Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror [PSP]

A terrorist organization named Red Section is plotting something very bad in the tundra of Alaska. The government is freaking out, and needs a secret agent in the worst way. The job calls for sniping, hand-to-hand combat, and the occasional zip-line riding. Who ya gonna call? Solid Snake? Nah, he's too busy playing cards. Sam Fisher? Wrong again. Try Gabe Logan, the star of the Syphon Filter series.

Yes, Gabe took a more managerial role in the last Syphon Filter game, The Omega Strain, on the PS2. Those familiar with his PSone exploits know that he's just as qualified for the job as those other secret agent men. In Dark Mirror, exclusively for PlayStation Portable, Gabe is back to being the go-to guy for the franchise, in an epic action/adventure title. Lian Xing, his sexy sidekick, is also prominently featured.

We had a chance to blast through a few early levels in Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, and it's looking darn spiffy thus far. Action games have struggled on PSP, but this title seems to have addressed many of their issues. The control is especially noteworthy. In lieu of a second analog, the face buttons are used for aim. Like an FPS, one shoulder button shoots while the other locks on.

That leaves the d-pad for the vast majority of functions. Believe it or not, it works quite well. Switch a weapon by holding right, or toggle Gabe's collection of useful goggles by holding left. Zooming in and ducking are done by hitting up and down, respectively. Context sensitivity opens doors and operates terminals, and you hug walls by simply pressing up against them.

Even though the demo throws you into combat with no tutorial, it was still relatively easy to get the hang of things -- and there are a lot of things Gabe will do. Simply mowing down soldier drones is only half the battle. Dark Mirror also charges you with sniping enemies to protect Lian, hacking into a computer to taking out a flamethrower-wielding boss. With all this being executed spot-on on the PSP, one wonders if Konami is rethinking its choice to make Metal Gear a turn-based game on the system.

As it was a late title in the PSone's life cycle, production values weren't that important in the first Syphon Filter trilogy. Dark Mirror uses the PSP's technology for all it's worth, but it's still not eye-popping graphically. It does the job, however, with nice CG cutscenes, decent player models, and average environments. Music and voice work are sounding good so far, with constant banter between Gabe and his team.

If you missed out on games starring Gabe Logan in the past, you're missing some of the better third-person action/adventure games out there. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is your chance to get to know Gabe better. It will also hopefully fill the void of good action games on the PSP. That's a mission shamefully few agents have chosen to accept.