Closee to The Ideal Game: Project Sylpheed

[Return of Lanky]

I was playing the Xbox360 version of Project Sylpheed recently, and I wondered how close Square came to making the perfect game. I mean really... the combat in this game is phenomenal. Flying through space, through clouds of missiles, and taking down flagships... It's all so... perfect.

All I wanted from the game which it didn't deliver was a branching storyline, based on just how awesome your piloting actually was. I mean, by the end of the game your fellow pilots have some awe for you, but I really didn't feel like it was enough, given that even on my first playthrough, not a single enemy capital ship survived an engagement with me, from the first mission to the last.

Sure, it took a lot of work. Especially the Super Battleships, but... I felt like the characters weren't acknowledging the lack of peril like they should have been.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Hrm, really that good huh? I tried out the demo when it was released, but wasn't really feeling it. But, to be fair, I think the demo released a couple weeks before the actual game.

Maybe I'll pick it up soon. It was like 40 bucks when it came out, so its maybe 30 now.

[LoopyZebra]

I got it used for twenty a couple weeks ago. I really liked the demo and the trailer, and meant to get it when it came out but never got around to it. That said, I'm somewhat disappointed. Sure, the combat is fun, if tedious at times, due to issues with targeting and some confusion as to primary targets, but to be fair these may be mistakes because I'm new to the game. But the plot is... too predictable. The characters say the obvious and their thoughts always seem to be two steps behind mine. That said, I'm only a couple missions in, but I'm really having trouble not being frustrated every time a cut scene is shown, because the trailer suggested a lot more emotion and possibly some grey morality.

It might be worth renting; as I understand the game has little replay value.

[Return of Lanky]

Honestly, it's 3D shooting Nirvana.

I haven't tried the demo, so I can't really give you any perspective, but let me put it this way: At one point you discover that the best strategy is spending a mission trailing in the corona of a giant warship's afterburners, firing hundreds of shells into the delicate underbody, while keeping your ship in that thin line between being fried by the ship's engines and shot down by the ship's anti-fighter defenses.

While doing that, you also have to worry about other capitol ships firing at you and enemy fighters recognizing you as the slow, oh-so-vulnerable target of opportunity you are.

On top of that, there are hundreds of combinations of armaments which you can use to swarm death on your enemy. If you like missiles with lock-on, you can have a variety of that. Or you can pick railguns, which lack lock-on but have power and range. Or Lasers, which just keep dealing damage. Or the humble machine gun, which ignores shields to hit a ship's armor directly. Or... Well, I'm sure you get my point.

The story isn't anything spectacular, but the missions are a great amount of fun. Especially since you can begin subsequent games with weapons unlocked on a previous playthrough. Combined with the fact that achievements feel like actual ACHIEVEMENTS, even on a third or fourth playthrough, and yeah, you've got a winner.

Edit: Worth mentioning is that Squenix has made 6 new missions available for DLC, along with a few new weapons. Adds to the replay value already added through the New Game+ mentioned already.

As mentioned, the story is not phenomenal. However, one more point sticks up in the game's defense: The story is ENTIRELY skippable. Every single cutscene between missions can be ended with a single button press, if you want to just continue curb-stomping enemy warships.