Which Syndicate to play?
For years, one of the many games I've been meaning to try is Syndicate, which everyone says is really good. The trouble is, there are a lot of versions of the game (it seemed to come out for every 16 and 32 bit machine in the 1990s) and apparently some of the versions are very different from others. I don't just mean in better graphics and sound, but in gameplay style and game content, if what I've heard is true.
So what version(s) is the best? What's the difference (no real spoilers, please), and should I try more than one version, or is only one Syndicate game any good (even if that one is across several consoles)?
I don't mean the recent (bland, not much good) first person shooter , of course, I mean the RPG/whatever games from years back.
Thanks for any answers.
So what version(s) is the best? What's the difference (no real spoilers, please), and should I try more than one version, or is only one Syndicate game any good (even if that one is across several consoles)?
I don't mean the recent (bland, not much good) first person shooter , of course, I mean the RPG/whatever games from years back.
Thanks for any answers.
Post edited by ewgf on
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That's not to say that Wars wasn't a good game, but I guess the original made more of a lasting impression - although that could be said of most Amiga games versus any remakes / sequels that followed.
Both games are far removed from being "shooters", although there is a lot of shooting that goes on. They are quite tactical, and some missions require a good bit of planning - if you rush around just trying to kill stuff you will fail for sure.
You can get more of an idea of each game, and purchase them legally for PC/Mac, over at GOG:
Syndicate Plus (Syndicate plus "American Revolt" expansion)
Syndicate Wars
the pc cd version has both the first and the add-on the disk IRC.
it's on loads of formats (snes etc), but I'd stick with the pc one.. I run em via dosbox, a website has some settings for it.
http://syndicate.lubie.org/synd/html/synd_run_dosbox.php
or just get it off GOG etc if you don't like faffing
EDIT: Just checked out a video of the Jaguar version, it's much slower than I remember it being...
It ran fine on my accelerated Amiga 1200, but I would imagine it would struggle on a 500.
it was good if i remmeber right
The opening sequence for the second one is on YouTube.
My games for the Spectrum: Dingo, The Speccies, The Speccies 2, Vallation, SQIJ.
Twitter: Sokurah
I played it on a mates 600 IRC.. I actually got rid of my a500, for a c128 as I find there were very few games I liked. e.g. silkworm and a few more.
it was the era when vga was out and the PC was turning more "amiga"ish regarding games e.g. things by team 17 , and virgin bringing out well known amiga titles (by sensi etc)
I have fond memories of it though, the music was quite atmospheric.
That'll be great - I've never used a Mac, but I've always wanted to (they get so much praise and are apparently free from so many of the PC's (or rather Windows') faults and annoyances), so are there any other Mac games you'd recommend, especially first person shooter or action games?
Don't use a Mac, you may turn into a dirty old man with a flashing attribute.
I know about cyberpunk, of course. I think it's (interesting and potentially great), though I didn't like the book Neuromancer, maybe because I only read it for the first time a few years back, and was used to more modern works which if they are much better than Neuromancer (which I certainly think so) might be in part because they built upon Neuromancer and it's sequels so much, as in if I'd read it when it was new then I might have loved it, I don't know.
Sadly, cyberpunk isn't nearly as common in games as it should be, and when it is it's usually over-simplified (though to be fair that's true of most genres and themes in gaming these days). I also love Steampunk, but that's even rarer in games. Bioshock should have done this well, and it does as far as the atmosphere is concerned, but sadly for whatever reason the early promises of the game were often abandoned, for example, none of the in-game weapons were supposed to be weapons as such, they were all jerry built by splicers and non-splicers using whatever non-weapon parts were available. You can sort of see this with the gun turrets, which look more like typewriters tied to wooden chairs, and the flying turret things, which look home built. It's a pity this wasn't built upon in the game mechanics, it could have allowed you to build your own weapons and automatic helpers (and I don't just mean like collect 1x something, 3x something else, 2x another thing, then press a button and bingo! A weapon is now yours, I mean you had to get parts that work together, fit them together yourself, etc. It would really have enhanced and deepened the gameplay. Instead we pick up the shotgun, the pistol, the usual first person shooter stuff, which are just left around and ignored by the wandering, violent, psychotic NPCs.
Better than what I am now, the PC expert* who fixes everyone's PC; family, friends, friend of a friend, etc. I'm sick of PCs!
* PC expert - someone who's seen 50% of PC problems a million times and can fix them in his sleep (usually involving a rescue USB stick, or three hours spent manually sorting through Windows and assorted stuff, or at worst a reformat and re-install), and who knows how to use google for the other 50%.
Intelligence and a technical affinity are not required, just patience, a free evening, and a working 'net connection on another PC. Surely being a Mac expert can't be as boring as that?
Yes, graphically wise it's pretty lousy even for 2001 standards, but atmosphere and incredibly open development of playing character make more than up for that. I finished it three times with three different characters and each time there was some feature I hadn't experienced in the other ones.
I know, and my joke drowned in the self pity (I was expecting a laptop today which is "running slow"*, but it didn't get dropped off, so no doubt I'll get it tomorrow, probably minus either the power lead (not usually a problem) or the BIOS password) of the noble PC warrior (that's what we should call ourselves!).
* I've not seen this machine before (as far as I can remember), but 'running slow' usually means drowning in malware, Internet Explorer is the only browser the owner (and his/her kids) use on it, no firewall or anti-malware software on it (unless it's a long lapsed pay one that hasn't been updated since the Beatles were on tour), IE has at least a third of it's screen area taken up by third party tool/search/whatever bars, and the laptop takes longer to boot up than it did to make it in the factory. And there's anywhere between 0% to 0.000% chance that anything on the laptop of value to the owner (photos, documents, etc) has been backed up separately, so if I have to reformat then I first have to find and backup their stuff.
I've just had a look (Gamefaqs is a great site for a quick look up of games you've never seen before) and it does look intriguing. It's on Steam for almost nothing now, so I'll pick it up tomorrow, there are a couple of other games I'm getting from there, including a top down spaceship one that's been recommended, but I can't remember what it's called (a work mate keeps on about it, so I'll get the name tomorrow, I know it's a Kickstarter game). Thanks for the recommendation, mate.
Well we're talking classic Macs here as emulated by Basilisk II. We didn't get a lot of games back in the day but the ones we got were usually much higher resolution with better sound and more colour.
I have fond memories of playing Syndicate, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Flashback in 640x480, and Master of Orion in 832x624 resolution. If it's FPS you're after though, you have to play Marathon from Bungie (who started out on the Mac before being bought by MS and developing Halo).
http://www.gog.com/game/syndicate
I'm pretty sure that people are only recommending the Amiga version because it's the only one they ever played. Other than the vastly cut-down Megadrive and SNES versions, its far and away the weakest in terms of graphics and slowdown. I suppose you do have mouse control though, which gives it an edge over the console ports.
I used to play it on my A500+ and it ran fine (mostly).
It does run better and an A1200 though.
Oh, and the flamethrower still remains one of the best weapons in a game. Ever.
The DOS version runs at 640x480 for the action, same as the Mac version. It's only the menus and cut scenes that are 320x240.
...I've only just got that, after almost a full 24 hours.