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Home >
Review Archive >
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> Results: SiN Episodes Emergence
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by Michael Anderson
May 15, 2006
Episodic content for gaming has arrived, would it be a "SiN" to miss it?
Reviewed for PC.
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SiN Episodes Emergence is the first major entry in episodic content distributed using Valve software's Steam service. As a result, the graphics and gameplay are reminiscent of Half-Life 2, which is not a bad thing since Half Life 2 is one of the best looking games of the past few years. The first ‘episode' in this series of short, budget priced shooter games will take gamers about six hours to complete, but those will be some exciting and action packed hours. While the overall game is nothing more than a very good single-player shooter with no online multiplayer mode, the beginnings of a wonderful story arc are told, making you look forward to the next installment in the SiN Episodes.
Given that the word ‘sin' means a wrongdoing that is morally reprehensible, it is a fair assumption that a first person shooter game with the title ‘SiN' would be an adult-centric experience. At the very beginning of the game, your character wakes up on a table with the main enemy looking down on him with over-the-top cleavage and a significant example of ‘realistic breast physics' on display. The very next scene is a blood-bath of brutality as you are rescued and need to make you way to safety – unarmed. The juxtaposition of sex, power and violence pervade every corner of this game, making it both brutal and titillating.
While there isn't anything really new about the game itself, it promises the player the ability to tailor the experience using a new ‘dynamic difficulty' system that adjusts the entire game to how well you're playing and a custom challenge level you select. By adjusting sliders for challenge and assistance, you tell the game how difficult to make it – based on your particular skills, meaning that ‘hard' is different for everyone. Regardless of your choice, the latter parts of the game are very difficult and you will frequently need to reload to figure out strategies to make it through alive.
The Adult Seal for this game combines two elements – the visceral and intense battles and the brutal bloodbath that your character unleashes. The developers also did a very good job of immersing the player in the character – you are trying to find out what is going on, you believe in your character and your team, and want to stop the villains. The game is very fast paced and the environments are very realistic and immersive, further creating a feeling of desperation and peril as you battle against the odds. That makes the experience even more intense and personal than many shooters where you just feel like a walking gun going from place to place blowing up stuff. And while graphics are not everything in a game, the ability to cut someone is half with a close range shotgun blast and see their severed spine sticking out of their remaining body and the rest of their parts scatter on the ground or spattered against the wall can be nauseating to observe. And, of course, having looked at those details you would have just died yourself at the hands of the next wave of enemies.
This review edited by Andrew Bub
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