is a
third-person shooter
Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Smilebit
or Sega Sports R&D is a defunct development division of the Japanese video game company Sega. It was previously known as Smilebit, one of nine semi-autonomous studios which Sega established in 2000. Smilebit was previously known as R&D6 or AM6 w ...
and published by
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
for the
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
. It was released on March 18, 2002 in North America; March 21, 2002 in Japan; and May 17, 2002 in
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
regions. Set in an
alternate history
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
world where the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
rules Earth and various extrasolar planets, the game tasks the player with exterminating the giant insects that infest the colonies of the planet
Tir na Nog. Originally in development for the
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
, the game was moved to the Xbox to take advantage of its improved hardware and controls.
''Gunvalkyrie'' received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its graphics and innovation, but criticized its steep learning curve stemming from its complex controls.
Gameplay
The gameplay is very different from most third-person shooters, due to a unique dual analog control scheme, which is the main contributor to the steep learning curve of the game. Players travel to various worlds investigating the disappearance of several colonies, with only giant, mutated, insectoid creatures left behind. These insectoids comprise the bulk of the enemies players face along the way.
Players control Kelly or Saburouta with both analog sticks, the left controlling forward/backward movement and turning, while the right aims their weapons, and when clicked, allows quick turns. Clicking in the left stick while pointing in a direction causes the character to boost. The left trigger is a boost/jump, and when combined with the left analog boost, can be strung together into combos to keep the player off the ground entirely, which is a necessity for some levels. Face buttons are used to select weapons, and the right trigger fires the selected weapon.
The game comprises ten levels, the story unfolding via text between levels, or the occasional in-game cutscene. At the beginning of most levels, excluding boss battles, players have the choice of picking either Kelly or Saburouta. Kelly's primary weapon is fast but weaker, and she's overall faster and more maneuverable. Saburouta is slower, has more limited maneuverability in the air, and carries a stronger primary weapon, the Matchlock Cannon. Basically the two characters make up the two
difficulty settings, with Kelly being the "Normal", and Saburouta being the "Advanced" setting. The real difference being that Kelly's style allowed several lock-on targets, while Saburouta's weapon splashed and was aimed at specific targets. Because of this, Kelly's gameplay is more frantic and requires less direct focus, while Saburota required specific aiming and direct attacks to be effective. Kelly is also the only character to upgrade her gearskin.
The artistic style of the game is similar to the
steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
subgenre of fiction, but the game's designers prefer to call it "elec-punk," described as a step even further, with the harnessing of electricity for imaginative new uses. The game's stages are divided into indoor mechanical-looking levels, with many gears and ornate metalwork, and outdoor stages, set in very organic-looking valleys, craters, and other fantastic otherworldly locations.
Plot
The game takes place in an
alternate history
Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
in 1906 where the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
rules all of Earth and several extrasolar colony worlds, powered by technology brought to the planet by
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...
in 1835. An unknown substance known as Halley's Core was found throughout the world, and certain individuals who came in contact with it and gained superhuman abilities became known as "Halley's Chosen." The first of these was a scientist named Dr. Hebble Gate, who was affected by the comet while in his mother's womb. With his superhuman mind he harnessed the power of Halley's Core and discovered a wide range of scientific breakthroughs, including fusion and nuclear power, genetic engineering, computers, space travel and countless others. With these technologies the British Empire quickly conquered the earth, and Gate is famous as the man responsible. A complete mystery to all, Gate also holds great power over economic, political and military affairs, and is the founder of the Hebble Foundation and the GunValkyrie (GV) Organization, composed of Halley's Chosen throughout the world to prevent the misuse of technology. He suddenly disappears, throwing the world into shock, and has been missing for four years by the time the game begins.
In addition to his disappearance, the residents of the colonized planet of
Tir na Nog have also disappeared, with an outbreak of large alien creatures that resemble giant
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
in their place. It is also believed that before his disappearance, Gate was conducting research on how to strengthen the colonists through genetic modification, and it is speculated that the insects and colonists are one and the same.
In response, members of an elite military force within the GV organization, known as "Team Dolphin" (established 1887) is sent to investigate Gate's disappearance as well as the situation on Tir na Nog. Leading the investigation is Gate's only daughter, Lieutenant Meridian Poe, who survives on a life support system developed by her father after he surgically removed her head and disappeared with her body. The two playable characters are Kelly O'Lenmey, born in
Ballymun
Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, a collected idealist who once aided the
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
in their fight for independence until their methods caused her to leave and join the GV, and Saburouta Mishima, born in
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, an exiled
Samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
of the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
who was saved by the GV after he was unjustly sentenced to capital punishment.
Dr. Gate's fate at the end of the game is left ambiguous, as the Poe's Report documents presented throughout the game reveal that a body was eventually discovered, but its identity is not confirmed.
Development
''GunValkyrie'' was originally developed for the
Sega Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
. Its visual style was very similar to the final Xbox version. The Dreamcast version's distinguishing feature was that during the game's development, ''GunValkyrie'' utilized a unique control scheme using both a light gun and a controller. This control scheme was dropped when development shifted to the Xbox version.
The game's soundtrack, composed by Teruhiko Nakagawa and
Tatsuyuki Maeda, was also marketed during the game's release. It was during this time period that
TokyoPop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
was publishing Sega soundtrack releases in the United States, including ''GunValkyrie'', ''
Virtua Fighter 4
is a fighting game by Sega. It is the fourth game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series.
The game was first released in arcades on the NAOMI 2 board in 2001. A console port of ''Virtua Fighter 4'', as well as that of '' Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution ...
,
Panzer Dragoon Orta
is a rail shooter developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. The fourth entry in the ''Panzer Dragoon'' series, it was released in Japan in 2002 and in North America and Europe in 2003. The story follows a girl, Orta, who is freed ...
'' and the ''
Sonic Adventure 2
is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stor ...
Official Soundtrack''. ''GunValkyrie Official Soundtrack'' was released on April 2, 2002. Unusually, and in contrast to the titles mentioned above, a soundtrack CD for the game was not released in Japan.
Reception
On release, ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' magazine scored the game a 32 out of 40. In Japan, during the week of the release, the game sold 6000 units becoming the only Xbox game to make it to the top 30 best-selling video games.
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
scored the game a 73 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". It was a runner-up for ''GameSpot''s annual "Most Disappointing Game on Xbox" award, which went to ''
ToeJam & Earl III''.
In 2009,
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
included it among the games "with untapped franchise potential", and commenting on the game's difficulty: "a true gaming workout, but few games in the Xbox library were as beautiful to look at or more rewarding to play."
123 games with untapped franchise potential
GamesRadar US, April 30, 2009
References
External links
Sega of America, Inc. page
*Smilebit Corporation page
Japan
*{{moby game, id=/gunvalkyrie, name=''GunValkyrie''
reviews.teamxbox.com
2002 video games
Cancelled Dreamcast games
Science fiction video games
Sega video games
Single-player video games
Third-person shooters
Xbox games
Xbox-only games
Video games about insects
Video games featuring female protagonists
Video games set in 1906
Alternate history video games
Video games developed in Japan