The odds were stacked against this game from the start. Not because it's based on a beloved anime which gave me high expectations for it, but simply because it's a modern-style FPS on a platform which has neither a mouse nor two analog sticks. Aiming and running around is consequently clunky as to be expected, but the good news is that the devs were just as aware about the limitations of the hardware and did enough to mitigate it, leading to a very decent game.
For one, the difficulty is generally pretty low outside of a couple of poorly-balanced levels and genuinely tricky set-pieces, with many enemy grunts' marksmanship about on par with an imperial stormtrooper. Mercifully, there is also an auto-lock-on feature, without which the game would probably be unplayable.
But the other thing the devs did to mitigate the stiff movement and gunplay was simply to focus on everything else - and it worked to varying degrees. They crafted a pretty elaborate story with lots of cutscenes, which unfortunately was too convoluted and swung wildly between "giant expository dumps" and "leaving things open ended for the player to infer". Each level can be tackled with any of the four main characters presumably to add replay value, though there isn't really enough distinction between the four of them to warrant playing the game four times. However, what does work really well is the integration of the tachikoma (sentient tanks with childlike personalities) into the gameplay. They make for endearing characters and useful support units, with pretty excellent AI and pathfinding; the game leans hard into them as a core mechanic and as a result is all the stronger for it. Some sections are much easier to tackle if you give them the right instructions and loadout, and there's even one memorable set-piece where you are locked out of the battle and have to watch as it does battle on its own! The only gripe I have about the tachikoma is the sheer amount of almost-identical generically-named weapons they can equip - it feels a bit like overkill and adds an element of decision paralysis to an otherwise smooth experience.
One gameplay mechanic I loved and wish more games did was how it handled ammo. Unlike many other FPSs, any remaining ammo you have in a clip is lost when you reload. Also, there are no ammo pickups at all, and the only ammo you will find will be off dead enemies - but the game also keeps track of how many bullets they fired so you're incentivized to kill them quickly so the weapons they drop will have more ammo! It's really quite cool, though a bit wasted on this game because the stiff controls don't make stealth particularly viable.
I'm a bit torn on this - there are rough edges in the difficulty curve and gameplay, and plenty of obvious padding. But it also gets really creative and does plenty of things right - if this were released on a home console it could really have been something!
For one, the difficulty is generally pretty low outside of a couple of poorly-balanced levels and genuinely tricky set-pieces, with many enemy grunts' marksmanship about on par with an imperial stormtrooper. Mercifully, there is also an auto-lock-on feature, without which the game would probably be unplayable.
But the other thing the devs did to mitigate the stiff movement and gunplay was simply to focus on everything else - and it worked to varying degrees. They crafted a pretty elaborate story with lots of cutscenes, which unfortunately was too convoluted and swung wildly between "giant expository dumps" and "leaving things open ended for the player to infer". Each level can be tackled with any of the four main characters presumably to add replay value, though there isn't really enough distinction between the four of them to warrant playing the game four times. However, what does work really well is the integration of the tachikoma (sentient tanks with childlike personalities) into the gameplay. They make for endearing characters and useful support units, with pretty excellent AI and pathfinding; the game leans hard into them as a core mechanic and as a result is all the stronger for it. Some sections are much easier to tackle if you give them the right instructions and loadout, and there's even one memorable set-piece where you are locked out of the battle and have to watch as it does battle on its own! The only gripe I have about the tachikoma is the sheer amount of almost-identical generically-named weapons they can equip - it feels a bit like overkill and adds an element of decision paralysis to an otherwise smooth experience.
One gameplay mechanic I loved and wish more games did was how it handled ammo. Unlike many other FPSs, any remaining ammo you have in a clip is lost when you reload. Also, there are no ammo pickups at all, and the only ammo you will find will be off dead enemies - but the game also keeps track of how many bullets they fired so you're incentivized to kill them quickly so the weapons they drop will have more ammo! It's really quite cool, though a bit wasted on this game because the stiff controls don't make stealth particularly viable.
I'm a bit torn on this - there are rough edges in the difficulty curve and gameplay, and plenty of obvious padding. But it also gets really creative and does plenty of things right - if this were released on a home console it could really have been something!