EA & Starbreeze present Syndicate

[CeeKay]

old is new again, but the real questions is will this be closer to the original games or a totally different direction.

I hope they bring back the Atlantic Accelerator.....

[Purge]

I hated the American Revolt addon for the fact that it picked up the difficulty right where the end left off. Your enemies would ALSO use carpet bombing with no indicators other than claxxons. (IIRC)

[Razgon]

huh? I could have sworn the project was dead? great news!

[Kevin Grey]

huh? I could have sworn the project was dead? great news!

They killed the Bourne project to focus on Syndicate. 

[Isgrimnur]

They only thought that they'd killed the Bourne project.  It will rise again and kill them when they least expect it.

Man, I spent a lot of time playing Syndicate.  It'll be good to revisit it.

[Turtle]

Considering what X-Com has become, it will be a first or third person shooter where you can jump into any of your current Agents.

However, that concept is already close to what the original syndicate was, this switch up will probably go better than the X-Com change up so long as they keep all the SRPG aspects.  Will be nice to revisit that world.

And Persuadertron crowd AI!   

[Greg Wak]

Funny, it's been so long and so many games inbetween that I hardly remember syndicate. I remember shooting windows and having them shatter was way cool. The sound effects were great and I hazily remember leading my squad around creating mayhem. I do remember it was one of the most fun games I have ever played.

[CeeKay]

apparently they filed more trademarks for Syndicate, maybe something will happen soon.

[baelthazar]

I wouldn't mind these getting put up on GoG.com before any "re-imagining."

[Turtle]

I'm calling it. Third person over the shoulder co-op shooter, likely open world (within a city), with overarching strategic elements.

Basically gears of war with an overall strategic layer and character upgrades.

Sounds good to me.

[baelthazar]

I'm calling it. Third person over the shoulder co-op shooter, likely open world (within a city), with overarching strategic elements.

Basically gears of war with an overall strategic layer and character upgrades.

Sounds good to me.

That sounds terrible, if you put the Syndicate name on it. Turning a Squad-based isometric game in to an FPS is my nightmare (aka the new X Com).

[Razgon]

Its going to be an FPS browser game

[CeeKay]

Its going to be an FPS browser game

with microtransactions!

[PR_GMR]

Syndicate Wars was the 2nd PC game I ever played. Still have a copy of it somewhere. Would be nice to see a well-made reboot.

[CeeKay]

More news soon?  but possibly console only?

http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/02/15/syndicate-poised-for-rebirth/


(thanks moose!)

[Turtle]

That article is probably about something like Halo.

[CeeKay]

That article is probably about something like Halo.

they have the picture that they say hints at Syndicate with the circuitry in the background, but it just occurred to me that Cortanna from Halo was blue and also had circuit patterns on in her hologram.

[CeeKay]

Uncle Pete would love to help with the remake.  I love the picture:

[CeeKay]

a script leak? 

[CeeKay]

possible Gamescom reveal?

[CeeKay]

ruh roh... possible details:

Syndicate is the re-imagination of a cult classic franchise from 1993 - a unique action shooter set in a not too distant future, where Business is War.

2069 – No longer governed by politicians, the developed world is divided up into regions controlled by megacorporations known as Syndicates. These Syndicates have revolutionized how the consumer interacts with the digital world. No longer does the consumer require a device to access the world's data and control their technology, they can do this at the blink of an eye via neural chip implant. Civilians flocked to be chipped and enjoy all that their selected Syndicate has to offer; housing, medical, banking, insurance, education, entertainment and jobs. One complete package. One complete lifestyle. In return, the Syndicates gained unprecedented insights, and control, over the individual and their behaviour. With little governmental oversight, business has become war. The Syndicates will stop at nothing for ultimate market dominance. At the front line of this war are the Agents, the Syndicate¡¦s bio-engineered and chip-augmented enforcers. They can breach anything in the wired world including their enemies, their weapons and the environment that surrounds them, making them the most efficient and deadly technological weapons in the world.

Take on the role of Miles Kilo, Eurocorp's latest prototype agent, and embark on a brutal action adventure of corruption and revenge.

• Chip Enhanced Gameplay: Slow down time, see through walls, and breach your enemy and everything digital in the world with Dart vision – A neural DART6 chip implant that allows you to interface directly with the Dataverse.

• 4-Player Online Co-op: Assemble your Syndicate for global domination. A 4-player, online co-op experience like no other, with chip enhanced gameplay and 9 missions re-imagined from the original Syndicate.

• Visceral FPS Experience: Utilize an upgradable arsenal of futuristic weapons, armor and gear to annihilate your enemies and harvest their chip technology for personal advancement and sinister corporate greed.

• Sci-Fi Fiction: Immerse yourself in the world of Syndicate 2069, with a world-class sci-fi story experience, written by bestselling author Richard Morgan.

[Dante Rising]

I'm not to thrilled about the change to a FPS, unless it follows in the footsteps of Deus Ex.

[Razgon]

aahh hahahahaha!

Fantastic - They really have no clue, do they?

Edit: reflecting more on this, I guess this is the sad fact, that todays industry is geared towards maximum profit, and not against making awesome games. Well, not that profit excludes that, but it does make what I've been considering more realistic.

Basically, I think a corporate entity examines the market, sees what kind of games makes the most money, and applies the most basic of formular to maximize profits. Not ratings, not sales, but profits.

That means, if you can realize a higher profit margin by making a FPS since the market is bigger, even though you know it won't be an especially good game, thats what you do. If you can increase marketing by adding a trademark that is somewhat known to the project by an estimated say 2 percent, then thats what we do.

So, what we have is a bunch of mediocore games, often with old and well known brands attached to them, that arent being made because they want to make the best game possible, but because there is a projected profit to be made by making a mediocore game.

This is probably why the indie games scene has come into existence, since their motivations are mostly the opposite. Make the best game possible, and hope to make a decent buck while doing so.

[Turtle]

OMG, I arbitrarily hate this because it's not exactly like some obscure game from my childhood!

[Razgon]

OMG, I arbitrarily hate this because it's not exactly like some obscure game from my childhood!

<Obligatory snarky one-liner to make me look clever>

[Blackjack]

OMG, I arbitrarily hate this because it's not exactly like some obscure game from my childhood!

I was 29 when I took 3 days on dial-up to download the Syndicate Wars demo on dial-up in 1994, and it was awesome.   So the "childhood" part won't work for me.  

My perception is big publishers are scared of:
-Turn-based games
-"tactical" strategy games (I'd lump Syndicate in there, though some might call it more "tactical action"
-"tactical" action games (maybe Syndicate is that; but I mean something more like SWAT 3 and 4).
-Any big budget game that doesn't involve killing everybody (aliens, zombies, spies, any breathing organism, and robots too) and blasting everything in sight (I'm loving Space Marine so it's not like I need quite, sedate games to be happy)

Since FPSs make me so sick these days motion sickness wise, I'm probably taking this off my list. Thanks for the update.

[Razgon]

Well, the lack of a real syndicate remake isn't actually the worst part about this - It clearly shows the trend that we've seen over the last few years, that is going towards the big publishers are pushing one genre only, since its the one genre that makes the most money.

While that is fine for a genre that clearly has many fans, its a bit sad for the industry as a whole. Diversity has always been fun, even with capitalism in the big picture - but again, I guess thats what the indie scene is here to deliver.

[Rob_Merritt]

This is disappointing but not unexpected.

[wonderpug]

Hey I was as big a Syndicate addict as anyone back in the day.  It was one of my most often replayed games.  I'd love to have a faithful remake, sure, but if* they get the world and mood right it would be awesome to explore the setting some more in a different way.


*big "if," I know

[Purge]

Hey I was as big a Syndicate addict as anyone back in the day.  It was one of my most often replayed games.  I'd love to have a faithful remake, sure, but if* they get the world and mood right it would be awesome to explore the setting some more in a different way.


*big "if," I know

I'm worried that this will turn out to be like Command & Conquer : Renegade. It was an OK FPS, but its source material was far more compelling.

Wait, Bionic Commando went through the same thing too!

[Razgon]

Hey I was as big a Syndicate addict as anyone back in the day.  It was one of my most often replayed games.  I'd love to have a faithful remake, sure, but if* they get the world and mood right it would be awesome to explore the setting some more in a different way.


*big "if," I know

Yeah so true - Its just that...the lack of ANY mention of Persuadertron is a bit of an indication that they aren't really taking it seriously - at least to me, that was one of the things that made Syndicate what it was.

[Turtle]

It was also a completely imbalanced mechanic, very cool for its time.

Nevertheless, I'm also one of those people who loved the old game, and I'm not too keen on a remake that isn't a tactical + strategic game is disappointing. But the sheer level of whiiiiiine and raaaaaage is altogether silly, not to mention won't change this.

As you said, you'll probably be trying these. Why not just skip it and vote with your money?

Better yet, instead of petitioning for this to stop (which is honestly not going to happen), why not petition for them to take all the assets, and create a smaller title that's closer to the original syndicate for release on XBLA, PSN, and PC? This way, you appeal to the greedy execs who forced this game on us.

Or better yet, try to make games that bring back the spirit of the old games yourself, like I'm doing.

[Razgon]

I actually thought I made a rather good and thoughtful post, that was anything but just whining.

Its easy to dismiss people as whining if thats your jolly, but not very constructive.

I probably wont be trying it, so definitely voting with my wallet!

As for the last part, thats a pretty silly argument to bring out - Are we only allowed to comment on something we personally will fix or do better now? This forum will die out within an hour, then.

edit: Btw, I love the writing already - What is Science Fiction fiction?

editedit: Was the story of Crysis 2 any good? I never did try it very much, so I don't know, but this Morgan guy did that story as well.

[EngineNo9]

This is probably why the indie games scene has come into existence, since their motivations are mostly the opposite. Make the best game possible, and hope to make a decent buck while doing so.

Very true, but it is also true that the vast majority of indie games fail and indie developers can't make a living.  There are certainly a small number of exceptions to that rule, but for every Notch/Minecraft there are a thousand developers and games you have never even heard of.

If you want to release a major multiplatform title these days you are spending tens and hundreds of millions of dollars to have 100+ people working for several years on that project.  When you do that you would probably also like to increase your chance of at least making some of that back.  The majority of games don't even sell enough to break even with the costs of development and marketing.  Whether gamers like it or not, the games industry is a business first and foremost and those "greedy execs" are trying to keep the lights on and salaries paid for another year.

I think the rebirth of indie games is awesome, but as people expect more and more even from those games I think you're going to see an abbreviated recreation of the last 20 year evolution of the games industry. Complexity rises, team sizes grow, games take longer to make and people need to feed their families so you have to start making hard decisions.

[Turtle]

Actually, indie games scene game into existence to give us experiences that weren't rehashes of these old games, usually on handhelds. It just turns out there's another market for remakes.

[whiteboyskim]

Oddly, I have less of a problem with this is they do go the Deus Ex route. But if they go the God of War route FPS-style then yeah, fail. But if the main character has ballpoint pens strapped to his arms that he swirls around and kills people with while screaming "ACQUIRE!" I think I'd love it.

[The Rocketman]

editedit: Was the story of Crysis 2 any good? I never did try it very much, so I don't know, but this Morgan guy did that story as well.

I thought it was very, very bad. (Convulated, messy, full of scripted 'amazing' moments, no memorable characters).

I'm quoting myself here (http://gamingtrend.com/forums/index.php?topic=33933.160):

Lastly, the story feels rather disjointed, chaotic, clumsy, and is just not very well executed. The Halo-games suffer from this as well. I really don't like the way these modern games create a story. Half the time you have no clue what's going on, and they just complicate things for the sake of it. Does anyone feel all these movies showing your suit with vague symbols, alien viruses and technical mumbo-jumbo talk add anything? What's wrong with a clear story about -oh, I don't know - the alien invasion? Right now it feels more like a hindsight... Very weird.

By contrast, the story of Crysis 1 wasn't anything great, but it at least had an enjoyable cast and some clear, obvious scenes. You always knew your role in the big picture.

[Razgon]

Thats a bummer

Anyways, I actually think Syndicate could work quite well as an FPS, after giving it some thought. I just hope they make it an open world game, and not a corridor shooter they needed to slap a name on.

It doesnt even need rpg stats or anything, but just a big open world, with objectives to take, and the AI doing the same.

[raydude]

Or better yet, try to make games that bring back the spirit of the old games yourself, like I'm doing.

Please, do tell

[CeeKay]

wow, early 2012.  looks like they've been working on this for awhile now.  of course I bet it's delayed at least once.