Official Website

Platform: PSP

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1 - 6 via AdHoc
 

The bad thing about something becoming popular is that then the merchandising starts, and it isn’t always grand. Ghost in the Shell enjoyed a huge amount of fanfare when the first movie was released, even to the extent that well-known film critics were praising the film. Years later, Kusanagi and the other members of Section 9 returned in the follow-up film, then again in not one, but two seasons of a television series; Stand Alone Complex. The marketing doesn’t stop with action figures, t-shirts, and anything else that Ghost in the Shell can appear on, but also video games and Section 9 is taking their big cases to the small screen, the PSP of course.

Set in the Stand Alone Complex backdrop, Section 9 is once again on an elite case. Documents from an event some 20 years ago are about to go public, but someone doesn’t want the information to be released. Your job is not only to recover these documents, but discover who it is that is behind the plot, and there is a much bigger picture going on than anyone could possibly imagine.

From what I’ve seen and played thus far concerning PSP first-person shooters, there really hasn’t been too much to get terribly excited about. Ghost in the Shell may seem like a fantastic option, especially if you’re a fan of the series, but it sadly ends up being nothing more than an attempt to cash in on an anime license.

Before examining some of the faults with the game however, it’s important to look at the differences. First-person shooters have come quite a long way since Doom, and players want their games to have subtle differences and something a little unique so that it doesn’t seem as though they are just playing the same game over again. You can add in all the pretty backgrounds you want, but any FPS needs to have that extra kick to make it stand out a bit more and not seem to be just recycled material.

You have four different characters that you can select from, all which appear in the Stand Alone Complex series. The two that most fans will immediately recognize, and more than likely choose the most, will be Kusanagi and Batou, but Togusa and Saito are also on the rooster to be selected. Aramaki also does appear in the game, though not as a playable character but instead the “behind the scenes” man who always has the mission information, at least until it’s handed over to those female robots who take over much of the data.

You can customize each of the characters, though this is extended merely to the weaponry that they have access to in the missions, and there are a lot of weapons, more than 50 actually, but you won’t have access to all of them from the beginning. As you play through the various stages you will find more weapons on the terrorists that you’ve managed to “stop.” Tachikoma is also customizable and you’ll have four different versions that you can utilize in missions, each with their own personality.

The PSP does bring some challenges as far as controls go for first person shooters, but that’s been solved as best as possible. The main buttons serve are your movement while the analog stick is your secondary movement. The L and R buttons are fire and jump while the D-pad lets you change weapons by pressing right. Select takes you into a different set of menu options where you can give commands to Tachikoma, use your therm-optic camouflage (a form of invisibility for those who know nothing of Ghost in the Shell), change the view to get a better look at your surroundings (which isn’t a playable mode) or check the map. Tachikoma has three different command types; move, fire and point. With move for example, you can have him do as he pleases or simply wait for you, but remember, Tachikoma is essentially your back-up, so it’s good to take him along with you, and the little robots is great at spotting the enemy.

The missions in some ways are set up a bit like the series. You have your event missions which are the primary story for the game, but there are also sub-missions. Sub-missions will need to be played through to open new event missions, and like the anime, they don’t necessarily have any connection to the real story. Again, if you’ve never watched Ghost in the Shell, the first series for instance had the Stand Alone episodes, which were exactly what they sound like, and Complex, part of a bigger picture.

Aside from the single player story mode, you have a multi-player option. Here you can play in a team battle or against one another either as the characters of Tachikoma. However, these are essentially just deathmatches without a great deal of gaming variety. There aren’t any modes like capture the flag or anything of that nature, so if you’re simply into just fragging your buddies, this is ideal, but if you’re looking for a bit more, you’d best look elsewhere.

Stand Alone Complex however is a game that is plagued with problems. It has far too many load times between the gameplay and cut scenes and even during the stages themselves. Moving from one section to another can be frustrating when you’ve played for just a few minutes, then need to wait for another section to load. The fact that it’s a first person shooter isn’t bad, but there are many other aspects of Ghost in the Shell that could have been implemented such as some minor puzzle solving via computers (something seen in the series.) The play itself is actually rather bland and isn’t anything incredibly sophisticated. As mentioned before, it really seems that it’s merely a way to make money based on the name alone. Also, the fact that there is only English available and not Japanese language is something of a let down. All the characters, Tachikoma especially, sound much better in their native language than what their dubbed counterparts do.

The graphics in the game I found a bit unimpressive as well. Instead of going with a cel-shaded look, something that really would be more fitting of an anime which has now become a game; you have the usual polygons and some horrible looking CG to represent the cut scenes. It really doesn’t have the feel of the series at all. The stages are designed quite poorly and don’t have any portions that are extremely interesting. Also, one of my pet peeves with any shooter is not being able to destroy items, and shooting at windows or vases in the game and seeing they are unharmed is quite disappointing.

It’s good that there’s still the Stand Alone Complex anime because the game really leaves a lot to be desired. It’s more of a third rate FPS with not much to offer and it seems that in this case, “stand alone” is merely how you will see the game at your local game shop; alone on the shelves with no one interested in the least in playing it.

 

-mike-