So, if you wanted to rule the world, what would you use? A mind control device or a giant dinosaur-shaped tank that shoots nuclear warheads from a railgun? (Personally, I’d always hoped to ride a wave of violent proletarian dissatisfaction to power, but it's not looking likely.) In any case, our two games in this quarter final match up offer these two options.

One is Metal Gear Solid - the game that defined the stealth-action genre despite the presence of a decidedly unstealthy mech called Rex, while the other, Syndicate Wars, allowed you to subtly influence people’s behaviour whilst unsubtly running them headlong into cannon fire whilst cackling maniacally. Ooh, the irony.

  • Originality - Perhaps the toughest criteria to assess these two games on. Sure, there had been top-down tactical games before Syndicate Wars, and stealth games before Metal Gear Solid, but it was these two games that took what were really the first inklings of two genres and defined them, writing the conventions for what was to come. However, we’re going to give this one to Syndicate Wars by just a whisker, primarily because it maintained the purity of the concept throughout, while Metal Gear Solid did throw in a pitched battle on a stairwell that broke the stealth conceit without actually being a boss battle. Winner: Syndicate Wars
  • Longevity - Syndicate was great, wasn’t it? ‘Wasn’t’ being in the operative tense. Gamers loved it, and still talk fondly of it, but Syndicate and its sequels have been nothing but nostalgia for years, occasional rumours of a remake notwithstanding. Metal Gear Solid, on the other hand, has spawned three sequels, a comic book, a radio play, action figures, ports to numerous consoles and handhelds and soon it’ll have an Xbox spin off as well. No contest. Winner: Metal Gear Solid
  • Graphics - Even back in 1996 Syndicate Wars didn’t quite stand out for having top drawer graphics - it was more good than great. Metal Gear Solid, on the other hand, was very impressive, full of clever designs and good looks, all as impressively realised as was possible at the time, albeit with a few juddering issues with the frame rate on occasion. Occasional blips aside, the winner is crystal clear with only an acceptable-for-the-time hint of aliasing. Winner: Metal Gear Solid
  • Sound FX - Metal Gear’s attempt at a cinematic soundtrack was certainly impressive, and contributed immense amounts of atmosphere while you were playing the game, but with the exception of the grating yell of ‘Snake? Snaaaaaake!’ every time you died, none of it really sticks with you the way that Syndicate Wars synthesised music and blaring tannoys do. Winner: Syndicate Wars
  • Replayability - Metal Gear Solid is great, its one of those games that gets into your guts, weighing you down in front of the TV and making it impossible to stop playing, and you’ll definitely be looking forward to your second go once you’ve finished your first. But will you want a third? The fact is, apart from annoying the dogs and wearing a Bond tuxedo, there’s not much change between run-throughs, and despite it being one of my favourite games of all time, I’ve still never managed to keep playing all the way through a third go. Syndicate Wars, on the other hand, offers endless options for fighting, sneaking or terrorising your way through each level. The option to change tactics or re-customise your cyborg-self gives you a huge amount of replay variety. Winner: Syndicate Wars
...So, another hard fought battle, one that came perilously close to be a draw thanks to the originality of both games, but in the end, Syndicate Wars takes it. Hurry up with the remake please Peter (after Fable III, of course)!

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