Omega Strain delayed

Last September, at the Sony's Editors Day event in San Francisco, the company clucked and splayed its feathers about a slew of new products and release dates. Included in the blitz of news on the PSP, the PS2 HD drive, EyeToy, and Final Fantasy XI was the confirmation of a February '04 release date for Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain. This week, the company revised its target release date to Spring 2004.

SCEA's John Garvin, creative director of Omega Strain developer Sony Bend (located in Bend, Oregon, hence the name), and Chris Reese, technical director of the studio, explained the delay in a statement. "The team took a close look at how much tuning and gameplay balancing was necessary to complete the game with our original vision intact. We then decided to take some additional time to implement that extra bit of polish into the game," the two designers said.

How should gamers react to yet another big game being pushed back? Garvin and Reese concluded their statement by saying, "While we know our fans cannot wait to get their hands on Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain, we are convinced they will think the extra time was worth it when they see what we've done with Gabe Logan and crew."