Syphon Filter 3

Overview

Syphon Filter 3 is a 2001 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It is the third installment in the Syphon Filter series and the last to be released on the PlayStation. It was re-released in 2023 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

The player experiences a third-person shooter that strongly emphasizes action, with less reliance on stealth compared to previous entries. As reported by the developers, there was a deliberate shift toward more fast-paced combat, and players are encouraged to engage enemies directly rather than always sneaking through levels. Movement is fluid, and the camera allows free rotation to track threats and navigate the environments.

Secretary of State Vince Hadden brings in Gabriel Logan, Lian Xing and Lawrence Mujari to testify in Congress about their relationship to the Agency. He believes all three to be guilty, and questions them after they assassinate Shi-Hao from a hotel in Japan. The three do not realize that Hadden is involved in the conspiracy, and is looking for scapegoats.

The game was developed by Sony Bend, which was formed after Sony's purchase of Eidetic. It was originally slated for release on September 25, 2001, but the fallout of the September 11 attacks forced Sony to postpone the release while modifying the marketing campaign; the game was eventually released in November. The game's original cover had Gabe and Lian in action inside a courtroom that had a U.S. flag in the background amidst a swirl of gas. The anthrax scare following the attacks resulted in the cover being changed to a simple one showing Gabe's and Lian's faces, while the header line "United States Federal Bureau of Investigation" on the back cover was changed to "Agency Mission Briefing".

Syphon Filter 3 received "mixed or average" reviews, on review aggregator Metacritic.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Shooter

Developer

SCE Bend Studio

Publisher

Sony Computer Entertainment

Series

Syphon Filter

Platforms

PlayStation 3, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

No

Age ratings

ESRB

M

Release dates

Space and patches

Space neededAbout 370 MB

Playable today

Credits

Publisher

Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer

SCE Bend Studio

Released

2001-11-06

Age rating

ESRB M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 6.4 hours