Today i'm looking into edgy yet
famous 3rd person. It's Red/Nightow's Gungrave (2002) for Playstation 2.
Gungrave pretty famous back in the day although it receive some bad to average score. For example: Eurogamer 4/10 and Edge 5/10 (which kind of irony because the game is edgy). But hey! It also receives pretty good score such as Game Informer 7/10 or GamePro 3.5 stars out of 5. I remember back in the day it's featured in imported TV program about game and i quickly take interest on it. But alas! Teen Werdito back then doesn't get a chance to play Playstation 2 and any of its game. So it's payback time. There's not much thing on options menu. Not even control configuration which kind of bad sign. But i can manage without it, i think.
The game starts with this lass bleeding while dragging giant coffin through snowy town . She ends up in this room and collapse.
Turns out she wants to deliver the coffin to this huge guy named Grave. How appropriate. But the coffin is not for his last resting place. Instead, it's weapon and it contains 2 rather oversized handgun! With weapon at his disposal, Grave intends to destroy syndicate with their new leader Harry McDowell. Some of the syndicate member faces Grave and says "This is no costume party". Grave replies with swift smack that makes him flying. Thus the game starts...
The game says "Kick their ass!" and i think "Shoot their ass!" is more appropriate. But that's just my minor complaint.
So how do i kick their ass? The main way to do so is by pressing square button that will make Grave fire his handguns on nearest enemy in front of him. His aim has decent tracking on it. He can automatically shoot enemies in some angle on X-axis and Y-axis, meaning he can shoot target slightly lower/higher or left/right from his center aim. Think of it like classic Doom. Doom guy also has good auto-aim. But Grave's projectile has limited range so sometime he have to move closer to his enemies a bit.
Although Grave is the 2nd slowest sharpshooter in history (the slowest is RoboCop), he has some nimbleness on him as he has ability to dive to dodge enemy's bullets by pressing Cross button while moving with left analogue stick.
The gunfight goes to rooftop and enemies have installed sandbag for cover. Solution to this is simple: walk close to enemies and shoot them. Grave himself doesn't care to use cover but he has shield/armor. Do you see blue bar below health bar (which is the red ones)? That's his shield bar. It will depleted when Grave taking damage but it will refill by itself after a while not taking any damage. But be mindful though! Once the shield bar if fully empty, the health bar begin to drain as Grave takes damage.
Grave's target is running away and Grave after his trail by casually jumping from the building! Medic_sf12_badmagic05.wav
Enemies take cover behind car and as we know it's highly volatile proving that car is the worst cover in gunfight after explosive red barrel. Grave's coffin is not only gun's holster but also a rocket launcher! By pressing triangle, Grave can fire rocket from the coffin. But there's cost to that. Do you see number "2" on top left HUD? It's Demolition Shot counter and i can fire this rocket launcher 2 more in current situation. To increase this counter, you have to build combo hit with handguns. Once the combo number reaches certain, the Demolition Shot counter will increase by 1. Also important note that the combo counter turns into blue orb, fly to the left, and the skull on the HUD, eats it. This game is crazy and fun.
The target foolishly run into dead end. No matter how many backup he has, he's trapped in this narrow alleyway. I'm toying with my prey by giving him and his henchmen a smack with my coffin. To attack with coffin: pressing R1 button. The melee attack range is 360o around me, useful when i get surrounded in narrow place.
With that the first level ends. Grave doesn't look at the mayhem that he created because he's cool like that. While i'm proud with my kill efficiency as good as any anti-bacterial cleaning product. Finishing stage 1, gets me new Demolition shot move: Bullet Dance. I will demonstrate it later.
The intermission takes place in the room in the opening where you can save your game and talk to Mika. There's no upgrade around here. As you can see by the looks of Mika's beautiful big eye, she's definitely anime girl. You can also talk to the professor if you want. Both Mika and Dr. T can provide you with world building or information about Grave himself. I assume T on his name stands for talk because he's more than happy to talk to you and waste your time.
Level 2 is called factory even though this place look like junkyard to me. I notice that the large goon armed with light machine gun which is more sensible than Gatling Gun that's not meant to carry by person. I'm not sure where do i get the common portrait of large henchmen armed with Gatling Gun, though. Something from cartoon or comic, maybe?
Now you get to see the skull eat the combo counter. I don't lie, see? Also one of large goon fires rocket at me. I blame myself by watching video playthrough of Gungrave G.O.R.E thus brainwash myself to think that i can parry the rocket with coffin swing. Not in this game though. Grave doesn't have that remarkable skill just yet. For now, he can only dodge the rocket by diving away from it.
If Grave shoot rapidly while stand still this happens. He shoots his handguns with frenzy and hop a bit. He's not sane. Someone on internet claim that this crazy firing is useful to dispatch group of enemies quickly without resorting to Death blow. Maybe the fire rate in this way is faster than when Grave is walking.
Speaking of Death Blow, you can choose Demolition Shot from pause menu. Death Blow is the rocket launching while Bullet Dance is Grave spin around while firing his handgun, perfect for clearing enemies surrounding him. Definitely stronger than the coffin swing. You can also choose to use the Demolition Shot counter to refill health by 50%.
After more walking and shooting...
This big guy is stupid but strong. He walk up to me with steel beam at hand, hoping to smack me with it. Pistol's shot doesn't have much stopping power against him but luckily i have this coffin for impromptu blunt weapon. It will knock him away, too
Much like Beat em up game, Grave can only progress to next section if he cleared enemies in current area, first. Some of transition border are door that Grave kick out. Then there's this hole in glass canopy. Bit variation is quite nice.
This container area is almost become Grave's grave [tongue twist is intended]. Grave can automatically aim high. But not high enough to reach shooters on 3 containers height. They're off screen too. I don't think there's first person camera mode so i can't do nothing about them except diving once in a while.
Eventually i can get to this catwalk and manage to shoot this smart mug that was shooting me when i was below. But he's not smart enough to run away. The bastard is somewhere in that gun's blaze. You have to take my word for it.
This section looks like laboratory rather than factory to me. But again factory and laboratory both can exercise unethical work so whatever. Enemies now wearing lab coat and masker but they're not nerd scientist because they can use firearm. Even one of them wield Light Machine Gun for God's sake! As for what factory/lab is this? I have no answer for that. Those tubes with half upper human inside of them, don't give me slightest clue about what the syndicate produce here.
This buff professor think he can defeat me with steel beam. Nah. I give him rocket to the face and his friends behind him get it too.
My target in this section is not a person that i must kill. It's control panel that can lower a platform so i can get to the foreman's office. But Grave can only shoot at it to activate it. Grave probably isn't the sharpest tool in the shed because he's Goddamn firework rocket in the shed!
Here's the real target: the
factory's foreman. He hides behind table that Grave can't get over it due to
invisible wall. In this narrow area, shotgun weapon will be perfect for
this combat but alas the foreman has it and Grave doesn't. But at least, Grave
can dodge his attack simply by jumping. It's weird to dodge enemy's bullet in
Wild Guns and it makes little sense here too.
The foreman is dead and hopefully the factory will be ceased to function. Why Grave not blow it to smithereens anyway? Maybe he has little concern to environment. As Grave goes back to home, 2 men in black watch him from above. So aliens from outer space in involved in Grave's vigilante?
What? Mika is daughter of Big Daddy? So she was little sister in Bioshock? What a shock! :P
Speaking of Bioshock. That giant figure looks like Big Daddy type Rumbler to me. So Grave will pay visit to the undersea city Rapture? If that's the case, i want to kill Andrew Ryan and ends his nonsense about "Man chooses, Slave obeys"
My next mission is in Chinatown where i have to meet up with an informant that have information about Syndicate's new leader Harry McDowell. He's in the celebration party on airship. Thanks for the info. Sniper_thanks02.wav
Suddenly Syndicate's man unleash full-power gun down on the alley. The informant doesn't make it for some reason while Grave survive that even though his large body fills 80% of the alleyway.
Maybe Grave can retrieve the informant's payment but Grave is not interested in that. He like to kill more of Syndicate's men. Not to revenge the informant but to revenge himself for what they have done to him, mind you.
I saw this long canister on the side and thought "Is that explosive tube?". So i plant few bullet at it and it explodes. Well done, me. Medic_jeers10.wav
So these gits challenge me with Chinese saber on their hand. But you know what happen to anyone who challenge me with melee fight. They get smacked by giant coffin and die.
I like this part of Chinatown with those cute phone booths and trolley car where those enemies come from. Are those phone booth destructible? I think yes but I can't destroy them. They're too cute.
Here's another clever thugs that like to take potshot at me from height. Sadly the rocket launcher can't aim at them. But considering that coffin's weight is about 1.5 quintal (330.693 lbs), let's give him a break.
After even more walking and shooting...
I'm man with my word. Here's the demonstration of Bullet Dance. It's pretty useful yet flashy but Grave will be defenseless against rocket fired from distance. I like the concrete pillar can be destroyed through intense gunshot. Pretty nice graphic effect.
The syndicate now deploy these gentlemen with Gatling Gun hidden in suitcase. So the syndicate become antsy know we know they bring out the big guns. Unfortunately for them, these heavy weapon guys can't fire their gun fast enough. By the time they are about to fire, i already riddle them with bullets. God bless them.
What's this? They're getting more antsy that they decide to send this tank to crush me. I thought i'm about to have epic boss battle but no. The game wants me to run away. Lame!
Oh, i see. The game wants me to jump off from the bridge to the mentioned zeppelin. "You have to focus on Grave's main objective, Werdito". In my defense, i thought in this level Grave just want to escape to the base as soon as he gets the info. I didn't know the airship is not far from the Chinatown.
It was lavish party with wine and exquisite meal until Grave crashes into the podium. Good thing, he doesn't crash in the middle of piano performance otherwise he could break the pianist's back with his and the coffin weight or the pianist will be shredded by all those glass shards that Grave make upon falling on the glass. How kind of Grave to let the ladies, kids and other type of innocent people run away. He only shoot the guilty (also the foolish) who dare to shoot bullets at him.
Suddenly, my gun blazing is stopped by this CGI where these guys called Inner Council enter the balcony of this room. As Grave points his gun at them, the fat guy with dark blue coat steps forward and challenge him to fight. After throwing half-eaten drumstick at Grave. Gross! Don't play with your food, fat git!
He likes to either throw grenade or fire his light machine gun at me while he's protected by his thugs who's (in)voluntarily form a line in front of him. All i do is kill the thugs and later kill him directly with the occasion of diving and shooting my rocket. It's pretty simple boss fight. You can see his orange health bar on the bottom of hud and i can whittle it rather fast and easily.
This boss is tougher than the previous one. But only slightly. He flies around while occasionally throw bombs around him or crashing into Grave. With balloony-size of his body, you shouldn't miss him with your gun. It's just impossible to miss your mark on him. It goes without saying that you can dodge his bomb and his melee attempt by diving to the side.
Suddenly...
What's this? Why there's creepy graveyard scenery all of sudden along with passing pigeons? I believe we are in the landing zone on the airship.
Then Grave unleashes missiles from the coffin to the big fat boss, killing him. This move reminds me of War Machine's War Destroyer in Marvel vs Capcom. Apparently there's special demolition shot when fighting certain boss and this is one of them. It's unnamed but let's call it Grave Destroyer because it reminds me of the mentioned War Machine's super move. It requires some of demolition shot number so this finishing move is reward for my stinginess to waste demolition shot randomly. I like that.
As soon as Grave arrives at the base, professor change his entire body because if he doesn't do that, Grave's body will dead or rotting.
While Grave still in blood exchange procedure, men in black open the door, killing the doctor in cold blood and kidnapping Mika because we all know in videogame: villains must kidnap female character like Jessica from Final Fight or Sheila from Mug Smasher. It is not interesting story without some damsel-in-distress scenario, you know? As for Grave. Lucky for him, he's in secret room while doing his routine hemodialysis. As soon as he done with it. Grave after the men in black and hopefully rescue Mika in time while leaving the doctor dies in his own blood pool. Rest in Peace, Doctor T, you won't be in sequel for sure. Anyway i end the playthrough here.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BANG! BANG! BANG! is the summary of my playthrough. Red/Nightow's Gungrave (2002) is fun and intense 3rd person shooter. I thought the gameplay is mindless but actually there's some layer strategy on it. Surely, Grave is not the most agile gunman. He's slow and can take pretty lots of hit. But obviously standing still and take damage is not how to win. You have to actively seek and destroy the enemies. Sometime walk up to them is quite risky even though Grave have regenerating shield, thus he has ability to dive and he can shoot while diving kind of like Max Payne minus bullet time. Someone said that while diving Grave's rate of fire is doubled but i can't confirm that. You can use the deathblow number to heal yourself but won't be better to use it for rocket launcher or spinning gunfire? It depends on situation or whatnot. Enemies react to Grave's gunshot but the muscular mooks can ignore it and keep walking. For that, there's Grave's heavy coffin that he can swing around. The story is crazy and it get even crazier beyond the last point where i left off. Grave rides on recumbent motorcycle that launch missile at chasing police helicopter. Grave fighting on speeding train against human on missile. Or Grave faces off with boss that have huge robotic hand. It's insane and i like it. Perhaps power up items to pick up can be added for gameplay variety but perhaps they will make the game place slower. The camera is relative to Grave's facing and it's pretty competent. Grave's auto aim also pretty good but it's not reliable for enemies on the way high position, out of screen reach. The music is obscured with gunfire sound. The most noticeable one is in the level finish screen because that's when the gunfight is over. The sound effect is pretty good.
Gungrave (2002) is good fun game. For the first game on its series, it's more than serviceable. It's Goddamn good. It also has enemies fly when getting shot like in Flame Gunner which also good shooter game. When i get the more reliable computer i will buy Gungrave G.O.R.E. It's mostly step up from this game. In the mean time, i will play this game when i get the chance.
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