Syndicate

GAME OF THE WEEK: 18 cert, EA/Starbreeze, Xbox 360 (also Playstation 3, PC)****

What’s your favourite brand? Apple? Coca Cola? Persil? Brand recognition and loyalty are a bigger part of our lives than ever before, as consumers identify themselves more and more by the product choices they make. This is especially true in gaming and tech culture.

What a perfect time so, to reinvent a 1990s classic. Set a few decades from now, Syndicate takes place in a world where corporations and not governments call the shots (sound familiar?). Employees are now more like citizens, with brand loyalty taking over from patriotism.

A knock-on effect is the change in how business is done. Corporate warfare, hostile takeover and downsizing all take a more literal meaning as security forces bring bullets and chaos into commercial buildings.

Purists will complain about Syndicate’s move from strategy to first-person shooter. It’s true that FPSs are undeniably ubiquitous, but the premise here lends itself perfectly to the genre. Along with the fun settings of labs, offices and boardrooms, the game also offers neat, innovative gadgets that distinguish it.

Every character has a microchip in his or her brain, which means that you can hack your enemies. With the touch of a button you’ll “breach” them and they will “backfire” (causing a startling weapon malfunction), “suicide” (self explanatory) or – a personal favourite – “persuaded”, which causes them to briefly change allegiances and fire at their colleagues.

The single-player campaign is predictable and a little short, but the polished gameplay more than compensates. Boss battles (which really should be banned at this stage) are a sticking point, thanks to their repetition. The game is most effective as an online multiplayer – there are shades of Ghost Recon as you work as a strategic team on various globe-trotting missions.

Syndicate's look and especially the architecture are glossy and convincingly advanced, even if it owes a big dept to Blade Runnerand Minority Report.And the electronic score is ideal – slick and catchy but grimy, except for one nightclub scene where the tunes weren't very futuristic. Maybe it was a 1990s theme night?