SiN Episodes: Emergence

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 437 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 307 out of 437
  2. Mixed: 99 out of 437
  3. Negative: 31 out of 437
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  1. Mandala
    Dec 25, 2010
    4
    This game was weak. It seemed completely uninspired, with the4 most generic of action. On top of that, it has an auto difficulty adjusting issue where if you load a saved game after you die, the game will keep getting harder until the point where it's impossible. The only way to avoid that is to not load a saved game when you die. It's completely stupid. Who doesn't load saved games whenThis game was weak. It seemed completely uninspired, with the4 most generic of action. On top of that, it has an auto difficulty adjusting issue where if you load a saved game after you die, the game will keep getting harder until the point where it's impossible. The only way to avoid that is to not load a saved game when you die. It's completely stupid. Who doesn't load saved games when they die?

    I loved the original SiN, and was hoping for a lot from this. It's no wonder that Ritual packed up shop after this game failed in the market. I don't know how anyone could expect success by releasing the most bland and recycled FPS on the market.    … Expand
  2. HenricA.
    May 30, 2006
    4
    It felt more like a MOD than a commercial game (albeit a short one). Why did it feel like a MOD then? - Graphics weren't impressive at all (not representative of 2006 levels), felt too cartoony. - Leveldesign were very square(ish). - Player control felt like iceskating (hard to aim when the character keeps moving long after you stopped pressing the keys) - The AI was stupid, enemies It felt more like a MOD than a commercial game (albeit a short one). Why did it feel like a MOD then? - Graphics weren't impressive at all (not representative of 2006 levels), felt too cartoony. - Leveldesign were very square(ish). - Player control felt like iceskating (hard to aim when the character keeps moving long after you stopped pressing the keys) - The AI was stupid, enemies almost walking past you and not reacting as one would expect when you start to attack them (which normally is good, but in this case it means that they hardly take cover nor work as a team) - The automagical scaling of toughness boiled down to how many of the toughest enemy you'd face at once. - Five maybe six distinct enemies. And no variation within the enemies (all enemies of a certain model behaved the same, most other games use few enemy models but do behave differently) These are what I consider the major flaws. There were ofcourse many minor ones aswell (such as Jessica getting into the car without opening the door, but animated as she opened the door... looked silly) All in all, unless you liked the original or want the original version (since it's included) this is a game to avoid. Lets put it this way, I won't be buying the next episode.… Expand
  3. EnderW.
    May 22, 2006
    0
    to short sould of just been a mod and the story wasnt all that good.
  4. RAv
    Jan 9, 2007
    2
    To say it out in three words. It ain't Sin. As an action shooter, its okay, but to call it Sin is plain stupid. It has nothing to do with the first game (excluding the expanssion), and the main character Blade seems to have been killed by Gordon Freeman and replaced. Sad, totaly sad.
  5. PyroFLAME
    Jun 30, 2006
    4
    ill start with the good things first: this game has great graphix, snd you will be in first person always like in HL2. In the beginning of the game you will get boobs, profanity, and violence. This enimy AI is practicaly retarted, so you wont get a challenge. OH! cool you get many different guns in this game....oh you'll rarly get enough ammo to use them. Instead you'll be usingill start with the good things first: this game has great graphix, snd you will be in first person always like in HL2. In the beginning of the game you will get boobs, profanity, and violence. This enimy AI is practicaly retarted, so you wont get a challenge. OH! cool you get many different guns in this game....oh you'll rarly get enough ammo to use them. Instead you'll be using a shitty one-shot gun, that kills in 2 shots. Also I noticed they use the same enimies alot. All they do is make them stronger or just give them jetpacks. ( again with the 1 shot gun) this game should have been improved with the problems. I guess this game wasn't worked on that hard.… Expand
  6. JT
    Dec 24, 2006
    4
    I am not sure what game the guys who gave this 10 were playing but it wasn't the same as me.... for me Sin was too short and the gameplay/plot was unemersive and predictable.
  7. FaceSprayer
    May 13, 2006
    3
    Glitchy, crash ridden, shotty collision detection (at best) unclear objectives, total lack of ammo, health or anything that makes me actually feel I got my $17 worth for this title. It's just the same shooter scenario we've seen 1 million times already. This game brings nothing new to the table and could possibly be the WORST game to use Valve's beautiful Source engine. The Glitchy, crash ridden, shotty collision detection (at best) unclear objectives, total lack of ammo, health or anything that makes me actually feel I got my $17 worth for this title. It's just the same shooter scenario we've seen 1 million times already. This game brings nothing new to the table and could possibly be the WORST game to use Valve's beautiful Source engine. The physics are weak, the collision detection will leave you stuck on invisible walls or small pieces of debris. The AI seems to roll with the philosophy of "When in doubt, stand there like an idiot". The enemies seem to deal you an overwhelming amount of damage and it seems that the weapons of the future have an interesting problem: Point blank, sights set for the face...and you still miss! This game is awful and I actually regret paying for it.… Expand
  8. RussS.
    May 14, 2006
    4
    Sin Episodes: Emergence is a frustratingly difficult mediocre game. So now that I've broken the cardinal rule of review writing and put the conclusion first, let me explain how a game with such high expectations utterly failed to hit the mark. Sin Episodes makes use of a feature called the personal challenge system. A system that automatically adjusts the difficult to your skill. In Sin Episodes: Emergence is a frustratingly difficult mediocre game. So now that I've broken the cardinal rule of review writing and put the conclusion first, let me explain how a game with such high expectations utterly failed to hit the mark. Sin Episodes makes use of a feature called the personal challenge system. A system that automatically adjusts the difficult to your skill. In the beginning of the game, this was great. After nailing headshot after headshot, the guards started coming after me wearing helmets. The first helmet I shoot off gave me great satisfactions. However, after the first boss fight, the game's difficult stops slowly ramping up and instead boards a Saturn V rocket and aims for the moon. Soon the player is hitting reload button as often as the primary fire button. By the time I was 80% done with the game, thanks to Sin's stats tracker, I found out I was dying 28.03 times per hour and I did something I haven't done it ages. I cheated. That's right, I typed in the God mode cheat just to finish the game. Running through the final stages of the game, I don't know how else I would have survived as the game was throwing wave after wave of enemies I dubbed, "walking tanks" at me. But that wasn't the only frustration with the game's combat I had. First, there's no cover in this game. All the major fights seem to take place in corridor's and warehouses, ala FPS design cira 1998. My biggest gripe with the game is the spawning enemies. Part of the personal challenge system is to spawn more enemies if you blew through the first wave. This often times results in enemies spawning behind you in rooms that you thought you had cleared. And in some cases enemies spawning right before your eyes. Perhaps because of these other failings, the fact that the graphics couldn't impress was drawn to the forefront. Emergence is build on the source engine, the same engine that powers Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source. However, Emergence doesn't live up to its pedigree, lacking the same level of polish that either of the previously mentioned games do. While Sin does have a few bright spots like the well modeled and textured guards and dock workers, it finds its self falling short in the same category like the low-poly, poorly textured dock boss. So, what did Sin do well? The sound department should be congratulated. The music was excellent and the sound effects provided just the right punch to bring the characters, weapons, and explosions alive. And the statistics tracker was a thoughtful addition, although viewing "Deaths per hour" can be a be a bit depressing.… Expand
  9. JoshuaK
    May 16, 2006
    2
    The game should be a free mod, save your money for Half-live 2 :ep1 this game sucks
  10. JakeB.
    May 23, 2006
    0
    Honestly, I'd give this game a 7.25. Anyone that gives this a 10 needs to wear a helmet. 10=best game ever 9=great game 8=above average 7=average 6=below average and pretty much 5 and below is just crap, 0 being a big slap to the face. That being said... this game gets: -Presentation:6.5 decent story and way of telling it but it lacks length. At around 4 to 6 hours depening on howHonestly, I'd give this game a 7.25. Anyone that gives this a 10 needs to wear a helmet. 10=best game ever 9=great game 8=above average 7=average 6=below average and pretty much 5 and below is just crap, 0 being a big slap to the face. That being said... this game gets: -Presentation:6.5 decent story and way of telling it but it lacks length. At around 4 to 6 hours depening on how good you are its definately not worth the money. You do get the multiplayer and original but to be honest youre never going to actually play them more then 15 minutes. -Music:9.5 very very good, im thinkin of buyin the soundtrack -Graphics:7.5 glitchy at times but otherwise decent, its far from the polish of F.E.A.R. or HL2. Some of the enemy textures could use some work -Gameplay:6.5 its definately a shooter and it does that aspect fairly well but this Learning AI is a joke. The way it works is... the better you do, the more baddies spawn with bigger guns and armor. It may be harder, but they are not "learning," they are just sending more waves of guys. At times guys will spawn right in front of you or in the rooms that you were just in moments ago. When there isn't a massive number of enemies coming at you, its easy to tell that the AI is a little daft. The weapons are nice with secondary fire but none are all that useful. You'll find that you stick to the primary fire of the pistol a lot. The interactivity with the world around you is fairly well done, I gain quite a bit of pleasure from some of the things you can do. The settings are to open, leaving no place to take cover. The maps in general are pretty bland and monotonous. Overall: 7.25 (not an average) It would be a great game if it was not $20 for each 4-6 hour chunck of the game (episodic nature of the game), better polished, more useful weapons and work on the AI.… Expand
  11. JB
    May 29, 2006
    1
    Fairly okay graphics and that's it. Gameplay, level design and the awful weapons are much worse than the original Sin. What made them think this game was up to par with today's titles? I want my money back.
  12. ShannonM.
    May 31, 2006
    4
    too short, not enough weapons, no flashlight, controls are not set for easy access even though it is mappable.
  13. TheHooks
    May 31, 2006
    4
    Reminded me of a game released in 98-99 How can this come out after HL2 and on Steam and be so bland? Worst game on Steam in my opinion. At least Rag Doll was fresh. I want my money back too. I dropped a barrel on a friendly guys head and he yelled ouch and sort of stared at me. HL2 got it right with the small details that draw you in that are not present in Sin.
  14. MattK.
    May 14, 2006
    0
    Okay, i know the zero is a _little_ bit harsh, but come on!!! I have played numerous games (litterally more than a hundred, alot more) and i have GOT to say that this is the worst. That is why i gave this game a zero... It is literally the worst game i have EVER ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever played... Please don't buy it and encourage the people at Ritual Games [TM] ( Okay, i know the zero is a _little_ bit harsh, but come on!!! I have played numerous games (litterally more than a hundred, alot more) and i have GOT to say that this is the worst. That is why i gave this game a zero... It is literally the worst game i have EVER ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever played... Please don't buy it and encourage the people at Ritual Games [TM] ( but seriously Ritual Games.... ALL of your games suck.... i'm sorry, but they do. Your best game deserves maybe a four.... try making some quality games that people won't buy simply because they are on a sweet engine {congrats to valve for creating Source [TM]}… Expand
  15. BellinoP.
    May 15, 2006
    0
    Total rip off. This is just another way for a company to maximize its Profits with little input! Its way too short, the story line is nonexistent and I have seen way better Free mods then this.
  16. DBrown
    May 31, 2006
    3
    Sorry but I'm not impressed. 1. Lovely scenery (very nice mountains nudge nudge) but nothing happening in it. I wish my office block was as empty as the ones in this game. The only time you see a "joe public" or worker they cower in the corner. 2. I realise you need to ease people into the game, but dont sudenly ramp up the dificulty 3. Half life 2 let you be a real weasel with Sorry but I'm not impressed. 1. Lovely scenery (very nice mountains nudge nudge) but nothing happening in it. I wish my office block was as empty as the ones in this game. The only time you see a "joe public" or worker they cower in the corner. 2. I realise you need to ease people into the game, but dont sudenly ramp up the dificulty 3. Half life 2 let you be a real weasel with setting traps. But the AI in this game gets stuck behind doors and trying to get past the numerous barrels and boxs. Classic example : stick the chairs and bins infront of the 6 lift doors, wait, lob a grenade or two , done! lather, rise, repeat. 4. Mutagen barrels and bullet time. Waste of time. 5. Boss's - stick a puzzle in or some part of the environment that can be used against them (come over here ugly dude so that the nice crane can fall on you). 6. Not really and open environment just a very set path. To many locked doors. Whats wrong with me picking my own way through a building. Overall I'm not impressed. I've played it through and I've ramped up the difficulty and played it again. I've played it with only one gun (very hard later on) but now I feel like thats it, might as well remove it. Episode based games may seem like a good idea but people are going to pay their money, play a short game and then have to wait however long for another and to be honest the story line ain't making me wet myself for the next one. If Valves half life offering doesn't raise the bar then I think episode based games could have a very short life (in more ways than one).… Expand
  17. JohnRutgers
    Sep 13, 2006
    3
    It's not that grate of a game. Now I did not play that much into it. but the game just seemed clunky. only being able to jump 3 inches in the air seemed retarted.No lean, a constant fight-get hurt-heal type game. However there does apear to be a good story line. Don't get me wrong this is not a horrible game.I think it does have it's good spots. Just not worth an 8 out of 10.
  18. dumle
    Dec 21, 2012
    4
    Sin Emergence is an average game at best. Its short campaign is functional although a bit short (3 hours long) and its story is kind of bland. The gunplay works alright , neither good or bad. The enemy-variety is also ok but that has more to do with the short length of the game than the amount of different enemies. The gun-variety is however quite awful with only 3 standard guns to yourSin Emergence is an average game at best. Its short campaign is functional although a bit short (3 hours long) and its story is kind of bland. The gunplay works alright , neither good or bad. The enemy-variety is also ok but that has more to do with the short length of the game than the amount of different enemies. The gun-variety is however quite awful with only 3 standard guns to your disposal. If the game was a bit longer and if there were some more guns then i would say that this game is quite average. The current game is however a below average shooter that i would only recommend to bored fans of the genre who gets the chance to pick up the game for a cheap price. Perhaps that wouldn't be the case if the episodes-idea didn't get cancelled but that hardly affect the current games quality.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best PC Game of 2006
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
83
#83 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Yahoo!
    80
    While it has its flaws, it's paced well, full of action, and managed to keep us smiling all the way to the end. With a tweak here and a polish there, Ritual could really be onto something good. Bring on part two.
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  2. GameSpot
    73
    This is a pretty-looking, short, budget-priced, by-the-numbers futuristic shooter that's most notable for its episodic nature and its old heritage.
    Read full review
  3. Eurogamer
    70
    It's a bland taste to a cultured palette. But it's fun, too, and self-aware.
    Read full review
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