Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
By Aaron Lazenby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
A bloody, frustrating mess of a game.
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What’s It About?
Seemingly isolated disease outbreaks point in the direction of a global terror plot to unleash a virulent mutation of the Syphon Filter virus in the SYPHON FILTER –- THE OMEGA STRAIN. As a member of the IPCA, an ultra-secret presidential counter-terrorism team, you're dispatched to locations as varied as Michigan, Belarus, and Italy to uncover pieces of the plot and stop the release of the disease.
The game is difficult to operate. There are countless primary and secondary mission objectives to sort through, and you can't save your progress during the missions -- which unfold in real time. Plus, the character controls are less than intelligent.
Is It Any Good?
On top of the menacing premise, this is a brutally violent game. Opponents come flooding toward you non-stop, and their deaths are graphic: Set an opponent on fire, for example, and watch him struggle and burn to a crisp. And the frustraing gameplay is likely to give you a headache. There's much less room for error than in other shooter games (all in the name of authenticity, apparently), and just when you think you've figured out one task, a voice will break in to let you know you've failed another. What you're left with is a bloody, frustrating mess of a game that tries to create a realistic sense of menace but instead achieves only a real level of dissatisfaction.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the chances of such terror attacks. You also could review your family's plan for dealing with an emergency.
Game Details
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Release date: June 22, 2004
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating: M
- Last updated: November 4, 2015
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