

The experience is further enhanced by the kudos system, an adjustable score counter that increases as you defeat enemies. While none of the areas are particularly memorable on a visual level, the challenges they present keep the pacing tight-the game never lets up as you unleash an onslaught of destruction against the waves of enemies in your way. This structure lends itself well to emphasizing the unique abilities that Gunvolt and Copen posses.

The latter half, however, has both characters progressing through the same ones. During the first half of the game, each character traverses stages completely unique to his campaign. Thankfully, the stages are meticulously designed around each character's playstyle, providing a diverse selection of obstacles to navigate, hazards to avoid, and enemies to defeat. Copen is by far the more gratifying character to play as, offering a complex set of tactics to learn, an array of attack options to use, and a sense of speed that's continually exhilarating. For instance, he has a dual water cannon that can provide supporting fire, and a drill weapon he can deploy to cover his rear. In addition, he sports an arsenal of support weapons that help compensate for his inability to tag more than one enemy. To compensate for this limitation, Copen has a higher degree of mobility, thanks to his ability to air dash in six different directions. This might sound like a miniscule deviation from the formula, but the differences between Copen and Gunvolt are immense.įor starters, Copen can only tag one enemy at a time, while Gunvolt can tag up to three. Once an enemy's tagged, Copen can follow up with a barrage of powerful homing bullets from his pistol. But while Gunvolt tags an enemy by shooting them, Copen does so by dashing into them. Like Gunvolt, Copen's primary method of attack is tied to tagging and assaulting his enemies. Then there's Copen, a character whose addition opens up a wealth of new combat opportunities. These don't do much to enhance the already well-realized Gunvolt, but despite the lack of any meaningful changes, he remains an entertaining protagonist. Some minor additions are present, however, such as new items that allow you to increase the number of enemies you can tag.

AZURE STRIKER GUNVOLT OVA ENGLISH SUB PATCH
The result is combat that's both incredibly engaging and satisfying in practice.įor those who played the first game, it's worth noting that Gunvolt's abilities haven't changed much, as the skills and abilities he earns throughout the game are identical, like his HP restoring Galvanic Patch skill and his powerful Luxcalibur projectile attack.

The game's distinct "tag-and-assault" playstyle deconstructs the rudimentary nature of combat within run-and-gun action games, breaking down the formula into a multi-step process. Like its predecessor, combat is focused on tagging enemies with pistol fire and zapping them with a devastating surge of electricity. At times, a hint of self-aware writing attempts to tide over the lacking story, but these moments end up more cringeworthy than entertaining.įortunately, these narrative issues do little to undermine the game’s strongest quality: run-and-gun action. However, Gunvolt isn't the only one standing against Eden his rival and anti-adept extremist, Copen, has also entered the fray fueled by his own agenda.ĭespite the fact that the game offers a different campaign for each of its two playable characters, the narratives told aren't very memorable-each follow a structure that more or less resembles an extended fetch quest. Gunvolt 2's story takes place shortly after the events of the first game, throwing its electric-powered protagonist, the titular Gunvolt, into a conflict against Eden, a fanatical group of superpowered individuals known as Adepts. Whether you've played the first game or not, Gunvolt 2 is an exemplary display of tightly-paced action from start to finish. An additional playable character-the returning antihero Copen-completely changes the way the game is played, and expanded sub-systems imbue the action with newfound significance and complexity. Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is a fulfilling follow-up to Inti Creates' electric 3DS action-platformer from 2014, and while it's notably similar in many ways, the subtle changes it introduces expand and enrich the experience.
