Syphoning life into Playstation

Designers get good results out of an old machine

By BBC News Online's Darren Waters

The Playstation 1 may be six years old and, in terms of technology at least, has been surpassed by the Playstation 2, Xbox and GameCube but there is life in the old machine yet.

With more than 100 million original Playstations sold in that time, there are still plenty of users hungry for new games and Syphon Filter 3 is a welcome addition to the action adventure genre.

Picking up where the previous two Filter releases left off, you are required to lead a crack unit of secret agents on a variety of espionage-filled adventures.

The plot comes with the requisite amount of "cheese" such games need - the dialogue and narrative is riddled with the usual race-against-time clichés and the movie sequences are hammed up to good effect.

An arsenal of weaponry

The game is played through a series of flashbacks which neatly form several encapsulated missions.

Assassinating a world leader, rescuing hostages and freeing slaves from a South African mine, you take control of an assortment of agents, using an arsenal of weaponry to shoot and destroy any obstacles or evil enemy agents who stand in your way.

Graphically, the game looks tired compared with games such as Halo on the Xbox and Metal Gear Solid 2 on the PS2, which is to be expected, but even compared with classic PS1 titles the game is lacking quality visuals.

Thankfully, the adrenaline-loaded gameplay, and ever-more difficult levels and assignments, give the game the "one more go" feeling needed.

It does not add much in terms of originality and the linear feel to the game is frustrating but the designers are getting good results out of an old machine.

It is not as impressive as the classic Metal Gear Solid - few games are - but there are enough twists and neat touches to keep most game players satisfied over the Christmas season.

To keep the user interested there is a decent two-player mode, reminiscent of Doom and Quake, and a series of mini-missions to hone your skills.

For those of us without the funds to buy a PS2 or an Xbox, it proves you can still have fun with your old Playstation.

Syphon Filter 3 is available on Playstation 1.