Not much is improved on latest 'Omega Strain'

It's an old game in a new game's skin.
By JUSTIN HOEGER
SACRAMENTO BEE
The maddening thing about "Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain" is that a lot of time, money and effort was obviously put into it, but it's still little better than its three PlayStation precursors.
While "Omega Strain's" visuals are improved over its blocky forebears, its game play is firmly wedged in circa 1999-2001, with one notable exception. More on that later.
At its heart, the game is much like the original "Syphon Filter," a good game that hit stores not long after the excellent "Metal Gear Solid." Both games mixed guns-a-blazing action with stealthy skulking and terrorism plot lines; "MGS" focused far more on stealth, and "Syphon Filter" ladled on the action.
Its sequels stuck to the same formula, and this latest installment feels about the same. There are some new elements, of course, and plenty of new weapons, but the bulk of the game feels dated.
Playing it
The plot involves a new strain of the deadly Syphon Filter virus, a pathogen that super-agent Gabe Logan and his cohorts spent the previous games trying to eradicate. Now in charge of a reformed government agency -- born from the ashes of the corrupt department that unleashed the disease -- Logan works from the command center, and the player guides an untested rookie agent -- constructed from a selection of body types, skin and hair colors, and faces -- through a new series of missions to stop the plague.
The missions play out in large areas filled with both enemies and allies, and sometimes with people who need rescuing or are off-limits hostile forces, such as other government operatives who are unaware of Logan's agency, and thus regard the player as an armed threat. It's an interesting twist, to be shot at by the good guys and only allowed to defend oneself from them by nonlethal means.
Anyway, each mission starts with a few objectives, which are added to and changed on the fly as the stage progresses, sometimes with a time limit or other added condition. Each mission is thus fairly long, often complicated and sometimes unpredictable, at least the first time through.
Mechanics
The play mechanics are familiar. The player's agent is controlled from a behind-the-back perspective, with lock-on targeting used for most gunplay and a first-person mode used for sniping and head shots, which bring down armored enemies instantly.
The collection of weapons is sizable, but an agent can only carry so many this time around: a melee weapon, a pistol, some grenades, an auxiliary weapon, such as a sub-machine gun, and a heavy weapon, such as a shotgun, sniper rifle or assault rifle. These can be swapped at any time with found weapons.
As one goes through certain missions, a little note will appear in some areas to say that there's a team objective present, which brings us to the game's online multiplayer mode. Up to four players can team up online in several of the missions, giving players access to normally unreachable areas.
There are some cool tricks here. One player can boost another to a high ledge, for example, and some tasks can only be completed quickly enough by more than one person. This mode also supports the PS2 USB headset (about $40). It's a good addition, and adds some enjoyment to the game if one can find a good group to play with.
Graphics
It's not spectacular, but the graphics get the job done. The audio is a bit better; the voice acting sounds pretty good, the dramatic music is decent and the sound effects crisp and clear.
Unfortunately, "Omega Strain's" fresh coat of paint and online mode can't hide that this is an old game in a new game's skin.
X"Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain," for Sony PlayStation 2, is for mature gamers.