Written by Brian Beck, 4/21/2005
Played on:
PSP
OK, I'll admit it. I have a hard time getting into stealth based shooters. When I play any sort of game involving guns, my first instinct is always to go around shooting off the big guns and blowing things up. The larger the variety of guns, the better I find the game to be. Bonus points are given for weapons that make huge explosions - rocket launchers are great fun.
Ever since the release of the PSP, there has been a lack of high quality games on the system. Lumines, likely the best game on the system, was released on day one. Since then, though, there hasn't really been anything to catch a gamers eye and make them say "Wow, I want to pick up that system!" Sure, some games have been decent, but nothing has been great.
Now, the PSP seems like one of the least ideal systems for the stealth shooter genre. Only one analog stick and a small screen seem like it would make this type of game hard to play. I was pleasantly surprised when I started up Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, however - not only did it control exceptionally well but I actually found myself enjoying a stealth action game for a change.
First things first - the controls in this game are superb. While it may seem like it would be hard to make Gabe do what you want him to do, it is surprisingly easy and intuitive. Sure, you can change around the controls if you so desire, but you'll quickly find that the default setup works just fine. At first, I thought I'd need to move the aiming to the stick, but the neat auto-aim feature handles that well.
The training levels do an excellent job of teaching you how to use the game's controls. Each training mission also has a 'record time' that you can try to beat after you've mastered the controls. This was a nice little touch that actually helps you to learn the game even better so that you can knock some time off your score.
One thing that I found really neat about how the game controlled was the way you'll mess around with your inventory. If you want to, say, put on a certain pair of goggles, you'll just hold left on the d-pad and then hit the corresponding face button. To remove them, just tap left on the d-pad. No going into deep menus, fumbling around and finally finding the item you need only to have to fumble around again when you need to take the item off. Your weapon choices are controlled with the right d-pad button in a similar fashion.
See, the four types of goggles you have will be used for so many different things - sometimes you may use them to find out how to disable an electric lock while other times you will use them to help you see enemies. I like how they are well integrated into the mission - they don't feel like they were just tossed in.
Thankfully, the game isn't all about stealth action - there are times when you need to go balls to the wall with your guns and just start blowing people away. You'll have a nice selection of guns to choose from - the traditional pistols, automatic rifles and sniper rifles all make an appearance - the sniper rifle even has multiple different types of ammo for you to choose from. I found it easy to run around with the analog stick and either use auto aim or aim with the four buttons (shooting is handled by the R button). Reloading is either automatic or done manually by pressing up on the d-pad.
However, the controls are not the only positive aspect of this game. The graphics and sound are also very well done. Looking at this game, you'd be hard pressed to believe it was on the PSP if you weren't actually holding the system in your hands - the game looks as good as a current-gen PS2 game. The sounds are also very nice - music is good and the voices/sound effects come through cleanly. The voice acting is really a major plus here - it is definitely movie quality.
The best part of this game, though, is that it actually feels as if it were made for a portable system. Unlike many other games on the PSP with minute-long load times and console length missions, Dark Mirror actually has smaller missions with a ton of check points sprinkled throughout. Each of the regular story missions also have an excellent presentation. Even though the story is really pretty cliché, the voice acting is nice and the cinematics are pretty cool. Even simple things like loading screens look neat and give you a good bit of background information on the mission. They still won't take you forever to get through, though, which is awesome.
These missions are widely varied, too. The very first one that you'll play has you taking out a sniper up on top of a tower - the catch being that if you are seen, he won't be the only one shooting at you. You'll have to be careful about how you move to get to him and use the environment to your advantage. After that, you'll have to flip on a pair of goggles, disable a lock and continue on. Eventually, you'll guide your partner through by helping to clear enemies that attack her and telling her when it is safe to move on (though, mind you, she isn't totally helpless and won't run into fire blindly just because you didn't quite kill that one enemy). The nice part is that each 'portion' of the mission can be accomplished in a short amount of time. This doesn't stop with the later levels, either.
Now, all these things alone would make for a fun and complete game. However, it doesn't stop there. Dark Mirror has some really incredible multiplayer modes to go along with the singleplayer game - they're both local and internet capable. You can have up to eight players in either a Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch mode or go for one of the non deathmatch modes with Objective or Rogue Agent play. Objective mode is one of the most fun multiplayer modes ever in a shooter. Instead of just blowing people to bits, you'll actually have a reasoning behind it. While the other multiplayer modes are fun, objective is truly where it is at and the mode you will likely be spending the most time with.
Dark Mirror does an excellent job of wrapping everything up into a nice, portable package. Sony Bend has taken a popular console genre and actually made a game that works portably. Dark Mirror plays well on the portable despite the lack of a second analog stick or the larger amount of buttons featured on a regular console controller. The mission length fits well on the PSP - they are just the right, bite-sized length for gamers on the go. For those that have more time, there is a plethora of online gameplay modes to engage in. Sound and graphics are stellar for a portable and the overall presentation of the game is top-notch.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is the game that the PSP has been waiting for - one actually made for a portable that is also fun in long stretches. This game will definitely help to sell systems. If you own a PSP, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up - it is well worth the $29.99 price tag.
