Top Secret Magazine SiN

SiN has the gaming public in an uproar and with good reason. Contending against such best-sellers as Half-Life, Heretic II, Diakatana and Unreal, you might think it would have a tough battle, but not so. This game is unique in that for once, you battle against humans instead of two- headed-evil-mutant-I-only-got-one-eye-and -a-tail-and-yellow-teeth-beasties. It's just good guy against bad guy - just like the good old days.

Based on the Quake2 engine, SiN is the 1st game since to take the engine and run with it. SiN's developers, Hipnotic Interactive produced the Quake add-on pack, Scourge of Armagon, and they've done an even better job on SiN. EVERYTHING is the same and yet EVERYTHING has changed. The level design, the sounds, the graphics and models...all changed and for the better.

And as if that isn't enough, SiN actually has a good, strong storyline. It's set in a futuristic society overcome with crime and drugs. The local governmental-types have taken to hiring professionals from private security industries to deal with the problem.

Although you can play as one of three characters: John Blade, Blade's sidekick J.C., or Elexis Sinclaire, I played the part of Colonel John R. Blade, leader of HardCorps, a well-respected security agency. I was given the task of bringing down SinTek Industries, and the beautiful CEO, biochemist Elexis Sinclaire. She's got the same scheme as Animanic's Brain - to try to take over the world. Her idea of how to accomplish this feat is to inject the streets of Freeport with a DNA-altering drug and thus,

Watch for enemies attacking from the roof

Take cover!

build an army obedient to her will and so, take over the world.

The outcome is up to you. That's the cool part. Depending on your actions, the course of the game will change. Just like in real life, the choices you make and the actions you take will affect your mission and cause different outcomes to occur.

The sound is incredible. Sounds of shots being fired, glass being broken, things being blown up - what else could we ask for? Ok, we got it. Grunts, groans, expletives: even the sound of terrorists and hostages mumbling and pleading and crying out for mercy. Nothing is left out. Blade has great punch lines and the script for all the characters runs high in humor. And further, the background music for all the action is the best I've heard in a while.

Additionally, I must comment that the AI is awesome. The enemy has very sensitive skin, divided into leg, chest, arm and leg areas, each with its own armor, which allows differential damage. (If you shoot him in the leg, damage will appear there. Wow. What a concept!) Additionally, this features lets you choose to loot the armor after you've killed the bad guy, a great plus. Further, you get lots of futuristic and conventional weapons, including rockets and sniper rifles.

SiN is really SiNsational, but with all the big titles due to hit the shelves its hard to know which one to get. SiN is defiantly a worthwhile contender, so get out your Christmas wishlist and start wishing!

Company:
Ritual Entertainment
www.ritual.com

Category:

First Person Shooter

NOTES:

Interest: 80%
Maniability : 85%
Graphics: 94%
Sound : 85%
Originality : 80%

TOTAL : 85%

Requirements:

Operating System:
Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 with 100% compatible computer system. DirectX 5.x Required

Processor:
Pentium 150 MHz processor (166 MHz or higher recommended)

Memory:
32MB RAM

Hard Drive:
60MB For Demo,

Sound Card:
100% Sound Blaster
-compatible sound card

Video:
3d Accelerator Highly Recommended

Joshua Westhoven

DEMO