Customer Reviews

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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. :)

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.

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.

The biggest problem with this game is that it was created as one of the first games for the PSP, and as such has not aged very well.

The controls do a fairly decent job of replicating the modern dual stick system -- if you played Goldeneye on the N64, then you have a fair idea how far shooter controls have come.

The visuals are decent for their time, though are fairly generic and lacking a bit of the source material's style. This is also due to the age of the game

The actors of the show lend their voices to the game, and are quite well done.

The story is decent for what the game designers set out to do, and it does give one a sense of being in Major Kusanagi's world.

Overall, the game is passable, if you can tolerate the control scheme (and that can be difficult), and a fairly nice way to get more into the world of Ghost in the Shell.

I bought this game know full well what other people think of First Person Shooters on the PSP.
Which is usually "Needs two joysticks!"
But I played plenty of N64 and Dreamcast in the past.

I'm also a fan of Ghost in the Shell, all the way back when I was too young to question why the Major has no nipples.


The feel sorta "normal" not really great but good enough.
And the game can be bought so cheaply and I factor that in to my rating.

The only real problem I have with the game is that I'm more of a fan of mindless baddie blasting, but this game gives you objectives all the time.
That and I wish I could fully customize the controls rather than picking from a list of schemes.

The game uses the voice actors from the series and has a story that sound like one from it.

I almost rated this game lower but decided that 3* looks lower than it deserves.


The Playstation 1 Ghost in the Shell game is better.
Its much more exciting and you pilot the Tachikoma (spider-like tank) the entire time and can walk on ceilings.
Though its pretty much an arcade style game, meaning no checkpoints and quick death.

Unlike the PSP game which has short missions with some checkpoints and you can take some hits and kill all basic enemies instantly.

Ghost in the shell lacks many things for one the lack of bonusues and no doubt replay value. At $19.99 it's a good bargain for a game that is ahead of itself in so many ways. The first level has you listening to what seems like the worst conversation (not to mention boring) of a terrorist threat. Unless your a cia agent you won't understand much of the talking throughout the game. The controls fit psp somewhat but not enough to give you a variety of choices when thinking to jump or crouch. In fact you can't crouch. It is hard to fit such a game on the psp and they don't do it very well.

The most meaningful part is the customization of the tachikoma's which even then is a buch of poop at times. The weapons have no exact feel. For example: when shooting your missile launcher not even do feel pushed back by gravity and on top of that enemies are that dumb to stay in one place and let it hit them. The weapon variety makes me drool but the lack of effect when using them makes me puke.

I bought it because of its cheap price and coincidentally that is all it really is good for. It's a shooter made for ps1 not for psp. Evidentally Ghost in the shell is still a gaming hit yet stand alone complex feels boring. The weapons are all too similiar to each other, after you progress a litlle you are able to get daul handguns but even then it feels sour. if you have the extra cash go ahead and buy it but if you just want to try it rent it.

It's all right, get a Umd PSP before they run out to enjoy this game.

This Game Is GREAT i have it for PSP and Ps2 i rather play the PSP version any day!!!!! i thought it wouldnt be that good but they surprised me by how they made people use the triangle,square,X,and,O to AIm at the enemy and i love how u get to play as tachikoma in any stage that nobidy went in him i love game............its worth its money this is the game u beat and want more i think the multiplayer great me and myu friend have mad fun

Do not wast your money. the game is terrible, it looks really cool on the box but it isn't.