User:Jaguar/draft/Syphon Filter

Syphon Filter is a third-person shooter stealth video game developed by Eidetic and published by 989 Studios for the PlayStation. It was first released on 31 January 1999 in North America, 9 July 1999 in Europe and on 12 August 1999 in Japan. It released on Android devices worldwide on 25 March 2011. The game was followed by a sequel, Syphon Filter 2, in 2000, and numerous spin-offs released for the PlayStation Portable. The first game in the Syphon Filter series, the plot centres on special agents Gabriel Logan and Lian Xing who tasked by the United States government to track an international terrorist from Nepal.

Gameplay
The game is presented in a third-person perspective, and the player can freely move in three-dimensional space and rotate the camera in any direction. The top left corner of the screen interface shows the status of Gabriel's armour, a 'danger-meter' which rises as the player enagages enemies through combat, and a target lock. A radar is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen which shows the location of various objects including friendly units, enemies, weapon pick ups or mission objectives. The current weapon equipped is displayed always displayed in the bottom right corner, with the ammunition count. Depending on the weapon used, the camera will shift to first-person mode to assist in aiming.

The core of the gameplay is is focused on stealth-based tactics, in which throughout some levels Gabriel must silently take out enemies through the use of silenced weapons or other lethal attacks in order to progress. However, most of the game is action-orientated, which involves Gabriel navigating through levels whilst loudly shooting at enemies with no consequence to the mission. The game takes place in a wide variety of locations, including narrow interior streets of Washington D.C. to wide open plains of Kazakhstan. In some stealth based missions, the game will involve some puzzles which the player must solve in order to proceed through the next part of the level. Some levels feature low light ambience, which will force the player to use their torch despite its drawbacks imposed during stealth missions.

Plot
Gabriel Logan and Lian Xing are operatives of The Agency, on the trail of Erich Rhoemer, an international terrorist of Nepal. In August 1999, agent Ellis attempted to infiltrate Rhoemer's narcotics operation in Guácimo, Costa Rica, but was discovered and executed by ex-KGB agent Mara Aramov. Rhoemer then ordered Anton Girdeux, a French mercenary, to burn down the plantation to hide the evidence of their Syphon Filter research.

As Gabriel and Lian get caught up in an operation to save Washington D.C. from being destroyed by the viral bombs the Rhoemer has created, Gabriel fights Aramov and disovers the bombs are being held in a park, and eventually he comes up against Girduex, armed with a flamethrower but is defeated and burnt alive. The Agency decides to investigate a multi-million dollar company called Pharcom, however the report done by agent Edward Benton is found to be inconclusive. Gabriel is sent to look into the company founder, Johnathan Phagan, but soon discovers that Benton has been a mole inside The Agency for a while, and is the one responsible for exposing Ellis in Costa Rica. Gabriel kills Benton and the Agency captures Aramov.

Gabriel is then sent to infiltrate Rhoemer's stronghold in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, which is housed inside an abandoned cathedral. Injecting viral patients with what he is convinced is an antidote, Gabriel descends deeper into the cathedral to rescue his partner Xing; who explains that there is no 'global' antidote for the virus. They also find Phagan, who is later fatally shot by Aramov. She decides to help the Agency, since she has nowhere else to go. Afterward, Gabriel infiltrates the Pharcom warehouses in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where PHARCOM security is battling Rhoemer's mercenaries. Gabriel learns that Markinson, who had been secretly negotiating with Rhoemer to obtain Syphon Filter for the Agency, had made Gabriel inject the patients with potassium chloride.

Rhoemer reveals he has captured a Soviet-era nuclear ICBM. He shoots Markinson in the head and starts the launch sequence for the missile. Gabriel cannot prevent it from launching, so his only hope is to initiate its self-destruct sequence once it is in the upper atmosphere. Gabriel successfully destroys the missile. Rhoemer, furious at Logan's interference, engages him in a final showdown. Gabriel is able to kill him and avert World War III. Gabriel and Xing, both disillusioned with their trust in the Agency, ponder the situation as the camera zooms out over the warehouses. In a post-credits scene, the shadowy figure from the beginning of the game is holding a sample of Syphon Filter inside the Agency's headquarters with Aramov, who is laughing.

Development
According to creative director John Garvin, Syphon Filter was originally concieved as "just a name" from a producer at 989 Studios. According to Garvin, there was no plot, character or gameplay from the original one page synopsis.

Reception
Syphon Filter received positive reviews from critics. It currently has a 86.93% on GameRankings and 90/100 on Metacritic.