Syndicate trailer shows off Starbreeze's vision

by Ludwig Kietzmann on Sep 29th 2011 9:12AM

Starbreeze's slick, deadly and dour vision of the future is compiled with panache in this first trailer for Syndicate, the FPS reboot of Bullfrog's classic tactical game of the same name. Backed by a Syndicate remix from electro house producer Skrillex (download it here), the visuals cut between flashy combat, aerial takedowns and remote brain-hacking.

The trailer concludes with a tease for "The Executive Package" pre-order bonus, likely another one of EA's "limited edition" bundles tied to first-run copies of the game. It's out on February 21, 2012 (or: 0221 2012).

Syndicate (9/29/11)

Tags: ea, microsoft, pc, playstation, project-redlime, ps3, skrillex, starbreeze, starbreeze-studios, syndicate, xbox

Reader Comments (61)

I guess it looks like it's executed well, but design wise it kind of looks average.

@40 seconds. Reminds me of Ghost in the Shell.

@Mayo20 It's like a mixture of Deus Ex HR, Mirror's Edge, and yes Ghost in the Shell, Matrix, and Blade Runner! Ultra cool. I will be watching this one closely.

Looks very familiar...

Imagine that, looks AWESOME!

YUUUUUP

The trailer looks great. Having been a huge fan of the original Syndicate, I'm a little dissappointed that EA didn't use the original format and decidied to throw another FPS into a market already flooded with them. I think EA could have taken the original format to a whole new level. It still looks like a cool game though!

@mod996duc

RTS type games are a dying breed.

@kentuckyfried

I agree that the RTS genre is indeed a dying breed. My point of contention stems from my love of the original game. I bought it day one from my local Babbage's and it made my eyes bleed for the next several months. I'm just hoping that EA can bring the same level of innovation to the modern Syndicate as Bullfrog did with the original.

@kentuckyfried I don't personally play it but I think Starcraft 2's success proves you wrong.

Looks interesting.

I'll be looking more into this 1 as it gets closer to next Feb.

Perfect Dark 2!

I've never played the originals so the change doesn't bother me. I like cyberpunk though and this has me interested. For the record I'm really not a fan of FPSes either, but I've made a good number of exceptions in recent years.

It's like I'm really playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution!

@Shoopy It's not like Deus Ex has a monopoly on cyberpunk settings or anything, but still, when it came out, I have to wonder what the reaction was at the Starbreeze office. X)

@Shoopy Except this looks like a shooter instead of a stealth RPG. I have no qualms.

@wrongThinker

Considering that HR was so heavily slanted towards stealth, I'll more than enjoy shooting and blowing things up in Syndicate, where hopefully there's a better balance on choosing which option to go.

@Kentuckyfried

I don't understand what you're laying down. Deus Ex was all about choice! You can get an RPG in the first 3 hours and decimate everything. Plus there's tons of guns and ammo and mines and grenades and all sorts of violent stuff all over!

Unless you're saying the shooting mechanics aren't up to the best standards like battlefield or CoD? I played the game both as full stealth then as Rambo style combat and both were just as rewarding.

If this trailer tells me anything it is that there will be a whole lot of murderizing to do.

*presses the intercom* Phyllis, hold me calls will you? I'm up to my neck in this bloody work right now.

@Lafajet

Yeah, that is basically ALL the trailer was. Murder, murder, annnd more murder.

We get it. Is there anything else to the game than shooting people and splattering annoying blood on the screen?

@Nicknamer Don't get me wrong here, I'm totally fine with having games that are all about bloodshed. This looks interesting and if it gets some good press before launch I'll probably check it out. It was just an observation that it'll probably be what the game focuses on,

Then again, hearing "activating suicide" seemed like an unusually cool detail. Hope that'll be there during gameplay. Liking the head secretary so far.

I have to admit it does look very slick, and since I've never played the original I also have no issues with the FPS approach. Having said that, I must be getting old, because looking at all that violence done not in the name of justice, or even revenge, but simply because that's your job and some corporation is telling you to do it, left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Of course there might be some story that justifies it better but I haven't seen it in this trailer.

As a kid I always imagined what it would be like to be down on the ground as an agent and this fits my imaginings exactly. Could be really interesting, it will be intriguing to see how it stacks up against Deus Ex: HR (which I enjoyed but didn't love.)

Franchise Reboots (Will Take You To The Mountain)

Awesome! It's like I'm watching a more action-y Deus Ex: HR!

Props for choosing Skrillex as the music of choice for this trailer!

Down vote me all you want, Syndicate was a Tactical game...this is an FPS...ergo this game shouldn't be a Syndicate game

@xHotPotatox Warcraft was an RTS... WoW is an MMO... ergo that game shouldn't be a Warcraft game...
Star Wars was a movie... Clone Wars is a cartoon... ergo that show shouldn't be a Star Wars show...

@xHotPotatox That's like saying Warcraft was an RTS, World of Warcraft is an MMO ergo WoW shouldn't be a Warcraft game. Your logic is flawed.

Panzer Dragoon; Panzer Dragoon Saga
Halo; Halo Wars.
Mario Bros.; Mario RPG / Paper Mario / Mario *insert hobby here* / Mario Party
Persona; Persona Arena
Metal Gear; Metal Gear AC!D
Banjo-Kazooie; Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Pokemon; Pokemon Snap
WarCraft; World of WarCraft

@xHotPotatox I hate to break it to everyone replying to this guy... all you are doing is reinforcing his valid point by giving more bad examples.

@urgan I'll give you clone wars (CG, not Tartakovsky), AC!D, and even Pokemon Snap out of the kindness of my heart despite loving it. But otherwise, no, sorry, you're either jaded or just silly.

@Epoque

Really? You're giving Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts a pass? The reboot that drove Tim and Chris Stamper to leave Rare? The game whose reception led Microsoft to turn Rare into a Kinect-focused studio?

Reeeeeally.

@xHotPotatox

Evolve or die.

@freaparn Yes, I'm giving one of the best games I've ever played a pass. So hop into Mumbo's Motors, build a courthouse out of whatever spare parts you have lying around, and sue me.

Skrillex.

WOBWOBOWOBWOBWOBBBBBBBBB. Excellent production values. Definitely interested in seeing where this goes.

I felt like I was watching a Deus Ex expansion trailer.

Wub-wubbin' like it's nobody's business.

Jinx!

The inevitable comparisons to Deus Ex are just that. I did enjoy Deus, but found the environments and setting rung a little hollow. Like at any moment I might peek around a building facade and see the wooden frame supports.

This doesn't give me that impression. Also, the facial animations don't creep me the hell out.

Sure, the inevitable comparisons to Deus Ex are going to be there. Similar under-currents of Corporations taking matters into their own hands, with open combat between them, versus hidden corporate espionage.

This game looks like it could be a winner. Deus Ex was already a winner. There is room for both, and more hopefully. If this one improves a bit on where Deus Ex left off, awesome. Sure the hell is better than the standard like we see in some FPS games nowadays...

Just what the market needed, another FPS with a Skrillex track on top of it. As a huge fan or the original (Persuadetron how I miss thee) and someone who doesn't enjoy FPS games I quite disappointed they decided to reboot in this direction but honestly can't say that I'm surprised.

If it still maintains many of the elements that made the original so fun and challenging I'll give it a go but I just feel it'll be too dissimilar being an FPS personally.

This looks pretty god damn interesting. Starbreeze has put out some good titles in the past...but this looks like it takes it up a notch. The production values look fantastic.

....More games that are like Deus Ex is hardly something to be down about either. I for one welcome the cyberpunk era haha.

I see this as a being able to play a combined game of DXHR / Hard Reset that is not steam dependent, set in a violent version of mirror's edge. although I am gonna go out on a limb and guess that it will play more like Bioshock than Dues Ex.

... provided that I actually have some in febuaray, EA has got my money for this game (in contrast to SE & flying hog, who will not see a damned dime from me).

I want to hate this game very much for not being like the original.

But the trailer (and music) demand that I have a schoolboy crush on it.

DAMNIT!

As long as it's better than DXHR I'm willing to give it a go. Just, please have an ending whose outcome is actually impacted by the choices you make in the game. Not "Pick a button!"

Skrillex is awesome as usual, and Starbreeze will make an awesome game. I will buy it simply because its starbreeze and I loved Enclave, The Darkness, and the Riddick games.
I know people are complaining its not like the original, but this is a starbreeze game and its going to good..

The comparisons are pretty hollow. Deus Ex is an RPG, Syndicate is pure FPS.

@KungFuChaosNinja Did you actually play Deus Ex? Being able to pick some conversation trees outside of combat doesn't mean it's not an FPS. It's just an FPS with RPG elements.

@Faceless Troll

No, it's an RPG with a first-person perspective--save for the third-person switch when going into cover.

You have dialog, hub worlds with critical path missions and side missions, different ways to take on situations, different ways to play depending on how you augment yourself. You build your character and play a role--be it stealth, explosive, through weapons, etc.

Syndicate is a straight, linear FPS with no choice whatsoever. Now, that's not a bad thing, as I'm also a fan of linear games like this, but let's not mix up the two and distort the truth.

When the music started for that trailer, I was taken back about 15 years. Screw the game, I WANT THAT SONG!
with that being said, this doesnt feel like syndicate, not because of some nostalgic view of the past, but because back in the old version, killing everyone and everything wasnt the point, it was about corporate greed, wanting global dominance, region by region, city by city. The original had a LOT of variety in its levels, objectives, and ways you could do each mission. Not to mention the research, upgrades and management of the territories you controlled. This looks like a Deus Ex clone (WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING)
It could redeem itsself in my eyes if it had some quality multiplayer, with 4v4 action based around objectives that resembled the original missions.

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Syndicate

Syndicate trailer shows off Starbreeze's vision

Syndicate (9/29/11)

Reader Comments (61)

Posted: Sep 29th 2011 9:15AM eat it said

Posted: Sep 29th 2011 9:20AM Mayo20 said

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Posted: Sep 29th 2011 9:29AM mod996duc said

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Posted: Sep 29th 2011 11:34AM Bridget said

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Posted: Sep 29th 2011 10:28AM Epoque said

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