GunGriffon: Allied Strike Updated Hands-On

TOKYO--At the Tokyo Game Show, Tecmo showed off an updated version of the latest entry in the GunGriffon series of giant robot action games by developer GameArts, which is once again at the helm of this next game. While we got an exclusive look at the game earlier this month, the TGS demo featured a bit more polish. There hasn't been a dramatic change from what we played earlier, but we were still pleased to see some progress.

The TGS demo featured a handful of different missions to try, which could be selected from a world map, and these offered a good-sized helping of mech action and mayhem. The environments that provided the setting for the missions were of the standard postapocalyptic variety. The enemies followed suit, providing a decent mix of ground and air foes to blow up.

The game's performance has been tightened up, as evidenced by the improved frame rate in the demo since the last version of the game we saw. There was still some jerky motion in places, but overall, the action was moving along better. Explosions and the debris kicked up by them no longer caused the frame rate hits they previously did, which was also true of the wreckage from destroyed buildings. The animation of the enemy mechs is still a little on the jerky side, but it's improving, so we expect that there isn't much cause for concern.

GunGriffon: Allied Strike continues to head in a promising direction for its Xbox rebirth. The TGS demo shows that the developers are GameArts are using their heads to identify and improve key aspects of the game, which does bode well for it. GunGriffon: Allied Strike is currently slated to ship later this year for the Xbox. For more updates, be sure to check GameSpot's coverage of the Tokyo Game Show 2004.