| Syndicate | |
|---|---|
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| Genres | Real-time tactics,first-person shooter |
| Developers | Bullfrog Productions,Ocean Software,Starbreeze Studios |
| Publisher | Electronic Arts |
| Platforms | MS-DOS,Windows,PlayStation,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360,Amiga,Amiga CD32,Mac,Sega Genesis,SNES,3DO,Atari Jaguar,Acorn Archimedes,FM Towns,NEC PC-9801,Sega-CD,PSP |
| First release | Syndicate 2 July 1993 |
| Latest release | Syndicate 21 February 2012 |
Syndicate is a series ofscience fictionvideo games created byBullfrog Productions and published byElectronic Arts. There are two main titles:Syndicate (1993) andSyndicate Wars (1996), both of which areisometricreal-time tactics games. An additionalfirst-person shooterSyndicate title was released in 2012, and aspiritual successor to the series (returning to the real-time tactics format), entitledSatellite Reign, was released in 2015.
Syndicate, the first game in the series, was first released forPC andAmiga in June 1993, with later releases on other platforms includingSega Genesis,SNES,Atari Jaguar, andPlayStation Portable. In 2015, the game was made available for free onElectronic Arts' Origin platform, however it now costs £4.25 (As of 20JUN19).[1]
An expansion pack, titledSyndicate: American Revolt, was also released for PC and Amiga in 1993.[2][3]
Special edition, titledSyndicate Plus, include original game, American Revolt expansion pack and support for current versions of Sound Blaster released for PC in 1994.[4]
The second game in the series,Syndicate Wars, was released forPC in October 1996[5] andPlayStation in July 1997.[6]Syndicate Wars utilized a more demanding graphics engine, including a3-dimensional environment, compared with the2-dimensional layout ofSyndicate).
In 2008, adigital distribution version of the PlayStation version was released on thePlayStation Network.[7]
Reports of a newSyndicate game, developed for EA byStarbreeze Studios, first surfaced in March 2009[8] and were officially confirmed in September 2011.[9] The game, also entitledSyndicate, was released on 21 February 2012; however, it used afirst-person shooter format, which differed significantly from theisometricreal-time tactics format of the series' original games.[10]
According to a former Bullfrog Productions employee, a follow-upSyndicate title for PC began development shortly after the release ofDungeon Keeper 2 in 1999; however, this development effort was never completed. This was followed by several further development efforts which did not progress.[11]
The same employee states that aSyndicate title onPlayStation 2 was under development for approximately one year; however, this title was also never released. It was intended to feature a "free-roaming, multi-tiered city" and two new factions, known as theFreemen and theHybrid.[11] Several pieces of concept art from this project were released by another former Bullfrog employee, Mike Man.[12]
In a 2006 interview at theLeipzig Games Convention forGameSpot,Peter Molyneux (co-founder of Bullfrog Productions) said that he would like to revisit some of his old efforts, but adds that it is very unlikely that will happen; however, Molyneux made one possible exception:
"Aside from the licensing complications, some sort of next-gen online version ofSyndicate would certainly be popular with gamers."[13]
A Bullfrog project namedCreation was intended to take place on an alien world set in theSyndicate universe. The game's plot was to have EuroCorp as the antagonists, while the player, representing a third-party biologist, utilized semi-sentient dolphins to fight them.[14][15]
Following development forMS-DOS,[16]Amiga CD32,[17]PlayStation,[18] andSega Saturn,[18] the game was cancelled in 1997.[19][20]
On 15 May 2013, Mike Diskett (who was the producer and lead programmer forSyndicate Wars[21]) posted a video onYouTube[22] that revealed an imminentKickstartercrowdfunding campaign for a newspiritual successor toSyndicate Wars, calledSatellite Reign, which returned to the series' original real-time tactics format. When it closed on 28 July 2013, the campaign had raised £461,333 ($720,832), compared to its £350,000 ($546,875) goal.[23]Satellite Reign was subsequently released on August 28, 2015.[24][25]
The originalSyndicate is set in the year 2096. As outlined in the game'sinstruction manual,multinationalmegacorporations have replaced nation-state governments, and one such corporation, EuroCorp, has manufactured the "CHIP": a device implanted in a person's neck that alters their perception ("numbing their senses to the misery and squalor around them") and allows them to be easily manipulated. The megacorporations have subsequently been infiltrated and overtaken by corrupt crime syndicates vying for global control.[26][27]
The player is placed in charge one such corporation, for which they choose a name andlogo. During the course of the game, as missions for the player's corporation are completed by teams of cyborg enforcers known as "agents," it gains global dominance over its competitors.
Syndicate Wars is set 95 years after the original game (in the year 2191), when EuroCorp holds full global control, using CHIP technology to influence the population. The release of a virus into the global communications network leads to widespread CHIP failures, resulting in the emergence of armed insurrectionists referred to as "unguided citizens." The group responsible for the biological attack is a militant religious organisation called the Church of the New Epoch.
The game's instruction manual specifically addresses the player as a newly hired EuroCorp executive;[28] however, they can choose to control agents from either EuroCorp (to suppress uprisings resulting from the virus outbreak) or the Church of the New Epoch (to seize power from EuroCorp).
The game ends with a battle for control ofionosphere calibration equipment onthe moon, which the Church's leaders intend to use in eliminating life on Earth; however (regardless of which faction the player chooses to play as), the leaders are eliminated before this plan can be executed.
The plot of the laterSyndicate game renames the CHIP technology to the "DART chip", and introduces the concept of the "unchipped", a proportion of the world's population who declined the use of this technology. The game is set in the year 2069 (prior to the original games), at which point,EuroCorp is already an established global megacorporation.
The main story focuses on a specific agent, named Miles Kilo. Kilo uncovers a plot from a rival corporation,Aspari, to begin a war againstEuroCorp, before discovering thatEuroCorp killed his family, abducted him as a baby and modified his memory. The game ends with the apparent downfall ofEuroCorp.
Gameplay for the originalSyndicate games involved ordering a team of fourcyborg agents around grittycyberpunk-themed cities, in pursuit of mission goals, such as assassinating executives of a rival syndicate, rescuing captured allies, "persuading" civilians and scientists to join the corporation/church, demolishing buildings, or killing enemy agents. Unlike some games, which either punish the player for civilian deaths or reward them for violent actions committed,Syndicate remains indifferent. The player must collect funds to finance the research and development of new weaponry and cyborg upgrades, such as by taxing conquered territories (in the original game) or robbing banks (inSyndicate Wars).
Notable features of both original games are the use of context-sensitive background music, which changes to suit the mood of the on-screen action, and a high degree of interactivity: many objects in the first game, and nearly every object in the second game, can be destroyed. The visual aesthetic of these games borrows heavily from films such asBlade Runner.
The gameplay of the 2012Syndicate game did not include the same real-time tactics and strategy elements as the previous games, instead following a typicalfirst-person shooter format.
Tyler, Melissa (1996).Bullfrog's Official Guide to Syndicate Wars. United States of America:Prima Publishing.ISBN 0-7615-0089-8.LCCN 96-68003.
