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SiN Episodes: Emergence Review / Preview for PC

SiN Episodes: Emergence Review / Preview for PC

The price says “Budget” but the action says “Play me!” by Mike Chasselwaite

May 18, 2006 – Every once in a while we get a pleasant surprise when reviewing budget games. For the most part trying to find a great budget game is like going through a used bowling-shoe warehouse looking for something to wear to a job interview. Truth be told, there aren’t any really “great” budget titles. “Good” is about the best you can hope for. So, like trying to pick up a girl at a bowling alley, lower your standards a little – or a lot – and learn to appreciate the treats we can find in the lower levels.

Like a hot-looking babe with rotten teeth, sometimes you’ve just got to make due with what you’ve got. Such is the case with SiN Episodes: Emergence, a “good” shooter that despite its limitations is a good time. It’s a short time, but it’s a good time. It’s fairly easy to learn and the limited amount of weapons and moves give it more of an arcade feel. It’s a great introductory first-person shooter. Beginners actually stand a chance. Even hardcores will find something to enjoy in this game whether it’s to test their skills or to learn more about the characters that debuted in the first game, SiN back in 98.

John Blade is back. He’s the hard-boiled cop that is determined to clean up his city and bring all the evil doers to justice. Needless to say, Blade has made many enemies along the way. The game opens with a bound Blade receiving an injection from his old nemesis. Before the situation escalates, Blades SWAT team burst into the room to rescue him while the evil Elexis and Radek flee the scene. Whatever they have injected him with seems to adversely affect him at on outset of the game. He attempts to locate his captors throughout the game in hopes of finding answers to his many questions. As you can probably imagine, you’re not going to find many answers in this game. It’s been eight years since the first game, things aren’t about to wrap up now. You’ll have to wait for the next episode…

Thankfully the storyline is somewhat forgettable. The affect that the injection has on Blade is no longer evident when the game hits its stride, and it’s not mentioned again. The gameplay doesn’t really require a storyline, as you know exactly what you must do in each level – reach the end alive. To accomplish this you will encounter several enemy guards where the adopted policy is kill or be killed. Armed with a limited range of weapons, your focus shifts as you assimilate Blade’s personality. Gone is the smart-ass commentary that he delivered during the first game. In this version he’s strangely silent which actually draws you closer into the game. You don’t see Blade as a third-person character, you are Blade – in the first person.

Weapons are limited to a pistol, shotgun, sub-machinegun and explosives in the forms of grenades and explosive canisters. All of the weapons have a great feel to them. They are solid, destructive and very satisfying. They have girth. When firing the sub-machinegun you will have to work really hard to keep it steady from the constant recoil. The shotgun makes a bloody mess, especially during headshots. The enemy’s cranium splatters like one of Gallaghers’ watermelons in his cheesy Sledge-O-Matic routine. The enemy also exhibits a great tumbling animation that makes it look as though they were hit with a wrecking ball.

The weapons wreak havoc on the environment as well. There are many things to nick, break, blast and explode. The walls will be filled with bullet holes and hopefully covered with the blood of the enemy if you’re doing your job properly. You can interact with various items in the environments such as computers, sinks and crates. Items can be picked up and thrown when you find yourself without a weapon. When some of the more aggressive enemies make their appearance later in the game you’ll have to take cover behind various obstacles otherwise you’ll quickly be filled with holes. As long as you’re a pretty decent shot you will be able to make short work of the enemy. The AI will strafe but they won’t jump out of the way like something from the Matrix. If you’re having trouble hitting them, you can try blowing them up by throwing grenades or tossing explosive canisters and shooting at them to make them blow up.

For the first part of the game you will battle the same guy over and over. At least it looks like the same guy. I call him Bozo the Clone. He’s more of an annoyance than a challenge and if he starts to get overwhelmed he calls in reinforcements which are more clones of him. Damn these futuristic games that can get away with these things. It gets a lot more challenging later in the game when enemies come from above, below and out of the shadows. They are more aggressive and often times more powerful. The game will respond to your skill level and will react accordingly by providing you with more health and ammo when you need it. Not unlimited amounts, but enough to keep the challenge alive. Great feature. It keeps us all in the game regardless of how inexperienced some players may be. Unfortunately the game doesn’t have a multi-player mode but considering how good the single-player mode is, all is forgiven. A good player will be able to blast through this game in an afternoon.

SiN Episodes: Emergence is a good looking game. It’s got some really nice visuals and a really good sense of depth. The audio is a little sparse but at least we’re not forced to sit through boring cutscenes just for the sake of forcing a storyline on us every few minutes. The story asks more questions than it answers, and if you want some answers, you’ll have to buy more installments of this game as they are offered.

Features:

  • Intense Combat – Face off against ruthless enemies, like jetpack soldiers and mutants that evolve as you fight them.
  • Witness enemies that adapt to your actions and truly work as a team, as they cover each other, and help fallen comrades to get back on their feet.
  • Outsmart your opponents by using your environment to your advantage as you set up traps using lethal elements of the environment.
  • Location based damage rewards accuracy while melee combat moves enable you to get up close and personal.
  • Unprecedented Interactivity – Blast your way through highly interactive environments powered by an enhanced version of the Source engine.
  • Characters dynamically react to what you’re looking at and the environment.
  • Target and shoot off specific vehicle parts and literally blow cars to pieces. Experience the next level of vehicle combat with a flexible positioning system enabling you to move around the interior with an unprecedented degree of freedom, allowing you to pick the ideal position to attack that enemy position up ahead.

By Mike Chasselwaite
CCC Freelance Writer

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