Syndicate

Atari Jaguar

from AEO Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 2

 |||   Syndicate

 |||   By: Darren Bates

/ | \  Internet: [email protected]

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No, this game is not about the running of a women's lib syndicate, or

a lottery syndicate for that matter. What this is about is a syndicate

of violent maniacs, large guns, explosives and world domination.



It's your job to coordinate this syndicate in its quest to take over

the world and destroy opposing syndicates. Just take up to four well

hard androids, equip them with some major hardware, and perform

several strategic missions in an attempt to put the rival syndicates

out of commision.



Basically this is an excuse for some blatant violence and carnage

which we all know and love.



The game is viewed from an isometric perspective (up above and at a 45

degree angle). From here you can see a good portion of the city or

complex surrounding your androids. On the left of the screen is your

tactical display which shows the status of your androids, weapons

held, ammo and a map. All looks pretty much the same as the computer

versions, exept the map is slighly larger and easier to follow.



Now the fun starts. You start off with the bog standard droid (you

know, no brains, no armour, no hardware) and only a small pistol at

your disposal. From here you must build up funds by completing

missions and research into the fields of new weapons and droid

equipment. Oh, and by the way, you can steal weapons from unfortunate

enemies who stood in your way!



The missions themselves range from assasination, kidnapping, set-ups

and general carnage. It does get worryingly addictive, wandering

around the local shopping mall, shooting innocent bystanders or

flaming them and watching the burning bodies run around screaming.

Pretty disturbing stuff. However, the violence is not graphic as the

sprites are small and you cannot see detailed gore as in games such as

Mortal Kombat.



The Jag version is identical to its PC cousin, with smooth multi-

directional scrolling and excellent detailed scenery, far outclassing

other console versions. An added bonus for Jaguar owners is the new

Zoom function. This allows the view to be zoomed out so you can see

FOUR times as much of the city. Also you can zoom in and view the

action up close, although this mode is a little bit pixelly. Not even

the PC has this function, way to go Jag! There is some slowdown,

something I wish Ocean could avoid.



The joypad configuration uses just about every button. This can cause

some difficulty to begin with but will be overcome after a bit of

practice. This is a minor quibble that does not spoil this quality

game.



Overall, this is the best version of Syndicate yet. An original,

addictive and long lasting game from the creators of Populous, Theme

Park and Magic Carpet.





GRAPHICS    - 7.5

SOUND       - 8.0

PLAYABILITY - 9.0

OVERALL     - 9.0