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Gungrave PS2 Sega/Red Entertainment - 2002 A month ago, this was one of those games that I wanted someone else to buy, so I could try it out. Then I downloaded the intro and was hooked. It is the coolest looking game of the year. The cell shading is perfect and just look at that guy! He's got a huge coffin chained to his arms, and he just keeps shooting. To make a short story shorter, I ended up getting Gungrave, Animal Crossing, and Kingdom Hearts on the same day. While this sounds like certain doom for Gungrave, the 2 hour shooter, it has more than held its own. Gungrave is just that cool. And its not just that it looks awesome, which it does, but it plays great, too. At first, it appears to be a cel-shaded Devil May Cry, but don't be fooled. Gungrave is totally different. There are no puzzles, no keys to find, and no tricks to beating enemies; there is just a man, two guns, and a coffin. The man is Beyond the Grave, no, really, that's his name. I'll even quote the game, "Beyond the Grave" (someone in Gungrave). See? They said it, not me. Anyway, in case you can't figure it out Spoiler, I guess he's undead. End Possible Spoiler Anyway, he's a really cool guy. He doesn't say much, but that's just because he's better than everyone else. The guns, called "Cerberos," have unlimited ammo, "because reloading takes too long," and get delivered by some bleeding girl. Grave and his friend the doctor have some history with the guns as well. The coffin is filled to the brim with weapons which you see at various points in the game. The gameplay is quite simple, and a tiny bit deep, too. All you do is kill people. Most of the time, this is done with the guns by pushing square about a thousand times (unless you are a wimp and set it to Automatic, *cough* Hawke *cough*). While firing, you can dive out of the way of attacks or walk around, there is also a quick turn and a target lock to help you find more targets. However, if you shoose to stand still, Grave will to a pretty sharp little dance while firing. Every consecutive hit you score raises your Beat. This adds a lot of replay value because you want to get the highest beat possible. In a pinch, you can push triangle to pull out the coffin. This will do one of four unlockable supers, involving either missles or machine guns. Use these sparingly, though, because they are limited and they end your beat combo. Extra supers are earned by building big combos. The slight depth to the game is the rating system at the end of each stage, you are graded in 5 categories: beat count, kill rate, clear time, remain life, and artistic bonus. Beat count is your highest beat count, duh. Kill rate is the percent of enemies you killed. Clear time is the 'time' it took to 'clear' the stage . . . I hate you. Remain life is the amount of life remaining when you beat the stage. Artistic bonus is a little complicated. The manual says "Displays how cool you were in defeating enemies." While this seems a bit subjective, it later suggests that you do these things to be more artistic: shoot enemies close by; jump and shoot enemies; shoot enemies when you are just about to turn around; shoot enemies using a special technique; and make a stylish pose. The stylish pose is done by hitting select and results in getting shot a lot. What I liked: The style. This game is all about style. Cel-shading has been the coolest thing for a couple of years now and Gungrave continues the trend. Also, I like the way the game plays. It is a very basic shooter at heart. Behind all the fancy animations and explosions, there is a shoot button and a "bomb" button. It is reminisent of the old-school space shooters in gameplay, but is infinitely cooler. Blowing up background stuff was pretty fun, too. What I disliked: There wasn't much to this game not to like. I'm not saying it was perfect, I'm just saying it was short. The first time through may take 2 - 2.5 hours, with each game getting shorter after that. While this does make it easir to perfect the stages, more game would have been nice. I also have to mention the last couple of stages. They are really spread out and involve walking from one fight to the next. This makes absolutely impossible to get a high beat, which is what the game is really about. What to expect: A shooter, a really cool looking shooter. What not to expect: Devil May Cry. There have been a lot of comparisons because Grave looks so cool and has the double handguns and such. However, Gungrave focuses on the shooting only, there are no other weapons or special moves. Ideally, you never stop shooting in this game. What sets it apart from the genre: The 3rd person of a guy walking around situation is unusual for a straight shooter. Also, the stylishness is totally uncharacteristic of shooters. Ratings on: Controls: 8 - Notice! There is a lock-on in this game. The L1 button, which appears to be strafe, will actually lock-on when you get close enough to an enemy. This is extremely helpful against bosses. Other than not realizing this until my 3rd time through, the controls work just fine. The vast majority of the game is spent firing at everything on screen, so, as long as you can fire, all is well. Occaisionally you'll want to dive, which involves one button and a direction. Diving is a little awkward because you can't turn or aim as you dive (though I might have been spoiled by Max Payne). Jumping is also a bit sketchy because it is the same button as dive. #1 thing I hate about this game: The boss who hides behind the column and heals himself. Yeah, that's cool, I guess. by Sundu |
