I'm hoping EA will wise up and release the original here when this new game hits... unless they go full stupid and release it as a preorder exclusive like the original Alice.

This game is a prequel; the first game was set in 2096 but this one takes place in 2069 and has you playing as a prototype agent, so it may be that the mind-slave type of agents haven't been invented yet.

Ah right, that kind of makes sense.
I hope it'll be a good game, even though I would've preferred a more traditional Syndicate game. I can always hope that it does well and they decide that a traditional Syndicate game has a chance to succeed because of renewed interest in the IP or something like that.

Wouldn't they just do another sequel with the same engine to keep the costs down?
I mean this style of thinking suggests that if MW is successful they might make other products set in the universe, but they keep redoing same thing over and over again...

I just want a legal copy of the original.

That would be why I used 'hope' instead of say 'believe' or even 'know' (although slight alterations to the sentence would also be required).
Realistically I know that it's easier to make money by producing the same game over and over again, but I always hope that some company somewhere will have the guts to try something.
I also know that games aren't being 'dumbed down' for consoles, but instead for the consumers and it's just easier and more comfortable to blame it all on the consoles :P

The consoles themselves are also to blame, not just consumers. The weak, badly ageing hardware encourages developers to sacrifice level size and interactivity for the sake of better graphics (just look at Crysis 2), and the limited controller limits complexity (lean or prone has mostly disappeared thanks to this, even in the PC versions) and discourages the development of real-time strategy and tactics games like Syndicate.

The perceived expectations of the audience will be no better with the next generation, but at least the hardware will be capable of scope and interactivity on the level of Crysis.

Now that's some bitchin characterization.

What was meh with half life 2? Freeman was a bigger mute drone then all 4 agents from Syndicate together. You just have to work from a different angle for it to work, but why the effort?

I have it on cd, Syndicate plus. Anyone know how to install it and run in DOSbox?

Or when they spend 10 seconds reading what the original was about they simply got the two last numbers of the date mixed.
Sadly 99% of the time when a company try something it usually means a new always online DRM, online pass, zero day DLC, rather than trying a more "risky" type of game.

I say you have more chance of having John Riccitiello programming Battlefield 4 by himself, in assembler, than you have of them ever releasing a new non-FPS syndicate game.

The original Syndicate was released on 11 platforms. DOS was but one. Yes, some of those platforms were 16bit.

Where it shows cluelessness is in referring to it as a shooter and forgetting all about Syndicate Wars.

A lot of revived series are deliberately set earlier than the originals so that they can both tell an origin story for the newcomers and also reassure the old players that they aren't messing with canon too much.

Depending on the setting this may also allow for more appealing options, in this case having an agent who is still human. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is another good example here: being a prequel means the player character can have fancy robot arms with elbow blades and whatnot compared to the much more subtly enhanced nano agents of the original games.

Sequels are often ignored when relaunching a series. Deus Ex was an exception because of how famously disappointing the second game was, but in most cases they will only talk about the first game--especially since it is often the most loved one.

Brushing over the fact that the original game was a much deeper experience is also common enough. While developers want to push increasingly simplified games they don't want players to feel like they are getting a worse experience than the previous games--hence why you'll see damage control for things like Skyrim removing spell-making in favour of having a pre-made spell in each hand; the resulting system is obviously much more limited and yet they brag about how it is more flexible and exciting than ever before (the latter at least is partly true).

To me, the commercial implies heavily that Syndicate started as a console game.

That shit don't fly.

I first played Syndicate on a console. I see no problem with the wording in that regard. DOS was one among 11 platforms.

Yes, the advert is console-orientated. But then that's appropriate. Clearly it is a console game and will still, to all intents and purposes, be a console game even on PC.

It's heavily misleading, we can agree on that much. But then clearly this advert is intended not to decrease the gap between fans of the original and the audience for this new game, but increase it. I think it's supposed to make the new audience wonder just what is it that the old farts are complaining about.

just another fucking FPS and a license ruined...