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Project Sylpheed Review
Space shooters are beyond a dying breed. They're dead. When a member of this now-rarefied genre comes lurching at you from the darkness, it's always a good idea to be wary. And a shooter with an anime flavour, evoking the memory of the Macross and Robotech series? It has to be bad, right? Yet, somehow, Square/Enix has delivered a thrill-ride of a space plane game; Ace Combat with blue hair. The frighteningly titled Project Sylpheed has a clunky menu system, an overly complicated HUD, mediocre voice acting, and an easily-skippable story. Thankfully, none of that matters. When you're in your fighter, it's so ... so good. Read on for my impressions of this quirkily appealing arcade-style shooter.
Thankfully, you won't miss them. The story is a semi-decent distraction. The forces of ADAN, allied former Terran colonies who broke away from the motherland, are striking hard against the Terran alliance. They're fighting to re-affirm their freedom after what appears to be the senseless slaughter of an entire planet by military forces. Your protagonist is an uber-talented rookie, friends with a cute fellow pilot and arch-foe of a former pilot who has now joined the ADAN military. The cutscenes are full of breathless exclamations of surprise and tight-fitting space suits. Just the same, the cutscenes have two things going for them: vague hints of something deeper to ADAN's story of planetary cleansing, and the ability to skip past anything you don't want to see.
While I enjoyed watching them, it's easy to understand wanting to get back to the game proper. Project Sylpheed is an all-out assault almost from the get-go. Enemy fighters come at you in waves, punctuated by larger frigates and carriers, with special named fighter units acting as boss battles in later stages. Before you start your bloody work there are usually dozens of enemies onscreen, providing you with a 'target-rich environment.' You're not alone, of course, fighting with support from your capital ship and three (mostly brain-dead) squadron-mates. Fights take place in a varied array of 'space locations', giving you a variety of pretty places to look at while you blow stuff up. Anyone not playing the game directly will be impressed by what's on the screen; if you know what you're doing the action is fast, frenetic, and beautiful.
Knowing what you're doing is the trick, of course. Your Delta Saber fighter has a dizzying array of weaponry and instruments. As such, the Xbox controller gets a stiff workout by your overwrought hands. I actually found the default setup cumbersome, and ended up remapping some things; every single control is customizable, thankfully. By default the shoulder buttons fire your weapons, while the triggers boost and brake your ship. I reversed these, as I found it awkward to hold down the RB for an extended period of time. Your mileage may vary.
The Delta Saber has three different weapon systems plus a nose cone popgun. This means that you have several choices of ordinance to bring to bear on every situation. Surprisingly, none are superfluous. There's an anti-aircraft missile system, which locks onto targets as they come within your field of fire. Dozens of missiles can be aimed at multiple targets just by sticking closeby. Upon releasing the fire button they soar away from your ship like deadly homing birds, creating a beautiful and ultimately fiery ballet. A larger set of missles is available for frigates, destroyers and the like, while a railgun acts as a catch-all choice that can be directed at either sized-target with deadly effect. It's simple to switch between weapon systems with the twitch of a thumb; the downside to this is that often pits you against a wave of fighters and their destroyer escort at the same time.
Those scenarios are always quite challenging, as you're forced to make some tough choices. Toughness is a watchword of this game, but not frustratingly so. Sylpheed is very much an arcade shooter, right down to the arbitrary clock on each mission. You're given a warning when there are only three minutes left on the clock; when it runs out the captain of your capital ship says that you are 'unable to fight any longer.' I'm not really sure I understand this, but it does make for tense level design. Even If you screw up, there's no real problem. You're encouraged to go back and re-try levels on which you do poorly.
A letter grade measures your success in each mission, based on the number of ships destroyed and the completion of some 'sub-objectives'; these sub-objectives are never really spelled out, but the game's Achievements often revolve around them. As such, when you do end up with a new medal (their in-game representation) you can rest assured that you did good. Points are awarded for your successes, which can in turn be spent on weapon upgrades for your ship. There are a wide variety of systems available for purchase on the Delta Saber, and collecting them all seems to be another happy aspect of the game's arcade element.
Not all is perfect in space, of course; aside from the aforementioned throwaway plot and some ... interesting choices in voice acting, some design and system issues tear at the edges of this otherwise pretty picture. As in many games, the other pilots are of almost no help whatsoever. That's to be expected, but they also have a nasty habit of flying directly between you and your target. This results in annoying cries of "watch where you're shooting". The D-pad acts as command center for your squadron, and they'll follow your orders to the best of their ability. The problem is that friendly fire significantly takes away from your points earned for a given mission. This gets really old, really fast.
The other major problem is an occasional noticeable graphical slowdown. I have my 360 fairly well ventilated, but despite that there were several battles where a wall of oncoming enemies caused some sluggish turning. In a game where being able to execute snap turns and dodge oncoming laser fire are essential skills, that can lead to some frustrating trips back to the briefing room. All the other issues I had with the game were fairly minor. The title did little to explain what exactly you were buying, for example, despite some basic letter grades attached to weaponry range and damage. Likewise, the tutorial at the game's start seemed woefully unhelpful once I was actually in the thick of things.
Thankfully, everything about this game is easy to pick up. Project Sylpheed is a brainlessly fun, easy-to-like title for your next-gen console. A complete lack of multiplayer condemns this to a few months of enjoyment , or even a rental, but don't let that stop you from trying it out. If you miss this under-appreciated genre, Sylpheed is going to hit every synapse just right. Barrel-rolling through a flight of dozens of enemy starships, all while locking-on and firing-off volleys of missiles, is a blast any space shooter fan shouldn't pass up. My biggest complaint about the whole game is that, once again, I find myself really wanting a next generation version of Tie Fighter.
- Title: Project Sylpheed
- Developer/Publisher: Game Arts, Microsoft Game Studios
- System: 360
- Genre: Arcade-Style Space Shooter
- Score: 3/5 - This game is flawed, but will appeal to genre fans. Any gamer might enjoy renting it, but this won't ever be a classic.
Thankfully, you won't miss them. The story is a semi-decent distraction. The forces of ADAN, allied former Terran colonies who broke away from the motherland, are striking hard against the Terran alliance. They're fighting to re-affirm their freedom after what appears to be the senseless slaughter of an entire planet by military forces. Your protagonist is an uber-talented rookie, friends with a cute fellow pilot and arch-foe of a former pilot who has now joined the ADAN military. The cutscenes are full of breathless exclamations of surprise and tight-fitting space suits. Just the same, the cutscenes have two things going for them: vague hints of something deeper to ADAN's story of planetary cleansing, and the ability to skip past anything you don't want to see.
While I enjoyed watching them, it's easy to understand wanting to get back to the game proper. Project Sylpheed is an all-out assault almost from the get-go. Enemy fighters come at you in waves, punctuated by larger frigates and carriers, with special named fighter units acting as boss battles in later stages. Before you start your bloody work there are usually dozens of enemies onscreen, providing you with a 'target-rich environment.' You're not alone, of course, fighting with support from your capital ship and three (mostly brain-dead) squadron-mates. Fights take place in a varied array of 'space locations', giving you a variety of pretty places to look at while you blow stuff up. Anyone not playing the game directly will be impressed by what's on the screen; if you know what you're doing the action is fast, frenetic, and beautiful.
Knowing what you're doing is the trick, of course. Your Delta Saber fighter has a dizzying array of weaponry and instruments. As such, the Xbox controller gets a stiff workout by your overwrought hands. I actually found the default setup cumbersome, and ended up remapping some things; every single control is customizable, thankfully. By default the shoulder buttons fire your weapons, while the triggers boost and brake your ship. I reversed these, as I found it awkward to hold down the RB for an extended period of time. Your mileage may vary.
The Delta Saber has three different weapon systems plus a nose cone popgun. This means that you have several choices of ordinance to bring to bear on every situation. Surprisingly, none are superfluous. There's an anti-aircraft missile system, which locks onto targets as they come within your field of fire. Dozens of missiles can be aimed at multiple targets just by sticking closeby. Upon releasing the fire button they soar away from your ship like deadly homing birds, creating a beautiful and ultimately fiery ballet. A larger set of missles is available for frigates, destroyers and the like, while a railgun acts as a catch-all choice that can be directed at either sized-target with deadly effect. It's simple to switch between weapon systems with the twitch of a thumb; the downside to this is that often pits you against a wave of fighters and their destroyer escort at the same time.
Those scenarios are always quite challenging, as you're forced to make some tough choices. Toughness is a watchword of this game, but not frustratingly so. Sylpheed is very much an arcade shooter, right down to the arbitrary clock on each mission. You're given a warning when there are only three minutes left on the clock; when it runs out the captain of your capital ship says that you are 'unable to fight any longer.' I'm not really sure I understand this, but it does make for tense level design. Even If you screw up, there's no real problem. You're encouraged to go back and re-try levels on which you do poorly.
A letter grade measures your success in each mission, based on the number of ships destroyed and the completion of some 'sub-objectives'; these sub-objectives are never really spelled out, but the game's Achievements often revolve around them. As such, when you do end up with a new medal (their in-game representation) you can rest assured that you did good. Points are awarded for your successes, which can in turn be spent on weapon upgrades for your ship. There are a wide variety of systems available for purchase on the Delta Saber, and collecting them all seems to be another happy aspect of the game's arcade element.
Not all is perfect in space, of course; aside from the aforementioned throwaway plot and some ... interesting choices in voice acting, some design and system issues tear at the edges of this otherwise pretty picture. As in many games, the other pilots are of almost no help whatsoever. That's to be expected, but they also have a nasty habit of flying directly between you and your target. This results in annoying cries of "watch where you're shooting". The D-pad acts as command center for your squadron, and they'll follow your orders to the best of their ability. The problem is that friendly fire significantly takes away from your points earned for a given mission. This gets really old, really fast.
The other major problem is an occasional noticeable graphical slowdown. I have my 360 fairly well ventilated, but despite that there were several battles where a wall of oncoming enemies caused some sluggish turning. In a game where being able to execute snap turns and dodge oncoming laser fire are essential skills, that can lead to some frustrating trips back to the briefing room. All the other issues I had with the game were fairly minor. The title did little to explain what exactly you were buying, for example, despite some basic letter grades attached to weaponry range and damage. Likewise, the tutorial at the game's start seemed woefully unhelpful once I was actually in the thick of things.
Thankfully, everything about this game is easy to pick up. Project Sylpheed is a brainlessly fun, easy-to-like title for your next-gen console. A complete lack of multiplayer condemns this to a few months of enjoyment , or even a rental, but don't let that stop you from trying it out. If you miss this under-appreciated genre, Sylpheed is going to hit every synapse just right. Barrel-rolling through a flight of dozens of enemy starships, all while locking-on and firing-off volleys of missiles, is a blast any space shooter fan shouldn't pass up. My biggest complaint about the whole game is that, once again, I find myself really wanting a next generation version of Tie Fighter.
An old open source project called Parsec.
It was Quake in space with fighters. and absolutely rocked at a lanparty. Problem is that the core guys graduated from college and abandoned it and nobody else is willing to wade through tens of thousands of really "stylized" code to figure it out and get in the right frame of mind.
Granted, a FPS in spaceships is not anything like slypheed, but it reminded me of it and how sad that it lies dormant on sourceforge untouched.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I'm remembering this correctly, right? A Sierra On-Line import, right? I'm getting a bit burnt out on everything being 3D. Yeah, I know when the PSX came out Sony ordered all games to be made 3D so they'd look different and more modern than the last generation. And yes, there are many games and genres that kick tremendous ass in 3D. But there are some that just don't cut it. 3D sonic was a great example of a huge mistake. That little blue blur was hard enough to control in two dimensions, three just ruined the feel of the game. With today's technology, some bloody impressive side-scrollers could be made. Unfortunately, it's a rare project where gamers are given enough money and their own head to do what they want. When something like that pops up, it's the breath of fresh air that gets cloned and copied until those ideas now smell like the final breath of a toothless bum whose last meal was dingleberries and halitosis.
You know what hasn't been done in a while? A serious bloody side-scroller beat'em-up, the kind that had our jaws dropping at the arcades in the early 90's. Remember the TMNT arcade game? The Simpsons one? Marvel and DC comic-based ones? These modern consoles have four controller ports. I want to see four player side scrolling beat'em-up joy. We're no longer limited by limited sprite animations, these games could go all out. With the gorgeous wide-format TV's out these days, a modern console could stomp the snot out of the classic arcade experience.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Holy crap. How is it possible I've never seen this before?
I know that probably no one else in the world shares this view, but IMO, Freespace 2 was the best damn PC game ever made. Ever. Any genre. Even the voice acting was great. And it managed to create the feelings of fear and foreboding in a video game without even letting the protagonist leave the cockpit.
Many thanks for posting this link.
Who cares if these young whippersnappers spelled the name of the game wrong?
I'm in the same boat. It's funny too, because just yesterday I was bemoaning the death of the space sim to some colleagues here at work.
It's particularly sad because they were really just coming into their own when they died out. X-Wing: Alliance was pure joy and hinted strongly at a sequel or expansion. Wing Commander -- after a couple of bad games -- seemed to have found it's balance & fun again in WC:7 (or 6? I can't remember). Then -- BOOM -- no more Origin! Even more galling was that meant the end of hope for a Privateer sequel (a true one, not that one that got published though it wasn't bad).
Though of all of them the one I enjoyed most was Descent: Freespace (I believe it was just Freespace 2 for the sequel). Those were -- to my great surprise -- great games with good stories. I was heartbroken when the developer (whose name escapes me now) went under.
Freelance was a lot of fun, but again -- no follow-up. I always thought that Lucasarts was crazy not to offer up an X-Wing: Smuggler, or some such that lifted the incredibly fun Privateer style and plopped it down in the Star Wars universe -- I'd have paid through the nose for that.
I guess there just aren't enough fans out there to warrant the big production costs anymore, though that makes me pretty sad.
Wood Shavings!
- Godai
I wish that the Thief series would get picked up and modernized, as well, but that seems to be quite a pipe dream too.
Then you'll be happy to hear that some people are working on it. http://sourceforge.net/projects/opde -- OpenDarkEngine. The ultimate goal is a drop-in replacement for the Dark Engine, able to run Thief 1, Thief 2, and System Shock 2 levels and fan missions, while removing limits on polys and texture sizes, and adding graphical flair like real-time lighting, bloom, and various shader tricks.
It's early days yet (and help is appreciated, since one dev wandered off, and it's more-or-less a one-man project ATM) but just a few days ago OPDE got System Shock 2's "earth.mis" to load successfully.
Right now it's able to load the levels, and that's about it. It still needs object loading, physics, etc. ODE will probably be used for physics, since that would be both easier to write and an improvement to the game. Implementing all the various properties and scripting functions will probably be the biggest chore, I would guess.