Syphon Filter 2
Video Description
Summary: Gabe Logan and Lian Xing have been branded criminals by the Agency after discovering its ties to the Syphon Filter virus, a biological weapon. Now they must escape with the help of an ex-Agency operative Teresa Lipan.
This is the second game in the Syphon Filter series, which follows the events of the first game. The game is almost identical to the first one, but continues with the story. Overall it’s a great game and I enjoyed it!
This game was played using the PlayStation emulator, DuckStation. The resolution has been increased and PGXP is on, along with the widescreen cheat code.
Story
Following the events of the first game, Gabe Logan and Lian Xing are targets of the Agency after they discovered its ties to the Syphon Filter virus. Gabe and Lian are now getting help from ex-Agency operative Teresa Lipan, operating independently in a secluded location in Arizona. When evacuating Kazakhstan after the missile incident, the Agency, commanded by Dillon Morgan, steps in to retrieve the PharCom data discs. They capture Lian which has been infected with the Syphon Filter virus, while Gabe and several CBDC agents evacuate.
However, the Agency destroys their transport over the Colorado Rockies, so Gabe and CBDC Lieutenant Jason Chance head down the mountains to search for the PharCom data disks from their fallen chopper, but Steven Archer of the agency attempts to stop them. All while terrorist, Mara Aramov, and the Agency director, Lyle Stevens, and another mysterious man (which is the same one at the end of the first game directly working with Aramov) make plans to deliver the virus to a Chinese general, Shi-Hao. But, they are upset that phase two of the virus isn’t ready yet.
Lian awakens in a US air force base in Colorado where Morgan and Dr. Elsa Weissinger, a German scientist, were incubating a new strain of the virus from test subjects and extracting their infected plasma, one of the subjects being Phagan. He’s still alive despite being shot in the head by Aramov, but is unconscious. Morgan insists on getting him off life support so that the government wouldn’t find PharCom’s CEO infected with an unknown virus. Lian thinks she’s also been infected with the new strain.
Archer ordered his men to destroy the I-70 bridge to prevent Gabe and the CBDC agents from escaping. After Gabe disarms the bombs, Archer comes down in his chopper to destroy it himself, with Gabe escaping to a train below the bridge. Meanwhile, Lian breaks out of the airbase and learns that Morgan is planning an operation at the PharCom Expo Center to find an encrypted backup disk. Lian teams up with Gabe and takes down Archer to recover the PharCom data from the fallen choppers. Gabe then heads for the Expo Center and kills Morgan before he’s able to get the backup disk.
However, upon analysis of the data, there is still some missing. Theresa implies that Uri Gregorov, the director of the Russian foreign intelligence service, must have it, so him and Lian attempt to meet up in Moscow. Unfortunately, he is also working with Aramov. Upon meeting, Lian realizes Gregorov is an imposter working for Aramov, while the real one is being held in the Aljir Prison in Siberia. Gregorov uncovered the plan to sell the virus to Shi-Hao, so Aramov intervened. Lian goes to the prison to save him from execution, and is successful, but collapses due to the virus.
Gabe and Lian head to Virginia and meetup with Theresa. Gabe receives a call from Agency director, Lyle Stevens, and they make a deal to trade the PharCom data they have secured for Lian’s vaccine. They arrange to meet at the Agency labs, and when Gabe meets Stevens and Dr. Weissinger, they double cross him and inject him with a substance, rendering him unconscious. However, he awakens before he’s interrogated and disguises himself as a lab worker. During his escape, Gabe finds out that Chance is still alive, being held captive. So, he sets him free. He also manages to get the vaccine from Dr. Weissinger as she escapes and alarm is sound. He manages to escape and meet up with Theresa on a chopper to fly back to Lian. There was no sign of Chance upon evacuation, leaving the team to think he is dead.
Gabe and Theresa confront Stevens and kills him, and plan on escaping to get the vaccine to Lian. However, Chance comes out and reveals he’s been working for the Agency the entire time, know their every move. He proceeds to kill Theresa and Gabe takes him on. Gabe uses a shotgun to blast him into the helicopter blades. He heads back to Lian and both of them, including Lawrence Mujari which is a friend of Theresa, pay respects to her grave.
The agency’s existence is now publicly known and the Secretary of State, Vincent Hadden, says the government will be investigating. However, Hadden is secretly working with Aramov who says he will soon become president. He also has something planned for Gabe.
Gameplay
The gameplay is almost identical to the first game. But, it can be a bit easier with the controls if you already know how to play. Furthermore, there are extremely difficult bosses this time around, making it easier. However, there are still quite a few hard missions.
This game focuses more on stealth than the first. There are more areas where it’s wise to not get caught, or getting caught will ruin the mission. You also get a chance to play as Lian during several missions, which is a nice addition.
There are a few cheat codes that can be entered in the options, such as hard mode, level skip, Super Agent Mode (less shots to kill enemies), and movie theater. There are a lot more movies this time around, which is why the game is on two discs.
Brand new to this game is multiplayer mode. You can play with a friend and rack up kills to see who’s the best player. Additionally, there are secrets scattered about throughout the single player levels and criteria you must do which will unlock characters and maps.
Graphics
The graphics are basically the same as the first game. The cutscenes are still pretty dark and the characters don’t look that great, and the in-game graphics are decent. Some of the characters still look weird though.
Sound / Music
The music is decent, but nothing too special. It’s still very quiet like the first game. But the excellent voice acting makes a return.
Game Info
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