Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

by Bandai

Product Features

• Ghost in the Shell
• Issue precise commands and orders to the sentient Think Tank, Tachikoma, to gain an advantage during heated battles
• Customize Tachikoma with unique accessories and change the personality of the tanks with different commands
• Choose from 51 different weapons from hand guns to rocket launchers and sub-machine guns
• Play wirelessly in head-to-head battles

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007ZSHP8
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches ; 1.6 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,434 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

In a world without borders, terrorism knows no limits. Section 9 is back to give the cyber-terrorists a run for their money. Play as different members of Section 9 to solve the latest terrorist threat. Use Motoko's agility, Batou's strength, Togusa's stealth or Saito's sniper skills to investigate the mysteries of Berutarbe.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get the Ghost., October 25, 2005

By 

Arion Acurantes (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Video Game)

I picked up a Region 3 copy of this game well in advance of its US release, so that's what I'll be reviewing here. I'm not familiar with any changes that have been made for the Region 1 version, but I'm guessing they'll be very minimal.

Okay. First off, great game. A worthy alternative to Coded Arms. I must confess that I picked this up mainly because I'm a fan of the series, which set me up for two things:

1) I was floored with the quality of the character modeling. Not every Section 9-er is represented here, but Motoko, Batou, Saito, Togusa, and Aramaki come in nice 3D packages. Can't say the same though for the game's supporting cast, but overall who cares. What did this set me up for? After viewing several cutscenes I found myself wishing they'd just gone ahead and given us the same lush, visually stunning animated treatment they give the series. But my next thought was, if they did, it'd cause a kind of disconnect, what with having to watch an anime cutscene, then seeing the same character in 3D. Poor continuity, see. So that was a step in the right direction.

2) The voice work rocks. Full-on. And that sealed the deal. From the operator's briefing in the mission overview, to the cutscenes, to Tachikoma's in-game asides -- everything is voiced. Now I don't know if the North American version sports English dubbing, but in my opinion it'll only work better in subtitled Japanese, as it does in this version.

Now the gameplay. Missions have more architectural variety than Coded Arms, played out underground (sewers, basements), indoors (military complexes, civilian buildings) and in open-air locations (city streets, city ruins). All these locations are cleanly rendered and lend the game a lot of the series' feel. Weapons too are faithful to the series, right down to Togusa's revolver. It's great to have the option to get in the Tachikoma and mow down baddies, Halo-like, and I haven't even mentioned the wide variety of weapons and configurations you can append to your Tachikoma of choice.

Mission types range from escort, straightforward shoot-em-ups, and seek-and-destroy (sometimes just "seek"). Bosses? Huge tanks and tough little girls with big-ass explosive-round rifles. Bonus for Shirow fans: you get to beat up landmates.

There are a lot of design and control choices employed here that in my opinion are improvements over Coded Arms, this game's only rival to date. But after giving the game's default control scheme a few rounds, I poked around and switched to its Coded Arms-alike control layout. :)

What kept me from giving this game five stars:

1) There should have been a way to replay any cutscenes you've watched.

2) There should have been more GITS:SAC unlockable content, such as character model sheets, PSP-formatted GITS-themed wallpapers, or even new characters. Just my two cents.

3) (June 2006) After playing Dark Mirror and SOCOM: FTB, it dawned on me that I would have liked to see a third-person perspective option in GITS. The character modeling would have gone to waste if we didn't get to see more of them in the game.

This game isn't perfect but it's as fun as they come. Check it out. :)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great game for Gits fans, October 1, 2006

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Video Game)

Ghost in The Shell for the PSP is a great game for those of you who like choices. The main idea is that Russia has withdrawn from the islands they once occupied but Japan is having problems taking control. Terrorists are fighting the return! The plots within plots, which I will not touch on, are as thick and confusing as any mystery.
The opening moves are basic combat operations designed to help you get use to the controls. As the Major and Public Security Section 9 carry out the first few missions the goals become harder to do, so you sometimes might have to restart or retry a couple of times - don't get upset.
You get to pick which member of the team you want to be during any mission and you get to select and arm a Tachikoma to go with you. Be quick to learn how to order them around. Sometimes you need to keep them on a short leash. And feel free to try out different weapons and members. Some work better than others. Don't forget sometimes you want to grab a terrorist for questioning so learn how to use the stun gloves. Try to develop some stealth and work on those hacking skills.
The only problem you might have is some of the cut scenes, when people are talking between missions, go really fast. So turn on the captions. Don't worry too much - there are mission briefs you can read before a mission and the story is more of a frame for a first person shooter. The best part is the same English voice actors from the TV series and the PS2 game are also used here.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ONLY FOR GITS FANS, September 16, 2006

By 

Fahad K. Faruqi "Xogure" (Denver) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Video Game)

Game is a first person for psp BUT do not buy it if you have no clue about the Ghost in the Shell series.
Levels are too short. You start with a custom loadout and a Tachikoma(mini-tank) with you. There is a wide variety of loadouts for your 6 Tachikomas YOu can either get in the Tachikoma or go on foot. Analog nub moves and the right buttons aim. Right shoulder fires and the left shoulder jumps.
BIGGEST problem with thte game is that every level is like 2 minutes long. you start, shoot a couple of guys and you enter a new area.
Story is absolutely awesome which goes without saying. It is a ghost in the shell after all.
Voice acting is perfect HOWEVER character animation SUCKS bigtime. Everyone at section 9 is looks sooo....shiny and stucky. iono how to explain it, it just sucks.
Personally i would have been more happy if they had an option to let me view all the story movies, took me a long time to get through the game to understand it.
Those of you who are interested in entering the G.I.T.S world, only thing i can recommend is get the "Ghost in the SHell" animè move that started it all (released in 1996 but easy to find at any bestbuy). Game however is based on the TV series named "Ghost in the SHell: Stand ALone Complex", which just ended it's second season.