After playing this for a couple of hours (and completing numerous stages) I feel I have a bit of a grasp on what this game is and my thoughts on it.
From a glance, Gungrave G.O.R.E. looked appealing. The animations, both in gameplay and in cutscenes are flashy and kinda cool. It's based off of an anime (though I know it from the PS2 games) and it's available on Game Pass. I figured why not jump in.
This fits right in with games from the PS2 era with a better looking coat of paint, and to be completely honest, if I had this on my shelf when I was a kid I probably would've played it to completion. The reason I don't wanna see it through to the end now is my bar of quality is higher now than it was then and I have far too many other things I want to play.
Shooting is not very satisfying. You fire in bursts of four shots, so if you want to shoot continuously you have to keep mashing that trigger and it's not ideal. Aiming is also not ideal. You don't use the left trigger (or L2) to aim, but instead the LB (or L1) to both lock on and move the cursor which doesn't feel modern. Otherwise, the cursor comes up on the screen as you shoot. If the player was allowed free reign of the camera and a smoother aiming experience, the game would be a little better for it.
There's little to no engagement with its environments (some things you can shoot, but that's it) and it becomes repetitive, same with the enemy designs. The melee is a bit slow and clunky but has its moments. You have a chain that acts as a bit of a grappling hook in combat that can result in some satisfying kills. But any satisfaction you get from killing hundreds of enemies per stage wears off after a few of them once you realize that's all the game has to offer.
It's arcade-y, with short stages that tally up a score and hordes of enemies and it makes me feel that maybe this would've been better suited for a cabinet with a gun-con.
I don't think it's an awful game, I just think it's a bit hollow and has outdated controls and shooting mechanics. I wouldn't recommend it, but hey, it's on Game Pass if you wanna try it out.
From a glance, Gungrave G.O.R.E. looked appealing. The animations, both in gameplay and in cutscenes are flashy and kinda cool. It's based off of an anime (though I know it from the PS2 games) and it's available on Game Pass. I figured why not jump in.
This fits right in with games from the PS2 era with a better looking coat of paint, and to be completely honest, if I had this on my shelf when I was a kid I probably would've played it to completion. The reason I don't wanna see it through to the end now is my bar of quality is higher now than it was then and I have far too many other things I want to play.
Shooting is not very satisfying. You fire in bursts of four shots, so if you want to shoot continuously you have to keep mashing that trigger and it's not ideal. Aiming is also not ideal. You don't use the left trigger (or L2) to aim, but instead the LB (or L1) to both lock on and move the cursor which doesn't feel modern. Otherwise, the cursor comes up on the screen as you shoot. If the player was allowed free reign of the camera and a smoother aiming experience, the game would be a little better for it.
There's little to no engagement with its environments (some things you can shoot, but that's it) and it becomes repetitive, same with the enemy designs. The melee is a bit slow and clunky but has its moments. You have a chain that acts as a bit of a grappling hook in combat that can result in some satisfying kills. But any satisfaction you get from killing hundreds of enemies per stage wears off after a few of them once you realize that's all the game has to offer.
It's arcade-y, with short stages that tally up a score and hordes of enemies and it makes me feel that maybe this would've been better suited for a cabinet with a gun-con.
I don't think it's an awful game, I just think it's a bit hollow and has outdated controls and shooting mechanics. I wouldn't recommend it, but hey, it's on Game Pass if you wanna try it out.