One of the Best Reasons to Own a PSone
Unlike the surprisingly difficult entry, the first Syphon Filter managed to maintain a good degree of challenge throughout without resorting to cheap tricks. The stealth sequences required some trial-and-error attempts, but were fun nonetheless. Not surprisingly, action was the game's true calling. WIth the ability to fire in first-person, target-lock mode, or "fire-randomly-please-let-me-hit-someone," and a great selection of weapons, the options at your disposal to end your enemies' lousy existence were plentiful. Seeing your target writhe in agony as you literally cook him with your taser is a guilty pleasure time and time again.
The graphics weren't great, even for their time, but they certainly got the job done. The animations were almost all excellent, except for a few odd running and walking sequences- for example, why does everyone lean back at twenty-five degree angles?
The voice-acting is quite good, as is the tense soundtrack. Both serve to keep you involved in the twisting story and the great gameplay, which is audio's primary purpose.
The lack of multiplayer hurts the replay value somewhat, but Syphon Filter remains a game that should bring back fond memories to anyone that remembers taking out snipers with headshots. If you haven't played it yet, pick it up somewhere cheap for a little lesson in 32-bit 101.