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Gunners of Rive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Sky Gunner is my favorite game for the Playstation 2. If you ask most people what the greatest game for system is, they'll probably tell you all about some popular first-person shooter, some super-realistic driving game, or perhaps some overblown rpg with hours of cutscenes about saving the world. As a true hard-core gamer, I personally have always championed gameplay above all else. In other words, a real game involves some SKILL beyond just pulling the trigger or holding down the accelerator...

As the devoted and dedicated know, many of the best games come not from the first-party houses of rehash, nor from the mainstream factories of sports re-treads and copy-cats. The TRUE rare gems come from the small distributors and independent game-makers who care not about bottom lines but about creating true works of art. One of the foremost of these in the eye of many a true gamer are the games pushed to American shores by ATLUS. Indeed, I consider their name to almost a seal of quality nowadays, giving you definitely something fresh and unexpected, if not wholly original and worth putting in a glass case next your copy of Radiant Silvergun.

What all this points to is the simple fact: Sky Gunner is the finest 3D shooter I have ever played. Better than Star Fox (even the 64 iteration). Better than (dare I say it?) all the Panzer Dragoon series save perhaps Zwei (which gives it a good run for it's money make no mistake). What is a 3D shooter? It's a a flight sim without the sim, perhaps an arcade game that was never in arcades. As opposed to an adventure or sim, the point is not simply to finish the levels, or even the game. The point of a shooter is to rack up combos, get high scores, and in general play as stylishly as possible. A good shooter walks the fine line of being easy to pick-up but impossible to master. Sky Gunner is such a game but SO much more.

The basic setup is an anime world with heavy French-European infuences, wherein an exhibition becomes the opportunity for a renouned criminal to attempt a grand heist, stopped only by the cute and courageous Gunners from which the title gets it's name. In each level, you controls a gunner plane and attempt to accomplish various objectives whilst racking up the highest score possible. The camera auto-locks onto enemy targets, giving the game quite a unique feel as often the target is behind you so that the camera is facing the enemy and the play character simultaneously.

As you progress through the game you are scored on various criteria, and utilize lock-ons and machine guns to shoot down targets large and small. The whole experience is cell-shaded and bright and colorful, having the looks of a beautiful anime. The music is grand and sweeping, the cut-scenes a series of still shots in English or Japanese with subtitles, both well acted. The menus and presentation is exceedingly posished, with even menu clicks having a satisfying sound.

You play through the game completely as a single character, but achievments in game unlock new characters, the experience of playing through a level as a different character is so different, that you might almost as well playing a different level entirely (and the third level IS a different level entirely).

The genius of Sky Gunner is the joy flight, of racking up those combos as much as possible, of trying to best your top scores over and over again. It recalls the best of games like Ikaruga, Burning Rangers, Nights Into Dreams, and other classics that push you to always try to beat your old best scores, or give a level just one more go around. Oh, and did I mention that the game lets you quite at any point, saving your progress? This really is the perfect 3D shooter.

Fast, fun, graphically astounding, beautiful music, responsive controls, awesome menus, multiple paths, cool intro. Instead of being on rails, the whole game (almost) lets you go wherever you want (within the confines of the play area). This shooter looks like a really cool anime cartoon that you control, and has awesome voice acting (both english and japanese). ...All I had to see was the intro to want this game. All I had to play was the first level to go crazy with anticipation. Granted, five levels is a little short, but when you consider that the levels shared between the five (yes five!) characters you can play with change drasticly depending on the person you pick, and some levels are completely different (check out level 3 as Copain) this game has tons of reply value. And in true shooter fashion, the game is easily beatable (despite two REALLY hard bosses), but keeps you coming back in an attempt to beat you previous score (I'd love to see someone get an A with Copain). If you love shooters, you owe it to yourself to BUY this game...

Impressive game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Graphics and story are excellent. The camera can take some getting used to but after that, the game is an absolute joy to play. It is a good game for older kids as the controls would be to hard for younger ones.

Review Page: 1 

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