Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
More Than I Expected, May 15, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This is yet another recent licensed game that makes proper use of the source material. Any fan of the series should give it a look. Like the series, this game is not for kids, though I fail to see what really warrants the Mature rating. Now, I haven't been all the way through the game, but what I've experienced thus far is a little bit of blood splatter from bullet wounds. Unlike what I would expect from an M rated game, there are no over-the-top spigots of blood, no gore. Also, the blood fades quickly, and the bodies disappear soon after being shot as well. While the game makes no apology for killing, neither does it revel in the act. Besides, much of the enemy is robots and prosthetic bodies (read: full conversion Cyborgs).
That said, the level design is not very expansive, with only the occaisonal branch, and very few if any alternate routes through a level. The designers somehow manage to camouflage this, and end up with some rather cohesive and fun environments, though. I suppose it's because the fun here isn't from exploration. The fun of the environment is the beautifully rendered futuristic world true to the anime. I love the glows on the monitors, and in general the lighting in this game, while nowhere near as pivotal or complex as in Splinter Cell, is dramatic nonetheless. Outdoor environments draw the player out from the dark interiors into near-blinding light and alabaster concrete. It's really a stunning game to look at.
While we're on visuals, the animation in game is quite extraordinary as well. No "Enter the Matrix"--style climbing here (wow, that was one of the most hilariously bad animation jobs I've seen in recent gaming), only fluid running, flipping, jumping, and rolling. Quite a joy to watch Batou or the Major deftly dodge incoming fire and strike with several swift martial-arts blows. My favorite powerup is the Stun Equipment, which allows Motoko to deliver a jolt with each successive melee hit. The bright flash and the incredible power-house punches are really rockin'.
What truly makes this game good is its expert placement of save points. These are all automatic, so there is no break in immersion, and they never leave you too far behind the point where you bit the big one. The load times also make up for a few spots of tedious difficulty that otherwise would be game-breaking. Because of the forgiving re-try rate, I can excuse the clunky wall jump controls and slightly unpredictable behavior in that regard.
The difficulty in the Normal game ramped up about as fast as I expected, and made no allowance for the inexperienced gamer. I suppose for you GITS-first fans, Easy would be perfect, but I expect once I beat the game, I will replay it on Hard mode.
Despite the lack of variation, which is compensated only by the change in player character every few levels, I think that this game could have some great replay value. The fast-paced action never really bogs the player down into having to wait for the game (think Splinter Cell, for a game that really bores me on subsequent playthroughs; I just end up waiting around to get to the good parts, and the tedious parts require the most waiting and precise timing). The whole game really rewards players for doing things at their own pace.
So, for a game that I expected to feel slow and clunky, I was surprised by a smooth, fluid game experience whose visuals and game mechanics are unexpectedly good. This is a game for gamers, and a game for GITS fans, though I would hesitate to reccomend it to just anyone. I based this review on two days of play, from a rental copy, though with a $20 price tag, I think it belongs in a permanent place in my collection.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthwhile game if you're a fan of the anime, January 9, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
I don't get around to playing too many games, but I'm a big fan of the GITS movies, TV series, and (lest we forget what came first) the manga by Shirow Masamune. The premise of the game was intriguing enugh for me to pick it up, and I was not disappointed except for a few aspects of the game but I'll get to that momentarily.
In the game you switch playing the roles of Major Kusanagi and Bateau trying to piece clues together as to who's using mind-controlling micro-machines to stage a government coup. I won't ruin the plot for potential players, but I will say that, as is the usual with the GITS series and movies, it takes us through the same territory of man versus machine dominance and the different levels of conscienceness, etc. I applaud the game for this single nuance because it's not your usual overly-simplified Good vs. Evil plot.
There are a total of nine missions to be completed in order to finish the game, split into different stages accordingly, and about 2/3 of the game is played as Kusanagi, the rest is played as Bateau (though there is one stage where you get to pilot a tachikoma, an enjoyably mindless fun break from the rest of the game). As you will discover, the Major is lighter and more flexible than Bateau, so she spends more time jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Bateau, who is noticeably heavier, spends more time running and gunning, but he makes up for his immobility by getting the bigger guns to achieve his goals.
For more avid gamers than I, especially those who are in tune with the later Tomb Raider games and Prince of Persia games, gameplay here is probably nothing to write home about, which is where I feel the game falls short, literally. If I hadn't died a few times trying to figure out, "How do I get from here to there," without getting shot by a sniper or just generally falling from certain heights, the shortness of the game probably would have been more noticeable. A skilled player could probably finish this game in a few hours. It's a fun few hours, granted, but I don't know how much replay value this game has beyond the multi-player death-match portion that I have yet to have tried.
All in all, I recommend this game to the fans of the GITS series completionists who want a more in depth look into the universe. For the otherwise average gamer, this is probably a rental.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One of the few anime games that is good... A rare breed, April 20, 2006
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Circa 2005
GOOD:
- Really balance gameplay (combat wise), controls feel solid and functional
- Hack enemies and control them for a short period of time (even use them to kill other enemies)
- Play as Major and Bato, every other level or so you alternate
- The Story feels true to the sprit of the Stand Alone Complex series
BAD:
- The Tachikoma level in this game is a little lame, plus maybe its just my imagination but I feel that the Tachikoma's voices are a little more irritating than usual in this game
- Some jumping puzzles sour experience
- You pretty much have to be a fan of the show it like this game, story wise at least
- Graphics may come off a little lacking when compared to more modern games
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- In game dialog and story can be considered boring and nonsensical to most, but then again it's the type of dialog and story that is present in the show, either you love it or hate it
- A story that is more geared for an adult audience and mature gamers, not in the sense that is overly violent or sexual but that the story is more political based, think of it like the show 24 but in Japan and also 200 years in the future
- In the game you only play as Major and Bato, this game never really fleshes out the other characters (gameplay wise), which is not bad (especially for those who like Major and Bato the best) but it might be considered short sighted
- Lots of run and gun gameplay which can appeal to many gamers
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Brute Force
- Blood Rayne
- Gun Grave
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The story in this game is not based on any actual Ghost in the Shell episode
- Two players versus mode (beat game to unlock more content in this area) is fun, but only available in a spilt screen mode
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