Syndicate
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😊 7.9/10
(3DO - US, Action & Adventure)
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Developed_By:
Electronic Arts
Published_By:
Electronic Arts
Released On:
01 Jan 1995
Also available on:
In the future, the world is controlled by a handful of global corporations (syndicates). You are the Marketing director (hitman) for one of these companies. It is your job to take control away from the competitors. The job is not one of diplomacy, but one of brute force and physical control. Advance your way to the top of the corporation by successfully completing your missions and managing the money you make from your territories.
The gameplay is visually reminiscent of X-Com, with an angled top-down perspective, but it is real-time rather than turn-based. You have missions ranging from infiltrate and capture, to seek and destroy. In each of these, you direct a team of four agents as they move through the world shooting at anything that gets in their way.
You can upgrade and modify your agents, as well as equip them with tools you have researched or liberated from opposing syndicates. As you complete missions, you gain more funds to use for purchasing agents or researching upgrades and equipment.
UPC-A:
014633073706 (USA)
ISBN-10:
0784502765 (United States)
eBay Product ID:
8414 (United States)
ASIN:
B000BTSV10 (United States)
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Number of Players Supported:
1 Player
Input Devices Supported/Optional:
Controller Pad
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Manual
Game Guide
Extracted from the original game manual
In this syndicate management game, players configure their corporation and select missions on a global map divided into rival-controlled territories. The core objective is to conquer these regions by executing various operations, such as assassination or base sabotage, within specified budgets. Success allows players to claim new lands, raise tax rates for greater revenue, and manage local populations to prevent rebellion.
Story
CHOOSING PLAYER NAME
Press A at Your Name and follow the same procedure you used for Company Name. If you make a mistake while typing, use the C button to erase the name one character at a time and then re-write it.
The chosen Company Name and Your Name should now appear beneath the logo on the left hand side of the screen. Click Accept to complete the company configuration.
RETURN TO MAIN MENU
If at any time during this process you wish to return to the Main Menu, simply press A at Menu.
SELECTING A MISSION
Highlight Begin Mission with the D-Pad and press A to enter the Syndicate global arena. The World Map screen is revealed.
TERRITORY
This is divided into 50 different sized slices. Color coded according to the controlling Syndicate, the slices bear no relation to current conceptions of national boundaries but are solely the result of decades of inter-Syndicate rivalry.
After a successful mission, the World Map changes. The territory in which you have been successful is now your Syndicate's color, and the Territory Box reveals population Status and Tax Rate. These two factors go together like ham and eggs.
Raise the taxes too high and the populace gets annoyed - just check the Status! That's when they can become rebellious and will need some discipline, Syndicate style!
New Calendar
The day, date and year display in the top right of the screen throughout the Syndicate challenge is reckoned according to the New Calendar (N.C.). This was introduced as the globally accepted calendar, regardless of race and religion, when the information revolution had progressed to such a degree that calendar differences threw up unnecessary barriers to communication.
Territory Box
The Territory Box gives details of:
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Territory Name: Based on the traditionally most dominant nation in the territory.
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Population: The higher the population, the more difficult the mission to conquer it. But the greater the reward, as you've more people to tax!
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Tax: As you start the game the Tax Rate for each is unknown. Only after successfully completing a mission is the territory's Tax Rate revealed.
For details of how and when you can increase this figure see Raising Taxes. As you highlight different territories with the D-Pad, details of specific territories are revealed in the Territory Box.
Brief
Only when the word Brief appears in the Brief window is a mission available to capture a territory. Pressing A here takes you to the Mission Brief screen.
RETURN TO MAIN MENU
Press A at Menu any time to return to the Main Menu options.
MISSION BRIEF
The Mission Brief screen displays the mission text, your mission Budget, Info and Enhance options.
•
01185AC
•
MISSION BRIEF
•
MISSION TEXT
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MERCENARY CAMP.
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30000 BUDGET
•
ASSASSINATION
•
100 INFO
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INTELLIGENCE REPORTS HAVE INDICATED THAT AN ARMY COLONEL IS STEALING RESOURCES FROM YOUR WEAPONS DIVISION AND USING THEM TO EQUIP HIS MERCENARIES.
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ENHANCE
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MY BASE HAS BEEN SET UP JUST OUTSIDE ONE OF OUR CITIES AND THE POPULACE HAVE REPORTED DISTURBANCES CAUSED BY MY TROOPS.
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100
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MISSION MAP
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ACCEPT
•
END
How to Play
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The aim of the game is to spread the dark stain of your Syndicate's color across the surface of the entire globe. The world map is divided into various territories. From your home base in Europe you invade adjacent territories and, through the violent subterfuge of your agents, wrestle them from rival Syndicates.
Having done so, raise taxes on the locals to increase your profits and punish them for serving the wrong Syndicate. But raising taxes can make you very unpopular. And furious natives leading popular rebellions can eat into Syndicate profits. So keep an eye on foreign interests and pick off troublemakers with your teams of agents.
And while you're busy expanding your Syndicate's empire abroad, rival agents are working in your own backyard to de-stabilize your Syndicate. Ensure agents are briefed to weed out traitors whose actions might bring about your downfall. By meeting all the challenges, destroying all targets and gaining control of all the territories, your Syndicate triumphs.
COMMAND SUMMARY
•
A - Walk to cursor
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B - Select weapon (See Using Weapons)
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C - Use weapon (See Using Weapons)
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Right Shift + D-Pad - Select Agent
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Right Shift + C - Alter IPA levels (See IPA Levels)
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X - Group Mode on/off
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P - Pauses Game and brings up Pause Menu:
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A + Left/Right Shift - Increase or Decrease Sound FX Volume
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B + Left/Right Shift - Increase or Decrease Music Volume
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C - Mono/Stereo Sound FX
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X - Withdraw from Mission
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P - Resume Game
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Left Shift + A + B + C - Self-destruct (if equipped with Version 2 or 3 chest)
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P - Go to Mission Debriefing after mission
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Left Shift + D-Pad up/down/left/right - Move mission view
GETTING STARTED
1. Turn ON the power switch on your 3DO™ Interactive Multiplayer™. The READY light indicates that the unit is on.
2. Make sure a Control Pad is plugged into the Control Port on the Multiplayer console. If not, turn the player OFF, plug in a Control Pad and then turn the player ON again.
3. Press the OPEN/CLOSE button. The disc tray extends.
4. Insert the Syndicate disc into the tray (label side up) and press OPEN/CLOSE to retract the tray. The 3DO logo appears. If you don't see it after a few moments, turn OFF the Multiplayer and begin again at step 1.
5. The Bullfrog Logo screen appears, followed by the opening introductory sequence. Press A at any time to leave the intro early.
MAIN MENU OPTIONS
Use the D-Pad to move the cursor to highlight the chosen file and press A to open.
•
CONFIGURE COMPANY - Customize your Syndicate by choosing logo, color and name. For more information see Configuring Your Company.
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BEGIN MISSION - Pick a mission territory, equip your agents and pit your Syndicate against your global rivals. For details see Preparing To Play Syndicate.
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LOAD AND SAVE GAME - Preserve current game status or reload previous games of Syndicate. See Loading And Saving A Game.
•
RESTART GAME - Things not progressing too well? Kinda get the feeling a particular game of Syndicate is cursed? Simply return to Main Menu and press A at Restart Game to go back to the beginning and start again.
CONFIGURING YOUR COMPANY
Press A at Configure Company to reveal the Select Detail To Change box. Select Detail To Change allows you to personalize your Syndicate color and logo, Syndicate name and player name here.
CHOOSING COMPANY COLOR & LOGO
Press A at the Color And Logo option. Scroll through the color list with the D-Pad until the desired color appears. There are eight colors to choose from. The chosen color/logo combination appears in the top right hand corner of the screen. Press A at OK to confirm your selections.
CHOOSING COMPANY LOGO
Press A at the Color And Logo option. Scroll through the logo list with the D-Pad until the desired logo appears. The logo list contains 40 logos.
CHOOSING COMPANY NAME
The Select Detail menu will now reappear. Press A at Company Name to bring up a keypad. Using the D-Pad, highlight a letter and press A to select it. Once you have selected your letters, confirm the name.
EQUIPMENT AND WEAPONS
D-Pad up to Equip. Current equipment and future purchases are listed to the bottom right of the agent icon. Press A to reveal the Equipment list. D-Pad up and down through the list and press A to reveal Weapon Details.
As with the Info and Enhance options, it is up to you to balance expenditure against the requirements of a mission.
Weapon Details
At the beginning of the game you have only five equipment options: persuadertron, pistol, shotgun, scanner and medikit. Research money is needed to perfect more (see Research). The Weapon Details window reveals Name, Cost, amount of Ammo carried, effective weapon Range and the unit cost of ammo or Shot.
Only by playing Syndicate do you learn the ideal mission environment for each weapon, but for tactical hints and details of specific equipment uses see Equipment
Controls
Right Shift + D-Pad
change the active agent by selecting another Status Box
A
switch active agents by pressing it at a numbered agent directly in the Mission Zone
Right Shift & A
hold to increase IPA Levels and jump the cursor to the active agent's IPA bars
D-Pad Up & Down
select the relevant IPA Level
D-Pad Left or Right
change the dosage
D-Pad Left
retard IPA Levels to reduce dependency
Tips & Maps
Chest Modification Self-Destruct
Press Left Shift & A & B & C to blow the active agent up, taking out surrounding enemies, allowing remaining agents to grab weapons and continue fighting.
Self-Destruct for Mission Completion
Press Left Shift & A & B & C again to complete the mission when the budget is depleted, or use an unarmed agent to evade detection and destroy the target.
Dead Agents
Killed agents forfeit all weaponry and modifications and are unavailable for further missions, highlighting the need to capture personnel for the Stasis Chamber.
Debriefing Screen
Displays mission statistics like agents killed and hit percentage, shows ongoing research status, and indicates when new equipment becomes available.
World Map and Briefs
After a successful mission, press A to view the World Map where adjacent territories flash to indicate that a Brief is available.
Mission Failure
Following unsuccessful missions, no new territories will flash on the World Map, as opposed to successful missions which unlock new areas.
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