Philosoma

This game has been out for some time now, but I still felt it deserved a review. Being a hugh shooter fan, and after reading all the favorable things said about it, I knew I needed to give it a try.

Here's the story.......wait....... I think I'll skip the story. In my opinion, stories aren't too essencial to the shooter genere unless it's a game based upon a hit movie (Like Star Wars), or one that the story is so crucial that the game revolves around it (Like Wing Commander). Other then exceptions like these, the story in shooters isn't that big of a deal.

Now with that said, I still feel the need to mention that the creators of Philsoma spent a great deal of time creating the story to this game. The CG intros are spectacular, and the game is filled with CG story telling throughout the game. Matter of fact, it is so good that you'd be hard pressed to find graphics as good as these in the new Playstation games being released today (Remember, this is a first generation title). I personally believe they spent much more time creating the CG story, then the game itself. Matter of fact, even though I don't care what it's about, I still think  it's awesome to watch. I found myself playing it over and over.

Philosoma is a difficult game to describe. It's a 2D shooter, it's a 3D shooter, it's a overhead shooter, it's a vertical shooter, and it's a forward and backward shooter. Make any sense to you? Probably not.... Anyway, it seems the developers were trying real hard to give the game some variety. They just switched your perspective at every chance they got. Some levels you fly forward in a 3D level, some you fly backward in the same level. Sometimes it resembles an Overhead shooter like Raiden, othertimes it resembles something completely different. The game is always changing.

There are pleanty of weapons, and powerups to be found throughout this game. During the game you are allowed to switch weapons at will. The weapons include: Vulcan- An expanding spread of shots, Laser- An energy beam, A Break- Single burst of energy, Ray B- Backward shots, and Buster Grenades- Bombs that destroy all enemies at once. You also have MRM straight missles, and SRM homing missles. Each of these weapons can be increased by finding and grabbing one of the powerup icons scattered throughout the level.

Graphicallly, the game itself, like the intro, is very well done. The lighting, explosions, ect.. All look pretty good. Not quite up to par with the newer Playstation titles, but for it's time it was one of the best looking games available.

The sound is just plain average. It doesn't sound bad, but not real good either. There is nothing memorable about the background music, and the sound effects (namely the explosions) just aren't wicked enough.

I'm gonna have to disagree with the majority of reviews I've read. Philosoma is not one of the greatest shooters ever made. The box even totes that it was "Best Shooter of the Year" in the EGM Buyer's Guide. I can't see this at all. Sure, the CG intros are great! The Overall graphics are pretty good, and there are plenty of weapons. It's different, and all levels change. However, it just doesn't work out in the end though. I'll explain.

The play mechanics needed much more work.

Right from the get go, on the very first level, you begin to see it's flaws.  Instant hits everywhere. You begin by going through this asteroid field, and in a many places, there is no way to avoid being hit. Luckly, this changes in the next few levels, but there is no excuse for a game being set up like this. Especially right at the start. One of the things I liked about Raiden (Still one of my favorite games), is that it was designed so there is always a way out if you look hard enough. This way, the more you play, the better you will get. After a while you will not die in the same place again and again because you will learn to avoid the obstacle. In this game, lots of times there is no choice but to die.

Another big problem is the way it's set up for continues. You have to complete a certain amount of levels, before  the continue registers a new place. For example, at the start of the game you must complete all 5 or so levels (I can't remember exactly how many), or when you continue you will start right back at the begining of the game. This sucks!!! At the very least, you should be able to continue at each level start. The perfered would be to save anywhere.  This game forces you to repeat entire sections again, and again until you finally get it right.

Along with these there are some minor things to keep it from the top. For one, the ship you pilot is way too big. Sure, it looks cool, but being that big makes it feel like your flying a watermellon. Way too big and bulky. Another problem is the shortness of the game. It would be over before you knew it, if it wasn't for having to restart each level over and over (Their plan makes more sense to me now). There aren't any branching levels either. This would do far more for replayability then just making the levels different.

It's little things like these that seperate the best shooters, from the mediocre. Had the game play mechanics been worked on a little more, the game could've been one of the best. As it is, it is a better rental, then a must buy. It's OK, but it doesn't set the world on fire.

Sorry, but this game just doesn't live up to it's hype. 
 
RATINGS
GRAPHICS 92%
SOUND 75%
GAMEPLAY 71%
ORIGINALITY 81%
REPLAY VALUE 68%
OVERALL 77%