As the PSP’s GOTY for 2006, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror has finally made its way onto the PS2. Once again Gabe Logan and his assistant Lian must use their wits (and quite a few weapons) through seven episodes in order to save the world. Let’s see how the game stacks up, hmm?
Presentation and Graphics: Things don’t always translate well from PSP to PS2 because the PSP’s small screen can get away with a lot more. This is not the case, however, in SF: DM. It won’t win any awards mind you, but the game looked much better than I had imagined. Everything looks crisp and clean–character models especially. Well done. 3.5 of 5
Sound and Music: Everything you need to hear you hear. The music is forgettable and the voice acting makes me want to run around and headbutt people, but I find that the interjection of broken English into some sentences hilarious (if not a little sad–come on people its 2007 for Christ’s sake). But the gun shots sound good and the usual little touches add to the aural absorption. 2.5 of 5
Gameplay: Running around shooting people in an action-packed movie-like setting. It simply never gets old. Fancy little gadgets are always fun to use. The co-op portions are fun and make you feel like you’re not alone in the struggle. As usual, countless waves of bad guys are out to kill you. Luckily the A.I. are comparable to palsy victims…holding automatic weapons. Just make sure to take cover and perfect your head shots. Do this and the game is a breeze. The Career tracking is interesting and offers some reason for replay, but feels a little tacked on. The only real problem I had was the right button on the D-pad. Why map Fire Mode Selection and Weapon Selection to this on button WHY!? Try it, you’ll see. Anyways. The challenge modes are fun for a while and provide a nice distraction , but it’s a poor replacement for the online multiplayer of the original. 3 of 5
Multiplayer: N/A
Lasting Appeal: Once you’re done, that’s it. Read a book or something. 2 of 5
Final Word: This game is a rental at best. Sony has really hurt this game by removing the online multiplayer (at least give us something as interesting) and tacking on a $40 price tag (I seriously thought it was going to be $20). Overall, you’ve played countless games like this before on countless other systems, and this game does little to make itself stand out of the pack. Also, depending on your skill, you can beat this in between 8-12 hours. True, this was and still is a great game on the PSP, I’ll never argue that. But that doesn’t make it worth your time a over a year later, for the same price.
Overall: 3 of 5
1 = Not worth the bandwidth.
2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.
3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.
4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.
5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.
