shooter

Originally slated by Sega for release on the Dreamcast (and to have used a controller in conjunction with a light gun!), GunValkyrie is the type of game that is becoming rare these days: a skill-based, challenging, unique experience. But it adds superb graphics and sound, and some of the best videogame art found in the current generation.

It wasn't Halo that sold me on the Xbox (although it's a fantastic game in its own right), but Sega's steampunk bug-shooter with the bizarre and perfect control setup.

It's intentionally ironic, I think, that the "A" button - often the primary button for most games - has no game-based function in GunValkyrie. Smilebit (the Sega team that developed GV) has introduced an ingenious control scheme that's one of the best things to happen in the 128-bit era. Simple, yet demanding, especially when combined with the devious level designs of the planet Tir na Nog. Contrary to what others may say, GV's controls are NOT terrible. They do exactly what they're supposed to do, with no lag between input and execution. What the doomsayers mean is that the controls are UNFAMILIAR. Smilebit throws you into the middle of hordes of enemies, with tiny platforms to navigate, daring you to complete the obstacles. Much like MDK2, GV starts tough and quickly gets tougher, but in doing so, it causes you to adapt and grow, to the point where you are regularly maxing the boost combo meter without even thinking about it, rarely touching the ground. That is the sign of inspired game design. With dedication and patience, anyone can learn the controls, and the payoff is an "in-the-zone" feeling, along with a dazzling midair ballet as you deal matchlock cannon and drive-gun death to the insectoid minions.

And what visuals there are. The animation for all characters is astounding, and the boss creatures are awe-inspiring, horrific, and memorable. Small details, like how your character absorbs the recoil of gunfire, are everywhere. The best part of the graphics, however, are the levels themselves. The Valley levels teem with organic, pulsating life, uplifting air currents, and remarkable skylines. The Civilian Base halls sport alien, yet familiar architecture, with huge gears and semi-transparent doors. The real winner is Naglfar's Pit, a mile-high acid-filled gorge with drifting lights, multiple platforms, and an odd, almost underwater ripple effect to everything, along with a haunting music-box soundtrack and insane ramblings from...well, I'll leave that to you to discover.

GunValkyrie combines the best aspects of the shooting, platforming, and adventure genres into one incredible experience, adds a heavy dose of much-needed innovation, and tops it off with a perfectly realized, surreal atmosphere, polishing everything to a hypnotic shine. Some may argue that once you learn the controls, the game becomes simple, and while that's true in part, the joy is in the journey, not necessarily the destination. Getting "S" rankings on all missions will take some time as well! Sega is one of the gaming industry's last real pioneers, and it's good to know that they're still around. Microsoft also gets a nod for taking a chance on this kind of title on a relatively new console.

Anyone looking for something a little different, or a serious challenge, owes it to themselves to try GunValkyrie. Gems like this are becoming precious few.

I had never heard of GUNVALKYRIE (which I'll refer to as GV) before seeing it as a reccomendation here on Amazon when I got my Xbox. I read all the reviews, most of which complained like sissies over how the controls were confusing, or how the game got harder in the later parts. Well, don't listen to them. There's nothing hard or frustrating about GV, it's just a different game, and definately not for everyone. If the left trigger acting as 'jump' bugs you, then tough luck. I guess I can see how they annoy people since there isn't any other game that controls like GV, but it didn't bother me.

The plot doesn't really matter- most of your missions consist of clearing out all the enemies in a given area, or reaching an item at the end of the stage. But what's going on is a comet has passed the atmosphere, and causing havock. 'not that original, but this is an action game, so story isn't a priority. If you've seen Starship Troopers, or played Jet Force Gemini on the Nintendo 64, that's what GV is kind of like. But I use that comparison loosely. It's up to you to go through wave after wave of bugs. While shooting up your enemies, you'll be flying through the air doing flips and rolls to raise technique points which boost your score at the end. It's not necessary, but it adds to replay in getting an 'S' rank in every level.

You can also pick between two characters: Kelly and Saburouta. Kelly of course, is the faster of the two and more agile. She can fire her gun faster, but it's not as powerful as Sab's. Not at first anyway. She has access to more upgrades, and is the one that most first time players are going to use going through the game. Sab is the working horse, carrying a missile launcher which disposes of enemies with just one shot most of the time. Though it says that he's a "steel-nerved samurai" on the back of the box, he doesn't use his sword except during the animation of his special attack. If he did use his sword though, that would make for a cool challenge since he'd have to engage in very close combat. The game says he's better for experts, but that's not really true. He's just more clunky to use. Pick whoever you want though, since you can pick either one in just about every mission unless noted otherwise.

GV has a strange little customization deal going on. At the end of each level, you'll get a given number of points to buy upgrades for you weapons, armor, special attack gague, etc. But the thing is, they don't really matter. You can go through the game easily without upgrading once. One upgrade is to lock-on to more enemies, yet a lot of people who've played the game still don't get how to lock-on. You're better off spending your points on reserve energy, so if your health gets depleted, it'll refill completely so you can get back to capping everything.

The graphics are pretty sweet. The colors and textures are beautiful, and sometimes you'll stop just to see how well designed the levels are. Even simple things like small rooms in a shaft are full of detail. Leave it to Smilebit to put so much work into the graphics. I'm not disappointed one bit here. And loading times can't be more than 2 seconds. You go from the menu to game type select, to the mission, to your character, to the mission outline and *poof* there you are.

The music and sound effects are equally as great as the graphics. I got the soundtrack because the music was that good. Some levels have techno tracks, one has an ambient-jazz track, others have rock, and the final fight has one of the best last boss tracks I've ever heard. It was worth getting the soundtrack for that alone. The voice acting, for what little bits there were, was average. Not good, not bad. It's not laughable like the first Resident Evil on PSone, but sometimes lines are delivered blandly. But that doesn't matter, you only hear them in the beginning cutscene and the end for the most part.

There isn't a whole lot of replay value. You can easily go through the game in one sitting if you don't look for all the Halley Cores in the levels. But getting all the Halley Cores is fun, and unlocks Kelly's third costume. Hoo boy is that third costume something. It pretty much renders Saburouta useless. She can practically fly, lock on to tons of enemies, gets a stronger gun, and more. Plus the costume's kinda cool looking too. After beating the game once, a challenge mode is unlocked. This is where most of the replay is- you can go through any level with Sab or any form of Kelly. So the bosses that you had to use Kelly during the story mode can now be taken out with Sab. It's kinda sick how fast he can take some of them out with just a few lock-on missiles.

GV's faults? Looking around with the right thumbstick is sort of pointless because of how sensitive it is. You're better off just turning around completely most of the time. And like I already said, the game can be completed in one sitting. But the biggest thing is that if you're a casual gamer, you're more than likely going to hate GV. I'm not trying to sound biased toward the company, but this is probably best played by Sega fans, who know the company and what they've done in the past. That shouldn't stop you though, it'd be good to try a game as creative as this. Plus you just have to hear some of the music. I can't stress it enough.

You're better off getting GV elsewhere. I haven't seen it for more than $20 at any game store, and the Used & New prices here are pretty fair. Don't get this for your son or daughter if they're 14 or younger. They're likely to throw a fit over the controls not being familiar. Is GV for the "hardcore" gamer? Not really. It's just not for the casual gamer that spends most of their gaming time with Grand Theft Autos or Final Fantasy games. It's an action/shooter, plain and simple.

I had never heard of GUNVALKYRIE (which I'll refer to as GV) before seeing it as a reccomendation here on Amazon when I got my Xbox. I read all the reviews, most of which complained like sissies over how the controls were confusing, or how the game got harder in the later parts. Well, don't listen to them. There's nothing hard or frustrating about GV, it's just a different game, and definately not for everyone. If the left trigger acting as 'jump' bugs you, then tough luck. I guess I can see how they annoy people since there isn't any other game that controls like GV, but it didn't bother me.

The plot doesn't really matter- most of your missions consist of clearing out all the enemies in a given area, or reaching an item at the end of the stage. But what's going on is a comet has passed the atmosphere, and causing havock. 'not that original, but this is an action game, so story isn't a priority. If you've seen Starship Troopers, or played Jet Force Gemini on the Nintendo 64, that's what GV is kind of like. But I use that comparison loosely. It's up to you to go through wave after wave of bugs. While shooting up your enemies, you'll be flying through the air doing flips and rolls to raise technique points which boost your score at the end. It's not necessary, but it adds to replay in getting an 'S' rank in every level.

You can also pick between two characters: Kelly and Saburouta. Kelly of course, is the faster of the two and more agile. She can fire her gun faster, but it's not as powerful as Sab's. Not at first anyway. She has access to more upgrades, and is the one that most first time players are going to use going through the game. Sab is the working horse, carrying a missile launcher which disposes of enemies with just one shot most of the time. Though it says that he's a "steel-nerved samurai" on the back of the box, he doesn't use his sword except during the animation of his special attack. If he did use his sword though, that would make for a cool challenge since he'd have to engage in very close combat. The game says he's better for experts, but that's not really true. He's just more clunky to use. Pick whoever you want though, since you can pick either one in just about every mission unless noted otherwise.

GV has a strange little customization deal going on. At the end of each level, you'll get a given number of points to buy upgrades for you weapons, armor, special attack gague, etc. But the thing is, they don't really matter. You can go through the game easily without upgrading once. One upgrade is to lock-on to more enemies, yet a lot of people who've played the game still don't get how to lock-on. You're better off spending your points on reserve energy, so if your health gets depleted, it'll refill completely so you can get back to capping everything.

The graphics are pretty sweet. The colors and textures are beautiful, and sometimes you'll stop just to see how well designed the levels are. Even simple things like small rooms in a shaft are full of detail. Leave it to Smilebit to put so much work into the graphics. I'm not disappointed one bit here. And loading times can't be more than 2 seconds. You go from the menu to game type select, to the mission, to your character, to the mission outline and *poof* there you are.

The music and sound effects are equally as great as the graphics. I got the soundtrack because the music was that good. Some levels have techno tracks, one has an ambient-jazz track, others have rock, and the final fight has one of the best last boss tracks I've ever heard. It was worth getting the soundtrack for that alone. The voice acting, for what little bits there were, was average. Not good, not bad. It's not laughable like the first Resident Evil on PSone, but sometimes lines are delivered blandly. But that doesn't matter, you only hear them in the beginning cutscene and the end for the most part.

There isn't a whole lot of replay value. You can easily go through the game in one sitting if you don't look for all the Halley Cores in the levels. But getting all the Halley Cores is fun, and unlocks Kelly's third costume. Hoo boy is that third costume something. It pretty much renders Saburouta useless. She can practically fly, lock on to tons of enemies, gets a stronger gun, and more. Plus the costume's kinda cool looking too. After beating the game once, a challenge mode is unlocked. This is where most of the replay is- you can go through any level with Sab or any form of Kelly. So the bosses that you had to use Kelly during the story mode can now be taken out with Sab. It's kinda sick how fast he can take some of them out with just a few lock-on missiles.

GV's faults? Looking around with the right thumbstick is sort of pointless because of how sensitive it is. You're better off just turning around completely most of the time. And like I already said, the game can be completed in one sitting. But the biggest thing is that if you're a casual gamer, you're more than likely going to hate GV. I'm not trying to sound biased toward the company, but this is probably best played by Sega fans, who know the company and what they've done in the past. That shouldn't stop you though, it'd be good to try a game as creative as this. Plus you just have to hear some of the music. I can't stress it enough.

You're better off getting GV elsewhere. I haven't seen it for more than $20 at any game store, and the Used & New prices here are pretty fair. Don't get this for your son or daughter if they're 14 or younger. They're likely to throw a fit over the controls not being familiar. Is GV for the "hardcore" gamer? Not really. It's just not for the casual gamer that spends most of their gaming time with Grand Theft Autos or Final Fantasy games. It's an action/shooter, plain and simple.