SiN

The Good
The graphics are excellent for the time. It uses the Quake 2 engine. I would say it probably looks better than Quake 2 due to it not looking as dingy, Sin features much more varied environments. Jungle scenes, underwater levels, office tower blocks and military bases. The character models are a bit blocky, due to the texture modelling not being as advanced as games today, but they have their charm.

The game hasn't aged as bad as some of the "maze" FPS, due to Sin's mission based tasks. It reminded a bit of N64's Goldeneye. Sin's humour also separates it from some of the more bland FPS of the time (e.g. Chasm: The Rift). You can collect bananas for extra health, and there's some excellent lines: bad guys taunt you with "Who are you supposed to be Barney Miller?" and when collecting a gun John Blade says "come to papa". The game could use a few more quips in the game as the same ones repeat a lot, but the voice acting and dialogue is really good overall. The music is also excellent particularly the operatic techno music that reminded me of the soundtrack for arcade SHMUP G-Darius.

The Bad
The game is incredibly glitchy. On some levels I had to use the no clip cheat to pass through walls as I would often get stuck to a wall or stairs and it would result in the game freezing. The game also crashed a number of times and often in the middle of levels (Top Tip: save regularly). These bugs really should have been ironed out early on. I think I read that the game was rushed out to stores, but I'm not 100%.

Despite the variety of levels, some of it is repetitive. Lots of water levels, which I hate in games in general. Many of the mission objectives are repeated "disable the security system" appearing on nearly every level. The alarm sounds are also very annoying and can go on for several minutes until they are deactivated.

The Bottom Line
I feel Sin was a bit of a missed opportunity. This game was never ported to console and is a bit of a cult favourite, but it never achieved real commercial success and in fairness it probably deserved it. The glitches being the main problem. I bought the game from GoG and this is probably the best way to play it on modern hardware. The CD version is rare and can be quite expensive, especially the big box version.

If you are an FPS fan it is worth playing a few missions and then you can decide if you want to complete it. It took me around 14 hours to complete, the game has 30 levels.

I played this as I felt I had missed out on it first time around and after completing it I realised I hadn't, but the game does have a unique humour, feel and atmosphere. The question is why would you play Sin if you can play the classic Doom, Duke or Quake? From around the same time Kingpin, Unreal and Shogo are all better games, as of course are Half-Life and Alien vs Predator.

Sin is partially recommended.

The Good
id Software released Quake II a year after the original game, and turned out to be highly successful. So it wasn't surprising that other companies wanted to capitalize on its success. Activision was one of them, but did it produce a very good first-person shooter that could compete with Quake II Well, yes and no. This is SiN a first-person shooter that is set in the future where the police are useless, leaving private security companies to tackle crime. You play John Blade, a member of the Hardcorps.

Blade starts out in a chopper, dealing with thugs on the roof with the mounted gun while avoiding their projectiles. I found this first mission difficult, since the projectiles come at you at all directions. I was glad when I finally got onto the ground and started the second mission. From the second mission onwards, the game behaves like a normal first-person shooter where you can explore the surroundings and shoot as many enemies that get in your way.

Before you tackle the main game, you can go to Headquarters where there are plenty of skills you can practice. The great thing about HQ is that when you enable certain ones through a computer terminal, you can also pick any weapon you want to use, most of them are found in the actual game. During most of the training missions, your score is recorded and the top three scores (by difficulty) is posted on a LED board outside. You can top your previous score if you want, or just proceed to different training missions.

Like Duke Nukem 3D before it, you can interact with the environment. As well as accessing computer terminals, you can shoot everything you see and look at security monitors. There are also multiple routes you can take throughout some levels, meaning they deserve to be played more than once. These routes will depend on how the game play out. In the Biometric Labs, for instance, not letting a scientist bring up a map of the South Pacific means that you will be unable to get to the Missile Silo.

You will deal with various enemies in the game, and each have their own weapons they use to kill you, be it shotguns, rocket launchers, or grenades. AI is excellent, with them coming after you when you fire a weapon in their vicinity. I like the way you have the SinTek guards sounding the alarm the moment they see Blade, so you have to kill them before they do. If you don't, then this will change how the game is played.

The subtitles in the game look quote good, with white dialogue on a black background, which is surrounded by a blue border. To its left is a portrait of who is speaking, even when the character is visible on screen. Speaking of the dialogue, the script is well written, and there are a lot of humorous conversations between Blade and JC. The “blue theme” of the heads-up display looks excellent.

SiN introduced some features to the FPS genre, and one of them was locational damage. Shoot someone in the leg and they will be knocked back. Shoot them in the face and they get their heads blown off. You can also shoot the weapon off the enemy's hand, though this is really difficult to do. There are also some vehicles that you have to drive in the game.

From time to time, there are cut-scenes, mostly involving Elexis Sinclaire and her troops. All of the cut-scenes in the game are well scripted. They also add depth to the story and link the levels together.

The music in the game is excellent, and so are the sound effects. I really like how the music in the level changes as you are fighting a swarm of enemies at once. This “battle music” really reflects the intensity of the situations. As for the sound effects, the only ones I like are the screams of enemies as you kill them.

The Bad
In the same year SiN was released there was also a killer app called Half-Life, and the developers wanted to get their game out before Valve's. People who brought this game at the time of release will encounter a multitude of bugs, with the major one concerning the first boss who couldn't move at all. Although plenty of patches were released that fix bug after bug, but the damage was done and SiN wasn't as popular as it should have been.

The Bottom Line
SiN is an excellent first-person shooter with a captivating story and a great experience throughout. It also has great game mechanics and excellent sound. Unfortunately, it came out with some severe bugs that made the whole thing unplayable. Judging by its sales, I am surprised that only one expansion pack was released for the game. If you do decide to play the game, make sure you read the excellent backstory to the game first.

The Good
In 1998, FPS games had to go into another phase. Quake and its sequel Quake 2(which Sin is built on) ensured non-stop action for multiplayer death matches and Half-Life brought players into a stunningly realistic virtual world. But where could FPS games go? Ritual Entertainment made a game that not only brought the FPS genre into a new dimension, but also is one of the finest FPS games to date, despite its lack of success.

The story: You're the bad-ass cop Blade, John Blade, working for an independent law-enforcement organization called HardCorps in the city of Freeport. When a new drug called U4 gets on the streets and the bums starts reporting in sights of mutants, you immediately begin to inspect. But suddenly a bank robbery catches your attention and with your hacker sidekick JC in your ear, you get into the bank via helicopter and while rescuing hostages, chase one of Freeport's biggest mob bosses, Mancini. As you proceed, you soon realize that the U4 is the product of SinTek, an organization previously known for the Vanity drug, lead by the voluptuous, and megalomaniac Elexis Sinclaire. It is up to you to stop the drug from infecting the whole city and prevent a global disaster.

So, what makes this game unique apart from other FPS's? Well, you might not know it, but Sin pioneered many elements that since have become staples in FPS games. 1.You can use computer terminals to hack the security system, even use a DOS-like prompt and type in standard commands. If you thought Deus Ex was the first game where you could use computers, think again. Also, this was a way to hide several easter eggs. For example, I never expected scientists to be playing Gloom II: Heck On Earth on their spare time, let alone on a terminal without a mouse. =P 2.Certain levels in Sin require you to sneak instead of going in with guns blazing. Hell, if you're detected the mission is practically over since invincible bots soon pop up from the floor and starts giving you a bad case of lead-poisoning. I can't remember any games prior to Sin that incorporated a sneaking aspect. 3.Some levels end differently based on what you do. For example, if you don't find the destination for the missile base in one of the levels, the next level will not take place on the missile base and you will not stop the missile from launching. Sin was probably one of the earliest games to have action-based outcomes.

These elements, coupled with a beautiful techno soundtrack, glorious macho voice acting, and guns to die for, Sin is a rather unique game in the FPS genre.

The Bad
Sin used an, already then, outdated game engine, and the way Half-Life incorporated the story into the gameplay couldn't be matched either, so Sin was sadly overshadowed by the enormous popularity of HL. Also, the initial version suffered from a serious case of bugs since the game was rushed to the shelves in an incomplete version, so be prepared to install some patches.

The Bottom Line
But either way, I think the original elements in Sin really makes it an outstanding game, and compared to Gordon Freeman, I'd say Blade has a lot more character since he speaks. You're not just a silent guy running around with guns, you have an attitude and a mission, and that is what makes Sin such an enjoyable experience. If you like shooters in general, pick this game up. You won't regret it.