 Review By: Nick Arvites |
Developer: | Game Arts |
| Publisher: | Square Enix | |
| Genre: | Action | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | HDTV 720p |
The game world is colorful, due almost entirely to the overuse of neon engine trails, laser blasts, and missile trails flying all around you. What can be lost in the fighting is the overall stunning space visuals in the background. Ship designs on the larger ships are adequate, and you can destroy individual turrets and shield generators. As for the smaller ships, you really can’t see them up close because of the neon engine trails and the simple fact that they don’t like to sit still. I did experience an occasional graphical slowdown at certain points, but it wasn’t a constant problem and would only occur when there was a ton of action on the screen.
The biggest drawback to Project Sylpheed is the lack of depth to the game. The game is short, and should only take a weekend to complete. I finished it in fewer than 10 hours. You can go through the game again to unlock more weapons and achievements, but there’s really little else to do once you’re done. There is a free DLC pack available already that adds Xbox Live leaderboards and new quick missions, but it only extends the game by a few hours, if that.
The biggest problem to Project Sylpheed’s longevity is the lack of multiplayer. This is the type of title that screams for online multiplayer, yet there is nothing. No deathmatch, no teams, nothing. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge was an early Xbox Live poster child with the same type of gameplay. The upcoming Ace Combat 6 is slated to support online multiplayer as well. Honestly, considering the game is extremely short, it comes off as an extremely bad decision to not include multiplayer in some form. Project Sylpheed has the potential to be an extremely fun and extremely competitive Xbox Live title, yet reality forces it to simply stand out as an average but short single player experience.
Another issue I had through my time with this title was the achievements. I tend to ignore achievements, and if I get them, fine. I don’t go out of my way to really grab them though. However, Project Sylpheed’s achievement system is in the form of in-game medals you get for doing a variety of things throughout the missions. Like many games, many of the achievements are awarded for completing the missions. Yet, I had multiple times where I wouldn’t get achievements even though I did what they were awarded for. There are several mission achievements I don’t have because the game didn’t award them to me. The achievements don’t have details—like beat this mission on hard or under this time limit—so it just made playing through the game to get achievements frustrating. There were also two points where I didn’t get weapons in the arsenal even though I “beat the ace in mission X.”
Bottom Line:
Project Sylpheed isn’t a bad game. The core gameplay itself is actually fun, and the major problems all stem from the title’s short playtime. This game shouldn’t take you more than a weekend, and I don’t see many people playing through this game a second time. With a game this short, it becomes extremely hard to warrant a purchase, even for a “budget” release with a 39.99 tag. This is the type of game that multiplayer could justify a higher score and purchase. Without a long campaign and multiplayer to extend this, I couldn’t put this in anything but a rental category. It simply doesn’t have the legs to warrant a purchase.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 6.0 |
Posted: 2007-08-16 17:30:05 PST