Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain Critic Reviews

A chunky online component will keep you coming back for more than just the 40 or so hours of solo game play.

The best game in the series since the original. Online or off, the game has plenty of replay value, tons of weapons and cool levels and a player customization feature that rules. Don't be put off by the controls because they actually rock.

Some of the missions are a bit ambiguous, the respawn ponts don't work as well as they should, and the visuals really haven't evolved too much since the previous installment, but as a whole, The Omega Strain emerges as one of the PS2's most irrresistable online titles.

As a single-player game, Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is quickly lost in the crowd. But thanks to its online cooperative mode, the game truly shines.

The sound effects are varied and realistic but the musical soundtrack steals the show. Not only is there plenty of musical variation but it matches the moods of the game perfectly.

Tense, powerful, and gripping.

A first class title. At points it becomes boring and many fans of the series won't see enough continuity to keep them happy, but it's got plenty of depth and style.

Even without the attraction of variable online play, The Omega Strain would be a winner thanks to its tough, smart missions, and huge rewards system.

With the control issues and the respawning and the floaty movement, The Omega Strain is kept in check from becoming a more immersive experience and is instead more of an arcade-style shooter.

The game falls short in too many spots and it is a major disappointment on the overall. This game left me feeling bad.

What Sony forgot to do was fix the control scheme and think a bit harder about how the game was presented in the single-player section.

Somewhat of a disappointment. The frustrating controls along with some other issues, the game is kept from being a true must-have title.

While it's no masterpiece, Omega Strain is worth playing for online junkies who've grown tired of the endless hours of "SOCOM II." Those that lack a network adaptor should probably rent first.

Best of all, online team play lets you and three buddies dispense hot leaden vengeance from Tokyo to Yemen.

Would the game have succeeded on a much higher level had the focus been placed completely on either a one-player campaign or just the multiplayer? In the end, I feel like the experience was diluted for unnecessary reasons, with the game appearing to walk the fence, trying to offer a compelling foundation spread across two different modes of play.

From the opening sequences you'll be mildly impressed, but as the gameplay drags on you'll begin to feel a growing sense of deja vu. We've seen it all before.

The online play keeps the game from being a complete 'once-n-shelve' title but if you're only a casual gamer without the online ability or an interest in the franchise from the past there is better tactical action games already available on the market.

The off and online modes of play are good concepts, but unfortunately have enough hiccups to make either one completely enjoyable.

Not only is it hard to actually go out and complete the objectives, but finding your way around the levels to figure out what you have to do is also a huge pain since accessing the map doesn’t pause the game, giving enemies ample opportunity to riddle you with bullets.

It’s a good game, but a taxing game experience. Overall, the game left me feeling like it was worked on for so long and overly tweaked for online play, with not too much attention paid to the single-player campaign.