Follow the footsteps of an undead assasin as he seeks vengeance on his foes.
The story of Gungrave is based on the anime series. Here is a brief summary of the storyline. It all started when Brandon Heat was killed by a crime syndicate leader Harry Mcdowell, who were supposed to be best friends at that time. After those events, a scientist by the name of Doctor T found Brandon and brought him back to life. He is no longer called Brandon but now the undead assasin known as Grave. During the start of the game ona cold winter night, a small girl was trying to drag an enourmous case almost the size of her. When she made it to Doctor T's laboratory, our hero Grave took the huge case and open it's contents. It reveals two large guns known as Cerebros and with this he will be able to take revenge finally on his old friend Harry Mcdowell. The rest of the storyline is really interesting, if you have watched the whole anime series then you should be able to figure out the rest of the plot.
Gameplay is insanely evil. The game has six intense areas which includes from a disco club to a inside of a train. Your enemies includes alot of mobsters and later you will also encounter some huge mutated monsters created by the evil crime syndicate. By the help of your weapons, the Cerebros and a coffin chain to your hands, you will be able to gun down all those who block your path. The Cerebros is an all around gun weapon but with the help of the coffin you can swing it around at enemies when your completely surrounded. Very convenient and also effective I should say. The coffin also works as a sub weapon. When you kill enemies, you earn some style points. Depending on how many you get, it will fill up a meter and as a result you can now use demolition shots. There are several demolition shots you can get in the game and playing Gungrave is much easier when you have those. The controls also may take a while to learn especially the targeting system but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself in a killing mood. And probably the highlight of the game are the huge boss fights that awaits you at the end of each stage. They are really the main attractions of the entire game.
I really like the graphics of the game. The cel shaded graphics and cutscenes really feels like your in an anime or playing in a comic book. And if you have seen some anime series like Trigun or Cowboy Bebop, then you will surely like the graphics of the game too. The sound is also impressive. I played the Japanese version and the voice acting is superb especially the voices of Mika and Harry Mcdowell. The music and sound effects also pay very well in the game but it also gets very loud at the same time. Most people wont probably enjoy it but if you’re ears can take the noise then you have a game to enjoy.
Gungrave also feature some bonus materials after you beat the game once like art galleries, slow motion mode and infinite demolition shots. Aside from that you will also be ranked according on how you perform in the game. Think of it as a little bonus achievement. And if you think the whole game is easy, why not try playing in the hardest difficulty to find out if your man enough to handle the challenge. In the end Gungrave is wonderfull shooter. The whole game is short but if your a fan of shooter games and animes then I highly recommend that you get this game.