Ghost in the Shell
Format: PS2 | Released: 05/06/05 | Reviewed: 08/01/2006 | Words: Stephen Kelly
Ghost in the Shell: SAC, from up-and-coming developer cavia(always in lower case), joins a growing trend of solid, enjoyable licensed games. The fact that it simply plays well already marks it out among the glut of mediocre anime and movie licensed games that have come before it for the past decade. What really stands out is that the game is true to the license in virtually every aspect; visuals, sound, voice acting and scenario design all come together in a way that allows the game to sit happily alongside other merchandise. This is a fairly new concept in a realm where even serious fans of an IP are wary of the inevitable tie-in game.
Much of the games strength lies in the control scheme; your fingers and thumbs rarely leave the analogue sticks and trigger buttons. From here the player can dodge and return gunfire, jump, climb and crawl around their environment, as well as executing the wonderfully implemented melee and secondary fire functions. Close combat has rarely been implemented so well in a run-and-gun game of this type. It is tactile and visceral where other games feel weightless and loose.
The presentation is excellent all-round, obviously a lot of work has been done to tie the visual and audio style to that of the T.V series. The game sometimes suffers from samey, bland texture work and modelling but it can generally be ignored since it frequently offers up interesting locales as a distraction (hanging from the side of a skyscraper, making your way across a building being strafed by a helicopter gunship being two memorable diversions). The variation from mission to mission elevates what would have been a solid game to a consistently enjoyable one.
The only major criticism I can level at the game is that, in its quest for authenticity to the subject matter, it bogs down the player with audio clips explaining reams and reams of story development. To someone coming into the game with no prior knowledge of the T.V series, these scenes will be skipped right away. Why cavia insisted on stopping the player multiple times per stage like this, I’ll never know. It is a major disruption to the flow of the game. That said, they do make the effort of giving first-timers a glossary of terms from the show to call upon.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC, then, is simply solid. The core gameplay is good enough to carry the games few failings through to the end, and hints at the potential within cavia to improve as a developer. Perhaps more development time and a project of their own making will showcase more of the obvious talent seen here.
Back to Reviews index.