Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

"GitS on the PSP"

Well, it's a first person shooter.

The story-line starts out slow but builds toward the end. It's written in a way that really feels like an episode or bundle of episodes in Stand Alone Complex. The ending doesn't really answer anything and there are a lot of loose ends. This might bother people who want closure but I personally feel the story works better this way. Ghost in the Shell is a constantly evolving and continuing series, you want those loose ends.

You choose from 4 different characters. Each plays basically the same with a few differences... more notably the hit-point levels. Some characters are better with certain weapons than others. Each character can hold 3 - 4 weapons at a time.

The default control scheme is the usual attempt at an FPS on the PSP - directional pad or analog nub to move and the face buttons to look. R shoots, L jumps. You can choose from a good variety of control schemes but the default one really does work best. I also would suggest swapping the analog nub for the Dpad to move. The analog nub doesn't give you any fine movement so you might as well use the Dpad. There is a "lock on" feature to target enemies automatically but I only found myself using it when I was in a super hairy situation. Otherwise you're better off going for manual headshots.

The action gets pretty fast and furious the levels are small enough to make the game very portable. Most levels won't take longer than 3-5 mins to complete. The AI is pretty dumb but can overwhelm you quickly. The level design is fairly good and non-liner enough to keep you from feeling like you're being lead around on a leash. The action consists mostly of running and gunning with some interesting takes on "key gathering." At times you will need to disable an enemy and then hack into them from up close while still under enemy fire. It's pretty cool and thankfully happens often.

Probably one of the coolest features in the game is the Tachikoma side-kick that follows you around through most of the levels. There are 4 different personalities to choose from - Average, Humorous, Intelligent and Aggressive. You can equip them with a wide variety of weapons before missions. In combat you can issue them basic commands. Their AI is pretty smart, surprisingly. They can easily back you up when you're in trouble. The only issue I ran into was when they get a little overzealous and try to fight when they're too low on health. Best of all, most of the time you can jump into the Tachikoma and drive it. They jump higher than your character and have more health points. Their weapon load out is generally more powerful than what your character can carry as well. Sometimes it's necessary to use them to get to areas you can't reach.

For a first gen PSP title the graphics are decent enough. Motoko looks like Motoko, Batou looks like Batou. The enemies are a little truer to the GitS series than they were in the PS2 game. Spider tanks, armored suits and cybernetically enhanced thugs galore. All look close to their anime/manga counterparts. The explosions are big and spiffy.

The sound is decent and what you would expect. Nothing groundbreaking. The music, however, is very catchy. It's mostly techno/industrial with some wind instruments thrown in at the right places. It really has a mid-90s anime feel to it and the music matches the action most of the time. It's much better than what the PS2 game had to offer, but still not anywhere near as good as the soundtrack from the old PS1 game.

The game supports Ad-Hoc multi play for up to 6 players with no game sharing option. You can select from the usual options everyone has come to expect with a FPS - team play, death match, etc. You can play as Tachikomas or as humans/cyborgs from single player. There is a 5th character (Aramaki) who is only available in multi play. You can use the weapons you've collected in single player. This can lead to some very lopsided matches. If someone clocks you in the head for overusing the Anti-Material rifle he hasn't unlocked yet, you probably deserve it. Oh and the multi play levels are freakin' awesome! They are sized just right and the weapons and cover are in all the right places.

It's a decent FPS that will keep you busy for awhile. If you're a collection whore you will keep going back to find every weapon. The Ad-Hoc multi play is solid, if a bit basic. It looks good and sounds good and surprisingly doesn't kill the PSP's battery like you would expect from a 1st gen-ish game. Loading times aren't that bad, either.

I give it a 7/10. If you're a GitS fan you probably own it already. If you're looking for a good FPS to play on the PSP you might be pleasantly surprised.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/07