It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
The legendary Syndicate will take over GOG.com on the 19th of January.

The original sci-fi strategy Syndicate will be released on GOG.com for $5.99 this Thursday. This gritty cyberpunk treasure shows up here with some bonus content: the game manual, dark SF artworks, and avatars.

As you can read in this review Syndicate is “A modern masterpiece. The self-respecting gamer should ensure they have Syndicate nestling snugly on the games shelf as soon as possible.” Follow the wise advice and get Syndicate in just two days for $5.99.

While you’re waiting, we’re having a fun contest to keep you guys occupied until Thursday:

Syndicate is a game set in a grim future. As the world’s multinational corporations grew, their profits began to rival those of small countries. Soon they owned small countries and corporate influence was felt at the highest level of world government. Smaller corporations were swallowed up like plankton in the wake of behemoth mega-corporations.

GOG.com needs your help to take over the world. You and three friends--real or imaginary, past or future--are going to form a team that you’d recommend to us to lead the charge to make GOG.com the world’s biggest Syndicate.

We want to know if you’re up for the challenge.

Mission:
Assemble your team of cyborgs, give us your Team Name, Method of Operation, and any other relevant information you'd like.

Go on, spread your influence across the globe and tell us how.

Bounty:
1 free copy of Syndicate for the 10 posters who have the best Syndicate team. We’ll be reading through all of your posts (Hello, discordiac, our new marketing manager who “volunteered” for this job!) and picking the ones that we like best.

Rules:
1. Only one entry post per user. Feel free to comment & edit until the contest closes.
2. You may enter into similar contests that we are running on Twitter and Facebook, but only once via each different channel.
3. We will be picking 10 of our favorite teams from this thread to win their free copies of Syndicate.
4. The contest will end on Thursday the 19th of January 2012 at 7:00 AM EST.
Team name: MARKS TEAM
Team members: 18 fully equipped agents
Mode of operation: B...ch please, we've got 100 million credits, all research done and 18 agents with full equipment and top skills. We just go in, Persuadertron all the civilians and use them as meat shields, thank you very much.
Team Name: Reality Distortion Squad.

Member: Steve Jobs
Can make even our most old, outdated equipment the envy of rival syndicates and have them wanting to join us in droves.

Member: Iraqui Information Minister.
Even if we are losing a conflict, can have our members and rival syndicates believing we are running a winning campaign and they may as well surrender now.

Member: TheEnigmaticT
Will tease rival syndicates for weeks leading up to our assaults to the point they are begging us to just hurry up and attack. Also able to bring armies of gnome and kobold minions.
Team Name: Good Old Characters

Members:
Sam Fisher for infiltrating and obtaining of information
Shodan (original) for destroying the enemies
Shodan (reprogrammed) for mission planning and moral support
Isaac Clarke because the plasma cutter is always cool
Gordon Freeman for scientific support
Rayne to add some (red) color
Sam and Max, because you just need violence and one-liners
And finally a couple of Worms - don't ask.

Mode of Operation:
Have Sam Fisher infiltrate the enemies strongholds and put a copy of Shodan (original) on their system, while Isaac fights the DRM-monsters. Gordon will make sure every thing is compatible with any system a GOG-user might have. Meanwhile Rayne will suck the oppostion dry, while Sam and Max handle PR. Shodan (reprogrammed) will make sure everything will go well.

And the Worms? I did say "don't ask", didn't I?
Team Name: Generic Team Name

My Team:

Samus Aran: She know the galaxy more then anyone else on our team.

Heavy Weapons Guy: He is our attacking member. Plus he makes great sandvichs.

Hank: Hes just a monkey.

Mission: Teach our heavy how to fly our shaceship (its a lot more dangerous then you think).
This page is full of Heroes.
My team? Myself, a top cloning scientist, a top cyberneticist and a top combat instructor.

Our method? I will be cloned repeatedly. The clones are grown to maturity in vats in a matter of weeks. During growth they are augmented with state of the art cybernetic systems to enhance strength, reaction speed and durability. Upon emerging from the vats the clones are trained in state of the art combat techniques. They will form an elite and ruling class of super-soldiers with myself as commander.

Our name? The Clone Army of the Republic

That's right, I'm Jango Fett ;)
This is good news indeed.

Team Name:

Cosmic Cheese

Team:

Sharp Cheddar - Fearless leader and sniper extraordinaire

Stilton Blue - Scientist and biotech agent

Luscious Brie - Silky, creamy assassin

Parmesanio - Ninja and truffle connaisseur

Method of Operation:

Rain down molten cheesy goodness.
Post edited January 18, 2012 by skycutter
Team name: Parrot Fist Weapon
Member nr.1: Eradicater - Stealth type fighter ->specialization Backstab
nr.2:Scutza - Tankish fighter -> specialization Tank/firefight disruption
nr 3:Allex7 - Assist type -> heal/assist in fight/engineer
nr 4:NonpointRight - Heavy assist -> suppresing fire/explosive expert

Method of Operation:Stay together and the enemy shall not survive

Method of Operation nr 2 => Stealth fighting,until a firefight breaks out,then tankish team
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Team Name: The Mentalists

Method of Operation: Mass "persuasion" by Auld-spice.

Team size: 4 (+ 999999999)

Team Roster:
1. Darren "Experiment" Brown
2. Simon "Meanie" Cowel
3. Sean "Bond" Connery
4. Robert "Sparkle" Pattinson

R&D: Our studies have shown that certain personalities exponentially increase the power of "persuasion". Since acting was banned under the derogatory work clause of the revised SOPA act of 2012 , we selected and illegally cloned key actors from the 20th and 21st century.

In an unrelated note:
Agents were chosen to be as physically unattractive to each other as possible.

Method explained:
The required operational method requires a delicate and scientific explanation.

Phase 1: Rules of engagement
Each agent is to equip our newly developed seductartron device which releases our patented "Auld-spice" pheromones. Once a target (civilian, law enforcement officer, enemy agent or farm animal) is exposed to this, they should appear translucent purple with bubbles bubbling up (the reason for this is not yet known).

Phase 2: Cardio
Once the first target is "persuaded", agents are advised to double check their belt locks and "run-like-headless-chickens", preferably in the direction of the target/enemy agents. Those enemies who do not succumb to the pheromones should be promptly trampled by the happy mob chasing our agents. Agents are are also advised not to worry about such things as tanks or bullets, as it is suspected that Auld-spice renders them immune to their effect.

Phase 3: Extraction
Once the mission is completed, a helicopter helicopter will fly over the city playing "yakety-sax" over loudspeakers to signal agents for extraction. It will then hover above the tallest building in the city that does not have elevators. Agents will then be required to run up the stairs and leap onto the landing rails of the helicopter as it is flying away. This is of extreme dramatic importance.

Phase 4: ???

Phase 5: Profit.
Post edited January 18, 2012 by Wolf-za
The Team: Retro Revivalists

Trioptiumum Hacker: You'll need a skilled programmer to keep churning out quality retro games that keep your syndicate afloat. Who better to release mad video games to the public than the man who unshackled Shodan? He's handy with a lead pipe too.

Raz: GOG is great but it'll take more than slick advertising to convince the rest of the world. You'll need someone who can get inside other people's heads, who can make them believe the truth. Raz'll do that with style.

Atrus: Who better to convince the world has changed by writing up a whole stack of new worlds? Tasks ranging from designing the world's most luxurious staff break room to a reliable prison system for dissidents, Atrus is the man of a thousand talents.

A Silencer: Good idea to throw one of these guys in for good measure- no one blasts away rebels and corrupt companies like a Silencer.

For GOG to take over the world, you're going to need a different kind of syndicate. This isn't going to be your cartel of washing detergent makers and soft drink bottlers for your run of the mill global dominations.

So the retro gaming scene is on the rise but there are millions of people in the world who don't know the pleasure of throwing pixellated lightning at villagers or striking up a casual conversation with Lord Britain. How are you going to convince 17 year old Jimbo the futurist that he should skip Skyrim in favor of Ultima? That MegaRace licks Dirt3 any day of the week?
Enter the GOG chip. It'll take awhile to design and require a crack team of hardware designers, programmers, neuochemists and despots to put it together. Once you've got a prototype it'll need a bit of testing- luddites, prudish removed cousins or anyone over the age of 75 is perfect. Then it's just a matter of introducing it to the population- leave that to your team.

You'll then have to manage the millions of people you are injecting with brain-altering chemicals. By balancing the levels of boredom, nostalgia, sense of disposable income, and within weeks GOG will have catapulted to the top of the Fortune 500. When you're able to afford Donald Trump as the employee shoe-shine you're ready for stage 3.

To truly take over the world you're going to have to convince the population of earth that the entire world is a retro video game, and this will take some lavish spending. Start simple, adding "Next Exit: Zork 50m" signs to a few freeways, but feel free to get creative. Here are a few of my suggestions:

[i]- Offer to replace aging passenger aircraft with military-surplus Il-2's
- Post a regular news bulletins about the latest war with the Kilrathi, and hire Mark Hamill to do recruitment videos
- Begin a sub-company, Liandri, and purposely restrict their funding
- Have your internal security dress in T-51b Power Armour[/i]

It may take awhile but with your specialized brain chips soon people will be convinced that the world become a retro game- and that GOG is the key master.
Haven't read the previous entries.. but here's mine.

Team Name: The Agents Who Say Ni

Team Members:

1. Elvis (from the 80s, come on, you know he was alive, based on all the sights, definitely a cyborg)

2.The Pope (anyone will do, he's the one equipped with Persuadetron)

3. Teddy Roosevelt (The Gun)

4. Beast of Caerbannog (THAT'S NO ORDINARY RABBIT!)

Method of Operation: They will announce their arrival with a loud exclamation of Ni! from all the speakers over city. While Elvis is distracting the enemy agents with his hip dancing moves, the Pope will use the Persuadetron to turn the opposing forces to our side, so that Teddy Roosevelt can rip them apart with his bare hands and feed to the Beast of Caerbannog. This is the only way to satiate it's bloodlust and be able to control it.

After this: ???????

Then all that is left is PROFIT!

Equipment:

Persuadetron (Pope)
Sequines and silk scarfs (for the Elvis)
Muscle oil (for Roosevelt)
Carrots and salad (for the Beast of Caerbannog)
I present to you:

Team '0xFF'

GOG (and related companies like CD Project) and its awesome policy of not-making the proper consumer pay for the actions of criminals but providing fair deals and a fair policy has to spread!
And to spread in today's world, a world in which electronic data traffic is both helping the world (like fighting mis-information, giving activists a chance against oppressive systems, helping to stay in touch with friends and family no matter the place, providing help and assistance with problems, being home to online stores for easy shopping, ...) BUT is also the source of great problems (criminal activity and organisations, piracy, financial crashes, observation and espionage, ...), this data traffic needs to be controlled to rule supreme. And to successfully complete that task, this team must be assembled, a team of beings that are up to the task.

Members:
- SHODAN
- HAL
- DAEDALUS / JC DENTON
- CORTANA

On its own, each AI could certainly do the job already but one would never be complete, lacking important 'features' or having certain 'opinions' not fitting the task. Together, they will be able to prevent the flaws of one of jeopardizing the common goal. They will control everything in a proper manor.

Well hopefully...

hm...

...if I think about that again...

...ah what the hell, how can they possibly be worse than any other syndicate?
Post edited January 18, 2012 by Soure_of_Truth
avatar
hedwards: I say most excellent troll on the System Shock fans.
avatar
mrshush13: im sorry but cant you get system shock for free, and optimized to run on modern systems, even portables. legally i may add.
I'm pretty sure that's not legal. If it were I'm pretty sure that Mr. Gog would be able to get rights to distribute it either for free or for a small fee.
Team: Free Internet for Free Syndicate (FIFS)

Members:
Me
Mr. Anti-SOPA
Ms. Anti-PIPA
@TheEvilDrM (he is actually a disguised spy) :p

Method of Operation: Black them out before they black you out.
Team Name: 'The Unbeatable Cyborg Fighting All Stars' is operated by OmniScience Technologies ( A merger that resulted from Omni Consumer Products and Cyberdine Systems being bought out by a consortium of Korean electronics companies in the early 2020's.)

1. Robocop: Team leader. Serves the public trust, protects the innocent and upholds the law. Analyses the situation with software assisted human brain. Will not hesitate to kill those who break the law, or challenge the market dominance of OST.

2. T-2000: Espionage and assassination specialist. Liquid metal body allows this operative to take on the appearance of any human, or inanimate object of the same volume. Can liquify to infiltrate any areas that are not hermetically sealed.

3. T-1000: Muscle man of the group. An extremely hard to kill cybernetic organism constituted of living human tissue grafted onto a titanium endoskeleton. Blindly follows orders and will only stop after the mission is completed, or it is destroyed in the attempt.

4. Caine aka. Robocop Mk II. The comic relief/crazy team member. Caine is a machine that is controlled by the brain of a criminal genius that also happened to be addicted to drugs during its time in a human body. Violent and unpredictable, it will do anything for a fix. May deviate from the mission plan should it discover said drugs in pursuit of mission objectives.

OST's headquarters are located in Yongsan District, in Seoul. It operates the UCFAS as American corporations attempt a revival to combat cheap Asian imports, the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese have elected to fight back using technology they procured from the Americans after the Dollar crashed in 2020. The attack on American enterprise is twofold: firstly, on the factories to disrupt production, and secondly an attack on the supply chain of primary resources, to raise the cost of American goods and services. At home the UCFAS is often deployed to quell riots, subdue protests and liquify annoying labor union activists or civilian bloggers complaining about sweatshops and 36 hour shifts.
Post edited January 18, 2012 by Markrschulz