Coming just a couple of years after Sony Bend's first PSP game, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, their goal was to create another great chapter in the saga of Gabe Logan, blowing out both the game play and production values to create a state-of-the-art Syphon Filter experience. Sony got Azam Ali to write an amazing soundtrack, Syphon’s first theme song with lyrics and vocals. Azam’s haunting score is a large part of why this game is one of my personal favorites.

Sony Bend got Greg Rucka to write the story: Greg’s written many novels and graphic novels, including two series of novels he wrote called Queen and Country and Atticus Kodiak. Greg liked the idea of playing with the notion of who Gabe’s “shadow” might be and he came up with the idea that Lian Xing, Gabe’s long-time partner, might have a past that’s catching up with her. Suddenly she disappears. Evidence piles up that she’s a double agent. Can’t say too much more without giving the plot away, but Greg brought a lot to the Syphon experience.

While the story, music and game play all translated perfectly to the PS2, we’ve made some important tweaks to the controller to please PS2 players. Taking advantage of the extra buttons on the DualShock 2, we’ve added a snap button to make getting in and out of cover easier; we’ve added “swing out and aim” to L1 to make fighting from combat more intuitive and of course, we’ve completely re-tuned the game for the extra analog stick. We’ve also up-rezed textures and effects to take advantage of the unique features of the PS2 hardware. So fans of the PSP game might want to re-experience Gabe’s adventure on the big screen with new controls, and those who have never played it have a treat in store for them.

Over 120 pages long, Syphon Filter: The Opposition Effect is a story that bridges Dark Mirror and Logan’s Shadow, explaining what happens between the two games: Gabe’s hatred of Ghassan al Bitar, his troubled background with Robert Cordell, and more of his history with the irrepressible Dane Bishop. You even find out what happened to Cobra, the neglected rookie agent who worked for Gabe in The Omega Strain. Be sure to look for it on the PlayStation Store this summer!