CLASSIFIED: FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Start Transmission:

UPDATED:Nine times out of ten, if you own a PS1, you have played or seen Syphon Filter. The new Syphon Filter, subtitled The Omega Strain, is the final chapter in the saga. First and foremost, there is one major difference in this incarnation of the series: YOU DO NOT PLAY AS GABE LOGAN. To fans of the series, this may come as a low blow but SCEA has added in the ability for you to create your own character. During the character creation process, you have a multitude of customizations to include height, weight, hair style and color, clothes, and etc. This time around they are really trying to bring you deeper into the world of Syphon Filter.

At its core, The Omega Strain is a very similar experience to its predecessors. An average stage consists of a lot of running and gunning with some stealth action thrown in. Much of Gabe's original repertoire remains at the disposal of players in The Omega Strain. On top of the already countless moves there are a host of new additions. One of the new additions is the ability to pick up defeated adversaries and throw them over your shoulder to transport them. Not exactly a ground breaking technique, but it is quite effective in aiding in your cause.

The biggest change from the previous titles is the addition of online gameplay. The online component allows up to 4 players to do cooperative missions. During online play, much of the game stays the same except that there are differences in each stage that force the players to cooperate to accomplish the mission. The online portions also allow the use of the USB headset and a keyboard. Read below for extra info and stay tuned to PCS for further details.

Gabe Logan is back! This time he is headed to your Playstation 2.

In various international locations, outbreaks of a fatal and mysterious virus have erupted. As the head of a black-box agency, Gabe must use all his resources in a battle against the clock. Gabe and his team must track terrorists all over the world to discover who mutated the original virus, and why.

Selected as one of the chosen few to be a trained operative within Gabe Logan’s new Agency, gamers will enter a world of intrigue and global espionage, battling lethal enemies through 17 thrilling missions. With a deadly arsenal of all-new high tech weaponry and gadgets, players can take on commandos solo or go online and join up with three other agents for team-based game play.

Scheduled for a May 2004 release, Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is the newest installment in the multimillion-unit selling series. This incarnation will feature cooperative peer-to-peer online game play, advanced AI, and more than 1000 different types of weapons. Use of the USB headset is also supported. Stay tuned to PCS for updates as they become available.

KEY FEATURES

· Become a skilled agent in Gabe Logan’s reformed Agency and help him fight the evolving threats to world peace.

· Customize your agent’s look, uniform and equipment with enhanced character customization features.

· Explore and battle through 17 massive, intense, international single-player worlds with multiple ways to complete each of the deadly missions. Levels are up to three times larger than previous installments in the franchise.

· Unlock four bonus single-player missions to play as either Gabe or other favorite characters from the Syphon Filter franchise.

· Battle terrorists and enemies with four-player cooperative, peer-to-peer online play via a broadband connection in 9 of the single-player missions with the ability to access new areas of the environments only available while playing online.

· Utilize a USB headset (for PlayStation 2) (sold separately) or SOCOM headset for voice chat to verbally strategize with fellow agents online. Players also can use the directional pad to strategize with teammates.

· Access a buddy list feature to easily find friends while playing online.

· Defeat all-new terrorists and enemies, including the most deadly commandos in the world.

· Take on terrorists with more than 100 unique, deadly weapons and gadgets. Arsenal will improve as you progress through the levels.

· Combat the enemy with deadly artillery or fight hand-to-hand with a knife. Players can only carry four weapons at a time, so strategic play is at a premium.

· Keep enemies in target while kneeling, crouching, walking, rolling, climbing, jumping, walking, strafing, throwing and running with the new ability to target lock onto individual body parts.

· Gain multiple targeting modes to provide shooting options for enemies with regular clothing, flak jackets or full body armor.

· Access vanity items such as improved weapons, gadgets, equipment and uniforms.

· The highly sophisticated enemy AI reacts to other agents’ actions to hunt, explore, shoot and kill.

End Transmission

CLASSIFIED: FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY