GunGriffon Blaze
Review of GunGriffon Blaze
In a Post-Apocalyptic future where the nations of the world have splintered into numerous unstable factions, only the powerful Western Alliance can bring peace and stability once more. With an arsenal of powerful AWGS-class infiltration units at their disposal, these battle-hardened warriors have what it takes to rip off a quick CHM round and skeetch the less-skilled predatory scum of the New World order. Youve been summoned to join this elite class of peacemakers. So put on a brave face and suck in that gut, youve got a world to save.
Right from the start of Gungriffon Blaze, I was immediately impressed with the menu system and the shear amount of configuration options at my disposal. Besides the usual sound, controller, difficulty and vibration options I was also able to create a person that will pilot the AWGS…including name, weight, height, IQ, eye sight, age and blood type. Once you arm you beast of destruction you can visit a screen that will show you what your AWGS looks like carrying the weapon (weird or what) and what that weapon can do. Since there are a slew of weapons you should try to become familiar with as many as possible in this mode.
Starting the game you are presented with a training mission (set in Guam) to see if you can qualify for the real deal. Here you are given the specifics of your mission objects and slotted with a pre-set time limit in which to pull it all off successfully. I will say one thing, the first few times I tried this mission I ran out of time, mostly because I was so busy blowing everything up. Thats right, not counting the trees, 99% of the structures in the game can be blown to pieces. Also, as you blow stuff up, items will pop out that you can collect like ammo, health, weapons, AWGS parts as well as other cool stuff. At any rate, you really need to review the mission objects so you now what is expected and you will also need to take out ALL of the enemies (some of which are non-moving so dont be fooled…destroy everything to be on the safe side!).
The missions steadily increase in difficulty and are designated by stars that appear right after the location name. The more stars there are the harder the mission is to complete in the allotted timeframe. One bit of advance warning…after the second mission degree of difficulty accelerates rapidly. This is no mamby pamby game for sure.
Control of your AWGS could not be better. The thumbsticks are used to maneuver and rotate you mech around. You can zoom in on target and if jump enabled, your AWGS can fly around and reach higher ground in a snap. To help you along the way you have a rather complex and very busy Heads up Display that tries to cram a ton of stuff into a half-ton bag. Some of the info includes a compass, score, time, enemy location, altimeter, range, sights, enemy damage, your damage, system meter…and so on. While everything being displayed is quite useful, I found myself ignoring most of it because the battles are typically so hectic and high-energy that I hardly had time to scan the HUD!
Overall, this is another friggin work of art by Game Arts and Working Designs. I would like to have seen more missions, but what is in there is certainly solid and most enjoyable. This is a true arcade style mech shoot em up that should not be missed!
As far as the graphics are concerned in GGB, I will say that they look absolutely sweet! This game has some of the best terrain effects, background details and environment displays in a mech style game to date. When you set off explosions you get to witness some nice light-sourching on surrounding objects that actually looks like it is reflecting the flash from the detonations. Backgrounds are extremely detailed with lots of moving objects (gun turrets, enemies, dust, etc) and great cloud/sky effects. The overall environments are nicely detailed and very realistic looking with lush green grass in areas, good water effects, trees, sand…the list goes on. Each area was graphically very different and fresh looking with good attention to detail being paid to all aspects of the areas you traverse.
The AWGSs themselves look smashing with good solid textures and fantastic animation. The game also gives players the option of selecting if your AWGS will be nice and shiny or matted in appearance. You can also choose to set up the explosions to give off light-sourching to the surrounding areas (bright setting) or leave the setting at basic, which eliminates the reflections on surrounding objects.
Never, not once did the game slow down regardless of how much activity was going on around me. Everything continues to flow smoothly throughout the gameplay. The camera also does a superb job in tracking your progress. Overall, this game is a real graphical showcase and a pleasure to view.
The game has some tremendous sound effects to go along with the pretty graphics. Explosions contain superb impact and variety, realistic metallic sounds as the AWGS walk and move about and there is constant background chatter as allies are issuing commands and warnings.
The music is pretty good techno rock that doesnt let up and fills in the rest of the gaps nicely to round out the action in a rather positive light. Good stuff!
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'GunGriffon Blaze' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Tom Rooney © Absolute PlayStation
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