Gungriffon Blaze Preview

Gungriffon Blaze is the third installment in the Gungriffon series. The announcement made during the PlayStation Festival 2000 last February that revealed Gungriffon would release on a Sony system - and not a Sega system - surprised fans of the series. The previous two Gungriffon titles were released on the Sega Saturn, making this the first Gungriffon game not released for one of Sega's systems. The mech-action title developed by Game Arts will be published by Capcom and will appear on the PS2.

Early footage of the game shows its remarkable visuals, particularly in the smoke trails. It is said the game will have several variations of the mech's destruction upon defeat. Now you can even destroy buildings, bridges, and other objects on the battlefields. The gameplay will have the same basic engine, except that now you will use the Dual Shock 2 controller instead of a Sega Saturn pad. The developers say that, hopefully, the variations of buttons on the Dual Shock 2 will make the control scheme of the game much easier for novice players.

Gungriffon Blaze will also feature new additions to the basic game engine. You can use a sensor system to detect enemies nearby based on the distance and the number of mech troops in the battlefield. Since radars don't exist in the game, this is the closest thing you can get. Items are now available in the game, and you will be able to equip a limited number of items you have acquired. For example, using a scope will let you snipe your enemy-targets, something that was not possible in previous Gungriffon titles.

You can choose one of several different opening scenarios. Finishing a scenario entails completing the different mission objectives. Each mission will now have a time limit implemented. The game is over when the player's mech is destroyed or when the time limit is up.

Gungriffon Blaze for the Sony PlayStation2 is expected for a summer release in Japan.