SILPHEED:The Lost Planet

by Xbox 360

Product Features

• PLAYSTATION 2

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000524NH
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 3, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,529 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

If you think you have heard the name Silpheed before, you are not hallucinating. A version of the game was released on the now-defunct Sega CD back in 1994. Silpheed was a shooter done in psuedo 3-D where, rather than moving your ship up and down à la Galaga, you moved your ship in and out.

Silpheed: The Lost Planet offers the same method of play. You still can't move up and down, though some enemies may shoot at you from above or below. Like most shooters, the game isn't about exploration and navigation, but rather it's all about dexterity and shooting as rapidly as your fingers will allow.

In this game you pilot a SA-77 craft that has gun slots on its left and right. You can put a different weapon on each side of the ship, and you can even fire them both simultaneously. You start off with two versions of the Vulcan cannon. As you make your way through the game, you will earn more weapons.

The storyline involves an alien race appearing just outside a planet colonized by humans. The aliens have taken over, and the retreating humans are followed back to our solar system by the pesky creatures. The entire story is told through wonderful full-motion video sequences, which, for some reason, were not done in the higher-resolution DVD format.

The sound effects are your standard shooter fare, so they're good. The music is a letdown, though. Nostalgic Sega fans will recognize the previous game's theme in one of the FMV sequences, but other than that, the music is completely forgettable.

The main problem with Silpheed is that it looks great, but it only plays and feels like an average shooter from an older game system. Nothing about the gameplay will get your adrenaline pumping--and that's exactly what a good shooter is supposed to do. --Todd Mowatt

Pros:

• Great graphics

Cons:

• Unimaginative weapons
• Graphics slowdown often hinders the gameplay

Product Description

Description:
In a distant future, a plague of parasitic monsters is sweeping across the known universe, devouring all the resources in its path--including the inhabited worlds that humanity calls home. The only chances for mankind's survival are a top-secret starship called Silpheed and the hyper-skilled pilot at the controls.

Special Features :
- Visually stunning shooter.
- Unbelievable CG movie sequences.
- Six electrifying levels.
- Nine magnificent weapons.
- Foil-stamped and embossed packaging.

Warnings :
Animated Violence, Mild Language

Details :
Players: 1
Memory Card : Yes
Controller : Digital, Analog, Vibration
Rating : T

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Shooter!, May 20, 2001

By 

Gaijin "on the rock that spews lava.." (Hilo, HI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: SILPHEED:The Lost Planet (Video Game)

Silpheed is a fantastic shooter that I'd recommend to anyone. It is a sequel to a Sega CD game that appeared a few years back. This time, the masters at Game Arts have teamed up with Treasure(Gunstar Heroes) to produce this stunning sequel. You pilot the SA-77 Silpheed, a strategic space fighter with multipe weapon systems through 8 levels filled with gorgeous backgrounds, fantastic lighting effects, and great music/voice overs by your fellow wingmen. The original Sega CD intro is included as a little bonus, albeit redone with CGI and redone voices. One thing that's great about this release is that Working Designs really fixed up the slowdown that was present in the original import version. If you are a shooter fan, then this is no doubt a must buy!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Species Collide: A Guide to Narrowly Avoiding Disaster, July 19, 2003

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SILPHEED:The Lost Planet (Video Game)

When this game first came out, I purchased it, took off the plastic surrounding it, and looked deep into its eyes. I wondered if it was the one for me, questioning the validity of such topics, and figured I'd give it a shot. And, after that initial test, we instantly fell in love.
And what was not to love?
It offering me a ship to fly me, and I offered it the dynamics of human reflexes and it was on.
Instantly we connected, the flashbacks from Gradius - a younger and more foolishly given love - playing in my head and making me feel, for some reason, content.
And killing enemies in that head on fighting style that meshes every turn with possible disaster, that certainly makes a man content.
The two of us, we'd sit down night after night, those graphics running through my thoughts and savaging them. My fingers constantly sent little pulses of love in many a weapon option back, giving and giving, and we still spend night together from time to time.

The reason behind the allure of this game isn't because its some new thing being tried out on the screen. In fact, its been done many a time before and the storyline isn't all that unique. Its simply Nintendo's Lifeforce on steroids, with everything working like a head-on fighter would. You, of course, have the only ship fighting for your side of a struggle - when you could at least use a little back-up, a weapon on each side that lets you choose different weapon option (mostly worthless), and there are lots of enemies. Everything from the little ships that fly in heavy numbers to smallest, faster ships to mini-bosses and then stage bosses. Within those struggles the sky fills with lots of shells, allowing you to show how skilled you are by dodging and dancing through these, knowing that you have a limited bit of shielding and are the only hope for you people.
Yes, its always good to face a challenge.

Interestingly attached to this is a way to approach points and extra lives, with a bonus given to you for killing something closer to you ship. Also, the more bonuses, the faster the other weapons come up. I'd played some games that have ways to garner quickly through bonuses, but in Slipheed all things have a modifier on them. The multipliers go as high as sixteen times the points, feeding your lives fast, but facing the big point carriers - the bosses - head on is a challenge. So, it never really gets tiring.
And did I mention that the graphics are beautiful, especially in depiction of the scenery?

The only problem I really had with was the weapons.
It was the fact that the guns, while interesting, weren't very functional. Bombs that pulse out are too slow, guns with beams that wobble are nice but don't always go forward, and so on. Sometimes, when playing, I simply stick to the primary cannon given and one accessory - not the way I like to have to play.
It was the way they were earned, allowing a change at the beginning of a mission and somewhere at a "checkpoint" refueling on the board.

For anyone that's into this type of shooter, with a ship that you fly "up" the television screen and with combat remnant of Lifeforce of Gradius, then this is a must have. I had honestly written this release off, thinking it to be just another game from an already dead group of games, but I bought it anyway. And then, playing it, I noticed how wrong I really was. The missions, the creative bosses, the backgrounds meshing it all together, it's a sight to see and a challenge to beat. If you've never tried a game like this before, I would have to say that playing it will be fun because your skills will impress you. At first it'll be hard, dodging multiple shots, but soon you'll notice you're good, then better, and finally showing off for your friends amidst a stunning array of action. And what's the life of the party without you?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Star Soldier and Gradius fans: Rejoice!, August 15, 2002

By 

Matsugawa J. Andrews (New Wismexouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SILPHEED:The Lost Planet (Video Game)

Someone once asked if the top-scrolling flight-sim/shooter is dead. I suppose the answer to this is yes...and no. True, very few of these games are being made, those that are made are good enough (though rarely fantastic) to keep the genre alive, if only for a little while. I suppose they will go the way of drive-in theaters: With people missing them, but with no one really going out of their way to keep them alive.

I like Working Designs. The attention they give to their projects rivals motion picture distributors, their localizations often resembling "director's cuts" and "Special Editions" of films. Even if the game is a rather obscure little pet project (Sihlouette Mirage) or a grand-scale epic (Lunar), Working Designs always wants to give their games that little bit of special treatment. Here, in addition to the chrome-glossy packaging, we are treated to "Translator's Notes," outlining the Silpheed History. It really gives you an appreciation for what went into developing the game.

It is almost enough, in fact, to make you ignore the fact that, on the whole, Silpheed is not a great game. The weapons are dull by comparison to any other game in the genre (My all-time favorite is Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth for N64), and the story is really rather boring; its attempt at creating an epic political/war drama falls flat on its face.

Anyway, as for the gameplay itself (which is all these games really seem to offer anyway): The graphics are first rate, easily leaving all others in its dust. The game models are fantastic and amazingly detailed, worthy of Playstation 2. PSOne Gradius fans need not worry about gritty, pixelated textures, and N64 Star Soldier fans need not worry about smoothed-over, washed out ones. There may a little bit of slowdown here and there, but it is not enough to be frustrating or even annoying really (it is normally during explosions, which actually helps to give the game a more cinematic feel.) The level designs are in league with Star Soldier (the notes tell of how the backgrounds were originally pre-rendered streaming videos) making you not feel as though you are simply moving a cursor over an eye-candy-laden screen, and the learning curve is just challenging enough to not be discouraging.
While this is ultimately not a fantastic game, it should certainly not be ignored and is at least worth a rental. Put simply, if you are a fan of top-scrollers, it is a good buy. If you are not that big of a fan, you could probably take or leave it.