In the rise of the 3D-modeled first person shooter genre, there were a number of devs that jumped into the competition to revolutionize the video game industry. Some were successful, others less but nevertheless, the ambition showed in their final products. One of those was SiN, which I haven't heard of until the Source engine-driven sequel was released along with …
In the rise of the 3D-modeled first person shooter genre, there were a number of devs that jumped into the competition to revolutionize the video game industry. Some were successful, others less but nevertheless, the ambition showed in their final products. One of those was SiN, which I haven't heard of until the Source engine-driven sequel was released along with this old gem.
Suffice to say, I am surprised to see that the game has aged not too badly along with the peer classics for a number of reasons. SiN offers more than just a run n' gun level sequences; it features a plot-driven single player mode that features its own version of action hero archetype but also with some wit (and tongue-in-cheek dialogues) in order to save the world, backed up by his colleagues. For that, there are intuitive gameplay elements to offer, such as stealth maneuvres (required for some optional objectives), interactive computers that control the functions of thoroughly designed levels and even drivable vehicles.
It plays out well and the enemies are pretty well-balanced (except for some sniper encounters, where they can drop your health down quickly at some occasions). There are a few other gripes I have with SiN, one being that there are many areas that can get too dark to find your way through, although it is my own fault that I underused the glowing pipes to light up the surroundings. While the high screen resolution is supported for the later eras, the second gripe I have is the boxy text font that gets shrunk that I either end up misreading some words or having to squint to understand what they say.
After all that, SiN stands as one of the strongly made 90's FPS candidates that fell under the radar while competing against its peers like Half-Life and Deus Ex. As I started out with its more modern sequel, I was prepared to take it lightly for its origin's sake. And I was glad that SiN outdid my expectations, as the contents, the fleshed out story and core gameplay functions saved it from some serious aging issues. If you don't mind the limiting standards of the mid-90's fps gaming, there's something to enjoyable to take away from this resurrected product.
