SiN
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- This article is about the Computer game. For other uses of the word, see sin (disambiguation).
| SiN {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Ritual Entertainment {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | October 31, 1998 Image:Map projection-Eckert IV.png April 5, 2006 Image:Steam-16px.gif |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows / Linux), PowerPC (Mac OS / Linux) {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
SiN is a computer game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision in late 1998. SiN is a first-person shooter based on a modified version of the Quake II engine. The game was re-released over Valve Software's Steam Platform on April 5, 2006, either as a standalone product, or bundled together with its sequel, SiN Episodes.
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Background
Set in the near future of 2037, many of the levels and locations are reminiscent of their current day equivalents. Banks, building sites, sewage works and other everyday recognisable buildings form the basis of many of the levels in SiN. One major difference in the world of SiN is the lack of a police force. 10 years prior to the game, it is revealed that the police force collapsed due to inefficiency and ineffectiveness against the rising tide of crime. Private security companies have taken their place, some patrolling the streets like the former police, some in charge of protecting their employer's assets.
One of these companies which employ their own armed security forces are SiNtek, a large multi-national biotechnology firm owned by the charismatic and beautiful Elexis Sinclaire. Formed in 2005 by Elexis' father, Dr. Thrall Sinclaire, Elexis took over the firm following the disappearance of her father.
The protagonist of the game Col. John Blade, commander of one of the largest security forces in the city of Freeport, HardCorps. Prior to the beginning of the game, John is working to rid the streets of a potent new recreational drug named U4, which is gaining in popularity in Freeport. Yet, the source of the drug is still unknown, and its effects not entirely studied. As the game begins, the player is placed into the shoes of John Blade as he responds to a full scale bank heist and hostage situation; perpetrated by a well known criminal, Mancini. But as the player progresses and pursues the criminals behind the heist, further questions are raised. Who is really behind the heist? And is this linked to the reported appearance of mutants in the city?
Throughout the missions, Blade is aided via radio link by a hacker working at HardCorps, JC. JC is a skilled hacker, capable of breaking into even the tightest of networks. In fact, Blade first found out about JC when investigating a hacker who had broken into the HardCorps system. After tracking down the hacker, Blade, recognising the perpetrator's talents, decided to make him a job offer at HardCorps instead of arresting him. Thus, JC became one of HardCorps most valuable assets.
Features
Body Specific Hitzones - SiN was one of the first shoot-em-ups to have a body specific hitzone. A headshot would do more damage than a body shot, which would in turn do more damage than a leg shot. It also featured player skins which would deform in accordance the area hit, showing where an enemy had sustained damage.
Action-based Outcomes - A player's progression through SiN was not entirely linear. Many levels had multiple ways in which to complete it, and actions could trigger drastic changes in future levels. This added a level of replayability to the game, and made the player think more before making decisions.
High levels of Interactivity - SiN featured one of the highest levels of interactivity of any shoot-em-up at that time. Much of the environment could be interacted with, computer terminals could be manipulated through a DOS-like command prompt, and much of the environment could be destroyed. For example, in a bank level, it is possible to find in the bank computer the archenemies bank account password and transfer all of her money into your own account.
Drivable Vehicles - Although drivable vehicles did not play a big part in the game, there were some sections and levels which required the player to drive certain vehicles. The camera viewpoint remained in first person mode during these sequences.
Easter Eggs - SiN contained many Easter eggs, more so than most other games, ranging from some fairly obvious signs and graffiti, through to entire secret hidden rooms.
Critical reaction
Critical reaction to the game was mixed. PC Zone gave the game 91% and a "Classic" award, praising its inventive level design and engaging plot [1]. However, most other publications did not have such a glowing view towards the game. One of the common complaints were the long loading times, with load times measured in the minutes between each level, death or quickload. Even on a then respectable 500Mhz PC with 128Mb of RAM, load times were reported to be around one minute long [2]. This naturally caused much frustration, and broke the flow of the game. Another major concern was the abundance of bugs which seemed to litter the game. Some of the more widely reported bugs include a total lack of sound in the game, an end of chapter boss which couldn't move and general game crashes. Although these bugs were quickly patched up, the damage of the negative publicity had already been done, especially with the majority of the gaming press reviewing the unpatched version.
A likely explanation for the multitude of bugs which were found in the game was that the game was rushed. It is likely that the game was released prematurely to meet the 1998 Christmas season, and as an attempt to beat Half-Life to market. These shortfallings, coupled with the near simultaneous release of the universally acclaimed Half-Life, meant that SiN did not achieve long lasting success as hoped, although it did attain a moderate level of success during the 1998 Christmas period [3].
Other media in the SiN universe
A mission pack was released for the game in 1999 by 2015, Inc., entitled SiN: Wages of Sin. Once again reprising the role of John Blade, the story picks off after the conclusion of the main game, pitting the player against Gianni Manero, a notorious crime boss looking to take over Freeport city.
In 2000, ADV Films released their first self produced anime film, Sin: The Movie. Although loosely based on the game, with similar characters and plot elements, there are some big differences. For example, a major character from the game is killed off in the first few moments of the film.
A sequel, SiN Episodes, is now in production by Ritual. The game is to be developed and released episodically over Valve's Steam network, it will be the first game by a major developer to be delivered in such a way. The first episode, titled Emergence is due out on May 9, 2006.
SiN was also re-released on the Steam platform on April 5, 2006 bundled together with SiN Episodes: Emergence. This version of SiN (v 1.12) includes fixes for audio and video playback problems as well as integration with the Steam multiplayer server browser. Several textures have been modified in this release; the originals being replaced with artwork of Jessica Cannon from the SiN Episodes series. Also, all instances of nudity in the game, mainly on Elexis Sinclaire's damaged version of her skins used during multiplayer, have been censored.