My new time-wasting distraction has been chosen:
Syndicate Plus
I'd first heard about this game when it came out in the 90s, when my friend Ryan V. had it. He talked it up something fierce, so I've always wanted to play it. He's the same one who talked up Borderlands 2, and convinced me to get that . . . and Fallout, back in the day. He's been pretty influential on my video gaming now that I look at that list.
Anyway. Technically this is "Plus" because it's the original game plus an expansion pack. I'm playing the original game.
I finally fired it up with intent, and gave it a go. I'm Bota Khan of Khan Industries, a reference to my character in Ryan's Armageddon game.
I've played a couple of missions so far. It's interesting, with caveats:
- I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
- I sometimes have no idea what controls do what. In one mission I got into a car. I got it to go, but I couldn't figure out how to get out of it. Let's try that on the next playthrough.
- I've entered buildings to capture a target but had to navigate by the small large-area low-res map. There doesn't seem to be a way to see inside of a building. Odd when inside is a target with a bodyguard and I need to shoot one and kidnap the other.
- I don't really get the value of the research I'm doing. Or what I choose does.
That said, it's not unattractive, it's not hard to navigate around, and I am interested in the concept. I'll keep at it, but it's feeling a bit opaque at the moment, even with the manual open on another screen.
If I remember correctly, Research (eventually) gives you upgrades for your agents' different cybernetic parts, as well as giving new tech and weapons. It's been a couple of decades since I last played Syndicate Plus (even longer for the Amiga version) so my memory might be faulty.
ReplyDeleteIn missions where you have to assassinate a particular target, I seem to recall having to turn off any Persuadertrons before getting near the target. Otherwise you end up "persuading" the target to join you, leaving you with no way to complete the mission.
I meant that I have no idea what choosing any particular research path, or amount of money for research, means for me.
DeleteThat's helpful on the persuadertrons. Thanks.
"- I have no idea what the hell I'm doing."
ReplyDeleteYes, this is how I have felt every time I've tried to play it over the last... 30 years (and I played the original Wasteland). I pick it up because "this time I'm going to figure this shit out" and every time I reach a point where smashing my forehead against the brickwall of opacity ceases to be enjoyable and I walk away, again.