The Syphon Filter series is one that many Playstation owners are familiar with. The original game was a solid third-person shooter with a small occult following. Along the way, two PlayStation sequels were released that did very little to get the fame back that the franchise once held. After a small hiatus, Syphon Filter is back in its next-gen form for the Playstation 2. The new incarnation stays true to the foundation set by the predecessors but throws in online features that prove to add to the replay value of the title.

Marking a first in the series, you will not play as Gabe Logan or any of his allies from the previous titles. Instead, you'll be a new recruit working for Gabe, who is now the I.P.C.A. Commander. In the beginning, your first priority is to create a persona. Choices of personalization range from eye color to build but are not too in-depth. After creating a character, you are thrust into the training mission that gives you a crash course in controlling your character.

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain contains 17 different missions that take you to various locales all over the world. Each mission is packed with numerous objectives that need to be accomplished. Every one of the levels is usually pretty large and chock full of baddies to shoot. A typical mission consists of a set number of objectives, but as you progress through the mission, the proverbial crap hits the fan and other objectives appear. A majority of the game unfolds in this fashion and helps to make each mission rather lengthy.

Combat in the game is handled either by locking on to your targets with R1, going into manual aim mode with L1, or by using the auto-targeting system. Seeing how headshots are one-hit kills, you will find yourself using it more and more to save your precious ammo stash. You can also strafe using R2 and L2, as well as being able to do an evasive roll with the circle button. All actions besides the combat related ones are accomplished by using the triangle button. The controls are very easy to learn and become second nature after a couple of levels.

The online portion of the game is where I spent most of my time. For the online aspect, you have a choice of 9 missions to do and it is pretty much the same as the offline portion. The main difference is that selecting a mission (online) lets you join a group of up to four agents to tackle the mission together. Some missions are online-specific, and others get easier. This may not seem like much but some of the mission objectives cannot be completed solo. At the end of a mission, you'll earn commendations based on your team’s performance. As an added bonus, you can use the USB headset to talk to your team mates. Syphon Filter runs pretty well online and is broadband-only. You won’t get too much lag but you will run into the occasional hiccup here and there.

The graphics aren’t too shabby, considering this is a PS2 game. Character models are pretty good and game environments are pretty detailed. The game's “trademark” running animations are back but seem to be a little more believable than that of the previous titles.

Originally, Syphon Filter was announced as a game that was supposed support the hard drive, allowing for downloadable content. Unfortunately, the feature is missing from Omega Strain.

Game music is actually pretty good, and the gunfire and other sound effects sound authentic. Voice acting is also very well done, but it seems that they tend to talk too much during missions. It gets really annoying to hear your superior officer yelling at you repeatedly for taking too long. Not that it was a big deal; they could have just spread out the comments a little.

Altogether, Omega Strain is a welcome addition to the Syphon Filter family. Though the online play mechanics aren’t ground breaking, they help a lot to add to the replay value. Not saying that this game is for everyone, but it is a great game that can be a whole lot better depending on the future uses of the HDD. Even if you don’t buy it, rent the game and give it a try. You might find yourself running to the store to pick up your own copy.