From: ccastbh@prism.gatech.EDU (Brad Hamlett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: [PCE] Lady Phantom (SCD) review
Summary: review of Lady Phantom (PCE-SCD)
Date: 23 Nov 92 18:40:27 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology




	Here's another in a series of TG/PC Engine game reviews.
	
	Lady Phantom PCE (SCD):

	Lady Phantom is a strategy game whose theme is borrowed heavily
	from Japanese animation (such as GunBuster or Bubble Gum Crisis).
	You control a team of 5 women in battlesuits.  Each battlesuit
	is unique in its own set of weapons and armor characteristcs.
	There are 25-30 different weapons in the game, each rated for
	range, damage, rate of fire, and hit probability.  Your team
	of five will fight other enemy battlesuits, gun emplacements,
	and various spacecraft.  As your team completes a mission, they
	will recieve experience based on how many kills were scored and
	on how well the mission was completed.  Gain enough experience and
	team members will improve piloting and gunnery skills and gain
	rank.

	Gameplay is a turn-based strategy type game....no reflexes needed
	here.  Every unit (friend and foe) executes their action before
	the next unit. (i.e. one of your team will get to move and fire
	and then another unit...not necessarily one of your own...will
	move).  The 'board' is hex-based and the facing of your people
	matter, as the game takes into account front/side/rear armor
	and evasion.  If one of your battlesuits is destroyed in the
	battle, the pilot will not receive any experience for the mission,
	but will be available for the next one.  There are 10 missions
	ranging from straight out fights to escort missions to sabotage.
	A number of options allow you turn animations on/off, set movement
	options, turn the hex-grid on/off, etc.

	Lady Phantom has to be one of my favorite PCE games because of the
	complexity of the units involved.  Each of the women in your team
	has a speciality....Jennifer likes up close combat, but Cindy
	prefers long range missle fire.  The animation and sound effects
	for the battles are top-notch and simply add to the effect.  In
	between missions, animated intermissions tell the story.

	The only down side to the game is that it is one player.  Once you
	have played through the 10 missions, the game is done.  The missions
	kept me busy for awhile though, and the various objectives are fun
	to achieve.  A top-notch game.


		Gameplay: 	9
		Graphics: 	8
		Sound/BGM:	9
		Challenge:	7.5
		Manual:		8
		Overall:	8.5

	A very good game overall.  The amount of Japanese text in the game
	could be a stumbling block...it took me awhile to figure out what
	everything was, but it's definitely worthwhile if you like strategy
	games.


	Key to my ratings:

		Gameplay:	How fun is the game?  Do the characters/ships
				control well?  Is there enough variety?
		Graphics:	How does the game look?  Are the intermissions
				interesting? (if any).
		Sound/BGM:	Are the sound effects cheesy?  Do they cover
				up the music?  Is the music so bad that you
				wish the sound effects would cover it up?
		Challenge:	Can the game be solved/won in a night? a
				weekend? ever?
		Manual:		How is the manual arranged?  does it tell you
				everything you need?  Is it in color?
		Overall:	Is the game worth buying?  renting?  feeding
				to your dog?

	Some of my favorite TG games include:  Military Madness, MotoRoader,
	Ninja Spirit, Cadash, Silent Debuggers, Ys(CD), Sherlock Holmes(CD),
	Cosmic Fantasy 2(CD), Valis III(CD), BomberMan, Order of the Griffon,
	and Aeroblasters.  Some of my favorite PC-Engine games include:
	Dead Moon, Vasteel (CD), Super Darius (CD), Ranma 1/2 (CD), Lady
	Phantom (SCD), Spriggan Mk. 2 (SCD), and OutRun.


Brad Hamlett
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
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