Chris-FaylorA year and a half back, Sega published a balls-out action game entitled Gungrave. With an emphasis on arcade gameplay, the game could be completed in under an hour, but the real fun was in attaining high scores through stylish gameplay. Though the game didn't perform as well as Sega had hoped, fans of Gungrave will be thrilled to know that the sequel, Gungrave OD, is on its way stateside according to an IGN report. With localization handled by the up-and-coming Mastiff, who also brought over Space Invaders and La Pucelle: Tactics, the focus is on a quality translation with a release by the end of the summer.
New to the Gungrave series in OD are two additional playable characters, Jyui the (literally) flaming blind swordsman, and Rocket Billy the guitarist, who shoots lightening from his guitar. They join the returning hero (if that's the right word) Beyond the Grave as the player travels through new levels. Stylish fighting is encouraged with the new Artistic Points system, which unlocks special moves known as Evolution Factors. In order to use Factors, a player must keep earning Artistic Points, leading to all sorts of wacky chaos.
As for the all-important Japanese language track, Mastiff plans to include it on the DVD. However, there's a possibility they could run out of disc space beforehand, in which case the track would have to go. We'll let you know as soon as we know more.
Due out by the end of the summer, Gungrave OD looks to be the perfect summer action game with its over-the-top in-your-face action. Yes, that's a lot of adjectives, but anyone who witnessed the original would agree, the Gungrave series has earned them.