Project
Sylpheed is a rare breed these days: a traditional console space shooter
from Square-Enix for the Xbox 360. You pilot a starship around the
universe and look to defend the members of your team and side from a
relentless assault by alien forces. Its first-person perspective approach
and free-roaming gameplay is a far cry from the original's on-rails
shooting, but the intuitive controls and fairly easy to understand HUD
make this surprisingly accessible. While it won't win any awards for
originality, Project Sylpheed is a solid space combat game.
Loosely based on the classic Sega CD
shooting title, Square-Enix' Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception takes the
basic premise of that series, adds some interesting characters to the mix
with a free-roaming space combat engine to create an engaging and
sometimes challenging intergalactic adventure. It also adds dazzling
next-generation visuals and elaborate cinemas to make for an impressive
space shooter. As the game begins, players have to sit through a series of
elaborate and somewhat over-dramatic cut-scenes play out. These are nicely
designed and usually happen between missions. These sequences help to
introduce you to the main characters and storyline of the game. Project
Sylpheed takes place 500 years in the future where the Earth-based Terra
Forces rule over the galaxy has come under attack by a group of insurgent
alien forces. In the game, you take on the role of Katana, a young pilot
with the Terrans who finds himself thrust into battle when his training
mission collides with the beginning of a civil war. Its' not quite as
simple as it seems on the surface, since this civil war will also test his
many friendships. This is especially true with another young pilot named
Margras, who is after revenge when his home planet is destroyed by the
Terran forces. Project Sylpheed's back story and plot are interesting in a
way, but most players will probably want to jump right into the action.
The good news is that Sylpeed's structure is fairly linear in its
storyline and you don't really need to know all the details unless you
want to. Otherwise, you can skip to the cinemas and thrust yourself into
the missions and concentrate on the action.
However,
before each mission, you may want to read the situation reports, since
you're given a quick overview and a helpful briefing describing your
objectives, the types of enemy forces you'll encounter and other useful
information. Once you get into the cockpit, you'll find a fairly
straightforward, if somewhat obtuse HUD at your disposal. You'll see a map
of the battle section on the lower portion of your screen, along with your
current energy levels for your shields, weapons, machine and more. The
screen also lights up to indicate where your opponents are and shows you
which direction you need to go in with a handy arrow. Once you locate an
enemy, you'll see their distance from your ship and you can then choose
which weapons you want to destroy them with. As you commence your mission,
you'll also have to be on the lookout for your other squad members, who
will communicate with you verbally throughout. These voice-overs do a good
job of further immersing you into the battles, and help to make Project
Sylpheed feel more cinematic and dramatic. The number of enemy ships you
need to destroy is indicated on screen as well, along with other
objectives. Most missions are basically hunt and destroy, though others
require you to you defensive tactics to protect ships or prevent the enemy
forces from getting too close to a sensitive sector. The missions are
fairly easy to understand for the most part, with clearly laid out
objectives and structures that allow you to concentrate on the task at
hand. Each level is fairly long as well, with most lasting up to 15
minutes or so, though they do have checkpoints around half-way through
which makes it easier to progress through the game.
Controlling your ship takes some getting
used to but, most players should be able to get the hang of it in a
relatively short time. You move using the right analog stick and can
perform rolls and turns easily by pressing in whatever direction you want
to go in. Acceleration and deceleration are mapped to the triggers and you
can use a speed boost by holding down the trigger button for a short time.
Weapons are simple to use, and you can select from either a plasma machine
gun or rockets when you encounter an enemy. You can auto-target an enemy
by holding down the left shift button and waiting for them to get into
range, but a word of caution. A single missile attack won't automatically
destroy an enemy ship and you might need multiple shots. You can see the
enemy's energy level indicated on the HUD and will also see other ships as
well. One of the more interesting things that you can do in Project
Sylpheed is the ability to command the other ships in your forces. You can
choose to make them attack an enemy, defend your position or help you out
when you come under fire depending on the situation. This makes for a more
interesting and realistic approach to combat. You'll need all the help you
can get because each enemy has another indicator that shows what
allegiance they belong to, so you need to avoid shooting those on your own
side. Obviously, these foes are fairly intelligent, and will attack you
without hesitation, causing damage to your ship. If you take too much
damage, your ship will slowly lose it's powers and weapons systems will go
out. You can also cause your energy to deplete by colliding with large
ships such as barges, so you have to be on the alert. While most of the
game won't really take too much effort to defeat, some of Project
Sylpheed's boss encounters can be extremely difficult, so you'll need to
have patience to beat them.
From
a visual standpoint, the game looks really sharp in HD and takes full
advantage of the Xbox 360's processing abilities. The ships themselves are
sharply detailed and look fantastic in terms of design, evoking the look
of the original game while moving things forward. The game moves along at
a smooth frame rate throughout with little slowdown. This is an impressive
achievement when you consider that there are dozens of ships on screen at
once. Project Sylpheed's special effects are dazzling, with massive
explosions, trailing fire and glowing shots lighting up the screen in a
relentless series of fireworks. Add in the computerized HUD on top of all
the battles and things are probably going to be a little bit confusing at
first, but there's a handy tutorial to help you figure out what's going on
during all of this. Most of the game occurs on the battlefield, and there
are extensive voice-overs for each of the characters that helps to bring
you into the action. As we described earlier, there are some fairly
extensive cut-scenes during the game as well, and while these are
well-produced, the plot is a bit pedantic and predictable. Most players
should be able to skip these sequences and not miss too much. However,
that doesn't mean that they are bad, just that they tend to interrupt the
action. Square-Enix' reputation for sterling production values should
remain untouched by this release. It's visuals are above-average and help
to immerse the player into Project Sylpheed's war torn universe
effectively.
While the basic gameplay in Project
Sylpheed doesn't really mark any significant divergence from what many
other space-combat shooters have offered, it's still a solidly produced
and satisfying title. It's mission structure is fairly easy to understand
and most objectives aren't difficult, which makes progression fairly easy.
The missions are long enough to feel substantial but don't cross the line
where it becomes oppressive. You can jump right in after the basic
tutorial since the basic controls and mechanics are fairly easy to use
once you get used to them. From an aesthetic standpoint, the game's
production values are highly-polished and sharp. Unfortunately, Project
Sylpheed isn't perfect. One of the biggest missed opportunities is the
lack of multiplayer or online support, which would have been a perfect
addition to this style of game. Another fault we encountered was that the
gameplay is fairly linear and only supports single player modes, which is
a drawback. These hurt the game's replay value and make this feel a little
bit less than it could have been, making Project Sylpheed shorter than it
could have been. However, these problems probably shouldn't dissuade you
from this title since it offers some solid shooting action and an
entertaining backstory that should keep you happily blasting away for
hours.
Grade:
B
