SiN Gold

When Quake II was released in 1997, Id Software licensed its engine to several businesses for development. Out of all the products that uses the engine, it's SiN that proved to be the most influential. SiN is unique for three factors: The storyline, the gameplay, and More so, the Level Design. The story is very fun and pulpy, not taking itself too seriously. The voice acting and characters are also surprisingly top notch, with the protagonist John Blade being one of the most underrated protagonists in FPS history. But that's not what you're here for. As a shooter, SiN is top notch: The weapons are downright incredible to use, with the Chaingun, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Lightning gun and even basic Magnum pistol/handgun being the ones that especially stick out. The game, rather than using basic hitboxes, uses a unique Armor system, where the armor is split into different categories. This means that scrounging enemies for leftover armor pickups is basically essential, and that headshots are practically a must (which is why the Magnum is so good.) Unfortunately, you're barely given ammo for some of these weapons, and in some levels, there are cheap hit scan snipers. In fact, even in its current state SiN is loaded with bizarre bugs and jank, making me hold out more for the upcoming Reloaded version of the game. However, the highlight of the game is the Level Design: There are differing branching paths that lead to different levels throughout, and the game varies up the core combat with different objectives. Because of this, SiN has endless replay value, and overall I can safely say that I enjoyed my time with SiN. If you're going for an Id Tech 2 game, make it a tie between Raven's Soldier of Fortune and This, because they're easily the most memorable, and FUN games on the engine (no offense to Quake II).

Sin gold, a sort-of cult game for those who had the pleasure to experience it when it came out (the game already had its issues back there) and for those who play it now... actually still an enjoyable game, but definitely not a masterpiece. Gameplay wise, the devs had good ideas, but it didn't manage to implement them in a correct fashion. Basically, mostly good level design (mostly) and good shooting (again, mostly) but with some issues on some enemy type and their hitboxes (and sniper... brrrrr). There are also some interesting features (for the time), such as aiming different parts of the body and having different effects and damage's output... while others, like stealth sessions, are not that great (despite being few). On top of that, Gog did even release the expansion pack with some good maps (hear hear, mostly). Speaking of the rest, story is the classic 90's action movie (with all sexism and cheesy puns included...nothing terrible but still), with a good soundtrack to go by it. Plus, the wobbly graphics is actually pretty endearing (at least, this is my personal taste). So... worth it? actually, it's (.... MOSTLY!) a solid yes! the game, despite its flaws, does have a sort of vibe or whatever, which makes the game actually enjoyable!... most(ly) of the time!

I love old Quake II engine games, from Quake II to the original Soldier of Fortune, to Anachronox. Sin fits right in with those classics, a late 90's action FPS that was thankfully built on an engine that still performs well today . Lauded by gamers when it was released, it flew under the radar of Half Life, Doom, Quake and Quake II, among others of the time. Set in a modern environment (office buildings, warehouses, sewers etc..,) you're tasked with hunting down the leader of a crime syndicate who throws his minions at you while you find keys, rescue hostages and avoid security alarms on the way. You'll have a voice-linked helper a la Deus Ex/System Shock 2 to guide you through. That said the game has plenty of action and minimal but well-placed/logical/easy puzzles. I also didn't experience being "lost in the level" nearly as much as I do in some of these older games, the maps are excellent. I got this game running in hardware mode on Windows 10, by choosing "Default GL," running in compatibility mode for XP2, and downloading the "steam patch" on the Gaming Wiki for openGL. (all of these might not've been necessary, but after fiddling around quite a bit, those 3 things seemed to work). Definitely worth the $10, or buy it on sale if you like old school shooters made in an era just before truly modern 3D engines with physics and high res textures came onto the scene.

I had almost given up hope I'd ever see this game on GOG, but here it is! When SiN came out back in '98, it had to compete with Half Life for sales. Since HL worked perfectly out of the box and SiN was a buggy mess (my game ended up crashing at the same point of the final boss, always, and I never got to see the game's ending; also, getting it to work in later operating systems was a PITA), SiN became a forgotten gem. This game has a good and engaging cyberpunk-ish story, complete with interactive computers you can hack (which are, for the most part, an optional part of the game; the syntax and commands are pretty much those of MS-DOS), amazing level design -both in singleplayer and in multiplayer- and working stealth mechanics, which weren't commonplace back then. The gunplay is great, with every single weapon being useful throughout the game (though you'll end up using the SMG more, as it uses pistol ammo but has a higher rate of fire, and don't forget to install those silencers!), and the graphics were quite good for its time, as I recall it looking good even at 640x480, with a Virge S3 using software rendering. This is an instant buy for me, and I certainly recommend it.

SiN was released in the era of pre-Half-Life, fully-3D shooters. Upon release, it was heavily criticised for its hugely long loading times and numerous bugs - shortly afterwards, HL1 was released and cast SiN into the dustbin of history alongside other shooters of the time, such as the equally unfinished and broken Kingpin. It simply could not compete. The game fares little better today. The maps are ambitious, but very confusing and sometimes borderline broken. Level designer Charlie Wiederhold (who had worked on Shadow Warrior expansion packs, among other things) has written on his site about the rushed, chaotic development environment that produced these very flawed levels. Even basic building blocks of the game like movement are flaky - climbing ladders and even walking in a straight line are frustrating. The visual glitches and bafflingly annoying main menu sound are further evidence of SiN's botched production. SiN may look fun at first glance, but when it comes to shooters of its time, it is one of the runts of the litter. Seek this one out for historical curiosity purposes only.