Gungrave comes to us from the great animators of the Trigun anime series. Unfortunately, while the cut scenes are great, you only get 6 levels and a few hours of gameplay.
 | I love the Trigun series, so I had high hopes for this arcade button-masher that used the Trigun animator, Yasuhiro Naito, to design the characters and draw the cut scenes. And yes, you definitely can get the Trigun feel in this game. |
You are a zombie in black and red, carrying around your coffin. Just like Wolfwood, your coffin is a weapon that you can launch rockets out of and swing around like a battle axe. You shuffle through each level, firing unlimited rounds with repeated button hammering and occasionally launching a special missile.
The game claims to have a "fully destructable environment", which had me expecting a Red Faction level of coolness. Unfortunately, they really only meant you could blow up boxes and furniture, which has been a staple of gaming since the days of Doom.
There's a nice "Go Here!" set of arrows always leading you forward, but it's only a few hours until you get to the end of Level 6 and the game is over. You could replay the levels over and over to try for a top score in each one, but there just isn't much fun challenge in it.
Recommended as a rental for anime fans, but only die hard Trigun enthusiasts will want to buy this one.
Buy Gungrave from Amazon.com
