Game #1307: Gungrave G.O.R.E.

  Infinite bullets, no bandana required.

 The Gungrave duology wasn't a particularly deep series of games, but they were the epitome of stylish shooting. They were brief action-packed games that never overstayed their welcome, and while I wasn't craving for more, I was over the moon when Gungrave G.O.R.E was first announced. I didn't watch or read any reviews, but I did see the numbers, and they weren't good. As I was playing the game I actually watched some reviews, and I thought they didn't get the game. Some even abandoned the game because of the train stage. Slowly but surely, the game got worse and worse. I'm positive most people that trashed the game didn't finish it, because none of them actually got to mention it's real issues.

 For starters, the story makes no sense. It's no surprise really, the Gungrave games have always had pretty bland storylines, and done a poor job at conveying it, so I won't complain too much. That said... Quartz's character model is hideous, her neck is too long. And at first I enjoyed seeing Mika as a grown lady and taking part in the action.... except she gets put out of commission early on and spends the rest of the game... almost naked floating inside a tube.... yeah, that kinda sucked. They also brought back a dead character for no good reason, except maybe fanservice? And don't even let me get started on the low-budget summary video of the previous two games, it's not even animated.

 The core gameplay is identical to the original games. As Grave you mash R2 to shoot, building up combos builds up your demolition gauge which lets you use super moves. You have a close-range swing with your coffin that can deflect missiles. Grave can also dive and shoot while moving, however, shooting while standing still is faster and builds up the gauge faster. You have a regenerating shield, and once depleted you start taking permanent damage, but you can restore your health using demolition shots.

 So far so good, if anything, the game lacks a bit of oomph. Explosions are boring 2-D sprites, demolition shots feel wonky and unimpressive... but it plays like the original games, and that's good enough... except that the game introduces new mechanics that I actually enjoyed.

 There's a chargeshot, and I actually think OverDosed introduced it, that is used to destroy shields or knock down enemies. You can grapple towards enemies or grapple enemies towards yourself, and then you can use them as meat shields. If an enemy is stunned, you can use the grapple, or walk up to them, and execute them, which instantly recharges you shield a little bit. There are new Triangle attacks that increase your combo gauge by a lot, but can only be used once you reach a combo of 50. And even better, depending on your ranking after a stage, you get DNA(XP) that you can spend to enhance your stats, get more Demolition shots or even new moves. I loved the new mechanics.

 Many people complained about the game being 'too basic', and too repetitive... but that's what this series has always been about: Arcade shooting action. There are no puzzles, screw that noise, it's all about being stylish and kicking butt, while trying to maintain your combo. If you are snazzy enough, you'll realize that the environment is filled with destructible objects, so that you can try to carry over your combo into the next arena. For good, or bad, this game is exactly like the PS2 games.

 ....except worse. For starters, the chargeshot is super wonky. Unless a shot goes out when you start holding down R2, it won't charge. It takes some time getting used to. And then there's the fact that you shoot with R2 and you are expected to mash that bastard, it's impossible for your hand not to hurt. For what it's worth, after a few minutes it stops hurting, but still, playing a videogame shouldn't be painful. In the previous games, at least OD, you could toggle on an option to hold down the shooting button. Another quirk is that if you move when you press the melee button attack you'll initiate a melee combo that doesn't reflect missiles, and when the game is showering you with baddies and you are constantly on the move... this isn't a good design choice.

 The game also has more horrible platforming sections than I would've liked. Your control over the camera is limited, and your jump is very awkward. I hated losing progress to a clunky jump. Some bosses can stun you, but mashing left and right, like the game tells you to, doesn't work... near the end of the game I figured out that mashing up and down worked much better. What gives? At least twice the game glitched and the door forward wouldn't open, so I had to restart the last checkpoint. There was a horrible 'avoid the lasers' section near the end of the game that kills you if you touch the lasers. Instantly. Oh, and there's a bullet-hell type boss which just doesn't work in third person, the red bullets came out of the blue bullets too quickly to be able to react at all. It doesn't work. Oh, and after I defeat the boss, it seems that its attacks kept coming DURING the cutscene, so I died DURING the cutscene and had to do the boss fight again. Fun.

 I'll tell you this, when the game is at its best... it's really fun. You want to try to maintain your combo, execute stunned enemies to recharge your shield, while also using demolition shots to heal any lost health, not to mention keeping track of shielded enemies, so that you can break the shields with a charge shot... while being mindful of the shotgun enemies that usually come with them, trying to knock you down with their shots so that you lose your charge, all the while being mindful of rockets you should be deflecting... it's a lot of chaos, but a lot of fun.

 ... but by stage 20 it becomes unfairly so. It isn't fun when the game just throws ungodly amounts of enemies your way, and it feels as if your upgrades mean absolutely nothing. The only reason I never lowered the difficulty was because I'd miss out on any trophy, but man, I hope Easy is a lot easier, because Normal is unfair, and I really wouldn't subject myself to this hell again. And, y'know what, the original games weren't much different from this one mechanics-wise, but they were shorter, this is an almost 8 hour long game. It stops being fun after a while, it hurts your hand and it's unfair.

 And, y'know, after OD I'd expect more playable characters, and to be fair this game has them, two of them in fact, but they each get a SINGLE stage each. Why? Why can't every stage be played as any character? Why make different playstyles if I only get to play as them for 10 minutes or so each? Absolutely pathetic. And Quartz, one of the playable characters, is fun, since you have to use her projectile to stun enemies so that you can defeat them with your melee attacks... but this shows how janky the game can get, since melee attacks lack power behind them, it all looks... anything but cool.

 Gungrave G.O.R.E. was a game I was very excited about, and the worse part about it was that at first I was enjoying the game. But it takes a nosedive and it takes it fast. What was once challenging but fun, eventually became a drag. At first, learning a boss' pattern and taking it down with ease after they murdered me a few times was SO satisfying, but when you are fighting hordes of bullet spongy enemies that just keep coming and coming and your attack feel so pathetic... Gungrave is a series about looking cool, so why did finishing the game entailed making Grave look like a pansy?

 4.0