Every PS1 game – Syphon Filter 2
Even though I played the original Syphon Filter a lot back in the day, for some reason I was never tempted by parts 2 and 3. They were both on the $19.99 Greatest Hits line, could be found used for under ten bucks at any Gamestop in town, and yet I never even considered them. After recently re-playing Syphon Filter, I decided to finally pick up 2 and 3 and see what they’re like. Let’s start with Syphon Filter 2.
The start is promising. This was the direct sequel, released one year after the original, and you can tell they were definitely going for “bigger and badder” with the opening cinematics.
(more…)Open Wheel Showdown 2024 at The Bullring
In the same way that engineers will succinctly refer to a tire locking up under braking as “under-rotation”, engineers will refer to an issue that stands in the way of accomplishing something as a “blocker”. Well, on this Friday at work I had a blocker–the engineering type–so I decided to wander over to the paddock next door to see what was going on.
For reasons of which I am unclear, The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is very rarely used. While there is constant action at the main speedway, the two road courses, the dirt oval, the dirt “cross” track, and other spaces around the speedway grounds, the 3/8th mile asphalt Bullring hardly sees any use.
(more…)Every PS1 Game – Syphon Filter
While playing Mission: Impossible recently, one game kept popping into my head: Syphon Filter. Even though they were produced by different teams in different countries, they’re both third person spy adventures that look and feel similar and were released at similar times. I played Mission: Impossible as part of a “Game of the Month” challenge, and it felt so rough. Did Syphon Filter, with its better reviews and my childhood memories, stand up better than Mission: Impossible? I had to find out.
It starts on a high note; the intro is just as cool as I remembered it. You start on surface streets and you’re soon in the subway surrounded by burning train cars.
(more…)Every PS1 Game – Policenauts
Hideo Kojima has worked on dozens of games, with credits like Director, Producer, Game Designer, and Writer. For the first thirty years of his career, when those all happened on the same game, it would be about one of two things: cyberpunk investigators or Metal Gear. But while the Metal Gear series stretches past twenty games, there are only two cyberpunk releases from Kojima: Snatcher and Policenauts.
Star Road 