| I am impressed. I wasn't expecting too much from this game - just a fun time with an anime series I enjoy - but it turned out to be fantastic!
You can control either Kusanagi or Batou (depending on the stage), and I beleive there are Tachikoma levels, too (haven't gotten that far yet). Kusanagi is fast & agile, while Batou is strong & tough. You have a standard automatic rifle to start each level, and you can pick up new weapons from enemies you kill (I'm partial to the grenade launcher). You also have physical attacks (Batou punches while Kusanagi does flying kicks), throwing knives, greneades, stun grenades, and so much more. It is enjoyable to hit a group with a grenade & watch them fly, flailing their arms.
The physical attacks seem limited - at first. It is possible to pull off some interesting maneuvers. When you finish off an oponent, it goes into a 'bullet-time' slow-mo zoom-in that's pretty cool, unless you're getting shot at by 4 other enemies at the same time (it tends to change the camera angle, which can mess up your tactics).
Then there's the hacking. Once you obtain the 'hacking code' from a fallen opponent (only certain ones have this), you can hack into & control certain other enemies at range. To gain control, you have to match up the grooves on spinning circles. Some of the more difficult ones will require you to pass more than one lock, which get faster & thus more difficult. Once you have control you can use them for your own purposes for a limited time (ther's a clock in the corner), then you fry their brain.
The graphics are excellent (not perfect). The characters look just like the anime (TV series, not the horrible movie). Kusanagi's hair even billows out when she jumps down (fall far enough & you make a crater). The cinematics are equal to those from Final Fantasy - I couldn't beleive this wasn't a real person.
The sound is excellent. All the voice-actors from the series are in the game, including the Tachikoma's voices.
You don't even really need to know Japanese to get by - all your mission objectives are marked with a dot & distance meter, and there is a training mode to help you learn the controlls.
There is also multi-player with team or vs modes.
Overall, this is an excellent game that fans of the series will love. If you don't know the series at all, it's still a great 3rd person shooter. Oh, and watch out for snipers. |
