If you were fortunate to have played video games in your youth, you probably had some favorites that you loved going through again and again, and the idea of going back to them years, if not decades later, can feel like a trip back to a more innocent time. But time is a cruel thing, and revisiting said games often reveals outdated graphics, a story that isn’t as gripping as you thought it was, frustrating gameplay, or being so outdated that you just can’t enjoy it anymore. But for me, the Syphon Filter trilogy manages to withstand the test of time. While graphically and technologically outdated, the gameplay is still as gripping as ever, the story and characters still hold up, and the music is as awesome today as it was over twenty years ago. From beginning to end, the PS1 Syphon Filter trilogy is a solid example of an action-adventure spy thriller done well… with one exception.
When going back through the trilogy, I expected the first two games to hold up well, which they do. When it came to the third game, I was expecting to be a fun experience, albeit with the weakest story. But with the passage of time, I was surprised at how much Syphon Filter 3‘s story stumbles, sometimes quite badly. In the first two games, every level – no matter how frustrating or mediocre – advances the story in a meaningful way. But Syphon Filter 3 has several levels that don’t do that, due to its biggest issue: there are too many flashback missions.
Like every literary tool, flashbacks are not inherently bad, but Syphon Filter 3’s problem is that half the game consists of flashbacks, and most don’t add anything to the main conflict of stopping the Syphon Filter virus. All the Afghan missions, Montana militia missions, and Costa Rica missions could have been removed and the story wouldn’t have been harmed by their absence. By comparison, there’s only four levels from the first two games that could be removed to similar effect (Pharcom Elite Guards, Colorado 70 highway, returning to the Pharcom museum in Syphon Filter 2, and Volkov park). Had Syphon Filter 3’s flashbacks been removed, it would have freed up more time for modern-day missions that would have continued to move the story forward.
When we step back and view the Syphon Filter trilogy as a whole, it has a very strong first act, an equally strong second act (with a few stumbles), but comes to a halt in the third act, only finding its footing again at the very end when Gabe starts gunning down terrorists in the Senate hearing building. And with that in mind, I believe the greatest lesson the trilogy offers writers is this: limit using flashbacks in stories as much as possible, and if they do appear, to have them directly contribute to the story’s main conflict. While it’s nice to take the time to develop protagonists and see what adventures they had before the story, that development shouldn’t come at the expense of the story, especially not one that’s in its final act. And much like revisiting a beloved game series, there’s nothing wrong with reminiscing about the past, but not when it comes at the expense of the present.
The year is 2001, and the Playstation era is coming to an end. The next generation of video game consoles are coming out with games that take advantage of new hardware to deliver unparalleled graphics and experiences. It was easy to assume that the Syphon Filter story would jump ship and continue on the Playstation 2, but Sony, to the surprise and delight of people like me who couldn’t afford a shiny new console, released Syphon Filter 3 on the original Playstation instead, bring Gabe Logan’s story to an end. (While leaving things open for further sequels, which would eventually come along a few years later.)
Syphon Filter 3 is something of an odd duck in the original trilogy: the story consists of Gabe, Lian, Lawrence Mujari, and others testifying in Congress about their involvement with the Agency and the Syphon Filter virus, meaning that half the missions are flashbacks, with the other half mainly treading water until the finale. Coupled with only a few new additions to the franchise (a few new weapons, slightly better graphics, and the addition of mini-games), and it’s easy to see why many fans see Syphon Filter 3 as a mission-pack sequel. I agree with that assessment, but that doesn’t make Syphon Filter 3 a bad game, though I do think it’s the weakest of the trilogy; most of the present-day missions feel like padding that doesn’t advance the story (such as everything that takes place in Ireland), and I would have preferred to have a longer climax instead of just two levels. But the game does have the most variety of the series when it comes to locations and playable characters, and it continues the series’ trademark of unique action sequences. Best of all, though the story is left open for further sequels, the main storyline of the Agency and the virus itself is wrapped up well enough that the saga could have ended here. And for people like me who aren’t fans of what came after, this is indeed the preferred ending. (Mara’s submarine in the post-credit scene? It developed a leak and imploded, so the virus is still lost on the ocean floor.)
Let’s take a look at Syphon Filter 3’s levels and see how well they stand the test of time. And as with the previous two articles, this list will spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t played the game yet.
19. Aztec Ruins
It’s only fitting that the last game in the PS1 trilogy goes back to where everything started and explores Gabe and Lian’s mission to Costa Rica that we saw in the opening cutscene of the first game. While SF3 lets us discover that Gabe got to do lots of cool stuff, we also learn that poor Lian was stuck running around the labyrinthine levels of some Aztec ruins to rescue lots of scientists, destroy virus samples, destroy computers, retrieve artifacts, warn Gabe about mines, file her taxes, and do a book report on War and Peace. Okay, maybe not the last two, but like the Agency Bio-Labs of SF2, and the abandoned cathedral of SF1, this is a huge level, but nowhere near as fun, and twice as long, and it’s surprisingly easy to miss some of the things you need to find or destroy, leading to lots of tedious backtracking. It also has a whopping 26 checkpoints, the highest of any level in the series!
Best story moment: Meeting Dr. Elsa Weissinger for the first time, story-wise, the same woman who will infect and experiment on Lian and so many others in future games.
18. Waterfront
Despite their importance when it comes to receiving and shipping goods responsible for the functioning of modern society, I’ve never found docks to be interesting places for action sequences, and the Waterfront level is no exception. Aside from the ever-solid gameplay, there’s nothing really memorable here.
Best story element: Gabe and his new partner Maggie Powers learning that the IRA has the virus and is trying to escape so they can unleash it upon Europe, giving the player a very good reason to go after them.
17. Dockyards
More of the same as the Waterfront level, save learning that the guy you’ve been sent to save is actually an IRA operative. Oh no! Thankfully, you manage to kill him before he escapes with the virus. Yay!
Best story element: Watching the SS Lorelli be sunk, taking the virus with it to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean and stopping anyone else from getting their hands on it, ensuring that all your efforts were successful. Plus, the bubble sound effects of the sinking crates is cartoonish and unintentionally funny.
16. Australian Outback
Lady power time! This modern-day mission has Lian tracking down Dr. Weissinger to kidnap her and gain more information about who’s truly behind the Syphon Filter virus, but ends up with her doing everything she can to save the local Aboriganies, who have become unwilling test subjects. Gameplay-wise, there’s nothing extraordinary here, but but I like how this is the first mission in the series where all the main characters are women (Lian, Weissinger, and Powers), which is a refreshing change of pace from the normally testosterone-filled spy genre.
Best story element: Lian changing her mission and refusing to give up on the test subjects, as she knows exactly what it’s like to be infected by the virus and wants to spare others from suffering as she did.
15. Pugari Goldmine
Lawrence Mujari gets his chance to shine with a flashback mission detailing his efforts to free trapped slaves from a mine in Africa… though there’s not too much to this level, aside from the satisfaction of freeing workers being held against their will.
Best story element: The protagonist infiltrating a facility to free people being held against their will.
14. Pugari Complex
A continuation of the previous mission, this one starts off with Lawrence getting to ride a mine cart out of a collapsing mine, a great way to start things off. Aside from that, though, this is another average level with no bad elements or standout moments.
Best story element: Finally learning the origin of the Syphon Filter virus: That it came from a mine in South Africa, rather than being something engineered in a lab.
13. Yuendumu Village
Continuing on the previous mission, this one has Lian sneaking into a remote village to save innocent Aborigines before they can be executed. The Syphon Filter series have few missions dedicated to saving innocent people, and this is one of the better ones, combining stealth with a moral imperative. Being able to eliminate the man responsible for it all is just icing on the cake.
Best story element: Elsa Weissinger deciding that if she’s going to be betrayed, she has no qualms about betraying her former employers, and gives Lian a data disk that will allow her and the others to finally unravel who is behind the entire Syphon Filter operation.
12. Underground Bunkers
Every Syphon Filter game features a level revolving around sneaking through darkened, underground passages without a map, and SF3’s contribution is the Underground Bunker, where Teresa has to escort her new survivalist friend, Dusty, and his pregnant mother to safety while being swarmed with rogue NSA agents. So not only do you have to get through a very dark and easy-to-die mine complex, but you have a dreaded escort mission as well. Still, the claustrophobia here is effective, and it’s satisfying to get Dusty and his mom to safety at the end.
Best story element: Having to escape rogue government agents with a pregnant woman who could give birth at any moment, making said escape all the more challenging.
11. Kabul, Afghanistan
The Afghanistan levels of Syphon Filter 3 are dark, moody, and atmospheric, and the first one sets the stage with Lian infiltrating the war-torn ruins of Kabul. The stage excels at feeling like a warzone that’s momentarily quiet, but the big draw here is learning how Gabe and Lian met for the first time, beginning a partnership and friendship that would last for decades… but you know what’s even cooler? Getting your hands on a gun that can shoot through walls!
Best story element: Saving an extraction helicopter from four goons with grenade launchers by shooting said goons with a gun that can shoot through walls.
10. Costa Rica Plantation
Years after we first saw it in the opening cutscene of SF1, we finally get to see exactly what happened when Gabe and Lian reached Rhomer’s plantation in Costa Rica. While the cutscene just revealed that poor Ellis was executed, and that Rhomer set everything on fire, we get to see what really happened, which includes Gabe gathering samples of the virus, freeing slaves, sabotaging helicopters, and avoiding land mines. What’s more impressive is that this is the trilogy’s first jungle level, and it’s pulled off well considering the technical limitations of the original Playstation.
Best story element: Seeing Gabe freeing slaves, and then gunning down the people who were keeping them against their will.
9. Militia compound
With the treasonous rogue agents exposed, Teresa has to try and save as many survivalists as she can from those determined to wipe them out. This is a standard level, but like it’s immediate predecessor, the atmosphere and music are top-notch, and it’s neat to meet Stevens – the mastermind of the Australian massacre – decades before that happened. While it’s tempting to kill him, alas, that would create a time paradox, which means the player has to let Stevens live, while knowing how he will meet his ultimate end decades later.
Best story element: Some of the survivalists remembering how Teresa helped them out and returning the favor by giving her a grenade launcher to help blow up those dastardly rogue agents.
8. Paradise Ridge
In a twist I didn’t see coming, it turns out that Teresa was only wounded by Jason Chance at the end of SF2, leaving her to pop up unexpectedly near the end of SF3‘s second act, allowing her to recount a mission where the raided a survivalist compound in the snow-covered mountains of Montana with the ATF and unknowingly helped rogue NSA agents who wanted to wipe out the survivalists. While my teenage brain had a hard time keeping track of all the factions shooting each other, the mission is a nice change of pace from Syphon Filter’s usual urban locations, and features survivalists depicted as innocents (albeit, ones who aren’t afraid to shoot first and ask questions later). The music’s pretty sweet, too.
Best story element: Portraying militia members as innocents in a combat situation. Not friendly and pure of heart, mind you, but still innocent.
7. S.S Loreli
Gabe’s been everywhere from Washington DC, Russia, the jungles of Costa Rica, and abandoned cathedrals in Europe, and now he finally gets to go on a ship that’s setting sail with large shipments of the Syphon Filter virus. This is a great level filled with plenty of running and gunning in an environment we haven’t seen before in the SF series.
Best story element: Seeing a particularly cheerful crewmember, making him stand out among his serious, gun-toting brethren.
6. Convoy
Chronicling one of Gabe’s earliest combat missions, this mission takes us back to a late 80’s Afghanistan, where Gabe teams up with Ellis (the guy shot by Mara in the opening cutscene of SF1) and Benton (the guy Gabe killed in the first museum level of SF1) to get a damaged truck full of weapons to safety, all while under attack by Afghan rebels and a road littered with landmines. The Syphon Filter series hasn’t done desert environments before, so going through a desert at night is a unique situation, and the moody music helps set the mood for an intense mission filled with plenty of gunfights.
Best story element: Working with Ellis and Benton, which gives two minor side characters a chance to take on a starring role, despite knowing how their lives will end in twenty years time.
5. The Beast
While Solid Snake may be video gaming’s secret agent who has the record for most unique boss fights, Gabe’s no slouch either, having taken on a helicopter, multiple adversaries in bullet-proof armor, and, thanks to this level, a tank! Unlike Solid Snake, though, Gabe has to be much more careful in how he engages this Soviet monstrosity, making it feel more like a horror level (the sound of the tank treads is downright chilling), as he has no health powerups and has to lure the tank into a trap rather then engage it in a one-on-one fight. While a short level, it’s one of the most intense in the series.
Best story element: Seeing Gabe – a lone infantryman – taking on a tank by himself and winning.
4. Senate Building
It isn’t until the last two missions that SF3 finally starts wrapping up the PS1’s story, and boy does it start with a bang, revealing that Gabe’s interrogator, Secretary of State Vince Hadden, is the man who has been in charge of the Syphon Filter project all along. But with him dead, Mara Aramov and her men have filled Congress with over twenty bombs, taken hostages, and intends to detonate a viral bomb in Washington DC. It’s one hell of a way to start the finale of the game, and the series as a whole, as Gabe rushes to stop the bombs and save hostages.
Best story element: Gabe having to save a famous landmark and seat of power for a government (Congress) before it’s destroyed.
3. Hotel Fukushima
Every Syphon Filter features a strong opening, and I think Syphon Filter 3 has the best one, featuring Gabe infiltrating a hotel in Tokyo during a nighttime rainstorm to assassinate a Chinese rebel leader who wants the virus for himself. What follows is a sneaky infiltration mission, a high-rise shootout, and then a fast-paced gunfight to escape the hotel and rescue an innocent hostage in the process. It’s a fantastic way to kick the game off and get players hyped for the rest of the game.
Best story element: a shootout that takes place between two high rises where Gabe manages to take out the leaders of a terrorist organization.
2. C5 Galaxy
He’s been in cathedrals, burning subway stations, ships, underground labs, and runaway trains, and now Gabe heads to the skies in a C-5 Galaxy (which, for some reason, is depicted as a C-130 in cutscenes) in an attempt to stop Rhomer from escaping from his Costa Rica plantation. Essentially a boss fight level, this stage features a very clever way of having Gabe fight and defeat Rhomer while leaving him alive to be killed off for good at the end of SF1: bring back Chance’s body armor from the end of SF2 for Rhomer to wear, making it impossible for Gabe to kill him. While the level is short, being able to face off against Rhomer once again in a unique situation makes it a great one.
Best story element: Gabe being able to fight and defeat Rhomer once again inside a flying cargo plane, but in such a way that Rhomer survives to reappear in the original game.
1. DC Subway
One of my favorite sayings is that, while it’s good to begin well, it’s better to end well, and SF3 wraps up the PS1 trilogy by taking the player back to Washington DC, where the series first began. With her plan to destroy Congress foiled, Mara Aramov takes a subway train and plans to unleash the Syphon Filter virus in the Washington DC subway system, infecting and killing millions of innocent people. Only Gabe has a chance to stop her, and to do so he’ll have to fight his way through the subway as it races through the same tunnels where he and Mara first fought years ago, and the ensuing gunfights, hostage rescues, and final confrontation with Mara makes it a great way to end the series.
Best story element: Gabe climbing up onto the top of a speeding subway train and shooting Mara in the head with a gun that can shoot through metal.
And with that, that’s a wrap for the Playstation one trilogy. Tune in next time for an analysis of the best and least-enjoyable levels to see what story lessons the Syphon Filter series has to offer.
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:
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.
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.
The 90’s were a magical time for video games: At the beginning of the decade, we had 16 bit consoles and ended the decade with the PlayStation and CD’s. It was a transition from 2D sprites to 3D worlds, and with that transition came many franchises that stuck with the kids and teenagers who, in a way, grew up with them.
For me, the franchise that stuck with me the most wasn’t Super Mario, Metal Gear Solid, or Resident Evil, but Syphon Filter, a third-person action adventure series that followed secret agent Gabe Logan as he traveled around the world in a race against time to stop a deadly virus that, if released by its terrorist creator, Eric Rhomer, could kill millions. For my teenage self, it had everything: An awesome protagonist with a badass voice, a gripping story, great gameplay, cool guns, incredibly catchy music, and some highly creative and unique scenarios that the player encounters when going through the levels.
I’ve been meaning to revisit the Syphon Filter series for a while now to take a look at it from a writer’s perspective. But instead of your typical retrospective that would focus on the story, the characters, and the gameplay, I figured I’d try something different. As much as I enjoy the story, it is a standard secret-agent, espionage story with evil agencies, double-crossings, conspiracies, and the like. Therefore, instead of doing my usual analysis of what works and doesn’t work in each game, I’d like to go through the games and look at their levels instead and see what unique moments, hooks, and ideas they have. Today, we’ll start off with the first game in the series, 1999’s, Syphon Filter. And to mix things up a little more, we’ll go through the levels in order of how I enjoy them, from least to best.
20. Stronghold Catacombs
Syphon Filter’s least enjoyable level has you start off sneaking after some killer monks to save elderly, morally bankrupt CEO Phagan from being murdered, then doing a dreaded escort mission for said CEO through endless identical, ugly tunnels, and then do another escort mission to save Lian Xing, your partner you thought was dead. Though it’s nice helping her bust out of prison, the level’s size, ugly visuals, length, and having two escort missions makes this the game’s least enjoyable level.
Best story element: Learning that a partner who you thought was dead is actually alive and rescuing her (and unlike the morally bankrupt CEO, she actually has a gun and can defend herself, making your job easier).
19. Pharcom Elite Guards
This is pretty much a repeat of the Warehouses level (see the next entry), but harder. Plus, it’s much more of a maze this time around, and the Pharcom guards are now focused on you rather than Rhomer’s men, meaning you’re under fire constantly throughout the mission, and all of them wear flak jackets, meaning they require a headshot, leg-shot, or explosives to take out. Plus, finding some of the dead bodies you’re supposed to tag is a pain in the butt.
Best story element: The revelation that the silo you’re heading to holds a massive missile that was supposedly retired decades ago. When combined with all of Pharcom’s stuff being shipped here, it becomes clear that there’s something much bigger and more dangerous going on than you initially thought.
18. Pharcom Warehouses
The race to the finale of the game begins here, with Gabe having to fight his way through an enormous warehouse district to reach a well-hidden missile silo, all the while having two factions of enemy mooks (Pharcom guards and Rhomer’s men) fighting each other to death while ignoring you (unless you get too close). The level works at nailing the feel of an urban warzone, but the bland colors, ugly warehouses, and having to find multiple dead bodies doesn’t make this much fun to go through.
Best story element: Being involved in a three-way race to reach something important (the missile silo) while two of the three factions are more focused on fighting each other than you, all while having lost contact with the outside world.
17. Silo Access Tunnels
While en-route to Rhomer’s missile silo, you have to make your way through some abandoned mining tunnels that are swarming with his elite soldiers. The best thing about this mission is the spooky ambience of going through abandoned mining tunnels while being outnumbered by well-armed and armored soldiers.
Best story element: Making your way through a dark and creepy underground hideout with highly-skilled mercenaries trying to kill you, and being completely cut off from outside help.
16. Stronghold Lower Level
As a continuation of the previous level (see entry number 14), not much is different here: the atmosphere of a massive, abandoned cathedral is suitably gothic, saving the lives of innocent people infected by the Syphon Filter virus is still satisfying, and leaping through a massive, stained-glass window is cool (though how Gabe does it without being sliced to ribbons or breaking his legs on impact is never explained), but the level’s enormous size does start to wear down on the player after a while.
Best story element: Leaping through a large, ornate, stained-glass window to escape a cathedral is a great visual.
15. Base Bunker
A classic example of ‘continue your mission despite everyone knowing where you are,’ this level has Gabe trying to get through a dark tunnels to find and catalogue some missiles, all while being hunted by a constant stream of guards and death lasers without having any idea of where he’s going. What works well here is the fear of not knowing what’s around the next corner: it could be a set of lasers or a set of guards, but you have to keep pushing through, no matter what.
Best story element: Having to accomplish your mission in an area you know nothing about while constantly being hunted, and an entire base knowing where you are.
14. Rhomer’s Stronghold
Previous levels in the game featured a modern city, a museum, and a military base, which makes going to an abandoned cathedral a surprising change of scenery. The Gothic atmosphere, enormous layout, and appropriately moody music sets the stage well, and saving innocent test patients is a welcome break from gunning down hundreds of terrorists. Plus, there’s the humor of taking on monks armed with machine guns and shotguns. The downside is that this is a huge level with a lot of stuff to do, and it’s frustrating to reach the end, only to have to backtrack to find the one sick patient you missed.
Best story element: the novelty of going through a massive, abandoned cathedral that’s been turned into a stronghold by a terrorist, complete with monks with machine guns. But the best part about this level is revisiting it after a surprising plot twist later in the game (see number 2 on this list).
13. Rhomer’s Base
Every spy thriller has to include the infiltration of an enemy base at one point (it’s like a law, or something), and this level makes good use of all the tropes: a lone agent has to infiltrate a military base at night in a snowstorm, plant explosives at key locations, assassinate the base’s commander, turn off the power to the base’s bunker, and sneak inside said bunker without being seen. While the mission will continue if he is, it will become a lot harder, as many frustrated teens from the 90’s joining Gabe in yelling, “Damnit!” can attest.
Best story element: Having to sneak through a military base unseen; if you can pull it off all the way to the end, it’s an awesome feeling.
12. Expo Center Reception
Aside from having one of the game’s catchiest themes, the Pharcom Expo Center Reception is a good level that takes advantage of its museum theme to present a variety of themed locations to go through, from Stonehenge, to Egypt, to the Aztecs, and even outer space. But the best part of this mission takes place early on, when you learn that your commanding officer, Benton, is secretly a traitor working to get his hands on the Syphon Filter virus, leading to a duel between you and him in the Egyptian wing.
Best story element: Taking on your former boss, and (if you’re a quick enough shot), shooting him in the head before he can do anything, making for a hilariously one-sided boss fight.
11. Expo Center Dinorama
This level offers more of the same as its predecessor, but adds in two great moments: falling through a massive glass ceiling (and once again, not explaining how Gabe can survive a fall that would otherwise kill you in any other part of the game), and a truly great dilemma at the end: Gabe finally catches up to Mara and Phagan, both of whom he needs alive to interrogate. The problem is, Mara will kill Phagan, and Gabe has to figure out how to stop her when he can’t kill her. The solution? Shoot the gun out of her hand; while Phagan escapes, Mara is stopped, allowing Gabe to capture her. (You could also tase her, but it’s nowhere near as cool.)
Best story element: Having to stop one character from killing another, but without killing them in the process.
10. Base Tower
A short but intense level, the Base Tower has Gabe face his most dangerous opponent yet: an attack helicopter that he has to bring down using assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols (or, if the player uses cheat codes, a grenade launcher). It’s a challenge to be sure (and one that many have noted bears a very strong similarity to a similar boss fight from Metal Gear Solid), but the level has the first big twist of the game: hearing your partner, Lian, be killed over the radio at the beginning of the stage, and then hearing Rhomer himself mocking you before sending his helicopter after you.
Best story element: An operative hears one of his/her allies be killed over the radio, with him/her being unable to do anything but listen, and then having to fight for his/her life before any grieving can take place.
9. Base Escape
If the entry into Rhomer’s base was a slow, methodical sneaking mission, this level is the opposite: Gabe has just three minutes to escape before all the bombs he planted detonate, turning the base into a crater a mile wide. And to make things more difficult, the helicopter you destroyed has blocked the quickest route out, forcing you to take the long route. It’s a great escape level, where the emphasis is on running over fighting, and any fighting you do has to be quick, lest you run out of time.
Best story element: I’ve always loved that one guard at the base’s gate, the last man standing between you and freedom. And how does this guard intend to stop you? By standing in place and chucking grenades, which you can effortlessly avoid by just running past him. And as the screen fades to black, you can easily imagine the guard realizing that maybe his choice of weaponry was kinda dumb.
8. Freedom Memorial
The ending of the Washington DC levels has Gabe taking on terrorist Anton Girdeux, who is wearing impenetrable body armor, wields a flamethrower, and terrorizes friend and foe alike with his silly french accent. In order to save Washington, you have to kill Girdeux, but his armor is immune to conventional weapons, and using any explosives of any kind will detonate the last viral bomb, making this a test of wits and quick-thinking… which is resolved by shooting Anton’s backpack three times. Do it quickly enough, and you’ll win the fight in less time than it takes to pour a bowl of cereal. Despite it’s rather easy difficulty, it’s a memorable fight.
Best story element: A military operative taking on a powerful enemy with one of the most terrifying weapons ever invented, and with body armor that none of his regular weapons will hurt, forcing him or her to use their wits to win the battle.
7. Tunnel Blackout
While Syphon Filter is an action adventure game, this level is a swerve into horror territory: there are no supernatural monsters or otherwordly happenings, but it starts off creepily enough with Gabe in the flaming ruins of the generator room, complete with twisted metal, beams, and fire. And since you’re deep underground, you can’t just escape back to the surface. The only way out is to drop down a shaft into the pitch-blackness of the mining tunnels. From there, you have to slowly make your way to the level exit while methodically sniping Rhomer’s elite guards using a night-vision equipped sniper rifle. If you take your time, you’ll make it, but even a single missed shot will make things more difficult. (And Heaven help you if you somehow miss the rifle…)
Best story element: An operative has to make his way through a pitch-black location while being hunted with only a single, night-vision equipped weapon and stealth to help him succeed.
6. Washington Park
A massive, sprawling level with an hour-long timer counting down the whole time, this level is a technical marvel considering the PS1’s technological limitations. There’s a real sense of forthcoming danger, and coupled with the enormous size of the park, you’re moving quickly to find the bombs and cover the CDC agents responsible for disarming them, on top of taking out more of Rhomer’s operatives, and even dealing with a hostage situation. I like the sense of teamwork in this level, in that you’re working with the CDC to disarm the bombs instead of doing it yourself, adding to the feeling that you’re working with other people determined to stop Rhomer as much as you, rather than being a Rambo-Superman who can do everything yourself.
Best story element: Someone racing against the clock in a dark and spooky location at night in a rainstorm to help the good guys stop a city-sized catastrophe from taking place.
5. Main Subway Line
This short but intense level is the most unique boss fight in the game: Mara Aramov – one of Rhomer’s allies – has escaped into the Washington DC subway tunnels and must be captured. Problem is, the trains running through the tunnels aren’t going to stop for you, forcing Gabe to chase Mara without getting crushed into paste. Worse still, you can’t use explosives to stop her, as that will cause the cars to derail and make an already bad situation even worse. Though shot, this is an intense and thrilling level that establishes the Syphon Filter’s franchise affinity for unique and interesting boss encounters… and Mara’s incredibly thick skull that allows her to survive being shot in the head time and time again.
Best story element: A chase/duel between two operatives in an active subway tunnel with trains constantly going back and forth, where one mistake will lead to instant death, and using explosives to win is not an option.
4. Georgia Street
Making a good first impression is always important, doubly so in video games, where having a great first level can mean the difference between a player being eager to continue on, or rethink whether they want to spend their limited free time on the game. Thankfully, Syphon Filter does a stellar job with it’s first level, which sees you running through a Washington DC suburb fighting terrorists with goofy eyes and laughably bad aim while helping the CDC disarm viral bombs set to go off and kill everyone within a hundred miles. You go through the streets, through a bar, a bank, and finally a subway, all while learning the game’s mechanics. It’s a solid introduction to the game, and the series as a whole.
Best story element: Fighting terrorists in a variety of urban locations while trying to track down and stop explosives from going off.
3. Destroyed Subway
Aside from establishing the series-wide trademark of Gabe somehow surviving situations where he’d be blown up or die from falling from impossible-to-survive heights, the destroyed subway is probably Syphon Filter’s most visually impressive level: having survived a bomb explosion, Gabe now has to escape from a collapsed subway station that’s engulfed in flames. Not only will you have to take on a few more of Rhomer’s men while doing so, but you also have to help the CDC break in and disarm a viral bomb from the previous level that they never got to. Although still limited by the Playstation 1’s technology, this is still a visually awesome, moody level that’s harrowing and tense and exciting to play through.
Best story element: Still having to disarm an unexploded bomb in an destroyed subway.
2. Warehouse 76
After slugging his way through what feels like the world’s biggest warehouse district, Gabe arrives at the hidden entrance to the missile silo, where he’ll find an elevator that will take him to said silo. The only problem is that the warehouse is on fire and burning to the ground, and with no other way down to the silo, Gabe has no choice but to fight his way through the warehouse. And unlike the subway in Washington, the warehouse will inevitably collapse, killing Gabe if he can’t make it out in time.
While this level is similar to the collapsed DC subway, it has a more urgent and frantic tone, as there’s now a countdown timer to deal with in addition to having to find your way through the warehouse and fight the fools who insist on trying to kill you instead of, you know, escaping the warehouse that’s burning to the ground around them. It’s a tense thrill ride, and one of the best levels in the game.
Best story element: while the trope of a military operative purposefully running into a burning, collapsing building to reach his only way to get to his objective is cool, it’s a revelation in the opening briefing that hits the hardest: remember all those infected people you were saving back in Rhomer’s Stronghold? It turns out the vaccine you were given was actually poison. All of them are now dead because you unknowingly killed them on the orders of your boss, who you had no reason to suspect was anyone but an ally. Yikes.
1. Missile Silo
It’s good to begin well, but better to end well, and Syphon Filter’s final level is my favorite: you’ve made it to Rhomer’s missile silo, but stopping the missile is going to be anything but easy: the missile is about to launch and is impossible to abort, giving Gabe less than a minute to climb onto said missile to retrieve the codes that can detonate it in mid-flight, and then he has only seconds to get to safety to avoid being burnt to a crisp when the missile launches, and then he has less than three minutes to reach the silo’s computer controls to detonate the missile mid-flight, or World War 3 will begin, and THEN Gabe has to face Rhomer, who has impenetrable body armor that not even grenades can penetrate (despite his head and face being completely unprotected), forcing Gabe to find another way to stop him, which ends up being gas grenades.
Though a short level, ‘Missile Silo’ is an exciting finale where all of your skills are put to the test, but in a fun way: you’ve mastered doing headshots, combat rolls, and the K3G4. You’re ready, and finally taking out Rhomer and saving the world is a great feeling, and a great end to a great game.
Best story element: While most scenarios involving world-ending missiles are about stopping them before they launch, Syphon Filter’s revolves around stopping a missile after it’s launched, making the race to stop it even more urgent than usual.
That’s it for the first game, but there are still two more to go: Come back next time, where we’ll take a look at what is commonly regarded as the best entry in the franchise, Syphon Filter 2.
Imperfect Glass 