Syphon Filter was a stealth action game series originating from the PS1 made by Eidetic, now known as Sony Bend Studio. With 7 games in the series, it started out with great success with the original trilogy, but fell off after the polarizing The Omega Strain that already had a somewhat troubled development cycle, capping off with the PSP (then ported to PS2) titles Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow. There was a multiplayer only PvP game on the PSP only subtitled Combat Ops that was essentially the multiplayer component of Logan's Shadow.
The series primarily stars Gabe Logan, an agent for an unnamed covert government agency tasked with uncovering the origin of the Syphon Filter, a bioweapon virus, and stopping any terrorist force that is using it. Along with him is a diverse cast of characters including Lian Xing, his friend and partner throughout the entire series; Teresa Lipan, another friend of his that assists Gabe throughout the series; Lawrence Mujari, a virologist that helps him and his crew; and many more.
The original trilogy are standard linear affairs, taking ques from various spy and action movies at the time. The games are more action focused, with a good handful of the levels of each game requiring stealth for certain objectives or the entire level. The difficulty wasn't bad for the time, with a normal mode and an unlockable hard mode requiring a cheat code and received great reviews for its story and gameplay, and each game sold well.
The Omega Strain was rather different however. In this game where you take up the role of a customizable recruit for the Agency, working alongside characters of the series and up to 3 additional players in select missions too. The game received mixed reviews for people wanting to play as Gabe Logan rather than a create a character, the non linearity of the game and levels, an early game experience that can be difficult due to the lack of powerful equipment, unlocks that can be considered a grind, and a good portion of the game requires the use of online play to 100% the game normally. Others though praised the game for this new direction for the replayability of it and being one of the early pioneers for online console gaming.
The series never had the success it once did after this entry with the hard competition from the Metal Gear and Splinter Cell series. The next two entries were PSP exclusive titles for a time after returning to a more traditional linear style and a new control scheme to better accommodate the PSP, and the series ended due to the writers simply not knowing where to take the story next after the last game. The series has lied dormant since then with Bend Studios developing a couple of spin off games for other series and eventually their new IP Days Gone. While they still hear the cult fan base that wish for the return of the series and including easter eggs in the new game showing reverence to the franchise that saved the company after Bubsy 3D, they have no plans for the series at the time of writing this. They are reportedly working on a brand new IP after failed pitches for a Days Gone sequel and a new Resistance game.
Thanks for reading this, hope this sparked interest for what is my favorite game series and can generate more fans for it. Go ahead and discuss the series if you already knew of it and are fans, or just want to rip apart my post for it's lack of proper writing, formatting, grammar, etc. (I was never good with essays).
