Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow review

Battle terror by electrocuting its genitals in this lavishly brutal sneaky-shooty thriller

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Of course, this being a shooter, you don't always have to sneak around in the shadows, methodically and silently killing your enemies one by one. Gabe's tough enough to pull off the run-in-guns-blazing approach, but only for so long; clearing the room of weaker enemies is easy enough, but once they start donning flak jackets, bulletproof helmets and nigh-impenetrable "static armor," you'll have to get a little more creative (or at least a little more cowardly) if you want to survive.

A far better way to tackle gunfights is to sidle up against cover - any wall or crate will do - don Gabe's thermal goggles to get a bead on exactly where the bad guys are, and take them out with carefully aimed, silenced headshots (or just a barrage of assault-rifle fire, if you're in a hurry). You'll be able to aim from behind cover and pop out for a quick shot, but if even that's too much exposure, Gabe can now blind-fire around corners, occasionally even hitting things while doing so.

Of course, this being a shooter, you don't always have to sneak around in the shadows, methodically and silently killing your enemies one by one. Gabe's tough enough to pull off the run-in-guns-blazing approach, but only for so long; clearing the room of weaker enemies is easy enough, but once they start donning flak jackets, bulletproof helmets and nigh-impenetrable "static armor," you'll have to get a little more creative (or at least a little more cowardly) if you want to survive.

A far better way to tackle gunfights is to sidle up against cover - any wall or crate will do - don Gabe's thermal goggles to get a bead on exactly where the bad guys are, and take them out with carefully aimed, silenced headshots (or just a barrage of assault-rifle fire, if you're in a hurry). You'll be able to aim from behind cover and pop out for a quick shot, but if even that's too much exposure, Gabe can now blind-fire around corners, occasionally even hitting things while doing so.

The controls - which use the face buttons for moving the camera and aiming - are surprisingly comfortable and precise, once you get used to them. If you don't have the patience, however, you can trade the over-the-shoulder, Resident Evil 4-style zoom-in targeting for automatic lock-on, which - while being a lot less precise - at least ensures that your gun always stays pointed at the right guy.

The problem with the stealthy approach is that it almost makes things too easy; keep it up, and each gunfight will follow the same predictable pattern of spot enemy, hide from enemy, aim at enemy, drop enemy with a taser dart, repeat. It gets even easier if you become over-reliant on Gabe's special goggles, which can (among other things) highlight every secret item, trap, weapons cache or interactive object in sight, or - as we mentioned above - give you a bright, thermal view of your enemies that makes them easy targets. Granted, all of this is still fun, but it can wear on you.

The controls - which use the face buttons for moving the camera and aiming - are surprisingly comfortable and precise, once you get used to them. If you don't have the patience, however, you can trade the over-the-shoulder, Resident Evil 4-style zoom-in targeting for automatic lock-on, which - while being a lot less precise - at least ensures that your gun always stays pointed at the right guy.

The problem with the stealthy approach is that it almost makes things too easy; keep it up, and each gunfight will follow the same predictable pattern of spot enemy, hide from enemy, aim at enemy, drop enemy with a taser dart, repeat. It gets even easier if you become over-reliant on Gabe's special goggles, which can (among other things) highlight every secret item, trap, weapons cache or interactive object in sight, or - as we mentioned above - give you a bright, thermal view of your enemies that makes them easy targets. Granted, all of this is still fun, but it can wear on you.

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionGabe Logan returns to action yet again, this time to track down his missing partner, Lian Xing.
Franchise nameSyphon Filter
UK franchise nameSyphon Filter
Platform"PSP"
US censor rating"Teen"
UK censor rating"16+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.