Syphon Filter (PS1) Review

I first heard of Syphon Filter when I was reading the list of games that Sony Bend Studio made. Their most recent games after the last Syphon Filter game were Resistance: Retribution for the PSP and Uncharted: Golden Abyss for the PS Vita so I was curious to see what else they had made. I read a bit about the series and I was sort of interested. I took a look at Classic Game Room’s short and simple video review and I got more interested, so I bought the first three games off of Amazon.  And I have to say, I think the first Syphon Filter is pretty good.

A group of terrorists develop a biological weapon called the Syphon Filter virus. The Agency (cleverest name ever) hires their best agent, Gabe Logan, to defeat the terrorists and prevent the virus from killing millions of people, while being aided by his partner Lian Xing and the Chemical and Biological Defense Command, or CBDC for short.

Gabe Logan

To be honest, I don’t find the story that great. Let me get this out of the way: Gabe is an okay character. I expected a lot out of him, but he’s just another serious hired gun. On the other hand, he’s got awesome hair and a distinctive voice. His partner, Lian, is also decent, but needs more character growth. On the other hand, the supporting characters are one-dimensional and merely forgettable. I can’t even remember most of their names. I appreciate the developers’ ambition on making the characters “as diverse and un-stereotypical as possible”, but that’s just not enough. Heck, I couldn’t really keep up with the story anyways. But the gameplay is the game’s biggest strength.

Syphon Filter is an espionage-based, third-person shooter with some stealth elements thrown in. Being that it’s a PS1 game released in 1999, you expect the controls and gameplay to be a little iffy and outdated by today’s standards. Well, yeah, but it's still playable to this day.

The Air Taser.

As Logan, you go from level to level, shooting enemies and gathering new weapons, which range from handguns, pistols, machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and grenades. The most unique and memorable weapon in the game is the Air Taser. You fire a probe (that looks like a string) and it will shock your enemies. If you hold it down long enough, they will burst into flames. Like the first Ratchet & Clank, selecting a weapon doesn’t pause the game, which kind of intrudes on the gameplay.


There are three targeting modes in the game. There’s the default where you just simply press the square button. However, I recommend the second option where you hold the R1 button to automatically target your enemies, making shooting at them much easier. However, you’re not always going to have to lock on to enemies.

Some enemies wear bulletproof vests making it longer and harder to kill them, which lead to manually aiming in first person. If you aim at their heads, the crosshairs will spell out “HEADSHOT”, giving you a chance to shoot them in the head. You’re going to be using this technique a lot so expect a lot of enemies wearing bullet-proof vests.

The in-game HUD includes an Armor, Danger, and Target bar on the top-left corner of the screen. The Armor bar shows how many times Gabe can get shot while wearing a bulletproof vest before losing it, reducing it to a simple health bar, forcing you find a spare from a crate or from an enemy you killed. The Danger bar warns you of the likeability that you will get shot. The Target bar displays the remaining health your current target has.

An example of the gameplay.

You can take cover and also peek around corners during first-person view with the shoulder buttons. Like I said, some enemies will be wearing bullet-proof vests, so watch out.

At the beginning of a mission, you are briefed, being given background information and a quick level overview. During missions, you are given objectives to complete in order to progress. Sometimes, a new objective will be added during the mission when Lian Xing or other operatives contact you. There are mission parameters that tell you what not to do in a level, and if you fail, you restart from the last checkpoint.

The stealth mechanics aren't half bad.

I briefly mentioned that this game incorporates stealth elements. There are levels that require you to remain undetected. If you are spotted, you’re done for and you will restart at the last checkpoint. There was this one mission where you have to remain undetected the whole time. If you are seen, the alarm will raise and several guards will come after you. If you complete one objective, gain a checkpoint, and the alarm is still raised, you’re better off restarting the level. The stealth sections require a lot of trial and error, so don’t expect to get it right the first time.

I will have to say that after making it through a stealth section in the end, it just feels so rewarding.

So, in a nutshell, Syphon Filter is the PS1’s GoldenEye 007 but in third-person.

What I like about this game is the level variety. You go to different locations, like a park, a wrecked subway, an ice base, and a warehouse. One of, if not, my favorite levels is when Gabe has to navigate through a dark cave. It gives you that feeling of uneasiness because you don’t want the enemies to see you as you headshot them with the night-vision rifle.

Hmm... How do I take this guy down?

The boss fights in the game are a mixed bag for me. I liked a couple of bosses that require you to use cover, stealth or the element of surprise. I think the best fight in the game is against Girdeaux, the first boss. It has a nice set-up, taking cover and shooting that propane tank on his back when he is not looking.

The rest I don't really care about, especially the final boss who continuously throws grenades at you, which gets annoying rather quickly.

The game is not without its flaws, and I’ve already mentioned some:

1. A plot that is hard to follow, complete with forgettable characters.
2. When I missed a mission objective and I can't continue, I have to go back and complete, which sometimes make it boring to go through.
3. Underwhelming boss fights, with the exception of Girdeaux.
4. Logan controls very stiffly (even with analog control), especially when rolling. I also thought the strafing buttons would come in useful, like the strafing the Ratchet & Clank series, but they prove to be otherwise. This is especially when he can already walk sideways while auto-aiming.
5. Switching to manual aiming can be a problem when I have to aim at an armored enemy's head, leaving me open for attack. Don't get me started on the armored enemies throwing grenades at me. Now that I've mentioned it, if you headshot an armored enemy (unless you use a sniper rifle from far away) but he already threw the grenade, chances of rolling out of the way before the grenade explodes are very small.

Anyways, I'm impressed that this game was made by the same developers of Bubsy 3D. I swear I'm not making this up; that was the first game they ever made. Syphon Filter wasn't anything special, but it's a heck of a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out.

Sure, it hasn't aged well in some parts especially since no third-person shooter uses these mechanics today, but it’s still playable to this day. If you want an old-fashioned third-person shooter, look no further than this game. Expect a review on Syphon Filter 2 and 3 in the future. By the way, the main theme… is awesome!