Freeport City is the setting for the episodic series of Sin titles. The first in the series is Sin Episode 1 – Emergence. What does the game have to do with the original Sin? Aside from being an FPS game, and having the player take the role of John Blade, there’s very little to tie in the original Sin to this.

The game uses Half Life 2’s Source engine which powers the physics behind the game and the graphics. The graphics look pretty good, with vibrant colours, decent character models and well designed environments.

For £15 you get about three hours of gameplay, which to be honest is not a lot for your money. Sure, you could argue that a quick arcade shooter has been lacking for some time, and the budget price reflects the budget gameplay, but I would expect a bit more for my money. I finished the game in one sitting, which was a grave disappointment.

Emergence only contains three weapons in the entirety of it’s gameplay, and often you’ll end up relying on the pithy pistol you wield. What’s interesting is the interaction with the environments, for example, you can shoot a barrel and watch it take out a number of bad guys while triggering off another barrel. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it can be useful at times. It’s also nothing innovative, but rememeber we’re talking budget gaming now, or so we’re led to believe.

Two things that can do with a lot of work is the AI and the magical appearance of enemies in areas already cleared. Unlike a game such as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, where the enemies arrive in vehicles, get out and attack, or patrol certain areas, the enemies in Sin Episode 1 just appear out of nowhere. Add to this, is the poor AI. Most of the time the AI simply run towards you with their guns blazing, and you can return the favour in what ends up as who can fire the quickest and most accurately.

It’s fair to surmise Sin Episode 1 Emergence as a run and gun type of FPS. Sure there are other episodes in the works, with a hint that there may be as many as seven episodes, resulting in one of the most expensive games to come out in the market for quite some time. Although episodic, we are still talking about one game that’s been broken up into chunks to make a little bit more money from the consumer.

So, it’s OK as far as generic shooters go, but it’s no FEAR or Half Life 2 even. It feels like a Half Life 1 mod using the source engine, to spice up the graphics and to add an element of physics in to the game. Being able to turn on the taps is a nice touch, as is being able to get energy from vending machines, but it would be nicer if I could move the vending machine over for cover fire, for example.

But then it never pretends to be the titles mentioned, with it’s basic FPS structure, and visual appeal, the game is an old school shooter that requires little thinking, and thus has little innovation or originality. To many this may be welcome, but for me, it’s two steps backwards for the FPS genre that is in severe need of more innovation. Perhaps Prey will answer the need many seek.

Verdict: A generic blaster with little new to offer. A budget price offers a less than overwhelming budget experience.