History Videogame / Syndicate

*** [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Executive Jihad]]

* OutOfTheInferno: Being quite literally MadeOfIron, it's not really surprising that agents can pull this one off. [[RealityEnsues Don't try to walk through a fire with a group of Persuaded civilians in tow, though]].

* DummiedOut: ''Syndicate Wars'' contained ten levels for the Unguided, but their campaign was not implemented due to time constraints. The missions included with the game can still be accessed via command line parameters.

* HufflepuffHouse: The Unguided, led by Ko-Paull Vissick, are citizens who have fallen off the UTOPIA network and become a gang of punks. Vissick was actually the leader of the scientists working on the C3 Project and split away from the rest of the team, who would go on to become The Nine who lead the Church Of The New Epoch. He essentially offered [[TakeAThirdOption an alternative choice]] to those who had fallen off the network, but didn't want to join the Church or go back to Eurocorp. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Apparently, there plans to implement their campaign in the game]], but the missions were DummiedOut.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Agents, if the cover art is anything to go by. Probably [[HollywoodCyborg implants]].

* HollywoodCyborg: You can upgrade your agents by [[ArtificialLimbs replacing their body parts with cybernetic replacments]] making them stronger, faster, smarter and more durable.

** The Gauss Gun isn't some sort of coilgun, it's a rocket launcher.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In ''Syndicate Wars'', each type of person tracked on the radar appears as a different coloured dot; Eurocorp and ex-Eurocorp Agents as well as vehicles and spider-bots are red, Zealots are white, scientists are gold, [[{{Mooks}} Operatives]] are pink, police are blue, the Unguided are green, civilians are grey, and the super-rare old cyborgs (e.g. Agent Wu) are light grey.

* CorporateWarfare: The basic plotline of the original game has several powerful crime syndicates fighting for world domination. Also features in Syndicate Wars, where the Harbinger virus loosens Eurocorp's hold over the world, allowing splinter syndicates to emerge and challenge its rule.

* EvilVersusEvil: The first game is a battle between corrupt MegaCorp[=s=] trying to take over the world. In the sequel the two main factions are the totalitarian government and a group of religious fanatics determined to brainwash enough people and then kill everyone else.
** The anarchistic Unguided could qualify as ALighterShadeOfBlack - and they're unplayable!

* HardLevelsEasyBosses: Enemy leaders are usually no stronger than an average mook - getting to them is much harder than killing/persuading them. A few are even savvy enough about this trope that, in missions where you're supposed to take them alive, they'll kill themselves if you don't get to them quickly enough.

* NonIndicativeName: The Gauss Gun isn't some sort of coilgun, it's a rocket launcher.

* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: The Nine.

* RebelLeader: Ko-Paull Vissick, the elusive leader of the Unguided.

* FakeDifficulty: In ''Wars'' The Church mission in Beijing has [[TrialAndErrorGameplay an invisible explosive that may or may not oneshot fully-modded acolytes]] in the most obvious route to the target, and it can't be disarmed, detonated from a distance, tripped by enemies or civilians or set off in any way short of the player's party blundering into it point blank. The Church mission in Bangkok is ''riddled'' with the things, and the EuroCorp employee you're supposed to capture will sometimes die, despite being in the middle of an insanely heavily armed fortress with no threats trying to get to him - though not until the player's invested time and effort to get past the worst of the fighting.

** The [[{{BFG}} Graviton Gun]] costs ''[[CrackIsCheaper 6.5 million credits]]'' and is useless for [[EscortMission missions where persuading a target is the objective]] due to its tendrils of excessive energy taking out every person in the general vicinity. Forget about using it on the Columbo Orbit Station, as everyone on board carries a High Explosive that [[TakingYouWithMe will destroy the station]] if not quickly disarmed upon their death. If you can afford this monster of a gun, though, it makes elimination missions a cakewalk, since you only have to get to within the general area of the target to hit them with it.

* {{BFG}}: Let's start with the [[GatlingGood Minigun]], and go from there. ''Syndicate'' also gives you a "Gauss Gun" rocket launcher and a [[FrickinLaserBeams laser]], but it goes nuts in ''Syndicate Wars''. [[InfinityPlusOneSword Graviton Gun]], anyone?

* EliteMooks: Cayman Global's liquid soldiers and the active camouflage-wearing Subverter Specters would both count. Cayman Global's reactive soldiers and [=EuroCorp=]'s electro-armor soldiers, with their multiple layers of shielding to be Breached and [[GatlingGood heavy]] [[FrickinLaserBeams firepower]], are outright BossInMookClothing or mini-bosses.

* ActionGirl: Lily Drawl.

* LuckBasedMission: In ''Wars'' agents will get stuck on or in bridges at crucial moments, or bug out and refuse to pick up and disarm time bombs right next to mission-critical targets or themselves. The Church mission in Beijing has [[TrialAndErrorGameplay an invisible explosive that may or may not oneshot fully-modded acolytes]] in the most obvious route to the target, and it can't be disarmed, detonated from a distance, or set off in any way short of the player's party blundering into it point blank. The Church mission in Bangkok is ''riddled'' with the things, and the EuroCorp employee you're supposed to capture will sometimes die, despite being in the middle of an insanely heavily armed fortress with no threats trying to get to him - though not until the player's invested time and effort to get past the worst of the fighting. The Church mission to kidnap Prof. Drennan has a small chance the attacking Unguided will kill him before you can get to him.

A reboot of the series was released in February 2012 but unlike its predecessors, the new Syndicate game is an {{FPS}} written by Creator/RichardKMorgan. You play as Miles Kilo (who has been converted to Foot Pound), a new Agent under [=EuroCorp=] implanted with a prototype DART chip which grants him cutting-edge hacking abilities. Initially assigned to assassinate a key figure of rival syndicate Aspari while being mentored by more experienced Agent Jules Merit, Kilo soon discovers there is more to things that meets the eye. The game is linear with Kilo a [[HeroicMime silent protagonist]] and most of the story coming through cinematics or the environment.

* LuckBasedMission: In ''Wars'' agents will get stuck on or in bridges at crucial moments, or bug out and refuse to pick up and disarm time bombs right next to mission-critical targets or themselves. The Church mission in Beijing has [[Trial-and-Error Gameplay an invisible explosive that may or may not oneshot fully-modded acolytes]] in the most obvious route to the target, and it can't be disarmed, detonated from a distance, or set off in any way short of the player's party blundering into it point blank. The Church mission in Bangkok is ''riddled'' with the things, and the EuroCorp employee you're supposed to capture will sometimes die, despite being in the middle of an insanely heavily armed fortress with no threats anywhere in sight - though not until the player's invested time and effort to get past the worst of the fighting. The Church mission to kidnap Prof. Drennan has a small chance the attacking Unguided will kill him before you can get to him.

* LuckBasedMission: There are a few missions where events outside your control may cause you to fail. One such is the Church mission in ''Wars'' where you are supposed to kidnap Prof. Drennan. There is a small chance the attacking Unguided will kill him before you can get to him.

* DeadlyEuphemism: "Unusual and innovative lobbying techniques" are used to describe a multiple murder and putting of people into comas.

** [[NukeEm Nuclear Grenades]] are a much more expensive ranged alternative to High Explosive bombs. The Launcher is a more viable alternative to bring down buildings with its BottomlessMagazines and is cheaper to boot.

** The Disruptor is basically the anti-Persuadertron; it un-persuades anyone persuaded by a Persuadertron user. You'll rarely, if ever, come across anyone persuaded by a computer-controlled Agent, so it's likely the Disruptor will see very little use, if at all.

* ChurchMilitant: The Church of The New Epoch in ''Wars''. They call their agents "acolytes" and you "disciple."

* EscortMission: A few in Syndicate Wars. Most notably [=EuroCorp=] have a mission to rescue and evacuate top scientist Drennan, then another mission to escort him through a hostile neighbourhood.

* LightningBruiser: Agents in both the original and remake.

* ManOnFire: Screaming and running, before expiring in a patch of dust. Charming.

* ThrowAwayGuns: In the original game, you can't reload weapons in-mission. If you run out of ammo, you'll switch to a different weapon. Averted in Wars, where all weapons are powered by your agents' energy packs, and you can only carry one weapon of each type.

* LuckBasedMission: There are a few missions where events outside your control may cause you to fail. One such is the Churh mission in ''Wars'' where you are supposed to kidnap Prof. Drennan. There is a small chance the attacking Unguided will kill him before you can get to him.

* ManInWhite: The Cayman Global officers have white armour, unlike the black and dark grey of Sergeants or normal grunts. Several boss Agents wear white. [[spoiler:Merit also wears a white armour in the final battle]].

** To elaborate, Intelligence governs whether your agent will make a TacticalWithdrawal or fight with SuicidalOverconfidence; Perception determines whether they have HyperAwareness or [[FailedASpotCheck fail a spot check]]; and Adrenaline skews them towards either CaffeineBulletTime or [[HealingFactor faster regeneration]]. The adjustment levels can be changed at any time, but take a while to actually reach the level you want, so you need to carefully consider when to make changes.

* FallenHero: Aiden Fall, one of 4 co-op characters, used to be a heroic police detective who was framed for murder, rape, child molestation, and blackmail after he tried to arrest Eurocorp executives who were breaking the law. After losing his job as a result he eventually became a corporate hitman and eventually an Agent.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Sergeants are EliteMooks, the Lieutenants may be minibosses and the Colonel in co-op demo is a boss. The "end boss" for co-op, found in New England, is a General; he's basically an Agent armed with a minigun and backed up by 3 other Agents.

** Enemy Agents in the co-op mode generally have RegeneratingHealth and enhanced jumping as their special powers. Unlike Agent Crane, their version is infinite, generally requiring sustained concentrated fire from two or more player Agents to bring one down.

* EarlyGameHell: In the co-op mode, at level 1 you're incredibly weak and can be mowed down startlingly quickly. It's only after leveling up your damage resistance (having a few friends to carry you through your first few games is almost mandatory) that combat becomes genuinely manageable.

* EasyLevelsHardBosses: The levels are noticeably more challenging than most other FPS games, but ''are'' manageable once you get the hang of the gameplay mechanics. However, most of the bosses are completely insane, even on the "Normal" difficulty setting. The final boss in particular is on par with the likes of [[VideoGame/GearsOfWar General RAAM]] in terms of player frustration.

* HealingFactor: This is Agent Crane's power. If you don't drain a "block" of his health fast enough, it'll regenerate. There are three blocks to empty.

A reboot of the series was released in February 2012 but unlike its predecessors, the new Syndicate game is an {{FPS}} written by Creator/RichardKMorgan. You play as Miles Kilo (who has been converted to Foot Pound), a new Agent under [=EuroCorp=] implanted with a prototype DART chip which grants him cutting-edge hacking abilities. The game is linear with Kilo a [[HeroicMime silent protagonist]] and most of the story coming through cinematics or the environment.

* GangstaStyle: The Kusanagi assault rifle (as well as the sniper rifle based on it) has 45 degrees offset Red Dot sight on it, with an attachment. This meant you can fire in automatic, then tilt the gun back to vertical and start firing in a more powerful scoped semi-auto mode.