SiN Reloaded
Developers: Nightdive Studios, Slipgate Ironworks
Publishers: 3D Realms, Nightdive Studios
Platforms: Xbox Series X (Reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Switch, Switch 2
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $29.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
The term boomer shooter vanished from the video game line-up for quite a long time, only supported by a few major franchises that barely resembled the gritty and rough around the edges games that originated in the 90s. The indie market has made major moves to help fill this niche with their own takes on a boomer shooter and now it is time for Nightdive Studios to bring a cult FPS back from the dead for the second time. SiN, originally released in 1998, was given a remaster in 2020 by NightDive and called SiN Gold and now six years later they are revisiting the project to improve upon their work and revise some errors they made six years prior, now giving fans of boomer shooters SiN Reloaded. Sitting on its second remaster and not quite being a standout back in the day, is SiN Reloaded worth checking out for fans of the genre or even longtime fans of the franchise that continued later on?
Story
SiN Reloaded is as ’90s as they come with a storyline that is fairly substantial given the time the game came out but also dripping with cheesy dialogue, villains, and one liners. Set in a dystopian future players take on the role of Colonel John Blade of HardCorps, a no nonsense cop responding to a bank robbery that he soon finds out is being supported by the worldwide conglomerate of SinTEK and its femme fatale leader, Elexis Sinclaire dressed in as tight of a latex outfit that she could possibly fit into.
With Blade serving as the nigh unstoppable action hero and celebrating his kills, he’s backed up by a side-kick hacker named J.C. with spiked blonde hair and a pair of coke-bottle glasses back at base. Anytime Blade finds himself hindered by an electronic issue, it’s usually J.C. that will bail him out and the two will banter back and forth between levels as Blade continues to uncover more of SinTEK’s conspiracy and Sinclaire’s twisted plans of using her newly uncovered mutant transformation system to flood the world with mutants.
The story is far from serious but it is nice to note that there is some variation to the story depending on what the players manage to accomplish in some missions. For example, it is entirely possible to have a mission go completely sideways should the player not have the proper code to enter into a DOS style computer, triggering destruction of an entire coastal line and other elements. These different changes are all the more apparent in the bonus episodes that were released a while after SiN was released.
The Wages of Sin expansion missions are included in this remaster and can be played at any time and see the story taking place after the events of SiN, with a mob boss taking advantage of SinTEK’s power vacuum to slide into power. Throughout these missions players will encounter a number of different choices or outcomes depending on how well they perform and figure out that it will deviate some missions in noteworthy ways, something that was unheard of back in the day. Though it is worth noting that just like the original SiN, Wages of Sin is just as corny and ridiculous so players should be prepared for that.
Gameplay
One of the biggest draws of SiN Reloaded is the fact that almost every element of the game’s combat has been reworked to best fit on modern controls and how players would expect them to work. This includes standard twin stick aiming for the FPS, firing, secondary firing for weapons that support it, swapping between guns, and even using an item wheel or weapon wheel which are new to this remake. Players have a variety of difficulties to select from but playing on normal can feel a bit too easy at times, especially since enemies can be downed fairly easily with precise headshots or literally “gibbed” with a shotgun blast and often drop health and armor that Blade will wear to reduce incoming damage.
It is nice to note that players can take almost all of the improvements that were made in Wages of Sin and transfer them into SiN Reloaded‘s original story, this includes being able to wield dual handguns, make certain enemies more visible, and enhance the firepower of weapons that were too weak and felt useless in the original release. That being said, some weapons still feel rather weak compared to others and even more feel like they lack the type of impact they deserve, with rocket launchers or grenade launchers being the biggest issues here, and sniper rifles also apparently sounding like a pea shooter but devastating anything they hit. Similarly, the driving mechanics have also been given an overhauling and feel a little less chaotic than before. Previously the physics of driving were atrocious to the point that players avoided vehicles altogether unless they were required, now they feel worthwhile to use, even if it’s just a forklift to crush a group of enemies and break through some boxes.
When not going in guns blazing players are also given the option occasionally to take a stealthy approach or disguise themselves as a worker to try and sneak through a level. Thankfully there is no real punishment for getting caught outside of having to fight more enemies but the option is there for those who want it. One thing that is a major detriment to the game is that some areas in the game are incredibly dark to the point that it is literally impossible to see in the core story mode. Some of these locations have a limited number of glow sticks that can be thrown to see but cannot be recovered, meaning players will find themselves wasting ammo to use the gunflashes to navigate. Ironically, the Wages of Sin mode immediately includes a flashlight for players to use whenever they want, which is a strange choice considering the fact that this is another option that NightDive could have carried over into the original but chose not to.
SiN Reloaded also features a plethora of bonus content in the form of promotional material that was used back to help showcase the game’s 1998 release and even the team that was behind the Sin Gold release six years ago. These bonuses include everything from never before seen concept art, 3D character models, promotional material from 1998, videos, and photographs to help give fans a little look behind the scenes for this boomer shooter that got lost to time.
Audio & Visuals
As far as the enhanced visuals go, SiN Reloaded is a step up from Sin Gold but that isn’t saying too much considering the game still feels very rooted in the 90s design structure for levels. Enemy designs are decent and nicely varied, especially with the new forms of foes that appear in Wages of Sin and the gun models that the player can use look better than ever. It also features a wide range of cutscenes that are fairly impressive looking for the time the game was made but it is also incredibly easy to skip a cutscene as even pressing a directional button will skip it.
It is interesting to note the game retains all of the cheesy action hero one-liners that one would expect from a guy named Blade, including mocking his opponents and some back-handed banter with his partner. At the same time enemies will beg for their lives as they die or mock the player if they happen to run to reload, though a lot of the dialogue is also very compressed sounding and more than a little rough at times. The soundtrack features a wonderful collection of background music that is fitting for every level and is a nice collection of rock and heavy metal to go with the more intense fights that players will usually be going through throughout the game.
Overall
SiN Reloaded offers easily the best way to experience this forgotten boomer shooter but players should be warned that it is a very basic FPS by today’s standards and while the cinematic presentation of cutscenes is fairly nice and the storyline is more impressive than other games in the same genre, the muffled voice work and other issues make this remake one that is still fairly solid, but perhaps one that only fans of cult classics will enjoy.
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