Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception

When Square Enix announced an exclusive game for the Xbox 360, RPG fans were salivating. But they needn’t have raised their hopes too high because the game in question, Project Slypheed: Arc of Deception, has more in common with Wing Commander and Colony Wars than Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. The game seems on the surface to be a combat flight simulator in space but after spending a little time with it, it becomes apparent that it’s much closer in spirit to an arcade game. There are many limitations put on the player with regards to movement and combat options but they are cleverly disguised with a very shiny coat of paint that makes this a fine-looking, fast-paced game. The controls are simpler than they initially appear but that causes some issues. The ability to lock onto multiple targets turns out to be both a strength and a weakness, because while it’s cool to launch 30 missiles at once, it makes it very difficult to see what’s going on. And that is one of the major problems with Project Sylpheed: during the height of battle, there is simply too much happening to keep track, although relying on user-friendly homing missiles helps a lot. The overall difficulty level spikes from time to time in a way that comes as a real shock — be prepared to repeat some missions multiple times before succeeding. It also lacks depth, with the levels beginning to feel very familiar after a while. Naturally as a Squaresoft title, Project Sylpheed features more plot than anyone might expect from this type of game. There is close to an hour of cut scenes that tell a surprisingly interesting story, which helps to compensate for the levels blending together. Project Slypheed: Arc of Deception is a perfectly fine game that doesn’t do nearly enough to make it stand out, although it helps that there isn’t much choice for 360 owners when it comes to this type of game. Fans of combat shooters will find that it fills the gap until Ace Combat 6 comes along, but most will feel that Project Sylpheed is lacking that extra something that would make it special.