Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow review

Of course, this being a shooter, you don't always have to sneak around in the shadows, methodically and silently killing your enemies one by one. Gabe's tough enough to pull off the run-in-guns-blazing approach, but only for so long; clearing the room of weaker enemies is easy enough, but once they start donning flak jackets, bulletproof helmets and nigh-impenetrable "static armor," you'll have to get a little more creative (or at least a little more cowardly) if you want to survive.

A far better way to tackle gunfights is to sidle up against cover - any wall or crate will do - don Gabe's thermal goggles to get a bead on exactly where the bad guys are, and take them out with carefully aimed, silenced headshots (or just a barrage of assault-rifle fire, if you're in a hurry). You'll be able to aim from behind cover and pop out for a quick shot, but if even that's too much exposure, Gabe can now blind-fire around corners, occasionally even hitting things while doing so.

Of course, this being a shooter, you don't always have to sneak around in the shadows, methodically and silently killing your enemies one by one. Gabe's tough enough to pull off the run-in-guns-blazing approach, but only for so long; clearing the room of weaker enemies is easy enough, but once they start donning flak jackets, bulletproof helmets and nigh-impenetrable "static armor," you'll have to get a little more creative (or at least a little more cowardly) if you want to survive.

A far better way to tackle gunfights is to sidle up against cover - any wall or crate will do - don Gabe's thermal goggles to get a bead on exactly where the bad guys are, and take them out with carefully aimed, silenced headshots (or just a barrage of assault-rifle fire, if you're in a hurry). You'll be able to aim from behind cover and pop out for a quick shot, but if even that's too much exposure, Gabe can now blind-fire around corners, occasionally even hitting things while doing so.

The controls - which use the face buttons for moving the camera and aiming - are surprisingly comfortable and precise, once you get used to them. If you don't have the patience, however, you can trade the over-the-shoulder, Resident Evil 4-style zoom-in targeting for automatic lock-on, which - while being a lot less precise - at least ensures that your gun always stays pointed at the right guy.

The problem with the stealthy approach is that it almost makes things too easy; keep it up, and each gunfight will follow the same predictable pattern of spot enemy, hide from enemy, aim at enemy, drop enemy with a taser dart, repeat. It gets even easier if you become over-reliant on Gabe's special goggles, which can (among other things) highlight every secret item, trap, weapons cache or interactive object in sight, or - as we mentioned above - give you a bright, thermal view of your enemies that makes them easy targets. Granted, all of this is still fun, but it can wear on you.

The controls - which use the face buttons for moving the camera and aiming - are surprisingly comfortable and precise, once you get used to them. If you don't have the patience, however, you can trade the over-the-shoulder, Resident Evil 4-style zoom-in targeting for automatic lock-on, which - while being a lot less precise - at least ensures that your gun always stays pointed at the right guy.

The problem with the stealthy approach is that it almost makes things too easy; keep it up, and each gunfight will follow the same predictable pattern of spot enemy, hide from enemy, aim at enemy, drop enemy with a taser dart, repeat. It gets even easier if you become over-reliant on Gabe's special goggles, which can (among other things) highlight every secret item, trap, weapons cache or interactive object in sight, or - as we mentioned above - give you a bright, thermal view of your enemies that makes them easy targets. Granted, all of this is still fun, but it can wear on you.