Project Sylpheed Demo Impressions

Project Slypheed is a sci-fi space combat shooter and is now available for your perusal from Xbox Live Marketplace and is just 613MB to download.

The demo allows you to try out the extensive tutorials along with an actual combat mission, in which you have to escort and defend a number of cargo vessels for 15 minutes as they try to reach "Vonnegut Base"

Before jumping into combat I'd recommend that you try out the tutorials first as each one introduces you to the nuances of your ships controls from basic handling, weapons, and wingmen to more advanced maneuvers.

You have to read the briefing before you're allowed to take off and start the main mission, but after this you can research and customise your ships weapony. Once into the mission things quickly hot up as you're thrust into the defence of the cargo ships with multiple enemy targets including fighters and capital ships to contend with.

I usually like space combat shooters / simulators and initially had high hopes for this game. I enjoyed the tutorials but unfortunately once the main mission started I just couldn't quite get into it. I think the main reason for this are the engine trails left by friendly and enemy fighters. Once there are multiple enemies on screen at once, all hurtling around you, it all becomes a little too confusing for my tastes. Aesthetically the trails look quite nice, but to me they're just a visual impairment.

The production values seem to be quite high and there's a good CG intro movie which hints at elements from the main story. Graphically it's quite hard to appreciate this game. Although capital ships and backdrops look good, enemy fighters don't hang around long enough for you to get a good look at them and you'll spend a lot of time chasing a targetting recticle.

Part of me really wants to like this game, I think I'm longing to play a space combat shooter and I'll therefore reserve judgement until the final game is released. If you've played the demo let me know what you thought.