Beyond The Realms Of Boredom (Gungage (PS))

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	Gungage (PS)
Date:	11/05/07 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent enemy A.I, secrets to unlock, nice auto-aiming system

Disadvantages: Lacking depth to play, sluggish character movements, poor graphics

Gungage is a third-person shooting game by Konami released in 1999. The action here is arcade-oriented with what development to the story - beasts from a realm known as the 'Dark Moon’ appearing on the planet and attacking the people - being minimal; the scene being set with an excerpt making up the loading screen before initial play.

Aside from the lack of real sequences, Gungage looks like an early PlayStation effort with its low-res visuals. The draw distance is okay though there are patches of texture-warping and wall-clipping to boot. There's an arcade-style commentator which is nothing to shout about, but the soundtrack - like the game - is one of promise which turns to disappointment.

To begin with, you play as Wakle Skade; it's clear there are other characters to be unlocked. Movement of character is sluggish - twisting the upper-half of their body before turning on the spot - lends itself nicely to the auto-aiming system of shooting, but makes collecting a slow process. The game could have made use of the analogue controller. There is manual aiming in this game but the shooting does not involve differentiating between where you hit them so it's basic in that sense. Any platform negotiating is not too much of a problem in this game as the characters cannot walk off a ledge.

Gungage doesn't do variety. Once you get to grips with the all-important strafe then it's a case of holding down the fire, staying mobile, collecting the goods, perhaps saving specials for the end-of-level bosses. This makes the lack of progression regarding the weapons hurt with the (linear) levels - including one on a moving train - not able to save the situation. So that your finger isn't glued to the strafe button the enemy A.I is decent as they will anticipate your move, attacking only if you are in their sights.

Unfortunately, the emphasis on arcade is light. A lack of a timer means it pays to take your time when dealing with the enemy - making action steadily-paced and rarely over-the-top, and I never did pay attention to the high-score in this game. Should you find the going easy/tough, then there are difficulty levels, as well as infinite continues - handy since you cannot save during the game.

It can take about two hours to finish the game with a character. The manner in which the others become available is neat, as is the way they tackle the stages in a different order, perhaps taking a different route, maybe at a different time of day. Then there's the other secrets which calls upon you to do some exploring but despite this, after two hours - never mind the four I took to unlock the characters - I had become disengaged from the action.

Gungage has an ELSPA 11+ rating though apart from shooting monsters nothing comes to mind which makes for unsuitable material. Perhaps the stiff controls will present a problem to players, but once past that the game fails to vary, choosing to stick to its own guns – despite the lack of firepower.

Summary: Gungage for PlayStation