120 seconds to Nihama Pier. The crew in the
helicopter goes through the final preparations for the infiltration. The goal is
to find the target and extract his memories, which may lead to a larger criminal
organization. But this is not a team effort; it comes down to one warrior
dropping into the action – one warrior with specialized skills that makes Major
Motoko Kusanagi a very dangerous woman.
Bandai and SCEA present the PlayStation 2
shooter title Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, a game that attempts to
blend futuristic technology, a little cyber-warrior action and a society in
which individual thought is not encouraged with a shooter-style game. Therein is
the failing of the game. While it comes wrapped in fancy clothes, this is still
a trip to the local fast-food joint. The game borrows from ideas like The
Matrix’s slow-motion evade and gives a wonderful view of some of Motoko’s
exception martial arts’ ability, but when you get into the game itself, you are
faced with familiar maze-like levels, simple puzzles and a host of enemies.
Sneak, shoot, or just pound them into oblivion – it’s all good.
The game begins in the year 2030. Terrorism
and cyber crime is still rampant, but Section 9 is there to put an end to it
all. Major Kusanagi is the point for the counterattacks on crime as the game
starts up. She has a team backing her up, and through each level you will
receive mission updates. This is of the “make your way to …” variety.
The major has cyber implants, which make her
much deadlier than most of those she will encounter. But you can’t just barrel
your way through. The enemy has many more guns that you have hit points.
The major’s abilities run the gamut from
typical climb, jump, use facing walls to jump-scale to the top, snipe, blow up,
melee with super martial arts skills and, of course, just shoot. Targeting is
down with the right thumbstick and it is a little stiff, but serviceable.
The enemy AI is not overly smart. You will
hear the banter that indicates they know you are there, but they continue to
walk the same patterns, for the most part. The higher the difficulty level, the
more enemies and the more precise you need to work, but the linear nature of the
game’s missions changes little.
Hacking is the most complex aspect of this
title. You can obtain an enemy’s ID and essentially transform into that enemy
for purposes of infiltration. Once you obtain an enemy unit’s hackable ID, you
will find another enemy, which you can infiltrate and hack, or take over. To do
this, you target the enemy, and two spinning rings appear. When they line up,
you press the X button to perform the infiltrator hack.
As you move through the game, you can pick up
and carry up to two weapons. Switching between the two weapons is easy, and the
game does a good job with the game interface. The controller is utilized well,
and the control scheme is simple to learn with a minor learning curve in this
title.
Game options include training (which is a very
abbreviated course that runs through the basic elements of the game quickly),
New Game, and Multiplayer.
Graphically the game is very impressive. Some
of the animation is a little stilted, but for the most part, this is solid eye
candy. The sound is not as wonderful though. Plodding sounds dot the game as the
major clumps through the levels. The musical score is fine, but does not stand
out.
The code that GameZone received for review
also had several Japanese language screens with English subtitles.
Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex reveals
a dire uni-world future with thought-sharing and identification infiltration.
Individuality is on the wane, and in some ways, any sign of it can be criminal.
The game, while offering a somewhat complex backstory, is merely a typical
shooter set in a futuristic world that still has so many modern-day elements
that one has to wonder what the technological advancements actually affected.
Great graphics are not enough to really propel this title beyond the average
shooter classification.
|
Review |
Gameplay: 7
The game has more than its share of load
times, and the flow is interrupted by the constant messages with mission
updates.
Graphics: 8
This game looks very good and the animation is, for the most part, pretty
terrific. There are some moments, like when your main character is running, that
the game looks not quite right, but the Matrix-like special moves, the
“Bullet-time” slow-motion effects all add up to a game that is a visual treat.
Unfortunately, the shooter aspects overwhelm the game to the point where most of
the special visual features are mired in plodding, typical gameplay.
Sound: 6.9
The voice is decent, but the tromping sound
that the main character makes a lot of the time is enough to wake up any guard
within half a mile. It sounds like work horses stomping on tin roofs.
Difficulty: Medium
There are three difficulty levels in this
game. The game puzzles are somewhat simple
Concept: 6.9
A nice idea with hacking IDs is bogged down
with typical shooter gameplay and simple mazes and puzzles associated with
mazes.
Multiplayer: 7
The game does feature multiplayer action on
the same console, and there are two fight styles.
Overall: 7
The game has a complex plot and a decent idea
with the hacking ID element, but for the most part this is a typical shooter.
Stylish graphics are not enough to overcome that. But if shooter action is what
you crave with plenty of eye-candy, this game is worth checking out.
