Red Entertainment

You've Seen it all Before

HIGH Pitch-perfect turn-based combat on the ground.

LOW Unbalanced, tedious battles in the air.

WTF I can't use an item because you broke my gun?

Well, I certainly feel like a jackass. The first GunGrave was simple stuff, but it had a kind of low-rent charm. Its jazzy soundtrack hit all the right notes (how could you not like those blasting horns at the end of a level?), and it was amusing to send undead hero Grave into a bullet frenzy and see him spew hot lead over every inch of the screen. Besides, the cutscenes were honestly good enough to keep me playing until the end, despite the lack of pizzazz in the gameplay.

Overdose has a whopping total of two positives going for it: the anime cutscenes are still nice (which is to be expected since the game's spawned an anime series of its own) and the main theme of the game (which returns from the first title) still kicks butt. It's a shame that such a badass theme is wasted on such a mediocre title.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

Game Description: Want to be an unruly and undead gun-toter? A blind, foul-mouthed and prepetually angry swordsmen? How about a red-leather-wearing rock star armed with a lethal electric guitar? Choose your character and mode of attack wisely and let the destruction begin. Just make sure you show up rested. Because once the bodies start dropping, there's no turning back.

What is it with developers these days? It seems like going for a high level of style makes them totally ignore the substance. Note to developers: the two elements are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, the "great-looking, weak-playing" game seems to be a new genre that's here to stay.

For all its visual splendor, Gungrave is really just a mindless shooter not unlike those from the Super Nintendo and Genesis era. The gameplay boils down to nothing more than shoot everything in sight and keep advancing. Grave is a big, lumbering lug, so trying to avoid the barrage of enemy bullets is essentially pointless.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

Game Description: Gungrave casts you in the role of Grave, a long-dead assassin sent to annihilate a mysterious criminal organization. The tools at your disposal: a gun in each hand and a coffin full of hardware strapped to your back. Gungrave features an intuitive control system that lets you perform a variety of graceful moves, all while unloading more bullets than in a John Woo flick.