I feel like in some ways this was a controversial game. It could be argued that to ride the coattails of a franchise and go in a very different direction with it is bad juju (I myself panicked when bethesda inherited Fallout franchise) But I like what was done here. First, the game has a very nice feel and atmosphere. There is lots of cool things to look at. It has a decent setting and it certainly captures the spirit of the Syndicate universe well. When I played DX:HR i spent a lot of time just gazing at the environment and looking around. (Same with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) This game is not exactly designed with that in mind but there is enough going on that you might be tempted to do such gazing.

Now that being said, to take a very unique game, that inspired all kinds of people and turn it into 'another FPS' is going to make many roll their eyes and maybe not even give it a chance.

I'd say theres a good chance that a lot of people never played this based on some of the things i've written. Heck I dont really fancy myself as an FPS fan these days because they are so generic. Old syndicate fans might simply feel theres nothing here for them. Maybe. Maybe not.

Syndicate (reboot/or whatever. I think of it as Syndicate 2012) Was actually a pretty decent FPS. You dont have a lot of the bogged down elements that you have IN DX:HR. such as RPG elements or questing or other strange mechanics. You do have a glittery flashy and sexy cyberpunk environment that is just as beautiful to look at. The music in it is also actually pretty great.

You also have a functional FPS that for lack of comparison felt to me a lot like something along the lines of Soldier of Fortune (first one) or Tron 2.0 (though i have that one semi-backloggeD)

I liked the weapons. I like the onboard holgraphic HUD (i think it suppose to be a cyberlinked weapon) that shows how many rounds left in the clip. As you pull the mouse side to side it wavers and looks nice. some of the heavy weapons i didnt really like and they threw them in there i think because the original game had them (they tried to tie in all the weapons in the original) These heavy weapons feel weird and kind of alternate/support, similiar to some of the heavy weapons in SoF

Combat is pretty good as is clearing levels. For the most part the powers/augs you get really work well and flow well. You can resort to a single one or mix it up. Every now and then you might come across a challenge or situation that hints you to do XX to solve the 'puzzle' I've played a few games where this didnt work out so well but this feels just simple enough to work and not get too tedius to master.

Upgrading your powers is really inventive and clever, and i'd say this is the most awesome part of the game, as well as the boss battles. and powers help you beat some of them. (That's something Crysis did NOT have. but something megaman did!)

In general the game wins me over in all kinds of weird ways. I generally dont like weird spin offs of original games i like. But this was fun.
I generally dont really like FPS but i'd say this was one of the better ones i've played.
I generally don't like 'powers' or any gimmicks in an FPS, it tends to be distracting and makes me feel rather off balance, but they complement you quite well in the thick of things.
I generally dont like boss battles, but these were pretty good and you get rewards from most of them.
I generally dont like dubstep. but this soundtrack is fantastic and suites the game really well.

Would reccomend this to anyone that liked the setting of DX:HR, or just enjoyed the way stuff looks in tron 2.0. If you find yourself looking at textures or anything pretty in FPS, you'll probably enjoy the ride. I like an FPS i can just zone out into and look around and this had enough of a well built and composite atmosphere to let me do that and also had enough style and adrenaline to maintain my interest level. It's for the most part a 'one shot experience' but it was a pretty good one.