new level design and different graphics, and was released for Sega Mega Drive and SNES. Later, it was released on the PlayStation Portable as part of EA Replay, a compilation of retro games released in the United States on November 7, 2006; this version is really the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version and is executed on PSP by an emulator.[1]
Syndicate was critically acclaimed on its launch, though its graphic violence provoked some controversy; as COMPUTE! noted, "This isn't a game to use as a morality lesson for the kids — it's bloody, it requires you to be ruthless, and some people may take issue with the use of drugs to control your agents. But it's a ball to play."[2] In 2010, UGO included the game on the list of the 42 Best Games Ever.[3]
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