Gungrave: Overdose Preview

He walks with chains holding a long ivory “coffin” on his back. Each hand carries a weapon, and while he does not say much, his purpose is very clear – destroy whatever gets in his way. Fortunately for those around him, what gets in his way are the bad guys.

Grave is back, and he is once again targeting a criminal organization that has a wealth of targets … err, henchmen ready for the reanimated assassin to send to their own graves.

Gungrave: Overdose is the sequel to the 2002 PlayStation 2 title from SEGA. This time Mastiff has taken over publishing duties and the result is a high-action adventure with stylized anime artwork certain to delight gamers. Yes, the script is over-the-top and a little contrived, but it doesn’t really matter.

While expectations were not overly high in receiving the preview build of this title, and weaving through the beta index code to get to the gameplay was a bit surprising, nothing really prepared for the action-adventure this game presents. Right off the bat you know you are in for almost non-stop action. The only real pauses in the game are for the static cutscenes, which advance the plot.

Grave was an assassin of some renown who was killed. He was brought back to life with the mission to defeat a corrupt and criminal empire. For that reason he carries a coffin, of sorts, on his back, strapped there by chains. He also has a gun in each hand which blows enemies into oblivion is an exploding red shower. The environments are also interactive, so you can destroy much of them as well.

But his guns are not his only weapons. That coffin he carries also swings into action with lethal results. Not only can he use it as a melee weapon against multiple targets, but to batter through environmental elements.

And the fun is just beginning. Charge it up and you can launch a demolition attack from the coffin, which has a tendency to destroy almost everything in a broad path in front of you.

Grave has a pair of sidekicks as the game begins – Mika is an almost 17-year-old who helps guide Grave through missions. Spike is her friend and an erstwhile whiz kid. He has invented a device that will help locate Seed, an evil drug that is rampant in the world.

Each level is referred to as a stage and comes with briefings and objectives. And each stage is scored on the time it took to clear the level/stage, the number of kills, artistic points (how you looked when you were blowing away the bad guys) and the jackpots earned, among other things.

Make no mistake about it, this is very much a reflexive effort, but one that is rather enjoyable.

While the controls on this build were a little sluggish when it came to turning to confront enemies, these elements were otherwise simple and easy to use.

The soundtrack is solid, but what makes this game compelling is the graphics. Featuring the character design of noted anime artists Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) and Kosuke Fujishima (Sakura Wars), Gungrave: Overdose is a terrific blend of interactive elements and lushly rendered characters with wonderful animation.

While this game is not a dazzling treat for the mind, and the challenge – especially initially – is a little light, but with the look and nonstop action, Gungrave: Overdose will be a title to watch for. Action fans get ready – this title will have the thumbs ripping across the controller and a grin spreading from ear-to-ear.

Gungrave: Overdose is slated for release in early September.