Starbreeze's recent FPS reboot Syndicate did offer some jolly pleasant cyborg murder machine co-op action, but it was certainly nothing like the original.

It may not matter if rights-holder EA has no interest in careful top-down tactical games, as Syndicate Wars co-creator Mike Diskett is crowdfunding a "spiritual successor" to Bullfrog's classic cyberpunk series under the name Satellite Reign.

Like ye olde Syndicate, Satellite Reign will be a squad-based tactical affair in a corporate dystopia but oh, it's so much more. The game goes down in a sprawling simulated cyberpunk city with far more of a focus on emergent gameplay. You'll be able to hack into, modify or destroy elements of the world like security systems, the power grid, and communications line, rob banks, blackmail and bribe, steal identities, disseminate propaganda, and simply jack neural implants. It's everything I've ever wanted and so much more.

But if stealth and subterfuge fail, well, you still have a squad of cyborgs at your beck and call, whom you can customise with implants and load up with weapons.

Developer 5 Lives Studios is looking for £300,000 (about $530,000) in the Kickstarter campaign to make Satellite Reign. Pledging at least £16 ($25-ish) will get you a copy of the game for PC, Mac, and Linux when it's finished, which is expected to be December 2014. Then, of course, you can pay more for stuff like beta access, t-shirts, and getting your name into the game.

5 Lives has a small core team based in Australia, including star player Mike Diskett--the producer and lead programmer of Syndicate Wars at Bullfrog. Should the campaign raise £380k ($580k) they'll bring Syndicate composer Russell Shaw in too.

Here's the pitch: