I grew up playing this game on an Amiga 500 so I'll always have a soft spot for Syndicate - but while its scope is impressive for 1993, the gameplay hasn't aged well. When you've researched the Minigun and have some upgraded arms, chests, and legs equipped, almost every Combat Sweep mission (roughly 70% of the game) can be completed by sitting at your start point with your API levels minimised, then hitting Panic Mode when the music changes. In these situations, the game literally plays itself for you - you can avoid this by dropping the Intelligence bar to 0 or negative, at which point your agents won't shoot without your intervention - but you run the risk of being swarmed and chewed apart by relentless enemy fire. You might need to switch to a different part of the map via train or car, but as soon as you arrive at your destination the enemy agents will path directly to you. And that pathfinding is a big issue 30 years after its release - characters will frequently get stuck trying to negotiate raised terrain and narrow corners, and will occasionally get wedged in closed-off areas as they somehow squeeze between two obstacles. The view is fixed isometric and building interiors are never revealed, so trying to navigate some areas of the maps is an exercise in frustration. For all its flaws, though, the game is still a classic - the broody atmosphere hasn't been equalled and the concept is still incredible. There are worse ways to relive the summer of 1993 than by spending a few hours with S+ (especially if you're grabbing it for free!) but try to remove those rose-coloured nstalgia goggles beforehand.
