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Platform
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PS2, PSP, PS Vita |
Series
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Release Date(s)
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2007 |
Online
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Shutdown (since June 27, 2012) |
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is a third-person action video game originally released for the PSP which was ported to the PS2 in 2008. It is also available to play on a PlayStation Vita.
As with Dark Mirror, players assume the role of Gabe Logan and its tagline is also 'Infiltrate, Recon, Execute.'
Plot Synopsis
When the al-Jamil terrorist group attacks the USS Mt St Helens, the National Intelligence Oversight Committee must rely on the Agency to secure the classified material within a cargo hold before the antagonists acquire it. NIOC Director Robert Cordell convinces Gabe Logan that he is their only option, but Teresa Lipan counters that this is an assignment outside of Agency jurisdiction. Gabe agrees to go anyway, for a chance at stopping terrorist leader Ghassan al-Bitar, a Syrian he almost caught a year ago.
With his partner Lian Xing on vacation in Cyprus, Gabe flies to the Indian Ocean where a clan of Somali pirates called the Warsingala Protectors have invaded the ship. Bitar is leading them, and Gabe suspects this assault involves more than mere piracy. Intercepting Spec Ops communications, pilot Alima Haddad warns Gabe that Cordell did not tell him everything, and Logan realises the contents of Hold Five, a secret even to the Navy, are Bitar's primary target.
Establishing a link to the St Helens' communications dish, Alima attempts to extract Logan, but her helicopter is shot down. Gabe rushes to rescue her but she dies. Motivated to stop the Warsingala, he destroys several pirate boats carrying stolen goods from the St Helens and re-enters the ship via the damaged main hull. However, Bitar has already stolen the cargo inside Hold Five, which NIOC couriers transport..
When Gabe reaches the upper decks, the Navy has already begun launching cruise missiles to scuttle their own ship. He tries to stop Bitar from escaping, but terrorist Fahid Tamer distracts him. Gabe kills Fahid and escapes from the ship before it sinks. His return to the Agency brings more complications when Cordell mentions Lian was never in Cyprus, and produces pictures of her with a Chinese man, both in a foreign land. From Cordell's point of view, Lian being a defector or a double agent, the Agency would be compromised, and the NIOC suspends the IPCA.
Gabe and marine salvage expert Dane Bishop explore the sunken St Helens for NIOC courier files that could have the information of where Lian was when she was photographed. The duo find Spetsnaz divers are also searching for evidence. Gabe realises they work for Surgei Kudrenko, another man he failed to kill during a mission years earlier. Bishop cuts a hole inside the ship, sucking Logan into the hull, and Gabe follows his advise on destroying the engine turbines. When they rendezvous, the pair stop the ship's nuclear reactor from melting down and kill Kudrenko's lieutenant, Surgeyev, before the enemy can escape with the courier codes.
The decoded microfiles show pictures captured by MI6 in Azerbaijan. Lian and the Chinese male are hostages, but the Spetsnaz are also looking for them, suggesting they found out about the St Helens through their intelligence resources. Compounding the situation is the Russians who are conducting genocidal killings and ethnic cleansing activities throughout the country. Afraid that Lian might get killed, Gabe teams up with Maggie Powers, who claims to be in the same region to track smugglers, to find out who captured Lian. While searching a hotel room shared by Lian and her accomplice, Gabe encounters a Chinese Secret Service agent, codenamed Trinidad. The two fight and kill Spetsnaz forces, but Trinidad leaves Logan to find Maggie on his own. He rescues her from interrogators, but Kudrenko captures them after they destroy a Russian gunship.
Inside Kudrenko's gulag, Trinidad confronts Gabe, the Chinese confessing that she was Lian's instructor in the CSS; but Xing defected when Gabe recruited her into the Agency, tarnishing Trinidad's reputation. According to Trinidad, her student used to be married to the man seen in the pictures, Shen Rei. China wants him back because he is the inventor of the device stolen from the St Helens, and Trinidad helps free Gabe from custody so he can find them. Logan wonders about the significance of the device, such that America, Russia and China all want it. He begins to suspect Maggie is after it as well, and does not know who to trust.
Gabe kills Kudrenko during an aeroplane firefight, but Cordell arrests Maggie and tells Logan he has shut down the agency; because the NIOC believes that Shen and Lian work for Bitar. Cordell had used Gabe from the very start to locate them. The NIOC now knows where al-Jamil's desert stronghold is, but Logan is forced to accept early retirement. Before he can believe Cordell is right, Teresa informs Gabe that Lian is in love with him, and must be Bitar's prisoner if none of the world powers have Shen. Gabe realises that Cordell will bomb al-Jamil's base, and it will kill Lian.
He assists several Army Rangers in the assault on al-Jamil, but Gabe must enter the bunker on his own in search of Bitar. He finds Lian alive, and the two study Shen's device, the X-Z-2. It is an energy source that Shen intended for peaceful purposes, but China wanted to make it a bomb, so he defected with Lian's help and fled to Pakistan. Gabe finds information proving that Cordell hired Bitar as a means to bring Shen to NIOC couriers. Cordell was desperate to retrieve the X-Z-2 before competing nations could, but Bitar had other plans. The latter decided to steal the device and use Shen to make bombs that would destroy oil sources, thus driving Western influence from the Middle East.
Everything Cordell did since then was a cover-up, and Gabe has him taken away by soldiers to ensure his own early retirement. Lian has difficulty talking to Gabe about Shen, and Gabe focuses on stopping al-Jamil at a Syrian dam. Bitar will use it to charge the last of the X-Z-2 devices for future attacks on the West. During the mission, Lian becomes distracted with saving Shen, and abandons her post to find him, shutting off her comm-link in the process. Gabe reaches Shen first, and the two disable most of the X-Z-2 bombs before going after Bitar. The terrorist leader tries to escape with the final bomb, but Shen has rigged it as a dud. Gabe shoots the device, destroying it and killing the terrorists.
He finds Lian and Shen outside the dam, but Trinidad also appears. She has shadowed Gabe the entire time, even when he was in Virginia. Trinidad's opinion being that Logan must be kept alive just so he can lead her to Shen, she provides covering fire for Gabe and murdered al-Jamil operatives on several occasions, but she still thinks him expendable in the long run. Shen will not allow his device to become a weapon, so he commits suicide in front of Lian.
In a post-credits cutscene, Gabe and Lian return to the gym in Langley where Teresa had set up the remote command center during the Agency's shutdown. Gabe has decided he will retire, thinking there are too many secrets in his work. Instead, he will look for Addison and Blake while trying a new life. They walk inside to find Mujari lying on the floor, dead, and Teresa injured. She warns them to be careful, and Trinidad ambushes them. Gabe pushes Lian aside and kills Trinidad, but is shot four times himself. He lies on the floor as Lian shouts and tries to revive him.
Sequel
Syphon Filter 7 has not been announced, however, a magazine (SM3's Christmas Edition) states that 'Sony is busting their butts to have Syphon Filter ready for release on the PS3 in 2009. On the other hand, Sony Bend's possible closure may mean that the next Syphon Filter game is possibly dead.
This is an official quote from Sony Bend Artist Athey Moravetz about the future games.
Hah. No. Don’t hold your breath on that one.
Source: worked at Sony Bend for 8 yrs
John Garvin got burned out on Syphon Filter. He wanted to make something different. People seem to like to ignore that Gabe Logan died at the end of Logan’s Shadow. Garvin literally killed off the main character so he wouldn’t have to make any more SF games. Plus, despite all the praise, they didn’t sell. Very low sales all around.
I know what they’re doing, but even if I don’t work there anymore, I don’t think it would be kosher to go running my mouth off.
Hard to say if you should be excited. There’s a group of super talented guys there, and pretty much every project has been chaos till the last 6 mo when they usually work super hard to pull it together.
But there’s a lot of burnout right now. Lots of talent has left over the last year.
It was going to be another Uncharted game but naughty dog was worried about franchise burnout with so many games coming out so close together, so they nixed it. We spent like a whole year dicking around with different ideas and pitches after that before I left the studio. We started and threw away so many demos during that year.
Sony really wanted another Uncharted from us and tried to convince Naughty Dog to let us do it. They wanted more content for Vita.
And we did make an infamous pitch at one point, too. I think that was the first pitch and demo we made after the uncharted project was canned. The infamous game would have been a vita title too.
We did a couple new IP pitches. One was steampunk but that didn’t make it very far. There was a really awesome futuristic sci if one that I really liked. We had an amazing future scifi city and a character that could run around and scale buildings with these jet boots, and it was awesome. We had a lot of assets done for that demo when it was canned. I was really bummed when that one got binned.
I left the studio about 2 years ago and that was when they were making the switch to Unreal 4 and PS4, instead of Vita. It was a bit of a waste since we’d put so much time and resources into making a vita engine and then only used it on one title. But a couple other first party studios used versions of our engine and we lent them support, so it didn’t totally go to waste.
I think Unit 13 from Zipper Interactive used our engine. Don’t remember who else did though.
I think the shift to PS4 was a desperate bid to get something greenlit. When you go through so many pitches and get one after another tossed out for various reasons, you start trying anything.
I recall it was always upper management, demographic, genre saturation kinda crap. Like, ‘someone is already making a game something along those lines that would come out 5mo prior to your GM date’, or ‘we’ve had too many games of that sort that didn’t sell well enough’, or projections for that kind of blah blah blah…
Also, kind of like the complaints about Hollywood only making generic formula action hits because they make money, rather than take a risk on something different that might not make money.
Same thing exists in games, obviously.
Missions
| Act I - Cargo Hold 5 | Pirates of Somalia · Going Under · Ocean's Five · Sea of Darkness |
|---|---|
| Act II - Terminal Drift | What Lies Below · Depths of Darkness · Dead Currents · Drowning |
| Act III - Crimson Flood | Missing Friends · Found Enemies · Nowhere To Run |
| Act IV - Tyorma Redemption | Trinidad · Into The Cold · Deadly Cargo |
| Act V - Shifting Sands | Operation Canyon Storm · Our Hidden Past · Desert Flames |
| Act VI - Shattered Destiny | The Long Descent · Powerless · Disintegration · Leading The Blind · With Violent Intent |
| Act VII - Bonus Stages | Killing Time · Lian's First Time · Shadowed · Behind The Scenes · Left Behind |
Gameplay
The New Cover System
As with Dark Mirror, Logan's Shadow is a third person shooter game that includes elements of stealth and firepower. Underwater levels, which have never been seen before, make an appearance with special weapons (such as harpoon rifles, bolt cannons and other firearms), puzzles and 3D movement. Blind fire makes an appearance which allows the player to shoot from cover that forces the enemies to run to cover.
Online Shutdown
As of June 27, 2012[1], Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow online feature was shut down, as well as Syphon Filter: Combat Ops and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror Online.
PlayStation Vita
The Playstation Trilogy is available to play via the Classics For PS Vita/PS3/PSP/minis section of the PlayStation Store. However neither Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror nor Logan's Shadow are available as solo purchases. In order to download and play Logan's Shadow on your Vita, you will need to purchase the Killzone Liberation/Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow Bundle. After the game is purchased, it will be available in the download list on a PlayStation Vita console. The list is accessed from the PlayStation Store by clicking on the circle in the lower right corner of the screen which will pull up a list of options.
Adjusting Control Scheme For Right Analog Aiming
The game does not recognize the Right Analog stick as it utilized the face buttons for aiming on PSP. However this can be configured via the PlayStation Vita's "Button Assignments" section in Settings. To access these options, head to the Settings tab and go to "Accessibility". Scroll through the options to "Button Assignments" and check the box for "Enable Custom Button Assignments", from there click on "Customize Button Assignments".
The following button assignments are ideal for playing the game using the right analog stick for aiming and the directional buttons for movement:
UP Directional Button - Set to Triangle
DOWN Direction Button - Set to X
LEFT Directional Button - Set to Square
RIGHT Directional Button - Set to Circle.
Triangle - Set to UP Directional Button
Circle - Set to RIGHT Directional Button
X - Set to DOWN Directional Button
Square - Set to LEFT Directional Button
L Button - Leave as L Button
R Button - Leave as R Button
LEFT Analog Stick - Swap it for the Right Analog Stick (RIGHT Analog Stick option will automatically switch)
After these options are set, access the game and head into the "Options" menu where you will need to access "Controls". Select the option for "Advanced (Free Aim)". This will enable the player to move with the directional buttons and aim with the Right Analog stick. Additionally this will put In-Game Actions on the Face Buttons so Crouching will be done with X, Climbing/RTL as well as Reloading with Triangle, Goggles and Flashlights will be assigned to Square and Weapons can be accessed with Circle. Attacks will be done with the R button while L Button will handle focused Aiming. This control scheme is ideal for players that wish to aim with the right analog stick and perform actions with the face buttons. Note that the left analog stick will not be recognized with this control scheme, so directional buttons are required for movement.
- Important Note: By using this configuration the face buttons will now be required for moving in the In-Game menus so Triangle will be UP and X will be DOWN by example. The Directional Buttons will be required for selections, DOWN will act as X (or Accept) and RIGHT will act as Circle (or Cancel). LEFT will act as Square which can reset your default options.
It is recommended to access the Training Mode in the "Single Player" to become adjusted with this control scheme.
Trivia
- This is the first Syphon Filter not to be based off a virus plotline, but rather it follows conspiracies and double agents.
- In the cover page, Logan is seen holding an M4 with ACOG and foregrip .
- This is the first game to introduce underwater combat.
- The concept art for 'Bonus levels' is the same as that in 'Singularity' from Dark Mirror.
- Second game to be released on the PSP and Vita. Like Dark Mirror, it later received a PS2 port.
- First and by far the only game whose subtitle does not reference a viral weapon.
Plot holes
- Trinidad's motives in assaulting the IPCA gym are never revealed.
- Gabe is sent to kill Gregorav for no reason whatsoever.
- Cordell is somehow able to talk to Trinidad in the mission 'Shadowed' even though Gabe exposed him and handed him to Military Police before this mission.
- Scrapped content: Gabe was apparently supposed to kill Gregorav, but this mission was cut from the main game
Goofs
Continuity
- During the mission 'Shadowed', Gabe is seen armed with a UMP .45, but in gameplay he is somehow carrying a pistol and a sniper rifle. Even more confusion arises during the cutscene 'I Had No Choice', when he's holding an MP5.
Factual errors
- In the mission 'Into the Cold', Maggie Powers is seen locking a round into a Dragunov's chamber and then cycling the bolt. The Dragunov is not a bolt-action operated weapon; it employs a gas-operated/rotating bolt mechanism.
- Bitar's and Kudrenko's goons are occasionally seen using the Heckler and Koch MP5. Outside of physically purchasing the weapon from Germany or raiding an American military establishment, there is absolutely no way they could possibly get their hands on such a firearm The AK-47 with which most Spetsnaz use in Episode 3 and which is also seen in al-Jamil hands in Episode 5 would be a much more realistic weapon.
Miscellaneous goofs
- After the mission ''Nowhere to Run'', Maggie and Gabe get captured by Kudrenko. However, there is absolutely no sign of the Russian being present in the first place. Kudrenko could have been hidden inside the room waiting for the copter to go down before catching the protagonists, but then he would have shown on infrared goggles. It is possible that he entered from the door that Gabe accessed the room from, but even if this were the case, he appears on the opposite side of the entrance.
Gallery
Changes from previous games
- A new CQC system allowing players to grapple enemies and kill them with melee combinations, or use them as shields.
- The taser no longer sets enemies on fire.
- Bonus missions do not have ratings anymore and have pre-selected weapons, ie, players are unable to choose their equipment.
- The 'Easy' difficulty level has been removed.
- Players can now select weapons with grenade launchers attached.
- It is now possible to use blind fire tactics.
- Weapons now generally carry twice as much ammunition.
- AS enemies can now be incapacitated by explosive darts, or shots aimed at their legs.