Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror review

Hiding in the shadows is standard stealth procedure for any self-respecting elite anti-terrorist agent, but for Gabe Logan, hiding in the shadow of his rivals has been more of a curse. Never as popular as Solid Snake, eclipsed by Sam Fisher and not given a decent outing on the PS2, but at least Gamestyle appreciates him.The Syphon Filter series presents a balanced mix of stealth, shooting and cunningly scripted set-pieces. In Dark Mirror, Gabe's first PSP adventure, this balance is tighter than ever. Every level in the game can be tackled in multiple ways; using stealth, gung-ho action or manipulating parts of the environment. This may not be obvious when playing through the story mode for the first time (seven uninterrupted chapters comprised of a handful of levels each), but when revisiting the mission mode, you'll try out new ways to pass each level. It's not as single-minded as Splinter Cell and enemies don't respawn like they do in Metal Gear Solid; if your stealth fails, the combat engine is more than capable of picking up the slack.Presentation-wise, Dark Mirror leaves a lot to be desired. The story is the same secret-terrorist-conspiracy plot we've been treated to a thousand times before, complete with bizarrely-named characters with gruff voices and all the charisma of a teabag. The bad guys all feature laughably unconvincing voices - even despite the swearing - and the main character Gabe sounds like he graduated from the Keanu Reeves school of acting. The graphics are solid and detailed, but very drab and devoid of style, and even the FMV cut scenes make the characters look like zombies. If it's hard-hitting drama and emotive visual flair you want, this is not for you. On the plus side, it all runs smoothly and loads pretty quickly.There are also some nifty graphical tricks with the visors, and each gets good mileage: the night-vision helps when crawling through vents, the electrical scanner shows up important items and devices, and the thermal imaging picks up body heat. Due to its ability to see people through walls, this will be the most used visor throughout the game.Ah, but the controls may be a sticking point. The default configuration has movement assigned to the analogue stick and free aiming to the face buttons. Or you can switch them around, so movement is with the buttons and aiming with the analogue stick. Neither is very comfortable as the buttons are no substitute for a second control stick. Finally, there is a 'classic' option which takes us back to the PSone era. Although this does away with free aiming (you can only precision target whilst standing still), this seemed the only sensible choice. You can still strafe and lock onto targets whilst moving, and it's worth noting that the slow-paced gameplay makes this entirely usable through the one-player game. There are a few training levels if you want to get used to the handling, but it should come naturally enough in time.Combat situations feature a lot of ducking and covering, as popularised recently by Gears of War. You can press up against any wall or surface and shoot over the top or sides. Enemies aren't the sharpest tools in the box, but they'll usually shoot at you from cover, and only occasionally run towards your position. It's a fun system, and when you lean out and pull off a string of impressive head-shots without taking a hit, it's empowering. The only issue is it's not as natural or as visceral as Gears of War; the controls are fiddly and context-sensitive, so if someone runs towards you, it's a mad fumble to pull away from the wall, lock-on and shoot them before you're a heap on the floor.It's still impressive stuff for the PSP, though. The hit-detection is nigh-on perfect. No invisible boxes around objects; a clear line of sight to something means you can hit it. As is the norm for Syphon Filter, a head shot equals death - no questions. Enemies with body armour are particularly satisfying to take down this way, as you can take their undamaged flak jacket from them afterwards. Some tougher foes are suited up with full Kevlar armour, and the final boss is a predictably elaborate setup, but there's always a weakness somewhere and exploiting it is always fun, never annoying. The taser, a staple of the series, makes its return. It can stun enemies from a decent range (and set fire to them, with patience), but it's a little too easy to rely on it.If the story mode seems too easy, the mission mode should provide a different sort of challenge. Every level has a certain number of the same criteria to meet: stealth kills, knife kills, kills using darts, kills using the environment, head-shots and surviving with one life. It sounds simple enough, but you can't possibly ace every criteria in one go. Use stealth, and there will be no reinforcements, hence you won't get enough kills. Imagine, then, trying to complete every level with just the knife! It's not just your skill that's tested here, but your efficiency and logical thinking, particularly with using the different types of dart. It may be a lazy way to squeeze extra play time from the levels, but it's surprisingly compelling.Somewhat less compelling is the online mode. For all its technical impressiveness, it's one of the least inviting online environments Gamestyle has ever been in. With its rank system rewarding better players with even better weapons and skills, it practically discourages 'noobs' from taking part - never mind the innate disadvantage already associated with learning the ropes in this sort of game. But the ultimate nail in the online coffin is that those classic controls that made so much sense throughout the single player game are utterly useless in online combat situations. If you survive more than three seconds in front on a free-aim-enabled enemy, you can count yourself lucky. It's a feature-rich system, make no mistake - with in-game messaging, voice chat, friends list and clan system - but so utterly unbalanced and unrewarding as to feel like you're wasting your time.Thankfully, with such a rich offline component, it hardly matters. Levels are well-paced and in bite-sized chunks, full of variety and always coming up with unique set-pieces. It recaptures the spirit of the original games and adds a modern twist. And as a technical showcase for the PSP, this is one title that might just get Gabe Logan the attention he deserves.