Known
as Armored Blue: Gunvolt in japan it uses the time tested game play made famous
by the megaman series and ads its own twist, namely that Gunvolt has a tag gameplay
system and the Idol/Muse mode. There will be minor spoilers.
In
Azure Striker Gunvolt you take control of Gunvolt a septimal adept Electricity user
and a former QUILL agent as he tries to stop several agents of the Sumeragi
Group. These group of super powered beings are also Septimal users themselves
and won't by a cake walk. Luckily Gunvolt is aided by Joule who has a MUSE. But
everything isn't what it seems.
On
the story perspective Azure Striker Gunvolt plot is pretty much what you would
expect in a typical Megaman game. An group masquerading as a peaceful organization
bent on world peace. There's really very little that is done in this game that
hasn't been done before and multiple times already. The added MUSE Anthem system does
add a little twist on things.
Gameplay
wise this is pretty much a megaman clone with the addition of a tagging system
and the use of the Gunvolt's electric field. Simply put shoot an enemy with
your weapon and can you tag said enemy. Tag enemies can be electrocuted by
Gunvolt's electric field. You can tag multiple enemies or tag an enemy multiple
times. The more tagged an enemy is the more damage they tag from Volts Electric
attack.
Said
electric attack is prone to overheating and some enemy attacks drains the power
bar of said attack so mastering how and when to use said attack is key in
finishing the game. Unlike most megaman games you don't gain the abilities of
Bosses you defeated. You do create better weapons from collecting parts dropped
by enemies you encounter during the course of the game. Your character does
level up the more enemies you destroy giving you a longer lifebar and unlocks
some weapons.
Enemies
in this game have lifebars making the game a bit longer making you use your
electric skill a lot. The stages also have electric based puzzles that also
slows down your progress since you not only need to time your moves you also
need to watch your electric field bar.
Thankfully there are checkpoints within
the stages themselves so you need not repeat the entire stage again if you die.
But you can only save after you are dont with a particular stage.
The
characters are beautifully drawn style anime and leans more as an anime
platform shooter. Some characters are over the top and lands on your typical
anime cliche list leaning on the magical girl and superhero side of the fence. Whether
you like said characters will depend on how much you like anime based
characters as a whole.
The
music of the game is decent with that anime touch on it. Not as memorable as
megaman games though but its still decent enough for a game of this kind. The
music is generally composed of Japanese Idol music that you probably won't
enjoy since you will mostly be too busy trying not to get killed specially when
you are in a boss fight.
Sadly
the game isn't all that good. The game is relatively unbalanced as some stages
are rather easy while others are super hard. The same goes for the bosses.
There's a Boss here who is literary a Touhou shmup type boss just by the amounts
of bullets you got to dodge on screen. The checkpoints and the unlimited
continues goes soften the blow a bit though. The enemies tend to lack in
variety as well. Not to mention materials in order to make better gear is a
chore.
Overall
though Azure Striker Gunvolt is a decent game if you get pass all its shortcomings.
Those that are fans of megaman and the likes would love this game. The
challenge this game posses isn't for the casual players however. The MUSE and
level up system adds a nice RPG element that rewards players for their
dedication. If you have the time and patience to burn than this is a game you
will should give a try.
You can get the game through Steam here.
No comments:
Post a Comment