Continuing our look back at my favorite levels of the Syphon Filter Playstation 1 trilogy, let’s continue with the second game, Syphon Filter 2. Released less than a year after its predecessor, Syphon Filter 2 is everything a great sequel should be: it expands upon the world from the first, advances the plot in a logical and meaningful way, and has the protagonists take on bigger obstacles: Gabe and Lian are both being hunted by the US government and the Agency, Lian is still infected with the virus and running on borrowed time, and some of their new allies may not who they seem to be…

Typically seen by fans as the best of the original three games, I agree with them that Syphon Filter 2 is really, really good… with the caveat that the game relies too much on frustrating trial-and-error gameplay that leaves little to no room for mistakes. With that said, here are my favorite levels, ranked from least-enjoyable to best. Note that, like before, this breakdown will spoil every big story detail.

21. McKinzie Airbase Interior

While the opening level in the Colorado Rockies is a good introduction to the game, and a good way to ease players back into Gabe Logan’s shoes, the second level, the airbase hospital, introduces players to SF2’s biggest gameplay change: Trial-and-error gameplay. Whereas players had a fairly forgiving difficulty in the first game, SF2 is nowhere near as merciful, where a single mistake will result in an instant game over, and the Hospital is a jarring introduction to said gameplay. You have to sneak around the hospital with no map, no weapons, and cannot raise the alarm. No mistakes are allowed, and rather than leading excited players deeper into a world of spy-adventure, it instead makes them wonder what they’re getting into.

Best story element: In the ending cutscene, Lian is found by a security guard. However, he realizes that Lian is being held illegally, and, having taken an oath to uphold the law, allows her to escape and will cover up said escape as long as he can. While he’s never seen or mentioned after this level, this soldier leaves an impression as a nameless mook who chooses to do the right thing, even at (presumably) great cost to himself.

20. Pharcom Exhibition Center

Gabe returns to the Pharcom Museum from the first game to track down an important object. While it is fun to revisit a level from the previous game and explore more of its previously-unseen wings, the trial-and-error gameplay makes it a frustrating slog, especially when Agency mooks chuck grenades into the air vents while you’re scurrying about. (and how do the soldiers stationed in the building not hear that?)

Best story element: Gabe showcasing his moral code by having no qualms about killing Agency mooks, but refusing to kill soldiers, due to them being innocents unaware of the espionage taking place all around them.

19. McKinzie Airbase Exterior

If the hospital escape was a frustrating mess, escaping the military base is even worse; where the hospital was fairly small, this enormous level can test your patience. Thankfully, you have a map this time around, and more things to hide behind. Plus, it’s great seeing how your actions here will make things easier for Gabe and his troops in subsequent levels, making this level a good example of how one character’s actions can help someone else further along in a story.

Best story element: Lian ensuring that Gabe and his soldiers won’t be gassed on the mountain, making their journey easier.

18. Moscow Club 32

SF1’s most unique location had players going through an abandoned cathedral, and SF2’s most unique romp takes place in Club 32, a Russian dance club that’s come under siege from bad guys as Lian tries to catch up with an old friend fleeing the chaos. There’s nothing overly great or bad about this level, but the techno-Russian dance music sure is catchy.

Best story element: Lian demonstrating her moral code by refusing to kill innocent police officers, no matter how hard they make things for her.

17. Agency Bio-Lab

If the hospital escape was a pain, and sneaking out of a military base was hard, then the Agency Bio-Labs are a nightmare, and the worst example of SF2’s trial-and-error gameplay. You, as Gabe, are trapped in a massive underground laboratory with no map, no equipment, a flimsy disguise to keep you safe, and a knife for self-defense. Your to-do list is long, and you’re surrounded by guards who won’t hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later, and all it takes is a single mistake to send you back to the last checkpoint. The only reason this mission isn’t at the bottom of the list is because Gabe has a very good reason for being here (getting Lian’s vaccine), giving the player a good incentive to keep going; she helped Gabe out so much, so now it’s only fair that he help her in return.

Best story element: Having to kill agency scientists to stop the alarm from being raised. They’re innocent and don’t attack you, but Gabe has no choice but to kill them to avoid being overwhelmed and captured. It’s a good – if uncomfortable – example of how protagonists sometimes have to be ruthlessly pragmatic in order to achieve a greater goal.

16. Volkov Park

Compared to it’s predecessor, SF2 features some genuinely creepy, almost horror-inspired levels, and a prime example is Moscow Park with it’s spooky, moody atmosphere of running through a park in the dead of night during a snowstorm. While the level itself is a straightforwards run-and-gun mission that has you trying to catch up to Yuri while under attack by his goons, the atmosphere is what makes the level memorable.

Best story element: Taking on several snipers in the middle of the night in a snowy forest with a night-vision-equipped rifle.

15. Colorado Interstate 70

Having made it to the freeway after their transport crashed, Gabe and Chance now have to make their way further down the mountain to escape. As a breather level after making it through the hospital, The interstate doesn’t have any real standout moments, but it helps build up Gabe and Chance’s camaraderie.

Best story element: If you’re killed during the mission, the Agency goons stop shooting at both you and Chance, foreshadowing that he’s secretly working with them.

14. New York Sewers

What’s a modern-day spy game without a journey into some sewers? SF2’s penultimate level has Gabe and his partner Teresa going through some of Manhattan’s sewers on their quest to finally kill Agency leader Stevens… but they’ve to go through an army of infinitely respawning Agency mooks before a pitched and tense fight in a parking garage, where Gabe finally ends Stevens for good, ensuring a happy ending for everyone!… right?

Best story element: Killing Agency leader Stevens is so satisfying, but nothing can top learning that Chance, your ally from the first third of the game, is actually a traitor who’s been working for the Agency from the beginning, and is the one ultimately responsible for Lian being captured and so many deaths, including his own men. Yet, as he points out, he was just doing his job as an Agency operative and asks Gabe how many men he killed to get this point. It’s a perfect example of an antagonist justifying their actions (rightly or wrongly) and correctly pointing out that the protagonist has done a lot of morally questionable things, too.

13. New York Slums

Having finally escaped from the Agency’s labs, Gabe now has to flee through the slums of New York City to reach safety and save Lian’s life. Of course, it won’t be easy, as not only is the Agency deploying legions of photocopied goons to stop him, but the police believe Gabe is a terrorist and are after him as well. What follows is a race through city streets, burning buildings, and fighting off everyone who wants you dead. After the stress of the previous two Bio-lab levels, the slums are refreshingly straightforward.

Best story element: Gabe comes to the rescue of a police officer pinned down by Agency goons, but instead of thanking him and letting him go in gratitude, she still tries to carry out her duty and arrest him, a nice subversion from how said rescues usually go in these kind of games.

12. Aljir Prison Break-In

Unquestionably the most tense stage in the Syphon Filter trilogy, Aljir prison is a bleak, depressing, gloomy, and intense level that has Lian sneaking through a Russian maximum-security prison to free the real Yuri from being executed in an hour. This level is pure stealth, where one mistake results in an instant game-over. While other missions that rely heavily on this type of gameplay are frustrating, the unexpected horror-style atmosphere of this level (just listen to the music) make it stand out, and finally making it to the very end is an incredibly rewarding experience.

Best story element: making it to the very end of the level, only to learn that Yuri’s execution has suddenly been moved up, leaving Lian with just one minute to reach him before he’s fried to a crisp, ramping up the tension even more.

11. Aljir Prison Escape

You thought sneaking into Aljir Prison was tough? Try breaking out! Having rescued Yuri, Lian now has to fight her way out of the prison while protecting Yuri. Thankfully, stealth is largely dropped here, and you get the satisfaction of being able to shoot your way out, taking out the sadistic guards responsible for running such a horrible place, a cathartic experience if there ever was one.

Best story element: Finding your way blocked by some crazed prisoners with guns. While you’re responsible for setting them free, they don’t care, and will kill you as quickly as they would the guards, forcing you to take them out non-lethally in order to proceed.

10. Colorado Mountains

Having survived his C-130 transport being shot down over the Colorado Rockies, Gabe has to rally the surviving GI’s who flew with him, and start his way down the mountain while under attack by the Agency. Though it’s the lesser of the three opening missions for the PS1 trilogy, the Rocky Mountains do a good job of establishing the stakes of what Gabe will face going forward, as well as increasing the difficulty compared to the opening level of SF1, letting players know that things aren’t going to be as easy this time around.

Best story element: Gabe rallying the surviving GI’s and working to keep everyone’s spirits up. While it isn’t long before the shooting starts, it’s refreshing to have Gabe focused on helping others instead of having to get into fight after fight like most of the other levels in the series

9. Industrial District

Syphon Filter doesn’t do too many urban levels throughout the three PS1 games, but Moscow’s Industrial District are easily the most unique: having escaped Club 32, Lian chases Yuri through the streets of Moscow, which includes fighting on the streets, avoiding getting run over by cars in alleys, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and dodging headshots from Yuri while chasing him into a park. It’s a solid, action-filled level with more catchy music.

Best story element: Having to act fast to avoid being crushed by a car in an alley when you have nowhere to hide.

8. Volkov Park – Gregorov Fight

Remember having to stop Mara Aramov from killing Phagan in the last game without killing her? SF2 revisits the concept, only this time it’s harder: having been cornered by Lian in Moscow’s Park, Yuri decides to turn and fight to the death, forcing Lian to stop Yuri without killing him. How do you do that? Shoot out all the lights, sneak up to Yuri in the dark, and taser him. But even then, Yuri can still sense and kill you if you’re not careful, but oh is it satisfying to finally taser the bastard after he’s spent the last three levels making your life miserable.

Best story element: Learning that ‘Yuri’ is actually an imposter, making you see the events of the past three levels in a new light.

7. Pharcom Expo Center: Ancient China Exhibit

This new wing of Pharcom’s museum has Gabe and Teresa involved in a race to stop the Agency’s second-in-command, Morgan, from detonating bombs to send the whole place up in flames. After protecting Teresa while she disarms said bombs, the climax features Gabe facing off against Morgan, who’s armed with an M-79 grenade launcher. While the first half of this fight involves just staying out of Morgan’s line of sight while he does the standard bad-guy monologue, the second half requires Gabe to actually take him out. One mistake, and Gabe gets a grenade to the face. The tension’s high, the pace is swift, and it’s one of the series’ most intense boss battles.

Best story element: Taking on a boss who dies as easily as anyone else, but who has a weapon that can kill the protagonist in one shot, leaving no room for error.

6. Bio-Lab Escape

Compared to the long stealth sections of the prior level, escaping the Agency’s bio-lab is refreshingly straightforward… but it’s anything but easy. You’re being hunted down by Agency goons wearing head-to-toe bullet-proof body armor, the place is in lockdown, and even at the very beginning you’re faced with one such goon and no way to kill him… unless you shoot the glass beakers on the table in front of you, causing them to explode, which the game doesn’t even hint is possible. Thankfully, the rest of the mission is more enjoyable, and a great example of escaping a sealed underground base, faced with nearly insurmountable odds, and fighting your way to freedom.

Best story element: Gabe – having no other way forward – is forced to leap into a large air vent to grab onto a tiny opening two stories below. One slip-up, and he’ll be chopped into bite-sized pieces by a giant, unshielded fan right below him, making it a nail-biting drop (and demonstrating Gabe’s incredible grip-strength)

5. 1-70 Mountain Bridge

In my opinion, this is one of the best levels of the Syphon Filter series, and one of the more clever ones: you have to stop the Agency from blowing up a bridge on the mountains to trap Gabe and his GI friends so they can be saturated with nerve gas. To accomplish this, you have to sneak around said bridge, quietly eliminate Agency goons and their commanders, and disarm bombs without being seen, as doing so will result in the bridge being blown up immediately. Not only that, but you also have to make your way along the bridge’s girders, where one fall will result in death as well. And then, after all that, you have to save two GI’s from being killed by Agency goons by shooting said goons with a single bullet to achieve a double-headshot. And THEN you have to take on one last convoy of Agency goons before finally escaping… and being blown off another bridge.

Though this is a very tough level, saving the bridge and making it to safety makes you feel like a badass more than any other point in the game… oh yeah, and the music here is also cool.

Best story element: A tie this time around:

1. The protagonist facing off a numerically superior enemy force and stopping them from doing something terrible without them being aware that you’re there that saves not only you, but others as well.
2. Gabe somehow falling at least 15 stories onto a moving train and surviving without a scratch. Totally impossible, but funny at the same time, and continuing the series’ tradition of him falling fatal distances without a scratch.

4. United Pacific Train 101

After several levels of stealth, trial-and-error gameplay, and countless mission restarts, Pacific Train 101 is a breath of fresh air where all you have to do is make your way to the front of said train and gun down any goon who tries to stop you. There’s no stealth, no mission parameters, and no one you have to save or protect. It’s just good, old-fashioned running and gunning with a kickass soundtrack.

Best story element: Gabe rightfully calling an Agency mook an idiot for throwing a hand grenade onto a fuel car less than ten feet in front of him.

3. United Pacific Train 101 – Part 2

Essentially the previous train level, only now there’s a time-limit, which gives you an extra incentive to reach the front of the train before it crashes.

Best story element: Gabe leaping from a moving train onto a helicopter as the train plunges into a canyon. Awesome!

2. C-130 Wreck Site

Finally arriving at the C-130 crash site, you need to retrieve the data disks required to help save Lian’s life. But getting to them won’t be easy: the Agency has reached the site first and has deployed some of their best soldiers to stop you, requiring you to use all your combat skills to make it through, culminating in a desperate fight to stop Archer from escaping the site with the disks while he hangs underneath a helicopter that’s flying away. And to top it all off, the PS1’s graphic limitations makes it look like you’re fighting not through a crash site, but hell itself, and it’s here that you’re introduced to the series’ most pulse-pounding music. A hard level, but intense and fun.

Best story element: Stopping an important adversary who’s not only hanging from a helicopter that’s flying away, but who’s wearing body armor, forcing you to either tear through said armor in a nonstop barrage of bullets, or take him out with an incredibly well-aimed headshot.

1. Syke’s Parking Garage

Sticking the landing of any story is difficult, doubly-so for video games. The final level needs to be a culmination of your experience and offer something engaging to finish the story, and SF2 nails it with what is, in my opinion, the best boss fight in the series. Chance, your so-called-friend who was actually an Agency mole, is out to kill you after having murdered Teresa. Problem is, his body armor is so thick that not even grenades can pierce it. Defeating Chance seems impossible at first, but eventually you’ll realize that you can use the VAS-12 automatic shotgun to knock him back into your helicopter’s blades, slicing him to ribbons (and if your timing is perfect, doing so after he taunts you by yelling, “Is that the best you can do, Gabe?!”).

Though it’s the shortest level in the game, Chance’s boss fight has it all: A neigh-invulnerable foe, emotional stakes, incredible music, and forcing a protagonist to find an a creative way to defeat a foe when raw firepower won’t work. It’s the best level in the game, and one of the best in the series, and a perfect way to end Syphon Filter 2.

Best Story Element: Fighting a former friend turned traitor who massively outclasses the protagonist in every way, yet still emerging triumphant.

Come back next time, when we’ll take a look at Syphon Filter 3, the last game in the Playstation 1 trilogy.