Project Sylpheed Demo Impressions
I just downloaded the Project Sylpheed demo from the Xbox Live Marketplace which I mentioned in a post yesterday, and I was really impressed by the experience. The demo is nicely fleshed out with a tutorial that gives you the rundown on basic movements like flying and controlling your ship to more advanced controls like issuing commands to the rest of your fleet.
On the left analog stick you control the pitch and yaw of your craft. The ship has a clearly defined center pivot. There isn't much drift or actual physics involved with controlling your ship. Left trigger is for breaking, right trigger is for acceleration. Double tapping each trigger gives you a more extreme break and acceleration. A double tug on the left gives your a hard break for a quick turn, and double on the right trigger gives you a solid boost. Left Bumper button is for targeting missile attacks, and the right button is for a rail gun. You can switch out weapons with the X button, which your craft can hold up to 3 weapons at a time. Pressing the A button changes your target. Targeted enemies are tracked on the HUD which tells you their position and distance.
The demo includes a full level where you have to escort a craft and protect it from an onslaught of an enemy fleet. The action is fast and furious, with epilepsy-inducing flashes and explosions detonating all around you. All of the ships leave gorgeous trails where they fly, so it's a bit easier to track down an enemy craft by following the path. I found the game pretty easy to pick up and play after a brief tutorial, but following the action became confusing and my escort died in my dizzy state. And yes, the cinematics were clean and gorgeous in typical Squeenix fashion. I don't think they could make an ugly cinema if they tried. I plan on getting some mileage out of this demo to gear up for the final release on July 10th.
Did anyone out there download the demo? If so, post your impressions below.
Toots
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 15 June 2007
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: demo, project sylpheed, space shooter, square enix, xbox 360
way deeper than i thought, and very very confusing. i'll give it a few tries more before i give my final thoughts on it
Once I muted the voices, I loved it. Here's hoping the full game has a Japanese voices option.
The game is hard as hell, which is how these kinds of games should be. Very very pretty, to boot.
I was excited about this but the demo killed it for me. "Confusing" sums it up pretty well. I didn't find the weapon or piloting system to be fun or deep.
The biggest offender was that I think this game outgrew itself. There's so much on the screen and the UI is so intrusive that it obscures a lot of the action. Games like Colony Wars or Omega Boost where fun in small doses because they offered more streamlined experiences, limited enemies and toned back user interfaces.
I walked into the demo saying "Hell Yeah!" and left with a "...meh."