Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror PS2 - Hands On Preview

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the PSP did some great things. What makes these things seem even greater is that the PSP doesn't really boast a standout pure shooter. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was a touch mediocre considering the brand name; Killzone: Liberation was alright, for some; other games such as Rainbow Six: Vegas were simply abysmal.

In this context, a stealth third person shooter which managed to get the basics right, while tagging on some pretty engaging gameplay was bound to go far, and the PSP's first Syphon Filter title definitely did that. Highly critically acclaimed, coupled with commercial success, could only mean that a sequel would be in the pipelines and that it is with the imminent arrival of Logan's Shadow.

However, Dark Mirror managed to do far more than just cover the basics. Many features within the game can be held high as textbook examples for PSP developers. For a tiny little machine that runs at the speed of a PC from 1995, the graphics that Dark Mirror provided were nothing short of an astonishing achievement. The AI, which is all too often a stumbling block for PSP shooters, was not only solid but even challenging at times. Finally, the stealthy gameplay was faultless and integrated some great new ideas such as a sniper rifle with not only conventional rounds, but also three different types of darts: explosive, taser and gas.

The multiplayer was also an impressive feat, with Ad-hoc and Infrastructure modes both capable of supporting eight players in four different game modes. Perhaps this is where the biggest difference between Dark Mirror on the PSP and PS2 lies (possibly the only difference as it's a straight port), as the multiplayer feature has been completely eliminated in the early PS2 preview code that we've seen.

Everything else is much the same, as you'd expect from a PSP to PS2 port. Of course, the PS2 should be able to handle a conversion from its nephew without a single glitch. However, if we're being fair, all games have to be appreciated in context. You simply wouldn't judge Football Manager Handheld under exactly the same criteria as Football Manager on the PC/Mac. Instead, the only fair way to make that judgement is to consider the relative processing power of the machines they run on and their main competitors on each format etc.

The problem with PSP to PS2 ports is that you're taking a game from a less capable format and putting it into a market with much stronger competitors. Both Liberty and Vice City Stories from the GTA series managed the PSP to PS2 port for two reasons: firstly, GTA is so far ahead of its competitors in the sandbox genre that even their PSP incarnations are competitive on the PS2. Secondly, the cheaper starting RRPs of Ãâ??£19.99 justified the port. It made the games seem like more of a GTA palette cleanser between the main courses of San Andreas and the still awaited GTA IV.

Unfortunately, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the PS2 may seem a little tame when it eventually sees release later this year. This is because it will be thrown into the shark-infested waters of quality shooters on the PS2, and it might not be able to hold its own. To name but a few, there's the Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell series - not to mention quality FPS titles such as Black and Timesplitters: Future Perfect. It's very possible that the PSP's Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror will not be able to compete with those sorts of graphics, that kind of explosive gunplay, more features such as co-op play and better AI.

For example, Dark Mirror's graphics from the PSP are so good that they look like those of a very average PS2 shooter - perhaps a middle of the road title from three or four years ago. Adversaries do behave intelligently - you'll often find that one enemy advances on you while another provides covering fire - but the AI still has that slightly PSP feel to it. Examples include manic strafing that doesn't seem particularly life-like, as well as enemies continuing to shoot at where you were a few seconds ago.

And therein lies the problem. As good a PSP game as Dark Mirror is, perhaps the only must have - PSP shooter - it becomes a very average and functional game when compared to the competitors it will be facing up to on the PS2. More troubling than this is that, as far as early indications are anything to go by, it will be retailing at full-price for a PS2 game.