Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception
Hoping to corner the anime themed space faring shooter market, Project Sylpheed thrusts you into the middle of a drawn out galactic war. Arguably the Xbox 360 vehicle shooter pool is relatively dry. In that regard Sylpheed is a welcome addition to the library and it brings many white knuckled moments to the table. Unfortunately the title is also plagued by problems that keep it from being a breakout success. Seasoned veterans of the genre will find a game that does many things right but is ultimately a flawed experience.
You play as a pilot extraordinaire named Katana. As Katana it is your role to follow the orders of your commanding officers and squash the rebellion. Curse those ingrates who merely want to live life free from a tyrannical government. With plot holes and clichés galore Katana goes from one cut scene to the next as the story unfolds. Where Sylpheed gains points is within its presentation; it just loses them with the distinct lack of substance. The plot here is not very meaty and though it keeps the game moving forward you won't be very entertained.
Gameplay
Before you tackle the main story mode in Project Sylpheed you'll definitely want to spend some time in boot camp. The enemy here is ruthless, the controls are cumbersome, and the HUD is a myriad of color that will have you making a mess in your cockpit while you're yawing and pitching. Yes, Sylpheed is a complex shooter which is a far cry from the arcade days of yore.
The difficulty really stems from the steep learning curve associated with simply piloting your Delta Saber. Every button on the 360 controller is used to its fullest extent and some even have multiple purposes depending on the frequency you press them. Your shuttle's engines will continuously move you but if you want to go faster you'll have to press the shoulder button. Pressing the button twice makes you max your speed but also hinders the maneuverability of your ship. In order to shut the engines off and turn the craft around you'll have to double tap the shoulder button and give yourself plenty of room to brake.
The Delta Saber is also equipped with a main cannon weapon which acts like a turret gun. This weapon is effective in close range but is difficult to use thanks to the pace of battle and insane enemy movements. The missile type weapon is better suited for space combat considering most of the offerings feature some kind of lock-on mechanism. Launching a volley of twelve missiles at a time will bring an evil grin to anyone familiar with space opera anime. Locking on is simple enough but do not be under the impression that it makes the game easy.
Once the mission starts after a briefing and cut scene you're literally plopped right down into the thick of things. You're left with vague objectives and sparse direction as far as where you need to be and what you need to do. In most cases you can tell how a mission is going by the subtle dialogue of your friends but at other times you're left to your own devices. Unfortunately one of those devices is an utterly useless and clouded HUD.
When you're zipping through open space, dodging missiles, and trying to kill an enemy ship the last thing you need to deal with is tiny icons. Let's say you're ordered to protect a target that is indicated by a green marker and name icon. Well, the 30 other ships and explosions certainly won't confuse you and don't let the fact that there are, oh, three other green icons baffle you either. You know which ship you have to follow, right? You'd best get up close and personal with your TV because no matter if you're playing Sylpheed on HD or SD the lettering of ship names is so small you really have to concentrate in between everything to read it.
This might have been well and good if the mission parameters stayed within the confines of the original objective but that's almost never the case. Missions will change frequently and you'll often forced to retool your efforts and blindly make your way from one patch of battle to the next. Try as I may, over and over again, I couldn't help but become repeatedly lost whenever the mission changed. Sure you're typically left to destroy all of the bad guys but when you're given a nondescript timer and poor direction you'll begin to feel like all of your effort is futile; especially when you receive a low rank as mission's end.
To make things worse that low rank means you earn less money, so you can't easily upgrade your weaponry and ship. Having the ability to develop armaments and increase special attack levels is nice and all but if you barely scrape by a mission you're left with that dollar amount for the next stage. You can go back and replay stages but don't expect to be able to rack up money in this fashion. Sylpheed is simply unforgiving in this regard and does whatever it can to keep you beneath the heel of its boot.
The fact that there is no online multiple also hurts things. If an online arena were populated with human opponents and featured specific modes the experience in Project Sylpheed would have been a heck of a lot better. To be fair that fact is viable only because the gameplay structure in this game is very good. Space battles are frantic and a lot of fun whether you're winning or losing. It truly is just a shame that the mission objectives and icons weren't user-friendly in the thick of combat.
Graphics
The in game graphics are flashy and impressive but not groundbreaking. The amount of activity on screen is daunting at any given time with bright lights, explosions, and fast movements abound. All of this also leads to the aforementioned confusion problem with the HUD in the midst of action but that's neither here nor there. Up close the graphics reveal a distinct lack of next-generation polish that we all look for, though the design is highly functional. Where Project Sylpheed excels is in cut scenes which, simply put, feature attractive characters and a high degree of polish. In the end this is a good looking game that can be a little rough around the edges at times but is otherwise solid.
Sound
With high adrenaline pumping techno music it's no surprise that Project Sylpheed is a kinetic experience. Between the action, the visuals, and the soundtrack there is always something hitting your senses to make your heart pound. Sadly in the case of the tunes they do get repetitive and kind of annoying after a while. The same can be said for the voice acting which can be cheesy as well. Otherwise the sound effects are decent enough with a fine presence on the rear channels and a well-crafted sense of immersion.
Conclusion
If you're looking for a solid rental Project Sylpheed is your game. This title has a lot going for it what with the style and action. Unfortunately the controls take some getting used to, the HUD is useless, the lack of multiplayer hurts the longevity, changing mission objectives are frustrating, and the presentation is full of ups and downs. There are worse ways to spend your gaming dollar but given all of the facts I can't see myself recommending this one for a purchase.