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‘Gungrave’, which gained attention for its attractive character design and exciting description of action through game and animation series, is back with the new game ‘Gungrave GORE’. The developer was changed to Lee Gimob, a domestic console game company, but Yasuhiro Naito, who was responsible for the character design of the original series, took part in the development and inherited the legitimacy. It is characterized by the unique sensibility of the series with a shooting action heavy with .
For those who remember Gungrave’s past, which was cut off about 20 years ago, the new Gungrave Gore can be said to be a gift title. The main characters that appear are all original characters, and each character’s personality is implemented as if they were moved from the original story or animation.
The most notable part for those who think of the game series first than the animation is Grave’s shooting action, which pours out bullets vigorously without reloading. Every step he took, pouring out dozens or hundreds of bullets at the enemies coming from all sides, leaving behind the streets that became a sea of blood, Graves calmly walking as if nothing happened is reproduced as it was in the new ‘Gun’ Bedd Gore’. From the phrase ‘Kick their ass’ displayed at the start of a mission, to the appearance of Grave preparing for battle when turning Cerberus, to the knockdown shooting points displayed in the form of a skull, and the UI displaying the health and shield amount remaining, it reminds me of the previous Gungrave OD Dots fill all over the screen.
The basic direction of gameplay is also a structure that can be easily adapted to those who have played Gungrave OD. All the battles were held in a short period format, and enemies with various gimmicks continued to appear in this. A high score is calculated so you can see how quickly and efficiently you cleared it, so you can enjoy playing the same stage multiple times.
One of the fun elements of Gungrave Gore’s battles is that enemies with various special abilities seem to not stop at a monotonous action that easily pushes each stage with a single pistol shot. In addition to mobs that can be cleared with normal pistol fire, you can block all of Grave’s bullets with your sword and shield, attack with a bazooka with a knockback effect, become invisible and attack from behind, spray toxic substances that disable auto-targeting. , or molotov cocktails There are many types of enemies that appear even in one stage, such as throwing . Each enemy has a different way of dealing with him, so you need to think of different fighting methods each time to clear the stage more effectively.
Nevertheless, it is a bit disappointing that all of these are only at a level that can only be met by those who know the original story and remember the unique fun that the original series had. Although it’s said to be visually refreshed, it’s true that it seems a bit lacking compared to other next-gen console games released in 2022.
This sadness is most evident in the story. There is a lack of basic introduction to the characters that appear during the game, as well as a large number of proper names that are difficult for those who do not know the work to empathize with the characters’ lines and stories.
A consideration for those who have never encountered the Gungrave games or animations is the short video which can only be viewed by selecting ‘History’ on the main screen, and the regular version ‘Do you remember the this character? As if to say, “This character is also coming!” It’s not a big obstacle for those who focus on the TPS style gameplay itself, where bullets are fired wildly, but it can be a little difficult for those who want to taste the cool character and the story drawn with that character.
It seems clear that the game tried to put in a variety of elements so that it would not stop at monotonous shooting stages, but in the process, the distribution of the current physical strength of the enemies increased, resulting in high fatigue in each round, and the more you progress through the stages, the more repetitive the battle feels. The point is also one of the missing points.
If five or more enemies throwing machine guns, bazookas, or grenades appear on one screen, the enemy fire becomes so intense that it is impossible to perform a proper shooting action. Also, even on Normal, the base difficulty level, there are quite a few cases where you need to pour more than 10 bullets to defeat an enemy. These are the parts that are sure to feel upsetting for those who expects it.
Of course, alternatives to early play, which can feel a bit frustrating, are also obviously prepared. It is a laboratory system that strengthens graves with goods that can be obtained after clearing the stage. In the lab, ‘skills’ which allow you to perform more spectacular actions by combining basic controls, ‘stats’ which strengthen basic stats such as bullet damage, targeting distance, physical strength and shield recovery, and ‘knockdown shots’ which adds more colorful special skills Various reinforcement elements are prepared. Obviously, there is no major obstacle to clearing the game without learning additional fighting skills or more knockdown shots, but it can be said that there are additional options for those who want to taste the hotter ‘dinihilation’ action. To enjoy it properly, constant replay is required, such as achieving a clear grade A or higher on each stage and updating the high score.
Those who have played Gungrave Gore for the first time often say, ‘My fingers hurt’ in unison, because you have to press the mouse button or the trigger button on the pad every time the you will shoot, just like shooting a real pistol. To reduce the fatigue that can be felt at this time, the developer has prepared easy-to-use functions such as ‘four bullets per button click’ and ‘maintenance burst by holding down the button during burst’.
Of course, it is true that it is difficult to use until you have not read the tutorial text properly or are familiar with it. In particular, to activate burst mode quickly, you have to click the button four times instead, but if the hold function was supported while holding the button, it would have been nice to assign a key on apart from the burst mode from the beginning .
As Gungrave Gore is a title that was originally supposed to be released in 2019, some instructions still look a bit awkward from the current perspective of 2022. In order to save the ‘gore’ contained in the title, the limbs were dismembered, but the expression of blood splashing or head and limbs flying is somehow awkward rather than cruel.
However, the significance of ‘Gun Grave Gore’ is by no means small as it succeeded the series, which ended almost without news of new work for a long time after Gun Grave OD. With the addition of Yasuhiro Naito, who was responsible for the original character design, it has authenticity, and a high level of Korean dubbing has been applied to it, so it will be an ideal gift for Korean gamers who remember Gungrave.
It can be said that Gungrave Gore is a meaningful step that will be recorded in the future journey of Lee Ki-mob, a Korean console game developer. I look forward to continuing the challenge in the future until we achieve the various improvements revealed in this work and fulfill the aspiration of ‘the first game company that comes to mind when it comes to console action games’.
