Syphon Filter

Syphon Filter is a video game series published by Sony and developed by Sony Bend (formerly Eidetic), that has appeared on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable game systems. In the series, Syphon Filter is the name given to the mysterious viral weapon.

Series

Syphon Filter (1999)

Main article: Syphon Filter

Syphon Filter was released in 1999 and is the first game in the Syphon Filter series. It deals with the chase of Erich Rhoemer and subsequent betrayals and conspiracies.

Levels:

• 1: Georgia Street - in Washington D.C.
• 2: Destroyed Subway - the DC Subway after an explosion
• 3: Main Subway Line - chasing Mara Aramov
• 4: Washington Park
• 5: Freedom Memorial - boss battle with Anton Girdeux
• 6: Expo Center Reception
• 7: Expo Center Dinorama
• 8: Rhoemer's Base - in Kazakhstan
• 9: Base Bunker - bunker of Rhoemer's Base
• 10: Base Tower - boss battle with Russian helicopter KI-33
• 11: Base Escape
• 12: Rhoemer's Stronghold - in the Ukraine
• 13: Stronghold Lower Level
• 14: Stronghold Catacombs
• 15: PHARCOM Warehouses - also in Kazakhstan
• 16: PHARCOM Elite Guards - also in the warehouses
• 17: Warehouse 76
• 18: Silo Access Tunnels
• 19: Tunnel Blackout
• 20: Missile Silo - final battle with Erich Rhoemer

Game bosses:

• Paval Kravich
• Mara Aramov
• Anton Girdeux
• Russian helicopter KI-33
• Erich Rhoemer

Syphon Filter 2 (2000)

Main article: Syphon Filter 2

Syphon Filter 2 was released in 2000 and is a sequel to Syphon Filter. It picked up where the first game ended with Gabe leaving Kazakhstan with his CBDC partners on his way to the U.S. The game is about getting the encryption codes and discs.

Levels:

• 1: Colorado Mountains - in Western Colorado
• 2: McKenzie Airbase Interior - in Denver, CO, inside the airbase
• 3: Colorado Interstate 70 - Colorado's Interstate 70 (Western Colorado)
• 4: I-70 Mountain Bridge - Interstate 70 Bridge
• 5: McKenzie Airbase Exterior - outside the airbase
• 6: Colorado Train Ride
• 7: Colorado Train Race
• 8: C-130 Wreck Site - the crash site and a boss battle with Michael Archer
• 9: Pharcom Expo Center
• 10: Morgan - the boss battle with Dillon Morgan
• 11: Moscow Club 32 - in a club of Downtown Moscow
• 12: Moscow Streets
• 13: Volkov Park - a park
• 14: Gregorov - a boss battle with Uri Gregorov
• 15: Aljir Prison Break-In - a gulag in Siberia
• 16: Aljir Prison Escape
• 17: Agency Bio-Lab - in New York City
• 18: Agency Bio-Lab Escape
• 19: New York Slums
• 20: New York Sewer
• 21: Finale - the final boss battle

Game bosses:

• Michael Archer
• Dillon Morgan
• Uri Gregorov impostor
• Jason Chance

Syphon Filter 3 (2001)

Main article: Syphon Filter 3

Syphon Filter 3 was the third of the series and is a sequel to Syphon Filter 2. It was released in 2001, and it was one of the games released on the PS1, instead of PS2, which became more common this year. This game is mostly about the Syphon Filter and the main operatives' history and stopping the Syphon Filter virus (not completely).

Levels:

• 1: Hotel Fukushima - in Tokyo, Japan (the player must assassinate Shi Hao)
• 2: Costa Rican Plantation - in Costa Rica
• 3: C-5 Galaxy Transport - boss battle with Erich Rhoemer
• 4: Pugari Gold Mine - in South Africa
• 5: Pugari Complex
• 6: Kabul, Afghanistan - on Kabul, Afghanistan
• 7: S.S. Lorelei - near or at Dublin, Ireland
• 8: Aztec Ruins - back in Costa Rica
• 9: Waterfront - back in Dublin, Ireland (on the docks)
• 10: Docks final assault - includes a boss battle
• 11: Convoy - in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan
• 12: The Beast - boss battle with Soviet T-64 tank
• 13: Australian Outback - in Tanami Desert
• 14: St. George Australia - in Yuendumu village
• 15: Paradise Ridge - near Paradise, MT (Montana) (in the taiga forest)
• 16: Militia Compound - same as above but in a compound
• 17: Underground bunker - in the bunker of compound
• 18: Senate Building - in Washington D.C.
• 19: DC Subway - the boss here is Mara Aramov

Game bosses:

• Erich Rhoemer
• Nigel Cummings
• Soviet T-64 tank
• Mara Aramov

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (2004)

Main article: Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain was the first installment of the Syphon Filter series to be released on the PS2. Instead of playing as Gabe Logan, the exiled agent from the top secret Agency, players will create their own character, which is a new recruit for the Agency. Once again, in pursuit of the Syphon Filter virus, and working against time, gamers must get to the bottom of a deadly plot. The game features the same edge-of-your-seat action and thrills the series is known for, plus more deadly enemies and the most lethal arsenal yet. There are also intense, international environments such as Michigan, Belarus, Brazil and Uganda with numerous levels. The biggest change in this game from the previous games in the series is the addition of online gameplay. Players can complete the entire game solo or they can team up with up to three friends for cooperative play.

Levels

A list of all the game's levels goes as follows:

• 1. IPCA Training Center (A training mission to get you started. A must-do for new players)
• 2. Quarantine Zone (The First Boss Level)
• 3. Warehouse District
• 4. Carthage Mall (The Second Boss Level)
• 5. St. Cetteo Square (The first Bonus mission. Unlocked after getting Par on Missions 2-4)
• 6. Krivorozhstal Mill
• 7. Belaya Vezha (The Third Boss Level)
• 8. Saydahmat's Village (The 2nd Bonus Level. Unlocked after getting par on Missions 6+7)
• 9. Arms Bazaar
• 10. Taherir Palace
• 11. International University
• 12. Ivankov's Home (The Third Bonus Level. Unlocked after getting par on Missions 9-11)
• 13. Lorelei Salvage Rig
• 14. Murakawa Tower (The Fourth Boss Level)
• 15. Irawaddy Basin
• 16. Niculescu Funds Tower
• 17. Niculescu's Villa Estate (The 4th/Final Bonus Mission. Unlocked after parring Missions 13-16).
• 18. Chechen Terrorist Base (The Final Level)

Game Bosses:

• Andre Proust
• Soren Masson
• Soviet Tank
• Ivao Ryusaki

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (2006)

Main article: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror

Released on March 14, 2006 (United States) and October 6, 2006 (Europe) for the PlayStation Portable, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror takes advantage of a number of the systems capabilities, including game sharing and online multiplayer. Dark Mirror is currently amongst the highest rated PSP games available due largely to its success in adapting a complex game to a handheld system. The game is considered by GameSpy to be, "possibly the best game on the PSP yet" - GameSpy Review.

A PS2 port was released on September 18, 2007 in North America, with European and Australian versions released on November 2 and 8, respectively.

Levels:

• 1: Kemsynth distillation tower
• 2: Kemsynth maintenance elevator (boss fight with Red Jack)
• 3: Kemsynth employee lounge
• 4: Kemsynth power room
• 5: Kemsynth server room
• 6: LC-130 landing zone
• 7: Security Section D
• 8: Hydroponics lab
• 9: pipeline substation (Boss fight with Black King)
• 10: Iquitos village (fight with Black Viper)
• 11: Kemsynth Botanicals station (fight with White Scorpion)
• 12: Tulza munitions plant
• 13: Red Section HQ
• 14: machine courtyard
• 15: ZP armory (fight with Kress and UN tank)
• 16: Konigsberg Casino (fight with Yavlinsky's security chief)
• 17: Ottokar Hall (fight with Yavlinsky)
• 18: TransEuroTram station
• 19: TransEuroTram atrium area (fight with Touchstone)
• 20: AIT warehouse yard (fight with EM Armor)
• 21: AIT hydroponics lab (fight with EM Armor)
• 22: AIT centrifuge room (fight with 2 EM Armor troops)
• 23: AIT train station (fight with Singularity)

Bonus levels:

• 1: Mara Aramov's safe house (fight with Mara)
• 2: Kemsynth tower
• 3: Sana, Yemen (fight with Al-Hassan)
• 4: Bangkok, Thailand
• 5: Jimmy Zhou's penthouse (fight with Jimmy Zhou)

Game bosses:

• Red Jack
• Black King
• White Scorpion
• UN Tank (Goren Zivmovic is inside)
• Touchstone
• Singularity

Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (2007)

Main article: Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow

Released on October 2, 2007 in North America, this game finds Gabe Logan searching for Lian Xing, who may be in danger, or a double agent. Now Gabe must search the globe for her, but with a government official, Robert Cordell, shutting down the IPCA under presidential powers, and Logan in the eyes of an assassin, this maybe his biggest mission yet.

Levels:

• 1: USS Mount Saint Helens stern
• 2: cargo area
• 3: Somali pirate boats
• 4: Cargo Hold 5 (fight with Fahid)
• 5: USS Saint Helens wreck site
• 6: USS Saint Helens engine room (fight with elite troops)
• 7: USS Saint Helens reactor room (fight with Sergeyev)
• 8: USS Saint Helens wreck site 2 (fight with submarine)
• 9: Spetsnaz incursion zone (fight with APC tank)
• 10: Kuranca Hotel
• 11: Spetsnaz HQ (fight with chopper)
• 12: Tyorma prison (fight with elite troops)
• 13: Tyorma forest (fight with APC tank)
• 14: Spetsnaz cargo plane (fight with Kudrenko)
• 15: Syrian canyon
• 16: Syrian canyon 2 (fight with elite troops)
• 17: al-Jamil's base (fight with Malak)
• 18: dam transformers
• 19: dam penstock room (fight with 2 AS Armor troops)
• 20: dam generator room (2 AS Armor troops)
• 21: dam power room (4 AS Armor troops)
• 22: dam elevator lift (fight with Bitar)

Game bosses:

• Fahid Tamer
• Sergeyev
• Spetsnaz Chopper
• Sergei Kudrenko
• Malak
• Ghassan al' Bitar

Syphon Filter: Combat Ops (2007)

Main article: Syphon Filter: Combat Ops

Combat Ops was released in late 2007, right after Logan's Shadow (in which a demo of Combat Ops was included), it was released as an online-only game, featuring an innovative map editor where you are able to create the layouts, weapons, crates, barrels and objects of your map, name it and then upload it so that others can play it. The game was released as a $10 PC PlayStation Store download and became available to download from the PS3 Store a few weeks later.

Weapons of the Syphon Filter series

• Silenced 9MM Handgun (Glock 19 with a silencer)
• 9MM Handgun (Glock 19)
• .45 Caliber Handgun (Heckler & Koch Mark 23 Mod 0,Colt Model 1911)
• Falcon (Desert Eagle)
• M16 Rifle (A2 or A1? enyone?)
• AUG Assault Rifle (9mm SMG variant of Steyr AUG(altough, the game states that the gun uses 5.56 NATO) , scope is pure scifi)
• Shotgun (Remington 870)
• Combat Shotgun (Remington 1100)
• Maks Shotgun (HK CAWS)
• Mil-15 (SPAS 15 with fictional ammunition)
• G-18 Machine pistol (Glock 18C)
• Mars Machine pistol (Ares FMG)
• Spyder Skorpian submachine gun (Škorpion vz. 61)
• Biz-2 (PP-19 Bizon)
• Uas-12 (USAS-12)
• Sniper rifle (SIG 550 sniper version with target recognition scope)
• Night vision Sniper rifle (Dragunov Sniper Rifle)
• Hand Taser
• Air Taser (Fictional taser with infinite range and batteries)
• M79 Grenade Launcher with fictional rate of fire)
• C-4 charges
• Gas grenade
• Incendiary grenade
• Stunning Crossbow
• H-11 Assault Rifle (Heckler & Koch G11)
• K3G4 Assault Rifle (G3KA4)
• PK-102 Assault Rifle (AK-102)
• HK-5 Submachine Gun (HK MP5K,HK MP5A5,HK MP5SD6)

The Consortium

The Consortium is a fictional organization that helped create the Syphon Filter virus. They planned to sell the virus to terrorists on the black market. They also controlled The Agency, a black ops-counter-terrorism group that was supposedly funded by the U.S. Government.

Trivia

• Gabe Logan's (and several others) voices changed with Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain. Many critics hated this change. The only voice that did not change was Shannon Tilton as Teresa Lipan.

• Until Dark Mirror, Mara Aramov was the only character in the series who had a different voice actress for every game she appeared in:
  • Syphon Filter — Anna Murivitskaya
  • Syphon Filter 2 — Elina Fillipova
  • Syphon Filter 3 — Corina Harmon
  • Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror — Jennifer Hale

• All three of the first Syphon Filter games end with Aramov laughing. In the first, she is standing in Vincent Hadden's office with him. In the second, she is standing next to Hadden who doesn't want to kill Gabe at that moment. And in the third, she is supposedly in the submarine that picks up the container from the S.S. Lorelei. The fourth game ends with Gary Stoneman about to take a shot at Mara as she sits at her apartment reading a letter from Gabe Logan. The final words uttered in the game are "Goodnight, sweetheart." In Dark Mirror, a bonus level has the player as Gary Stoneman and he kills Mara and her lover Elsa Weissenger.

• In the mini-game "Snake vs. Monkey" of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Snake asks Colonel Campbell to ask "Gabe" or "Sam" to carry out his assignment. This is a reference to Gabe Logan, the main character of Syphon Filter and Sam Fisher, the main character of Splinter Cell. Interestingly, Paul Eiding, the voice of Colonel Campbell, is also the voice actor for Gary Stoneman in The Omega Strain.

• The first three missions in Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain were supposed to take place in Toronto, Canada and having Quebecois terrorists as opposed to the Paris-based A.L.A. in the final product but Sony was forced to change the location to a fictional city named Carthage in the state of Michigan after complaints from Canada.

• In the training Mission in Dark Mirror the player is required to find the password to open the door using the EDSU Goggles the code is "989" a reference to the original name of the studio (989 Studios) who developed the Syphon Filter series before they were integrated into the Sony Studios.

• In the Dark Mirror level "Traitor in our Midst," the code for the locked barracks door is "541". This is the area code for Bend, Oregon, where Sony Bend resides.

• Based on the data in Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain, Mara Aramov, Soren Masson, Jean Fournier, and Dimitri Alexopoupulos were all born on August 27, 1967.

External links

• Syfilpedia Syphon Filter fansite
• Syphon Filter Central Syphon Filter fansite
• Syphon Filter series at MobyGames