95
Although short and not too difficult Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is a brilliant game on its own, and as an addition to the Syphon Filter series. Almost everything is ideal in this awesome game made by Sony for the PSP.
You begin the game as a character named Gabe Logan, and you are a super spy sent to investigate the recent attacks on chemical plants in Alaska. This gets you into all your shooting action, as you will be given a series of missions, each involving you killing terrorists, and fixing a part of the plant. The story has a lot of depth and is full of variety, but the fun ends to quickly, and none of it is very challenging. Also it won't take you very long at all to grasp the control scheme. It is laid out very well, and is easy to use. There are never troubles with changing gadgets, and you'll never find yourself having a hard time to eliminate an enemy, because you don't know what button to use.
The whole story is full of variety. It has you teaming up with various people. The missions have quite a bit of variety, and there are so man gadgets and guns to use. Check points are not very common, but that is because the missions are quite short and easy.
I think the highest point of the game is the graphics, however. Sony always seems to be able to put excellent graphics into there games, and this is no exception. The scenery, characters, guns, obstacles, and everything else, are so detailed, and you may find yourself starring for a while, because the graphics are just that great. You can see all the little things sticking out of Gabe's jacket, and individual snowflakes falling, while you dodge bullets and take down enemies. The explosions look great, and although there are great amounts of detail, nothing ever looks mushed together, or blurry, just fantastic.
Although the game play and graphics seem to have a lot of time put into them, Sony didn't just throw in some garbage for the sound, and release the game, no. The sound in Dark Mirror, is of the highest quality. The voice acting is good, and all the voices fit the characters. You can hear little details in sound, like the wind blowing. The only down side to the sound is that, although the guns sound very realistic, they are a bit washed out, and quite.
So in the end, I think that this is an extremely good game, with all the ideal parts of a classic. It seems to be good for experienced games -although it may be easy at times- and even better for those just making their way into games. I give Syphon Filter Dark Mirror 95 out of 100.
95
Syphon Filter Dark Mirror is my favoite PSP game! This game has many features, stuff to do, and unlockable levels!This game is incredible!!!
Graphics:The graphics for this game are perfect!!! You can see every deatail of this game. When I played this game one of the main things that atracted me was the graphics!!!
Sound: This game you can hear the people talking, weapons fireing, and when you put on the goggles they make different noises. The music for this game fits every moment where you are! Such as when you are in combat the music is tense and when you are spying on someone the music is quiet.
Loding: When this game is loading it is done in about 20 seconds!!! While you wait there is a little summary about your mission!
This game is incredible!!! I hope my review helped you decide your desicion about this game. If you have any comments or questions about this game feel free to tell me!
50
I didn't jump on the band wagon as soon as the PSP was launched due to my being a skeptic. So I continued with my PS2. On Friday the 13th of this year, I decided I had a few extra hundred dollars to spend, so I went out and got the PSP and some extra accessories, but I needed a good game to compliment it. I went with SYPHON FILTER: Dark Mirror. My lord! I could not believe what an unbelievable job Sony did with the PSP, not to mension the Syphon Filter graphics, game play, control, sound, I mean, it was so unbelievable, that I took off two days from work, just to keep playing this thing! I love the ease of the games' control, and the storyline. I was a fan of the PS Console's Syphon Filter, and the transition was GREAT! The game was worth the $40.00, and the PSP stuff I bought was worth the $300.00+ I spent. Thank God for the PSP! It goes everywhere with me, even to meetings! I can't wait for Silent Hill to hit the PSP in 2007, as well as Hitman.... If ever!
91
FYI, I hadn't even played any of the SF games before this.
I'll use the same format one of the other guys used for his review:
Controls - 90
Yeah, I was worried that since it's an FPS and one analog joystick, I thought it was going to be a nightmare to learn the controls. After doing the training missions, I have no problem whatsoever. Easy as pie, but it's not a 10 since it's still odd.
Loading - 80
Haven't tried multiplayer so I don't know the load screen for that, but the loading screen for single player is a bit long, but the game compensates by briefing you. Great idea!
Music/Sound - 100
Great music; I love how it picks up when you get discovered. The music fits the scenery, too.
Regarding sound, it's perfect. No lagging, and I love using the different goggles with their respective sounds.
Graphics - 100
Oh. My. God. Is there anything else I should say about the graphics? And all this with a tiny screen to boot.
Difficulty - 75
I'm trying Medium now, but it's not extremely challenging. I dunno how hard "Hard" is, but I would imagine it would satisfy enough.
Replay Value - 90
Now, before I say anything, I think this is one of the most important pieces of a game; you can save money on other games by playing this over and over again, and you get this great sense of satisfaction when you play it no matter how many times you've played it. I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be playing missions over and over again (me being a big Max Payne fan, I'm enjoying every minute). Nuff said.
Overall
Syphon Filter is definitely for any type of FPS lover, whether it be the stealth fans of Splinter Cell or the in-your-face unlimited ammo ones of GTA, Serious Sam, or Doom. If you love FPS/Adventure/Action, Dark Mirror is definitely going to satisfy your cravings.
55
I am not a huge FPS fan, but love stealth games (I wouldn't really count this as a stealth game, either). I bought Syphon Fitler: Dark Mirror because it is marketed as a stealth game, and from looking at the forms on PSP411 the game is (whether intended to be or not) in direct competition with the PSP Splinter Cell game. I guess I got my expectations up awfully high because of the rave reviews. I wound up being dissapointed, unlike most.
Controls
The controls were pretty innovative, and I appreciated the effort to make a game like this work on the PSP. I did, for the sake of accuracy, find it useful to switch the functions of the square, circle, trinalge, and cross keys and the analog stick (like playing Southpaw on Halo). The feature I appreciated most was the system for switching weapons / items. It was quick and easy, and it stopped the action so you had time to think about what you were doing.
Graphics
My opinion remains unchanged from the other reviewers here - excellent. I was impressed throughout by the level of detail. I do think that the characters' motions tended to be a little stiff from time to time, but other than that I have no complaints.
Gameplay
This is where I started to lose interest. I haven't been familiar with the Syphon Filter series before this game, and since the game was marketed as a stealth game, I expected a "get caught and you're dead" scenario. Not true. I only played through the game once, and I believe that there are some times when stealth is an option, but I was under the impression that stealth would be the *only* option through the entire game. Instead, the gameplay quickly became pretty repetitive, as every firefight (save for some of the more major ones) could be easily won with a little bit of patience and a wall to hide behind. The handy targeting system quickly became somewhat of a hindrance once I realized that I could defeat nearly every enemy with a headshot. In terms of story, I feel like it was an awful lot of buildup for a pretty anticlimactic final battle. While the ending sequence (the part *after* the credits) made it all worthwhile, I was dissapointed in the voice acting and lack of depth.
Sound
Overall, I was pretty impressed with the sound. Sound effects were very complete and detailed, and the music was good. Again, the voice acting was less than stellar, but that had more to do with the voice actors themselves. I do think that some of the sound was a little misplaced - the "completely silent" kills made with the taser weapon didn't always alert other enemies to your presence, but still caused the victim to scream out in pain and burst into flames - hardly a quiet way to go.
Multiplayer
In golf, the most skilled player will often take a handicap, leveling the playing field for the other players. In Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, the most skilled players are given the ability to spawn with a shotgun in each hand while casual gamers and newbies are left with the basic burst-fire rifle, no grenades, and no way of separating the casual gamer from the hardcore elite. Points to up your rank are aquired though making copious amounts of kills or being on the winning team in objective games. In addition, most of the players on the SF:DM servers now have been on since the game was released, reducing the ratio of greenhorns to seasoned veterans. Unless you're a hardcore shooter fan, have some real videogaming talent, or simply like to get owned, I wouldn't recommend this game for your first online PSP experience. The multiplayer was over half of the reason I bought the game, choosing it over SOCOM for its supposed stealth game status, and it was the reason that I eventually sold my copy back to EB Games for $17.
Overall
All in all, the game didn't suck. The single player was worth the time, and the storyline (although it lacked depth) was interesting enough to keep me playing until the end. I do believe that Syphon FIlter's supposed stealth genre is a load of crap, and that the ranking system for multiplayer was poorly planned. Everybody else seemed to love it, though, so maybe it's just me. Go figure.
94
Loading times - 100
When you hit that start button, the game loads from the start. You won't have to worry about loading the next big important objective. Load times are fairy quick, and last between 20-40 seconds. During that time you can read a summary of your mission which is quite nice to help you keep up with the story in the game.
Graphics - 100
I believe that the PlayStation Portable is a Micro Console, and that all games should have the standard look, and feel of the PlayStation2 qaulity. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirrior REALLY delivers in terms of character detail, environments, lighting, explosions, and more! The game has done a great job of putting the detail that every PSP game should have.
Sound - 80
In the terms of Voice Acting, and Sound Effects the sound is just where it needed to be. I wasn't impressed with the musical score. I enjoy it when the music is part of the gameplay. For example, a different sound or song when you're detected.
Gameplay - 100
Varied gameplay, lengthy single-player, and great mix of action and stealth. This is the only game I've played with a Tazer that turns people into a flaming corpse of death! 
Overall Value - 100
• Load times are perfect.
• Graphics are perfect.
• Sound is good.
• Gameplay is great.
With lots of unlockables, decent multiplayer and plenty of replay value you have a highly recommended game.
95
Graphics: Best yet
Sound: Fine
Glitches: None
Gameplay: Good
Controls: Perfect, even without second analog
96
This game is great! The whole mechanicas of the game just flow together smoothly and the graphics are flawless. Although the weapon sounds were a bit under done. There are also a wide verity of gagets however some of them are quite useless. The game is pretty long but the problem is that after you play through, even though it has around 28 parts, you still want more because it is so good! after you clear through single player you moce on to multiplayer.
The concept of the multiplayer is great but most of the multiplayer specials such as the lazer mine, anti personal mine and the claymore and almost nowhere to be found. Of course they are there but they are so scarse they might as well not have included them. Multiplayer also has a ranking system where the higher rank you are, the more weapons you can equip at the beginning of the round. Unfortunatly you need to stay in your own league if you actually want to have fun, but once you get the hang of it (which doesn't take long) it is awesome! I know it seems like I complained alot but it is a MUST HAVE!
95
Controls
I picked up the default controls quickly, I think you will get used to them in about 10 minutes. The only thing I didn't like was the aiming was inpercice, even with the "advanced aim" control set.
Graphics
Best graphics I have seen on the PSP.
Price
At 40 dollars it is a great deal, you save 10 dollars for nothing!
Loading
When you load a single player game it takes very little time, it actually lets you read the breifing while it is loading. I didn't even notice loading when I started a new level, but when you are loading a multiplayer game or a level you already played it seems forever.
Music
The music in videogames nowadays is not as it used to be, remember super mario bros., but this game has excellent game music, nothing cheesy.
Multiplayer
Loading is really boring. The teams are usually very unbalanced (R0's on one side and R3's on the other)
Overall
Get it, it is a great value even if you don't have router to play multiplayer because it has a almost perfect single player mode. Tons of stealthy or rambo-like action in the palm of your hand.
99
The gameplay is great. It took a little bit of time to get used to the controls, just because they are so situation based, but once you get it down they are amazing. I personally use advanced free aim set up which is where the face buttons control movement and the analog controls aim. After 10 minutes of playing I was crouching behind walls and taking out enemies like a pro. The game also has good replayability, it is SO well done that I am sure I could play only this game for the next 4 years and never be bored. Online play. That is one of the best parts of this game. The Infastructure gaming is one of the things that makes this game great. You can play up to 8 people at once and the overall multiplayer is just awesome. The game supports mic. Too so that is a plus better. The multiplayer for this game is far better, in my opinion, than SOCOM's.
Load Times
The load times in this game are amazing. While a mission loads, text appears telling you about what is happening at that time. By the time you finish reading the message from Gabe, the loading is done. This game doesn't load an entire level at once, it actually streams it, so that is why it can load an entire mission in aprox. 30 seconds.
Graphics
Wow... That is all you can say to something so amasing. Okay, the cinematics are really well done, far bettre than anything so far that I have seen on the PSP, smooth as a baby's bottom. The game play graphics are also amasing. This game is literally as high quality as a PS2 version would be. Sony Bend has been working on this game for the last 2 years. They got it down. Explosions are right on, smooth and not choppy. The game has no that I have found. And of course, no shooter game would be complete, with out the ragdoll physics. The nightvision, flashlight and other goggle type things are all done extremely well also.
Sound
Amazing music. Mike Snow, I think that is his name, did a great job on the score for this game. It fits the game perfectly. The gun sounds are alright, they could be more powerful but they do alright, it is sort of a classic Syphon Filter sound.
Overall Value
A great game, I would deffinatly reccomend you buy it. The game has tons of hidden content. Every mission has hidden evidence, if you find it all and do specific tasks, you earn secret guns and other cool stuff that you can use. The game is over all almost perfect. I can't think of anything that could be better really. It is deffinatly a must have.
99
When I first started playing Syphon Filter, I thought that it was pretty good. I dabbled with the different control schemes and eventually stuck with the original one. After awhile, though, this game began to grow on me. Then, as soon as I played Infrastructure, I realized that it was AWESOME.
Graphics
The graphics are great. There doesn't seem to be any flutters whatsoever, and the colors and textures are crisp and smooth. Truly great graphics.
Sound
The sound is good. It seems a little quiet at times, but the sound is very adequate. And I dont know what is with people saying the guns sound like toys, because they dont at all, their just a little softer than SOCOMS.
Controls
The controls have seemed to be a touchy issue with people lately, but, despite how it may seem, after a few minutes, it becomes second nature to you. And besides theres other presets you can choose from if your not satisfied.
Playability
The story mode is really interesting, and the cutscenes keep it fresh. Theres lots of things to unlock, like bonus levels, movies, weapons, etc. so youll find yourself playing old levels constantly, and loving it.
Online play
Flippin sweet. Very similar to SOCOM's, but, in my opinion, better.
Overall
Syphon Filter is a very well made game, and, if you have the cash and the time, go buy it.
96
The PSP is constantly thrown rushed ports of games, simply to make quick money or just because developers consider the PSP a side project with little consideration, but as March 14th hits, a slew of great games are coming out, and are also waiting to be released.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is incredible, hands down. The presentation, the story, the graphics, the sound, the everything about this game is just about perfect for a third-person shooter, and it gets just about everything right that other shooters such as SOCOM or Infected missed along the way of production.
One of the first things you'll notice are the controls. Using the analog nub to move around and the four face buttons to look around may seem a bit strange at first, but after 5 minutes, it feels just as natural as a second analog stick on the PS2. Are is used to shoot, and L is used to lock on to an enemy or zoom in. In fact, Syphon Filter's controls are SO much better than SOCOM. They get the sniping perfectly with the ease of holding down the L button, and the four directional buttons are used to crouch, change weapons, change gadgets, and to reload/climb objects. If you don't like this control scheme, many more presets are there for you to pick out.
The graphics come extremely close to any next gen console game out there, and it really is a pretty game. From shadows, to the breath of your character in the cold night, it truly looks fantastic, and I don't think much more needs to be said about the graphics. Trust me, you'll love how this game looks, I guarantee it.
The sound is magnificent as well, and a professional orchestra with an original soundtrack gets the dramatic feel for this game precisely so you feel like your in your own action movie. If you remember the original Syphon Filter's score, then consider this one too.
The single player campaign will take you 10-13 hours or so, depending on your skill and difficulty level. While its not too long of a campaign, its also built for on the go play, so remember that. However, the story gets back to its roots from the original, none of that cheesy "Omega Strain" stuff written a while back. The character's share detailed story lines, and occasionally you'll switch characters to see each point of view at the time of the story. This may just be the best storyline in any PSP game yet to date.
With online play, you can either be stealthy, or just run and gun as you play in 1-8 player matches. While this isn't a 16 player game, its still a fantastic experience, hiding behind walls an shooting down your enemies in sight. Think Counter Strike, but in third person. You'll love being the king of headshots  . The lag handles much better than SOCOM, and this game will run at an extremely smooth rate if you've ever been frustrated with lag. I'd consider this a much more tense experience than what SOCOM may give you, yet I'll leave that for you to decide.
So whether you love the old Syphon Filter or don't know it at all, Dark Mirror returns to its original roots once again and showers them with a gameplay experience that can't be compared on the PSP. Its fast paced, its exciting, its an involving story, and you'll be sucked in so fast you'll find it hard to put this game down. For single player and online, this is just an incredible experience you'll love for weeks to come, so trust me on this one. You're gonna love Dark Mirror. Its everything a PSP game package should come with
95
Syphon filter is a great game but it doesnt have good controls
Pros
• Great gameplay
• Awesome grafics
• Great infastructure
• Mic support
[b]Cons[b]
• Bad controls
• Medium slow loading screens, but not bad
Overall
I would recommed this game to anyone who is a fan of socom it would deserve a 100 if the controls were like socom but there not.
100
It is awesome. It takes about 5 mins to get used to the controls. Best graphics of any PSP game out.
99
This game has it all, great story mode, many unlockables, and of course awesome multi-player.
Contrls take about 5 minutes to get used to, but once you complete the training mode you'll be set to battle. The game incorporates aspects which should have been available in MGS, but were lacking. Dark Mirror may just be the best of all the SYPHON FILTERS, seems to fit the handheld platform better than its console predecessors.
There is nothing wrong with the game, at least none that I can find. The story mode is longer than SOCOM, plus replay value is high becaue you want to find everything. Even the training missions become a good challenge because of timing.
Multiplayer is even more fun, and once you start, you'll never want to stop. Both infrastructre and Ad-hoc are available and run flawlessly. Online users can play through specially designed mission with friends, or against them. Also available are nine maps for online battle, thats a nice amount!!!
Overall this is one of the top games ever made for the PSP, and that is NOT my opinion, THATS A FACT! Hopefully other companies will take note and develop games to such a high standard.
87
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is a brand new action-stealth experience for the Playstation Portable Entertainment System. It follows the story of Gabe Logan, the leader of a group sent in when things are too hard or too risky for the military and special forces.
Recently, I got a chance to play the Syphon Filter demo which comes when you preorder/reserve, and I can honestly say that this is the first time that a PSP game has completely blown me away in terms of what it can do in all fields. The following preview is based upon my impression of the two levels contained in the demo. It is in no way a review of the final thing.
When it comes to graphics, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror easily surpasses all games on the system so far. The character models are extremely realistic, actually equalling if not surpassing most current PS2 game character models. Gabe's model has a ton of detail, his face is incredibly realistic looking (although his expression doesn't change too much, which isn't really a problem) and his unequipped items are hung on his back. All of the weapons look incredibly close to realistic ones too, for example, the Dragunov sniper rifle (which you get towards the end of the first level), replicates the real one down to the last detail.
Now, since this is a PSP game, one would expect that it would be filled with a ton of jaggies. Well, there are some, but significantly less than all other games on the system, to the extent that you can really only notice them if you move incredibly close to the object (as in so close that Gabe is off-screen), and even then, there aren't too many to deal with, an incredible plus towards the overall game's value.
In terms of lighting, Syphon Filter also surpasses all games shown so far. Light reflects realistically off of all objects, and while it's no Unreal Engine style lighting, it is incredibly cool. Especially when you are in a dark room and have the flashlight equipped (you can still fire weapons while it's equipped, as it's a head lamp). The light from this flashlight fades out the further you go from the center of it's beam, and metallic objects offer little reflections here and there, although nothing extreme. When the light hits a corner, it also bends relictically, becomming more narrow and eeliptical instead of just another continuation of the circle.
Explosion effects are in abundance in this game, and the demo has truly shown how realistic they are. For example, during the second level, I was on the zipline, when I shot a tanker truck down below. It exploded, killing all enemies within a 30 foot range, while flame covered parts of the truck's skeleton flew across the area. It also doesn't have that annoying effect which players of Dynasty Warriors and Socom have probably seen, you know, where the explosion clearly outlines all of the pizels that it appears on, which is another added bonus.
Syphon Filter's controls are so far, the best emulation of a dual analog stick controller that I have used on the PSP. The analog stick is used for moving, while the face buttons (circle, square, x, and triangle) are used for looking around. Right Trigger is used to shoot, and Left Trigger is used for strafe. While small parts of this control scheme have already been used in previous games, Syphon Filter seems to take only the best from each shooter, eliminating the annoying features which kept those specific titles back.
Switching weapons and items is incredibly easy too. Pressing Left on the D-pad will quickly bring up a translucent screen, which shows all of the forms of vision and other non-weapon items in your possession, each mapped to a different face button (circle, square, x, triangle), and when there are more items than face buttons, it goes to the trigger buttons. Switching weapons is basically the same idea, except you press Right on the D-pad, and since certain weapons have multiple modes of fire, when you select it, it will bring up a form of fire, and you press the x button until you see the one which you want to use. Bringing up either of these two menus pauses the action, so that you cannot die when switching items.
Pressing Down on the D-pad will make Gabe crouch down and walk much slower than normal, allowing for stealth-based play. When you don't have any weapons equipped, you can sneak up to enemies and choke them to death, but if they see you and turn around, your attack is now comprised of punches and some karate chops here and there. If you sneak up with a weapon equipped, and get close enough for melee combat, you can smack them with the butt of your gun. Again, a cool feature that makes the game overall much better than other games on the system.
To hug the wall or another object, you simply walk over to it, get equal to it's height level, and press Up on the D-pad. Now, using the analog stick, you can walk along the wall, and if you keep pressing in the direction of a corner or edge, Gabe will peak around it, thus allowing you to move around your aim and line up for a round the corner stealth shot, which ten pushed you back behind the wall. To get off the wall, simply press the opposite direction from which it is at, which usually means pressing Down on the D-pad.
The Up button is also used for context-sensitive areas of the game, which include the collecting items such as ammo, body armor, and documents. It also allowes you to use the RTL, which is basically a zip line in which you can go both ways. To get off the RTL, you simply press the Down button.
One thing that I found great about the game, was how it constantly had something new and cool for you. One minute you might be sneaking around finding documents in a certain room, while the next you will be giving an ally support by sniping out enemies that chase them. There is always something for you to do in this game, and you are never left with nothing to do or nowhere to go. Now, it doesn't mean that the game is forcing you to do everything in an allotted time, but there is never a time where you have to just walk around every part of the level waiting to get a message on where to go next.
Another great thing about this game, is that you are never forced to go one path or the other. You can go through the level stealthily, like Sam Fisher from Splinter Cell, or you can choose to go in guns 'a' blazing like in Grand Theft Auto (except without all the pedestrians and cops).
The only ways in which you can fail the mission are either by dying, or by neglecting to save an ally, and letting the enemies catch them. The game offers ample supply of health packs too, which usually appear right before or right after a big fight.
Speaking of big fights, the game offers a host of specificly named character, which range form certain grade-A snipers on the rooftops, to leaders of military organizations. These enemies often have different, more powerful weapons than the lesser enemies. For example, one enemy had a gas mask, and body armor which could defend against damage to a certain extent. He carried around a flame thrower, which he used to burn down certain forms of cover, such as piles of wood and the occasional barrels of oil.
The levels are often massive in size, and offer many different areas from which to play. One level, started off outside an enemy base, and then went into a lowered area surrounding a giant container of oil, followed by leading me towards a suspended bunch of platforms with some dark tooms inside, which in turn was followed by standing on top of a tower giving sniper support to an ally.
Each individual area seems to add something new to the game, be it a new type of objective, a new item, or a new type of play such as the sniper support that I listed earlier.
Loading times are also fairly short, and while they aren't comparable to let's say, Maverick Hunter X's shortness of loads, they never really exceed 30 seconds, and that's a load for the entire mission, not just a small room or two. While the loads are going on you are also treated to a nice explanation of the current mission, with some background info on the people involved.
Overall, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror has been a huge treat. It offers some of the greatest visual quality, and controls on the system thus far, and constantly pushes what you think this little portable can do. It's gameplay is incredibly fun, and addicting, while offering multiple ways of play for a high amount of replay value.
This demo was only a small portion of what the actual game has to offer, and it's already looking to be the most promising PSP get since the system's launch back in March of last year. I look forward to the full 28 mission campaign (this demo was only 2 missions) and the multiplayer, which seems like it will be insane. The game is also apparently loaded with special features, which can only be attained through the campaign itself, so I look forward to spending long amount of time trying to unlock everything that the game offers.
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