All On Syphon Filter

I still getting used to it, especially the interactive system. I got very frustrated in the first mission because they threw me into the thick of it without explaining everything. For example, the C4 trigger men, I did not know they were down there and when I came across them I thought ‘I had better take him out before he detonates this C4’ so I ran up, got into what I thought was a good position to take him out with a headshot, bang.... headshot for the terrorist and death for me, not very fun. But like I said I’m still getting used to it.

The Zeus files are excellent however, I like sitting down for 10 minutes and reading all the background information about the mission and the personnel, it really makes me feel like I’m the agent in the game. Something which I think the developers tried very hard to do and they have done successfully, better than MGS2 did I believe.

Also, I’m not sure about these par times I have to get. I hate timed games, I have never enjoyed them and most likely never will. Now I just want to know whether it’s best to do them now or after I complete the game (I do not want to miss anything story related as I play through this game).

Hey, I just realized I have the same rank on TOS and this website. Oh yeah, the Omega Strain virus's days are numbered!

PAR times you shouldn't focus on them yet, just try to complete 90% of the missions for each mission.

Then the next go through try to complete all missions. Then practice to get most ranks. Then try to get the PAR times.


Yeah the C4 man I hate him it's lame but if you know the trick he will never bother you again. After getting the 2nd sample, continue that hallway, then go right and hug the left side of the wall. Now you avoided the blast.

I know how irritated I was and you probably do not have the true SF feeling yet too. But it took me a year to get a hang of it.

I agree with Duran Divine Dragon. The par times, although everyone are obsessed with them, are not a big part of the game. There are a lot more things you should focus on before.
Besides, some pars really are unforgiving, so you really need to learn the level layouts first before you try them. And don't even try if you haven't got all objectives first, because you don't have time to look for a way to complete one objective.


I like that you pointed out the depth of the storyline in TOS. I also had a great time reading all the Zeus files. It gives so much fascinating information that many players unfortunatly will skip because they don't care about it.

OK, I'm now used to the feel of the game and I must say this game is excellent. I found out last night that you can actually find and put on a CHA Bio-Hazard suit in the first mission, that’s awesome ("Hey thanks buddy, that was a close one" instead of "Stop or I'll shoot").

I have also realized that this game is quite similar to the Conflict: Desert Storm and Vietnam series and I’m a pro with those games. It’s the way you use the weapons that’s so similar, I just earned the AU300 with the Small Machine Gun Modification now because it’s a SMG it uses 9mm rounds so it’s not a very powerful weapon, but with a scope it’s absolutely deadly.

I am really starting to enjoy myself with TOS now, for example: on my second go at the second mission (Carthage, Michigan: Warehouse District) I collected the viral containers in time and eliminated the 4 ALA death squad assassins all with just a 92F and a Scorpion, mate was I happy. Also, I somehow managed to find myself underneath Fournier just after I was told to eliminate him, so I flanked him, then I aligned him up with another one of my headshots with my trusty 92F and bang...... sniper taken out with a single shot from a handgun.

I can’t wait until I get to the stealth missions, stealth is definitely my forte/speciality in computer games!

If you enjoy stealth, then you'll certainly have a good time with TOS. Some are really tricky and will test all your skills to their limit. The thing is, once you know how to go through those levels, there's no challenge anymore.
Besides, the game may be extra-sensitive sometimes, but not because the enemy IA is great, but rather because of glitches. It doesn't happen that often, but don't get too surprised if your stealth is blown away and you can't find out why.

I could not get all the objectives done in the third mission the other night and it was really starting annoy me, I kept trying and when I finally did get past it with all the objectives done, I had achieved the par time without even going for it. So last night I decided to get the other two par times just to see what kind of a mission I would unlock, you can probably imagine the big smile on my face when I started Stone’s mission. I finished it on my 4th or 5th play below the par time and again I wasn’t attempting to get the par time, this game continues to get better and better every night!

That's nice. Par times are not actually that hard. Once you've completed all objectives in one mission, you're normally very close to achieving par. If you managed to do it the first time you got all objectives, that's very good.

In bonus missions, especially Stone's, everybody will get par the first time the complete it. First, you can not fail a single objective, because you always start the mission over when you do. Second, with the time limit, you don't have a choice but to wait 5 minutes before you kill Dimitri. Then you have two minutes to come back to the extract zone, which is something you almost can not fail to do!

Actually, strangely enough, one of the mission I had the more difficulty getting par for was Carthage 1. The mission itself is a cake, but I remember I had to try a couple of times before I got par in it.

Yeah I got lucky with a couple of the pal times, I only had 3 seconds to spare on the Carthage Mall mission and when I got the pal time for the Warehouse District mission it seemed like some of the enemies just didn’t turn up/spawn.

I need some advanced combat tactics advice from the pro’s because the game is getting a lot harder now (I’m getting killed repeatedly). I try and use headshots whenever I can but it’s difficult when there are a lot of enemies around. I also use the old Logan tactic of shooting while crouched and not moving (increases accuracy and you’re a smaller target), but again I seem to be getting shot a lot more when using this tactic.

Actually, I'd recommand using that last tactic you mentionned. It's more efficient in TOS than it was in the other SF, mostly because enemies (even those with flak jackets) can be taken out more quicly, even with an average weapon.
Headshots are a lot slower to get in TOS, so don't use it against multiple enemies in close range.

I personnally almost always kneel before I take a shot. Of course, now that I've completed the game, I've got more powerful weapons. That means I can take out enemies before their shots start hitting me. If you could name some of the best weapons you have, I could make one or two suggestions.

They other way to play which has proven to be efficient is to always run. Obviously, you'll be a tougher target. However, you'll also miss most of your shots. If you don't care about ammunition, then it's fine for you. This tactic is maybe better to use if you only have average weapons. But when you start getting weapons that can take out enemies in 1 or 2 shots, it's better to make sure that this shot will hit its target, rather than making sure you don't get hit too much.

But above all, don't worry if you get kill a lot, especially in the latest missions (wait 'till you get to the last one! you'll have a lot of fun!). On my first playthroughs, I got killed over 20 times in some levels. Now, I can easily beat any levels without dying at all.
Once you get used to the gameplay and you start to know where enemies are or will spawn, you'll see how quicly you can lower that number of deaths in a level. You'll also develop a way of playing (either one of the two I mentionned above, or another one). Besides, you'll start earning some better weapons and some interesting habilies that will greatly help you improve your game.

I have a few good weapons that I have earned via the ratings system, I’ve already attained the ECS2, ACKS, ACSS, ANLFS, and ITXS ratings (almost every night I play through a couple of missions with the sole intent of increasing my ratings). So my main weapons right now are the FAL, C8 Rifle, M16 A1, Jerico 41, Biz-9, Mak-10, M61 Frag Grenade, DormaGen Gas Grenade, Shuriken and the E.D.T.

I must stress that I’m an accuracy fiend and I hate wasting bullets, most of the time I’m getting shot because I’m trying to line up a headshot or I’m waiting for the accuracy gauge to be perfect before taking the shot.

I can’t believe that I haven’t played any other games besides TOS for the last week, when this happens to me it’s usually a sign that I’m playing a truly great game.

My tactic is crouh (Holdng x all the time), aim, shoot, roll, aim, shoot and looking for cover meanwhile.

That's about how I play too.

With the weapons you have, Puniard, you can easily use this tactic too. The C8 Rifle is (arguably) the best weapon in the game. One bullet is enough to kill a normal enemy. For those with flak jackets, you'll only need 2 or 3 bullets, but the C8 has a fire rate high enough to let you take them down in a few seconds.

Besides, if you say you hate wasting bullets, then this strategy is well suited for you.

I’ve come to realize how devastating the C8 Rifle is over the last couple of nights, I didn’t know it was so good when I first got it (I only used it twice before). I have also unlocked the ability to have two handguns at the same time and that is extremely helpful.

I played a different game last night after a week of non-stop SF: TOS. Way of the Samurai 2, one of my favourite games of all time; it never stays out of my PS2 for too long.

I forgot to thank everyone for their help, thanks everyone.
I'm getting close to completing TOS now and I’m having so much fun finishing this game.

ah double desert elim .357...

I love it

Since I'm the kind of person who just really cares about his stats, I can't say I like dual-wield that much.
This ability is actually quite interesting if you don't have the best handguns. If you're using a handgun that has enough power to take out an enemy with one bullet, that each time you fire your double handguns, one shot will miss. That means your efficiency will start at 50%. Some people thought that one shot could miss because of the distance between the two, but tests have revealed that the two shots actually go towards the very same spot. If one hits its targets, the other will. That is, unless one bullet kills the enemy, than the second will just go through and won't count as a hit.

Only a few handguns are actually powerful enough to make the dual-wield useless: the Jerico-41, the Desert Express .50, the Desert Sniper .44 and the SP-57. These weapons (except for the Desert Sniper) can even take down an enemy wearing a light armor (=100 points) if the shot is well placed. All other models recquire at least two shots to kill an enemy without an armor.

But obviously if you just don't look to close at your stats, dual-wield is good at all time. Besides, for enemies wearing flak jackets, having to handguns can not do you any harm!

What!?

No more head shots with the handguns then (I was wondering why my accuracy was going down).

Can I go back to just one handgun?

No but you can use a sniper rifle for even easier headshots. I really don't give anything about my stats. I'd rather decide for myself how efficient I was.

There's no way to chose between one and two handguns before a mission: you'll always start with two. However, once the missions has started, you can get back to a single sidearm. To do so, simply drop both your handguns (press D-Pad down, then X). Then, press Triangle to open the pick-up menu and you'll be able to grap your handguns one by one. So simply take one and leave the other.