Rock, Paper, Shotgun

The Syndicate Announcement Trailer

By Jim Rossignol on September 29th, 2011 at 1:45 pm.


Okay, here it is: the first Syndicate trailer. Heavy on the dubstep and men in trenchcoats. Gosh, this makes me realise that the original Syndicate came out in the era before there were generally trailers for games.

- No waving policeman?
- HUD elements at 0:34 look interesting.
- Gosh, they meant that “breaching” enemies thing, at 0:40.
- 0:50: wubwubstep!
- 1:03: a boot stamping on a human face. Forever?
- I like the casually shooting people at 1:16.
- Some men certainly get shot.
- No sign of co-op yet?
- Logo is a bit weak. Looks like Any Old Action Movie font.

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206 Comments »

  1. 29/09/2011 at 13:47 Dr I am a Doctor says:

    such verbosity has never been seen before

  2. 29/09/2011 at 13:48 Sheng-ji says:

    Oh wow, It looks like they may have learnt the right lessons from Human Revolution

    • 29/09/2011 at 13:58 Gnoupi says:

      From the people who made the boss fights?

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:01 Sheng-ji says:

      Nope, they would be the wrong lessons, and I don’t see any evidence of that in the trailer

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:02 Andy says:

      Would that be because this is 90% complete and HR only just came out?
      There’d have to be some awfully late in the game design work going on if they were learning anything from Deus Ex:HR…

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:03 Sheng-ji says:

      Actually saying they learnt lesons from HR is a bit insulting to Starbreeze, they have always made awesome, original games and this has clearly been in production from long before HR was released.

      Just count this as a “I want!”

      EDIT: Hehe, @ Andy!

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:23 MaxDaten says:

      There are still people who believe games are made in 6 month.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:52 ChiefOfBeef says:

      Must resist Deus Ex ’6 months’ meme.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:02 Orija says:

      @Sheng-ji

      The guys behind The Darkness and Riddick games left the building quite a while ago.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:02 battles_atlas says:

      So which are the lessons that you’re talking about Sheng-ji? All I see is yet another FPS. The only standout element of DE:HR that this trailer allows you to compare with is the art style, and that’s a total fail: generic grey and neon scifi.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:04 Skabooga says:

      @ChiefofBeef: Why contain it?

      It’s cool.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:55 staberas says:

      as someone said before , EA saw the preorder/sales figure of deus ex and started copying it.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:13 Sheng-ji says:

      @Orja: I know it’s a whole new team, but Johan Kristiansson put that team together and only left the company in February and so was in charge of the project for the majority of it’s lifespan.

      @battles_atlas: It looks to me like the choices you make in equipment, skills and playstyle make a massive difference in how you solve problems in the game – e.g, if you don’t have the tech that allowed the agent to take over that guards brain, you may have to go in guns blazing. Furthermore, from the trailer it looks like there could be a fairly believable world to play in – the two guards who don’t react until you start shooting – they looked like they are guarding that building and if you don’t try to enter, they won’t bother you. Now of course I could be wrong, it’s not exactly showing extended gameplay clips, but as I said before, I am cautiously optimistically that the game will be good. This trailer gave me a big chunk of positive feeling that it may well be very good, so I may be dropping the cautiously bit from that statement!

  3. 29/09/2011 at 13:49 AlwaysRight says:

    In the grim darkness of the far future there is only Wub.

  4. 29/09/2011 at 13:51 MrThingy says:

    Do not want.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:04 PatrickSwayze says:

      Go play some other games then, none of us mind!

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:12 MrThingy says:

      But deep down you do.

      In fact… my refusal to like this game burns within you like an inextinguishable fire of indignation.

      Unquenchable, only by me saying “actually, looks not arf bad”. But I won’t.

      Poor man’s Deux Ex.

    • 29/09/2011 at 21:07 Nogo says:

      I can’t wait for this to come out so we can all call the next potentially interesting shooter a poor man’s Syndicate.

      And frankly, I’m not seeing the amazingness that is HR anyways. It’s fun and all, but adding vents and quiet guns that put Zzz over a corpse’s head didn’t exactly blow my mind.

      On the other hand, blowing some guys mind into blowing away two other guy’s minds before blowing away his own mind is a bit mind blowing. So give Corporatocracy a chance, will ya?

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:06 bear912 says:

      I kind of hate to say it, but that was a really excellent trailer…

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:55 Commisar says:

      yeah, this game actually looks pretty fun

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:22 Askeladd says:

      I like the ‘brain-hack-feature’ in that trailer.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:38 MadTinkerer says:

      This trailer actually made me laugh evilly. Normally, I love playing the good guy. Give me a good/evil choice and I’ll pick good the first time every time. I loved being the Shiny Ruthless-But-Benevolent Overlord in Overlord. Heck, I even played most of the way through Postal 2 as a “good citizen” just to see if the game would let me.

      But this game looks like it’s going to be all about the Evulz. Not so much the dark funhouse mirror version of Human Revolution I was thinking it would be(though there looks like there will be a bit of that), but more of the simple glee of being on the villain’s side in a cyberpunk world. Like in the original Syndicate games.

      Also, flamethrowers make any FPS 200% better. I’m just saying.

  6. 29/09/2011 at 13:52 HungryDave says:

    +1 for at least referencing the original music a bit.

    -1 if there’s no Persuadertron.

  7. 29/09/2011 at 13:52 kyrieee says:

    If we’re gonna take the game for what it is and not just complain about it being an FPS I have to say that it looked more interesting than most comparable FPS trailers, but if it’s just another linear roller coaster ride then I’m out.

  8. 29/09/2011 at 13:53 Morkai says:

    no….No….NO….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. 29/09/2011 at 13:53 haowan says:

    So much potential pissed down the drain.

  10. 29/09/2011 at 13:53 DanPryce says:

    I’m have gone with BUSINESS …. IS …. BOOMING myself, with an explosion after booming for emphasis. Otherwise, it’s looking quite nice but I don’t know if it’s going to be must buy yet.

  11. 29/09/2011 at 13:54 olemars says:

    I think this would have stood better on its own legs instead of labelling it as a syndicate IP reboot.

    Also, original music tie-in + dubstep: this is becoming trailer cliche at this point.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:56 sinister agent says:

      Agreed. This appears to have nothing significant in common with Syndicate. It seems to know what it wants to do, and have some ideas of its own, which is great, but y’know, why staple the two together?

    • 29/09/2011 at 17:53 Felixader says:

      Because Brand recognition. Wich in this case fuels rage. ^_^ X-P

      Not from me though since i never played Syndicate. Althougth i tried but never got it running.

  12. 29/09/2011 at 13:55 Sp4rkR4t says:

    If this game has any other name in the universe I would think that looked at least interesting but as it stands all it makes me want to do is get on a plane and stomp on the heads of everyone at starbreeze.

  13. 29/09/2011 at 13:57 Moni says:

    I really like the trailer, because it looks good and it will definitely piss people off.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:17 MichaelPalin says:

      That’s what’s trailers do, look good. Just hope that all that looks good in the game is not contained in the trailer, as sometimes happen.

  14. 29/09/2011 at 13:58 Werthead says:

    I like the fact that at least they’ve used the original music (albeit remixed) and they’ve still got the Atlantic Accelerator in it. Also, airships, the Persuadatron (which is what I’m assuming was going on when the security guard went psycho), trenchcoat (sadly not bulging with 8 miniguns hidden underneath) and ludicrous ultraviolence. Seems okay as far as it goes.

    What would have been nicer is if they’d combined the overhead view and the FPS viewpoint somehow. Being able to zoom out, see what’s going on down the street and then plan a course of action before executing it in FPS, and of course stay in FPS when inside buildings. Oh well. Maybe for the sequel?

  15. 29/09/2011 at 13:58 xcession says:

    Boo, no deep robotic voice saying “Minigun”, nor hoard of a zillion persuaded people all flocking round you as a human shield.

    Actually if you can’t take down a skyscraper with explosives i’ll be pretty disappointed too.

  16. 29/09/2011 at 13:58 kulik says:

    Boooriiiing.

  17. 29/09/2011 at 13:59 DOs says:

    Pretty cool. I think. Couldn’t see much, it was like being at a rave.

  18. 29/09/2011 at 13:59 Williz says:

    Doesn’t actually look half bad. Visually kinda reminds me of Mass Effect 2 though.

  19. 29/09/2011 at 14:00 Icarus says:

    Wow. Godawful dubstep aside, this actually looks like something I’d be interested in playing (Caveat: I never played the original Syndicate and so have no frame of reference). Looks a bit like Paranoia done straight.

  20. 29/09/2011 at 14:01 Ravenholme says:

    So, Altered Carbon meets Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, with a city that looks like Frozen Synapse’s Markov Geist? And not even a token nod to the squad control of the original game?

    Don’t bloody call it Syndicate then.

    However, that said, the influences are good and it looks awesome in a cyberpunk way, so it might be a fun action game in it’s own right.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:56 Commisar says:

      well, its called name recognition, and EA was sitting on that setting/ IP for a while.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:12 LionsPhil says:

      The sheer number of people who looked at this video to see what they’ve done to the license who might have otherwise passed over some unheard of “new” IP that appeared to “just be dark sci-fi again, yawn, haven’t we had this before” made it worth it.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:25 Makariel says:

      Markov Geist was blue with green, red and yellow peoples in it.

      Also, the original syndicate looked like a straight blade runner rip off (since we’re at artistic influences).

    • 29/09/2011 at 20:38 Ravenholme says:

      So, Makariel, you completely ignored the artwork of the city when you’re outside of the Shape, then? Because that city is Markov Geist rendered in full 3D Glory, even down to the central towering spire with handmaiden buildings.

  21. 29/09/2011 at 14:02 PatrickSwayze says:

    Looks awesome.

    I care not for genres, only excellent games.

    This has gone straight to the top of my most wanted list.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:57 Commisar says:

      here here, i too care for excellent games, not blind devotion to 10 year old game design elements

    • 29/09/2011 at 18:44 rustybroomhandle says:

      I hope your reference to “10 year old game design elements” is purely making fun of people using that as an argument. Syndicate is almost 20 years old, and first person shooters also pretty much kicked off their life during that time.

      Either that or I am misinterpreting your comment. What are these game design elements you speak of?

  22. 29/09/2011 at 14:03 Hodge says:

    Chagrin-dicate.

  23. 29/09/2011 at 14:04 RogB says:

    so its an FPS which we knew, but i thought it was meant to still retain some kind of squad? or am i confusing it with XCOM? blegh.

  24. 29/09/2011 at 14:04 neolith says:

    Even though some sequences in the trailer look interesting I’m still pissed that it’s a FPS named Syndicate. I have to agree that it’d have way better chances if it was on its own…

  25. 29/09/2011 at 14:04 The_Great_Skratsby says:

    Nice to see they didn’t ignore the necessity for ‘Corporate Battle Cleavage’ at 1:59.

    Wouldn’t be Syndicate without it.

  26. 29/09/2011 at 14:06 HexagonalBolts says:

    Music snobbery moment: this is brostep – bland, repetitive, washed-out, commercial dubstep. This is not real dubstep.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:12 PatrickSwayze says:

      Cool Story Bro. Needs even more snobbery.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:46 DSDan says:

      You need way more jargon and name-dropping for the perfect snobbish post–keep trying young padawan.

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:21 c-Row says:

      I don’t see what’s snobbish about proper genre naming in a thread covering a game that receives heavy flak because of its genre change.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:12 Muzman says:

      Fair point. But you’d consider Skrillex a dubstep artist though right? (albeit one of the pop ones).
      I would suggest this remix was done like this for marketing reasons as much as anything. Super wonky beats would scare the straights.

    • 29/09/2011 at 18:37 Matt says:

      Skrillex is naff brostep… how can you tell? Listen to the wub-wub-line. It’s gratingly midrange rather than sub bass.

      /pedantry

    • 30/09/2011 at 05:41 celewign says:

      who cares? its catchy music and i love it.

      skrillex, datsik, excision, cotti, trolleysnatcha, skream, barenoize, bassnectar… its all good in my book.

  27. 29/09/2011 at 14:07 Giaddon says:

    Looked awesome. I hope it takes some pages form Human Revolution. If I can actually, in gameplay, use a person to cushion a multi-story fall I will be very happy

  28. 29/09/2011 at 14:08 pakoito says:

    Wub wub wub wub wub wub wubstep!

  29. 29/09/2011 at 14:09 Gap Gen says:

    I’ve complained about missing the point, but aside from missing the point it looks like it could be pretty ok. Unless the devs had a game they wanted to make and the marketing team just found them a license to plaster over it.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:23 Furius says:

      “could be pretty ok” – now there’s a quote for the box!

    • 29/09/2011 at 17:39 Gap Gen says:

      There should be more British understatement in advertising:
      SPLOSIONMASTER 4000: “Not too bad, all things considered” – Game Parquet
      Mr Death: The Killening: “I quite enjoyed it, I’d say” – PC Patter
      Ponies and Ponies and Ponies: “Quite alright, actually” – Digital Dressage

  30. 29/09/2011 at 14:10 torchedEARTH says:

    Hmmm, gone are the days of walking down a street persuading everyone to join my team, dropping a load of shotguns for them to pick up and then walking up to the target blowing them all to hell with a barrage of firepower.

  31. 29/09/2011 at 14:12 coldvvvave says:

    Yes.

  32. 29/09/2011 at 14:12 Groove says:

    The EA logo being followed no more than 5 seconds later by ‘Every Corporation has an Agenda’ and the crazy-evil-corp vibe made me LOL

  33. 29/09/2011 at 14:12 Eddy9000 says:

    That looks great, I like that they’ve focused on the theme of corporate dystopia from the original game. I think the corporate climate we’re in at the moment could offer some rich opportunities for dark satire, and it looks like the writers aren’t shying away from this. Kind of remended me of ‘Judge Dredd’ in a way.

    I know that some people are wanting another isometric squad based game, but really I think it’s the themes from a game that tie it to the series, not the gameplay.

    Oh and placing “Every corporation has an agenda” after the EA logo is either a massive oversight by their marketing department, or truly one of the best bits of satire I have ever seen in a computer game.

  34. 29/09/2011 at 14:14 Zepp says:

    Looks more cybernetically gay than Human Revolution. May be “must play”.

  35. 29/09/2011 at 14:16 GenBanks says:

    This… actually looks like it could be pretty good.

  36. 29/09/2011 at 14:16 Diziet Sma says:

    With the way the implant tech is shown working (which is pretty much like the original syndicate) plus the graphical style I might be able to treat this in my head as a logical extrapolation of events to one of the endings of Deus Ex : HR. This is a good thing. I didn’t want to like this but I’m very intrigued.

  37. 29/09/2011 at 14:16 Enzo says:

    This… actually looks kinda good. I’m a fan of the old games, but this seems to be OK. It’s cool that it comes out so soon, can’t wait.

  38. 29/09/2011 at 14:16 diebroken says:

    *Sigh* ‘Executive Package’ pre-order DLC?

  41. 29/09/2011 at 14:18 SavageD says:

    As much as I wanted to rage and cry foul because it’s not an isometric tactical whatsit like the Syndicate of old, I quite enjoyed that.

  42. 29/09/2011 at 14:22 Dominic White says:

    Looks really quite flash. Not too surprising – Starbreeze made the Chronicles of Riddick games, and The Darkness. They’re rather good at making non-standard first person action games.

  43. 29/09/2011 at 14:23 NunianVonFuch says:

    That looks awesome! Very much like Deus Ex: The More Violent Edition but I loves me some futuristic sci-fi FPS games. It’s distinct enough to still leave room for a proper strategy spin-off at some point too so maybe everybody wins!

  44. 29/09/2011 at 14:25 Kollega says:

    So, okay. What i get from this trailer is that this game is brutal, dystopian, Big-Brother-is-watching cyberpunk FPS. With copious amounts of dubstep.

    Can we please skip to the phase when the dominant genre in setting are action-adventure-RPGs set in brightly coloured fantasy worlds rife with hope, humour, and offbeat technology?

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:34 Bhazor says:

      Fun settings are soooo two thousand and one. Everything has to be “edgy”. Like in the nineteen nineties.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhOg8ubCPlc

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:37 Gundrea says:

      Do not look to hope. It has forsaken these lands.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:41 Kollega says:

      @ Bhazor: I assume that was sarcasm, since what i heard of Anachronox pictures it as something close to “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: The Game”: edgy, but humorous. You’d link to a video of Nineties’ Kid from Atop The Fourth Wall if you were serious. :P

      @ Gundrea: I’ve also heard that it’s the first step on the road to disappointment, was at the bottom of the Pandora’s box, and killed Winston Churchill’s pet kitten.

      But then again, my country has a saying: “Hope dies last”. Make of that what you will.

    • 29/09/2011 at 14:57 pkt-zer0 says:

      Oh, it’s you again. Does this not get boring after a while?

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:28 kyrieee says:

      “Do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands.”

      FYP

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:50 Hoaxfish says:

      Can we please skip to the phase when the dominant genre in setting are action-adventure-RPGs set in brightly coloured fantasy worlds rife with hope, humour, and offbeat technology?

      Futurama FPS?

    • 29/09/2011 at 15:52 Gundrea says:

      @kyrieee: trusting to hope never made any sense to me. Looking to hope works far better, especially in the context of how it has physically abandoned our current location.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:16 kyrieee says:

      I didn’t write the script :]

    • 29/09/2011 at 17:02 Kollega says:

      @ pkt-zer0: No it dosen’t. :P

      @ Hoaxfish: Eh… i was thinking more Bastion or Trine, that’s why i said “fantasy”. Those games are beautiful, and their settings certainly aren’t gritty and dystopian (DISCLAIMER: there may be some plot twist in Bastion that i’m unaware of just yet). More mainstream games like that, please!

    • 30/09/2011 at 06:05 Hidden_7 says:

      Quiet you! I’m enjoying me some overbuilt urban dystopias. I’m looking to wring a couple more games outta this setting before we move on to something else. I feel like I’ve earned it after all those zombies.

  45. 29/09/2011 at 14:27 Ovno says:

    I hate to say it, but I think that looks ace!!!

    Good style to it, very cyberpunk, nice use of various cyberware, looks like it could be good.

    Just a pity its called Syndicate, come up with your own name guys FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  46. 29/09/2011 at 14:29 kubikalbo1 says:

    Having played both Syndicate and Syndicate Wars I still want to dislike this. It looks like a decent shooter game at least but that’s not saying much. Whats going to make or break it for me is if the gameplay will be linear run and gun or if there will be real strategy involved in playing through each mission as in DX:HR

  47. 29/09/2011 at 14:31 DiamondDog says:

    Not sure about that, after playing so much of Human Revolution recently that footage left me pretty cold. Evil corporations, agents, implants. Hmmmm.

    Need to turn v-sync on for that logo, too.

  48. 29/09/2011 at 14:35 coldvvvave says:

    Haters gonna hate.

  49. 29/09/2011 at 14:35 Laurentius says:

    No even remote sign of „sandbox futuristic city” with civilians and policemen to kill. Console shooter in tight clean futuristic corridors and rooms. Shame.

  50. 29/09/2011 at 14:37 coldvvvave says:

    Neural Implant? Is it also Tactical? As in Tactical Neural Implant?

    Y-y-y-yesss.

  51. 29/09/2011 at 14:39 Unaco says:

    I was quite optimistic about this to begin with. Now I’m even more encouraged… because the player character seems to be a total c*nt. I was worried they’d have made him something of the good guy in a bad situation sort of thing. But I’m fairly sure we just saw him get to a prisoner by persuading/breaching a Policeman, getting him to shoot his partner and then himself… watch a Scientist shoot himself in order to destroy a chip or information, and then surgically extract it from his lifeless corpse… repeatedly smash an unarmed man’s face through a computer monitor.

    I think Miles Kilo is going to be something of an Anti Jensen. And woe to any man that takes the piss of his name.

  52. 29/09/2011 at 14:48 destroy.all.monsters says:

    Doesn’t look too bad surprisingly enough. I still think the idea of a single agent is a poor one as agents were typically brought off the street unwillingly, brainwashed and turned into mindless killing machines. Doesn’t make sense given the lore that you’d be attached to just one. Plus most missions were multi agent ones. I’d think that if one dies you simply replace him with another. The death penalty basically being one of hassle and expense rather than caring whether the character lives or dies.

    So it makes me wonder what the character’s motivation will be if he’s not brainwashed. Why do it? I really hope it doesn’t turn into a similar trope to Kane (of Kane and Lynch). The one thing that makes DXHR so great is the human interactions and that you are, in essence, playing a story rather than just shooting everything on rails.

    Also where is the gauss gun?

    Wow those pre-order bonuses in the Executive Pack are utterly worthless- gold skins! Woo! Really? EA’s collector’s editions always suck but this is particularly lame.

  53. 29/09/2011 at 14:49 Jimbo says:

    Was that Brian Cox at the start of the trailer?

  54. 29/09/2011 at 14:50 Phinor says:

    Looks like action Deus Ex. I could live with that.

  55. 29/09/2011 at 14:50 Stevostin says:

    Unexpected : me excited. You seem to really play an asshole this time. Looks outrageous – I expect the watchdogs to scream on suiciding the cops.

  56. 29/09/2011 at 14:52 Dominic White says:

    For those worried about it being about a solo agent, they’ve confirmed a seperate multiplayer campaign which involves 4 agents, and the missions are apparently direct remakes of ones from the original Syndicate.

  57. 29/09/2011 at 14:53 Tei says:

    Is weird that only one agent is show. I think syndicate is about 4 agents. Can’t have changed that.

  58. 29/09/2011 at 14:53 Man Raised by Puffins says:

    Syndicate has zero nostalgia value for myself, so my opinions can be summarised thusly: Stylish ultra-violence coupled with Starbreeze’s trademark physicality? Yes please.

    Also, COX!

  59. 29/09/2011 at 14:54 Zeewolf says:

    I don’t know what dubstep is, but I certainly liked the music.

  60. 29/09/2011 at 14:55 abigbat says:

    Great trailer, not enough leading huge lines of civilians about for no reason.

  61. 29/09/2011 at 14:57 ChiefOfBeef says:

    My main worry? Given the polish, this game will be four hours long.

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:06 Askeladd says:

      Oh thats long! Space marine took me only 3! Those nasty unskipable cutscenes!
      This maybe off-topic but.. No really what did they do 4 years long developing Space Marine?

    • 29/09/2011 at 16:26 abigbat says:

      build an excellent engine/platform from which they can expand the universe? Create a strong singleplayer experience and a surprisingly detailed multiplayer? Any longer and the mechanics would have become too repetitive.

    • 29/09/2011 at 20:51 Archipelagos says:

      If game mechanics get repetitive after only three hours play then that’s a problem with the mechanics, not anything else. It’s not so much to ask to have them put in a variety of mechanics, so you can have a lengthy game experience that doesn’t get boring.

    • 29/09/2011 at 21:25 abigbat says:

      Where’s this 3 hours coming from?? The campaign is around 7 hours long.

      [My Steam played time is 8 hours, which includes a brief dabble in multiplayer. I played on normal and only died a handful of times.]

  62. 29/09/2011 at 15:00 Graeme says:

    Looks good.. but every corporation should have four agents. Like X-Com if it was just an original game it would look great. The fact they are trying to cash in on an old classic but are making a totally different game doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll just wait for Syndicate Kart Racer instead.

  63. 29/09/2011 at 15:03 N says:

    Game looks ace. Stop complaining.

  64. 29/09/2011 at 15:10 non_entity says:

    Have to say – I like it.

    I never played the original Syndicate (played other games from around that time but never was that interested in it, only tactic shooter-y thing I play then was X-Com 2) so personally I don’t have a problem with them switching genres, but I definitely can understand people who did play the old game and don’t like this change.

    But what we see in this trailer – looks damn fine to me, somewhat DX:HR-y, and Starbreeze also made the great Chronicles of Riddick: Butcher Bay so … yeah, I’m interested.

  65. 29/09/2011 at 15:23 Lamellama says:

    I hope it has MOD support, this would make a really good RTS!

  66. 29/09/2011 at 15:23 DevilSShadoW says:

    Having never heard of syndicate prior to the whole “ITS AN FPS NOW HERP DERP” thing this, to me, looks absolutely marvelous! More please.

  67. 29/09/2011 at 15:33 Robin says:

    Looks ghastly.

    The trailer copy reads like it’s written by someone who doesn’t have English as a first language. The visual design is insipid. The combat looks like the usual console FPS “press X to trigger scripted animation” nonsense.

    Pretty much confirms it’s just the canned Bourne game with a generic cyberpunk respray job.

  68. 29/09/2011 at 15:39 thegooseking says:

    Don’t know what to think. Looks like it would be an awesome action movie, but it’s very hard to tell how that fits into the gameplay context.

    Which is more the problem with trailers in general than any problem with Syndicate.

  69. 29/09/2011 at 15:46 Matt says:

    that looks pretty cool whatever oldskool IP its ripping off. was worried that it would feel too much like DX:HR but this seems to have less velco-ing your backside to doorjams and more cybernetically enhanced ultraviolence.

    which was really what the original was all about.

  70. 29/09/2011 at 15:48 DukeOFprunes says:

    Surely no good Eurocorp staffer would leave all those non-company owned buildings standing around in such an impunitive manner.

  71. 29/09/2011 at 15:48 nayon says:

    Looks like a fun game, but not a Syndicate game.

  72. 29/09/2011 at 15:49 ThePeon26 says:

    The only reason I see allot of ppls not liking this game because it is not call of duty but guess what 12 year old kid there are other games in the world and if u don´t like it then piss of or I will take your balls and nail them to the wall.

    But aside from that this seams like a nice game.

  73. 29/09/2011 at 15:50 hello_mr.Trout says:

    hmm, scripted much?

  74. 29/09/2011 at 15:52 Auspex says:

    Looks neato. I liked when he punched the man the head.

  75. 29/09/2011 at 15:53 Hoaxfish says:

    Deus Ex: Black and Orange
    Syndicate: Black and Blue

    totally different, but together they make Orange&Blue

  76. 29/09/2011 at 15:53 Kdansky says:

    Right click to iron-sight, middle click to gangsta-style? Has there ever been a more pointless feature?

  77. 29/09/2011 at 15:57 ColOfNature says:

    Well shut my mouth! I was in the how-dare-they-Syndicate-isn’t-an-FPS camp, but having seen that I’m prepared to admit it looks pretty good. I blame the Persuadertron code sequence embedded in all that wubbing. I’ll still be playing Cartel, of course. But I’m prepared to accept that this isn’t the foul work of Beelzebub I first assumed it would be. That said, if it turns out to be another cookie-cutter shooter devoid of originality and wit my spite will be redoubled. Redoubled, I say!

  78. 29/09/2011 at 16:09 BreadBitten says:

    The one thing I took away from seeing this game in action was that the industry is now slowly shifting away from linear corridor shooters to a gameplay template that actually requires some cerebral activity. ‘Human Revolution’, Syndicate, ‘XCOM’, ‘Prey 2 and the like’, it’s like witnessing the start of a new trend…for the better!

  79. 29/09/2011 at 16:20 Reinhardt says:

    After playing Deus Ex a couple months ago (pacifist) and generally abstaining from gaming since, this trailer seems really, like, uncomfortably violent. It never would have bothered me before, but it just seems tacky now. I keep wondering how one person could find himself in the middle of so many violent conflicts…

    Don’t mind me, though. It does look fun.

  80. 29/09/2011 at 16:21 imperialus says:

    hrm… Looks better than XCOM…

    I think this is a perfect example (kind of like fallout) where keeping the tone and ‘feel’ of the original game does a hell of a lot to win me over, even if the gameplay has radically changed…

  81. 29/09/2011 at 16:33 Caal says:

    I like what I saw although it does have the look of a linear shooter. Hopefully that’s just the trailer making it look misleading.

  82. 29/09/2011 at 16:35 MajorManiac says:

    To me the trailer was very off-putting, but only because I was expecting something very different. The huge grudge I have against this game will only be short lived, as I was told I was getting chocolate ice-cream and got vanilla instead. But then vanilla is nearly as enjoyable.

    But this could be a very good game despite the licence. I’m looking forward to see where this game is going.

  83. 29/09/2011 at 16:36 konrad_ha says:

    I hate it.

  84. 29/09/2011 at 16:40 hosndosn says:

    Boring, generic FPS.

  85. 29/09/2011 at 16:50 7Seas says:

    Trailer was great actually, and I say that as a long time fan of Syndicate and Syndicate Wars.

    Looks like a Deus Ex without the dull focus on sneaking through the idiotic vents and hacking 500 computers just to read boring corporate emails and nigerian spam. Not to mention a potentially more enjoyable story line than the hang wringing utterly ridiculous “everybody is being forced to get implants!” tripe that Deus Ex decided to go with.

    It’s like they reached into the bucket of the most interesting philosophical debates about trans-humanism and threw them all away and then present us with a story created by someone without a shred of knowledge of even basic economics.

    DEHR’s line of even hookers are forced into getting augmented vajayjay’s was so woefully stupid it really hurt my enjoyment of the game.

    One thing is a boob job, which at its chop shop level is a slice,stuff,and stitch, and another is the completely replacement of an organic component with an incredibly sophisticated active robotic component with full neural interface.

    So yeah, everyone is forced into getting million or multi-million dollar hardware involving surgeries costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. So they can what, get a vibrating fleshlight installed instead of their girl parts?

    And apparently augmetics installation is so common that even hobos have augs, and random gang bangers can install augs on themselves…

    Fucking. Ridiculous.

    DEHR is cyberpunk channelled through a profoundly naive and ignorant 12 year old organic vegan hippy. Which honestly is a disservice to all the creative kids out there.

    Syndicate on the other hand looks like the same old syndicate. Dark cyberpunk, ala 1980s. Which is delicious.

  86. 29/09/2011 at 16:58 Demikaze says:

    I know we shouldn’t judge from the trailer, but I do hope things like breaching someone’s mind using the implant isn’t proscribed apart for certain scripted moments. I mean, the part where the guard shoots the room’s occupants, then himself, which shatters the glass and gives you access, is clearly scripted. It looks great, but in a Call of Duty ‘press X to perform super-awesome-move that is unavailable for the rest of the game’ way. The same goes for rappelling through the windows, and the Bourne-esque ‘grab a guy, launch over a banister, and use his body to cushion your fall’ manoeuvre.

    It looks actually very very good, but I hope the full move set is available throughout. This being from the makers of The Darkness, I’m hopeful.

    • 30/09/2011 at 00:15 Strange_guy says:

      Agreed, the trailer looked good but a lot of it looked like it could be confined to being very scripted. If it isn’t too scripted or linear, and has decent story and writing that’s fairly faithful to previous syndicates it could be good.

  87. 29/09/2011 at 17:11 LuNatic says:

    So it’s DX:HR from the perspective of one of the evil corporate mercenary bosses?

  88. 29/09/2011 at 17:22 JKjoker says:

    everything in that trailer looks scripted except for 3 seconds of it, not a very good sign

    the setting looks interesting, not enough cyberpunk games for me yet (altho they are coming out by the dozen im guessing ill get sick of them soon)

    and i cant say im digging this music

  89. 29/09/2011 at 18:05 vodka and cookies says:

    Looks pretty good, nice music remix too.

    Although why on earth did they copy the lady from Deux Ex that pops up at the end of the trailer, perhaps they are keeping up the Syndicate tradition of ripping off others, I’d forgotten how much of Blade Runner’s props they had lifted and the APC from Aliens too.
    http://syndicate.lubie.org/synd/html/synd_vehicles.php

    I really hope the laser weapon makes an appearance, that was fantastic.

  90. 29/09/2011 at 18:43 ResonanceCascade says:

    I wasn’t worried as much about the shameless IP recycling as I was about the fact that a gimped version of Starbreeze was making the game…but this looks like fantastic. It looks like what I wanted Assault on Dark Athena to be, which is a beefed up version of some of the ideas from Butcher Bay. Nicely done.

  91. 29/09/2011 at 20:28 Navagon says:

    “press X to persuade”

    Sorry, Starbreeze, but it’s just not that easy.

  92. 29/09/2011 at 21:16 buzzmong says:

    It’s not Syndicate but crikey, looks like it could be a really good game (unlike XCOM, the videos of that have bored me so far).

    I’m actually really open to this as not only have I thought for years that Syndicate would work well as an FPS, but it also helps that Paradox are doing a modern update of the original game with Cartel, so my squad based itch will be scratched by them.

    • 29/09/2011 at 22:29 Bobby Oxygen says:

      It looks like good dumb fun. I might give it a chance if it comes out on Steam. If it’s Origin exclusive though, no sale here.

  93. 30/09/2011 at 00:06 zino says:

    Well now… This is something. It’s not Syndicate, but I do kind of like it anyway. Does that make me a traitor?

  94. 30/09/2011 at 02:07 Burning Man says:

    I like this new explosion of cyberpunk FPS-RPGs. Better than plain old FPSes, which we will always have too many of. All it needs is a half decent story and it’s set.

  95. 30/09/2011 at 02:21 Burky says:

    well that was a nice bunch of scripted events and cod-style scope shooting

    i was hoping for something along the lines of SWAT 4, but that would be a little too optimistic of me

    at least the art design isn’t as terrible as DXHR

  96. 30/09/2011 at 07:13 Kadayi says:

    Good trailer. There was something very mirrors Edge about the footage in terms of some of the character movement (as well as the editing) which coupled with the DX vibe is no bad thing. Giantbomb had a bit of a play with it and were impressed with what they saw as well, so I’m thinking this is likely one to watch.

  97. 30/09/2011 at 12:27 Isometric says:

    I’m going to be very unpopular and say that I thoroughly enjoyed that.

  98. 30/09/2011 at 21:56 Narretz says:

    looks good, for what it is. It looked like they translated the furious battles from the isometric view quite well. We probably won’t see large outdoor areas though, which is a shame. If it’s like Hitman in Cyberpunkia though with more shooting I am definitely intrigued.

  99. 01/10/2011 at 03:04 Sunjammer says:

    Well, I think it looks awesome. Shame about the Skrillex. That music makes me want to shave my balls with a piece of paper.

  100. 03/10/2011 at 09:17 brfritos says:

    I’m one of the old Syndicate fanbois. The problem with this game is not being in First Person View, albeit I prefered the top down from the firts. Is not even the bum-bum-scratch PoS soundtrack. Also it’s not the way they changed the story.

    The problem is this game looks like a thousand others shooters on the market. If you remove the name Syndicate and putted “FEAR4″ a lot of people wouldn’t even pay attention,
    That’s the real problem.

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