Act: Gunner 2 [by Warlock Studios]

Game Review: Gunner 2
Release: June 2004
Genre: Action
Developer: Warlock Studio
System Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, DirectX 8.0 or higher
Players: 7
Price: $14.95
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When I first went to check out Gunner 2 I somehow had it in my head that this was a game where you played as a gunner on a boat and you were required to take out enemy aircraft. The description isn't entirely without its merit, but I was very surprised to find as I started playing the game just how much more to this game there really is.

To begin with the game takes place in more locations than just one. You do not merely shoot down jets from a boat. You also shoot enemies from on board planes as a tail gunner and from the ground. The game further expands the locations that you play from by inserting you into deserts, stormy grasslands, wintery mountain ranges and a few different locations in space.

In each area your goal is the same, you must destroy all the enemies and protect the surrounding buildings or boats or plane squadrons or whatever. This of course will not be an easy task as the enemies that you are fighting will come fast an furious attempting to destroy your comrades. What is more, if you happen to fire too many stray bullets in the wrong direction you will quickly find that you have done your enemies the favor of blasting away one of your comrades before they could.

There are a variety of weapons that you use throughout the game, as you move up through the levels more powerful weapons become available. It isn't until level 29 that you receive the ultimate gun a missile launcher that requires quit a bit of accuracy in order for it to be effective, but when it hits, watch out! The other guns also provide a fair amount of interest, starting with simple turret guns and moving into chain machine guns and a mini-rocket launcher.

The enemies for their part aren't the most intelligent batch that you've ever fought against, but with your weapons and the number of enemies that continue to appear you'll find yourself more than busy trying to keep track of them all rotating your screen 180 degrees as you pivot your guns to track down fighters that fly overhead. As you begin to blast the enemies that fly towards you and your protectorates, they will take evasive maneuvers if they find themselves under too much fire. However, rarely do they split into smaller groups to attack you from all sides finding themselves instead fairly content to fly right at you and take their risks as they come.

Gunner 2 gets really intense as some of the planes get past you and start making new runs from different directions while new planes, helicopters or spacecraft come directly at you. This intensity is greatly enhanced on the higher difficulty level as each enemy requires more hits and accuracy making it quite difficulty for you to knock them out of the sky before they really become a threat to you.

Gunner 2 is broken into 3 level packs and one bonus pack. Unfortunately the first pack is the only one that offers game play from a boat or a plane. The second set of packs pits you against mostly helicopters as you guard different bases. The third pack takes a very different twist as it places you in space fighting UFOs. The coolest weapons in the game come into play during that last set, and the graphics are probably the prettiest there as well, but the transition does seem a little strange.

With a large variety of weapons, enemies and areas of play Gunner 2 proves itself as a great shooter that will keep your trigger-happy fingers busy for quite some time.


Graphics: 8
There are moments when the quality of the graphics really shines though, such as when an enemy explodes. The explosions give a beautiful display of flame and pieces that is really cool to watch. What is more the explosions never become repetitive as the game makes each explosion different in which parts are exploding from the plane. However, there are other moments when you look at the ground and the buildings around you and think that though the graphics are definitely 3D and pretty well textured they are not really very close to the type of graphics that you see in average mainstream games or above average Indie games. For that reason, despite some cool effects I felt the graphics were just above average.

Sound: 8
The sound effects with planes and choppers flying over your head and all around you is pretty good and definitely adds to the intense feeling of the game.

Game Play: 8
I found the game immediately easy to play, but at the same time very challenging. The variety of guns lends to making the game quit enjoyable as you play, and the need for precision in targeting provide more than an adequate challenge. I was disappointed to find that I could fire at enemies that were behind mountains and find that I could just destroy them anyway, and there were several moments during the game where I wondered if it had some sort of bug as I sat for a minute or two waiting for something to show up so that I could shoot at it, but overall this is a game that most anyone can play and become an expert at.

Value: 9
At $17.95 there is definitely plenty of joy to be found here. On the easiest difficulty level the game will likely take you about 3 hours to play all the way through, which is pretty good for the price. I think most people will find that they still have plenty of desire to play and will take up the challenge of the pro difficulty level. Overall I think most gamers will find that there is a lot of game to be played and enough challenges to keep you coming back for more.

Concept: 8
Nothing really all too ground-breaking, but the variation between land, air, sea and space provides some definite intrigue to the game.

Fun: 8
Gunner 2 is really pretty fun to play if you love to blast things to pieces. There isn't really any game beyond that so you better really like targeting planes and helicopters and ufos. The game tries to add in a little story as you move through pack 1 and pack 2, though it seems that the developers were nearly bored of the concept when it got to pack 3 even though pack 3 delivers some of the best challenges and best graphics in the game the story loses its professional tone.

Overall: 8
This is a really solid game that those looking for more blasting than even a FPS can offer should check out. The graphics are well done and at the least I think you should check out the demo to see what it looks like to blow a few enemies to kingdom come. The variety of weapons, locations and enemies should keep most gamers enthralled for hours!

Added: September 25th 2004
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
Score:
Hits: 4037
Language: english