Syndicat Explained

If you are able to set aside the coarse graphics, you will see that this game still has a lot going for it. A simple scenario sets you in a mega-corporate world where big bucks and big guns define the law (OCP anyone ?). You are the squad leader of a team of four stooges that are brainwashed to obey you to the gruesome end. You can control their reaction time (to a point) and their awareness. You can use them for termination missions, recovery missions or abduction missions.

Although the game engine is nice, there is not much room for stealth or infiltration. Your best bet is to avoid being seen as long as possible.

Of course, no squad-based game would be complete without trooper enhancements, and this game has the gamut. From bionic limbs, chests and eyeballs, to Gauss guns and flamethrowers, you can steadily upgrade your emmissaries until the Reaper himself is hard put to compete. Since you are playing the stonehearted corporate bully, anything moving that is not part of your team can be a target for your mayhemtrotters. Civilians, police and, of course, other coporate thugs, will all fall under your guns - to the possible exception of civilians which are, by definition, innocent. But for the other two categories, it's no holes barred. Either that or you fail the mission.

The game engine also allows you to take control of the (limited amount of) vehicles of the game. Mainly, you have cars of the unarmored type and military APC that are vastly more resistant but not invulnerable. If you are not given a vehicle at the start of a mission, the only way to acquire one is to hijack it. Shooting the conductor typically prompts an immediate halt and exit of the driver, thereby leaving the vehicle free for your use. Of course, hijacking is best done with light weapons, since heavy ones will more likely blow the car up.

An interesting possibility offered by the game is to brainwash enemy agents. They support you (weakly) in fights, follow you around and, at the end of the mission, become part of your reserve team. It is the only way to ensure that you can replace your initial platoon if you make too many unlucky mistakes.

On the strategic side, you are to conquer the world (no less) by selecting countries to "pacify". Each country is the object of one mission. Each country pacified allows you to raise a sort of taxe, that replenishes your coffers. So you also have a dab of economy, although this aspect is admittedly light. In any case, this selection method allows you to choose your missions in a way. First, you will take over Europe, then you get to into Africa or Asia, then down to Australia or sideways to the American continents. The North American continent is the most difficult and should not be undertaken until all the troops you use are heavily armored and armed.

Mission maps are quite varied, although always of the city type. The simple ones are often of the single-level type, but bi-level and some pseudo multi-level are also in the menu. The more complicated missions deal with rather large maps, the harder ones include military types that are much better armed than the police.

Talking about the police, you have an agreement with them. No one is authorized to carry weapons except the police, but as long as you do not show your weapons you will not be harassed or searched. Unfortunately (for the police), as soon as you reveal your weapons you are ordered to halt by the nearest policeman. That one will try to arrest you until either you shoot him dead or you hide your weapons again. Rest assured that no policeman will ever get a chance to arrest your boys - he won't live long enough.

The bad boys game par excellence, Syndicate is the spiritual great granddaddy of Postal, Mafia and Constructor, as well as any other bad-side-playing game you can think of.

Bullfrog did it first.