Gaming Target - Xbox: Gunvalkyrie

Written by Ryan Smotherman on March 26, 2002

Full Review: Looking for a bit of that old school flavor?

I tell ya, those crazy guys over at Smilebit just don't know when to quit. What other company would release two very unique, high quality games in under a month of one another? My guess would be Ц not many. And that's just what they did. At the end of February we saw the release of one Jet Set Radio Future, a game that received much acclaim, and just last week the third-person-shooter known as GUNVALKYRIE hit the shelves. Though, unfortunately GUNVALKYRIE hasn't received the same praise that was given to Smilebit's first Xbox title. At least not from the majority of the gaming press, who claim that the game's control scheme is too hard to master and that the game itself is too challenging.

Personally, I think these people have forgotten what gaming is all about. Sure, the game can be a bit tough at times and the control scheme takes some getting used to, but I find this to be a breath of fresh air. And I'll tell you why -- the video games of today are just too easy, and usually require very little, if any, skill to master. If you grew up playing games from the 8 and 16-bit eras, then I'm sure you've also noticed this disturbing trend. If anything, don't give the game a bad score just because you suck at it, for in the end GUNVALKYRIE is a very satisfying experience and well worth the dough.

The story of GUNVALKYRIE is a bit of an odd one. Set in a goofy alternate reality, the year is 1906 and the leading scientist in the world, Dr. Hebble Gates (aka- A Living God) has mysteriously vanished, and the people who colonized a distant planet known as Tir na Nog, have also disappeared, seeming to have been replaced with deadly insects. You see, these are some strange times. When Halley's Comet came towards Earth in 1835, Mr. Gates was no more than an infant still in his mother's womb. At that time he somehow was the first human to become Halley's Chosen, a super human if you will, one that was exposed to a powerful energy known as Halley Core. As Hebble grew up he used his know how to advance the world's technology by using this energy, mostly for the benefit of the British Empire. Who have since became the world's stronghold and has colonized Mars, the Moon, and Tir na Nog.

Yes, I realize this is pretty strange, but I'm not quite through. In an effort to make sure the Hebble Technology isn't used in any ill-conceived manner, Dr. Hebble created an organization known as GUNVALKYRIE. The organization's members consist of only those who have come in contact with the Halley Core, or in other words Ц Halley's Chosen. As either one of GUNVALKYRIE's members, Kelly O'Lenmey or Saburouta Mishima, your mission is to infiltrate Tir na Nog, attempt to locate Dr. Hebble's whereabouts, and destroy anything that has more than 2 legs.

Since it's such a controversial subject, I think it'd only be right to start this off by talking about the game's unusual control set-up. The left-trigger is working double duty here, as both a jump and boost button -- press it once and you'll do a little useless hop, but press it during this hop and you'll activate the character's boosters. The face buttons X, Y, and B correspond to your character's different weapons, the right-trigger shoots, and the right analog stick allows you to look/aim in any direction. This is all some pretty standard stuff, but now let's talk about the left analog stick.

By default the left analog stick works like your standard 3rd person adventure game, take Resident Evil for example. Push up make you walk forward, down makes you walk backwards, and the left/right directions make you turn around. The tricky part is something that comes in the form of a Boost Dash. Basically, you just press the control stick in like a button and press in any direction you want to go. You can also throw together Boost Combos, which are not only good for dodging enemy attacks, but it also increase your GV Fuel Gauge and with enough combos (usually 20+) you'll go into Mobius State, where you are invincible for a limited amount of time. Lastly, your character has the ability to hover in mid-air. Doing a Boost Dash in-flight and then immediately pressing the opposite direction on the control stick without pressing the button in accomplishes this. In all, I really didn't encounter very many problems with this set-up. I'd say within an hour I knew what I was doing, and after a while I was a pro, dodging attacks from all different directions while destroying enemies all at the same time. You won't hear any whining from me.

I'm not going to lie, though. Less experienced gamers will more than likely have a very hard time with this game. But I'd recommend you stick with it, as mastering the control scheme is just part of the fun. Actually, now that I think about it, I do have one complaint Ц the game can be hell on your control pad, especially having to click the left analog stick in time and time again. Also, you may be chucking it out the window on the more frustrating parts in the game. Just keep an extra controller handy and you should be fine.

To simplify this a little we'll just talk about Kelly, since she can be seen as the standard character in the game. As for Saburouta, he is a little harder to control, equipped with more firepower, yet for some reason you can't use him in boss battles. Kelly only receives 3 weapons in the game Ц the Drive Gun (powerful yet limits mobility), the Plasma Hook (allows you to reach certain areas and effective against some enemies), and lastly, Kelly's main weapon Ц the Heat Blaster, which along with the basic shot can also lock on to multiple enemies by holding down the shoot button and aiming with the right analog stick; very Panzer Dragoon like. Although you only have 3 weapons throughout the entire game you never seem to get tired of them, and in-between levels you also have the option of upgrading them Ц such as adding the ability for the Heat Blaster to lock onto more targets at one time.

Once in battle there are 3 things you should take note of Ц your Shield Gauge, GV Fuel Gauge, and your Boost Gauge. The Shield Gauge is some pretty basic stuff Ц if you run out and get hit, you're history. The GV Fuel Gauge serves one purpose Ц it allows you to perform the GV Napalm move, which basically just destroys everything in a small radius around you. Honestly, I didn't find it too useful (except for on the end boss). And finally, the Boost Gauge is what you'll probably be paying the most attention to. Your boosters in the game can only be used in short bursts, and the Boost Gauge is there to show you how much you've used. After your boosters run dry they will quickly refill, so nothing to worry about there, but as you learn the ways you'll find that if you utilize them correctly you can get more bang for your buck. And when you have full control over your boosters the fun factor goes through the roof.

Okay, so I told a little fib. There is in fact one more thing you need to take notice when in battle Ц the bugs! They come in all shapes and forms, some fly around and drop bombs on you (really annoying), while others will come at you in waves as they are hatched from nests that you must destroy, ala Gauntlet. These bad boys will do whatever it takes to get them a piece of some Halley's Chosen meat, so you better be getting your shooting and boosting skills in order.

Altogether, GUNVALKYRIE spans 14, mission based stages with varying levels of difficulty. Missions objectives fluctuate between your standard kill all the bugs in the area to your recover such and such item. And about midways through the game they'll start throwing time limits in the mix to up the intensity level. A few of the levels are just boss encounters that really take you back to the olden days of gaming. Each of them has 2 or 3 standard moves that you must learn in order to predict where attacks are coming from and when and where you should strike. I didn't find the bosses to be too difficult and they certainly a welcome break from the main stages, which can sometimes be very intimidating.

The level designs themselves are very well done, each testing you in different categories. For example, the Valley levels will really put your killing skills to the test, while the Naglfar's Pit levels will do the same for your boosting abilities, as you must master the art of platform jumping. Then we have other levels, such as the Civilian Bases, where you'll need to combine both techniques if you wish to survive. On a scale of 1-10, I'd say the challenge level in the game is about 7. Because some parts of the game are just really easily, while others are pretty difficult, yet not impossible. Like I mentioned before, mastering the controls are a must; and once you do the game is a piece of cake.

Visually, GUNVALKYRIE is quite stunning, and is among the best Xbox graphics to date. For starters, the character models look really, really good. You'll most appreciate this at the beginning of the stages when the camera zooms in around your character showing all the nice details of your Gearskin. Speaking of the camera, I think it's a pretty bold statement by saying it didn't give me a single problem throughout the game. Since this is usually the downfall of 3rd person games, that is a huge compliment. The bug models are good themselves, yet they do leave a bit to be desired. I guess with so many on screen a few sacrifices had to be made; so it's understandable.

The real star of the show here, though, is the game's sprawling environments. From the massive Valleys of Tir na Nog, to the poison filled swamps of Naglfar's Pit, you're sure to be impressed. Nice textures, huge draw distances, and a solid framerate all make this game a very pleasing experience on the eyes. However, I did have to deduct some points for a few blurry textures (proof this was originally a Dreamcast game) and some slow down that I encountered during certain boss battles when a lot was going on.

The sounds of the game are also above average, but not super impressive my any means. What I had anticipated to be a magnificent soundtrack (just look at their track record) only turned out to be decent. A lot of times the music just doesn't fit with the gameplay. You'd expect to hear something fairly aggressive as you mow down thousands of deadly alien buggers, no? The sound effects themselves fit in the same category Ц decent. They're fitting, but leave something to be desired.

Believe it or not, one of the most impressive aspects of GUNVALKYRIE is the replay that is involved. For starters, the game took me around 10 hours to complete, which is unheard of for a shooter of this caliber. After you complete the game a Challenge Mode opens up that lets you go over any stage or boss in the game anytime you want. Why's this important? Because after the completion of each level you are given points depending on how well you did. Categories include Ц number of enemies killed, technique, and time. How well you do equals how many points you get, and you could easily spend a lot of time just trying to get the top 3 ranks in each level. It's really some great stuff.