Gungrave G.O.R.E Criticism
The game was very obviously designed to be over the top bullshit. Despite the, it does a lot of details more accurately than pretty much everything else. While it learns from Devil May Cry, it seems to try everything it can to not be Devil May Cry. This is normally to their credit, but they do take it a bit too far.
First, the game's reward system relies on Beats, the number of consecutive attacks you make. This is not reset when you take damage, as the game wants you to walk through enemy fire, it forces you to maximize your attacks. The best way to do this is through your basic attacks, and so 99% of the gameplay is you simply slow walking your way through enemy fire while using your basic attack against them. None of the other options provide the same benefit. The /\ button has you stand still and shoot all around you, which is fun, but not that useful compared to other options, and locked until you reach 50 beats in the combat.
The game also gives you a bunch of random scenery to shoot, that counts to your beat count. This means the best result is to simply KEEP shooting as you walk about, to maintain your beat count between your battles.
One of the things the beats do is give you Demolition Points. You start off being able to hold one, and can purchase further ones. This allow you to use Demolition Shots. So, you walk through the level, shooting everything, (and I do mean EVERYTHING, fuck you random scenery elements), to unlock Demolition Shots. Demolition Shots are ridiculously over the top attacks.
The first one has Death Hauler, (your "coffin"), drop a bomb larger than itself, which you slow kick at enemies. It's useful, powerful, but auto-targets, so you can't pick, say, the centre of the enemy formation, the explosion is no where near it should be for the side of the bomb. It would have been more useful to give you a simply hand grenade. Say, the useless Aim system that takes up the L1 slot.
Another one has you Death Hauler's autocannon. This is very useful, and very well implemented, except it requires a Demolition Point, and locks you into it. When I say useful and very well implemented, it's one of the only games that rewards you for using a machinegun sited in defilead, (cover from all sides by your front), and fire in enfilead, (machineguns are linear AoE weapons, and so it's best if get your enemies into a line in the direction you are firing). This, and Boltgun. One one of the only three games that requires you to actually brace the weapon, rather than running around like Rambo.
One of the biggest problems in the game is that everything combo-locks you. You can't interrupt an attack combo to switch to an execution. Note: You get "Art" points for executions, and Demolition Shot kills, which add to your final score.
If we take the autocannon, the downside to using it could simply be that you have to stand still. It doesn't need a limiting factor. If you wanted a limiting factor, it could simply be a skill recharge. The more powerful attacks would have higher skill recharge times. This would also allow continuous attacks to not have a fixed duration.
Then the earthquake attack, (you jump into the air and slam Death Hauler into the ground), it's main limiting factor would simply be it's short range. The flamerthrower would work similar to the autocannon.
And if you did this, you could remove Beats. Beats seems like a way to create the DMC Style system, without creating the DMC Style. And it's definitely a good idea to include a Style system, but they could say, include damage to your recharging shield. You can recharge your shield simply by evading attacks, taking a hostage, executions. You could have an evasion system similar to Transformers: Devastation, that gives you shield and style rewards if you perfect timing it.
And now we get to melee. It definitely seems like it's trying to make melee less useful, because it is purposefully not being DMC, and again, in general, this is a good thing, but it also takes it too far. Your basic melee attacks is a full spin. You have to deflect the L-stick to actually use combos. There are many situations where moving forward would make your attack useless, as the game actually lets enemies get underneath your attacks. The big thing about the full spin is that it deflects missiles in a 360-degree arc. This would be great to add to style, but because the game uses Beats instead, deflecting a swarm of missiles might give you 4 beats. As I said, /\ is used for something that seems more useful than it is, but is also similar to another feature that has you stand still, and shoot at everyone around you. Having two similar features like this, one of which is locked out below 50 Beats, is just stupid. Especially when it takes one of your precious face buttons.
The game also has an extremely limited Jump system, that basically does nothing useful. There is no platforming in the game. In fact, most platforms enemies attack you from are purposefully designed to be just too high for you to jump on. They could combine the dodge and jump system to let you dodge over the heads of enemies, which would free up another face button.
While we're at it, another feature I have never once used is Aim. The game auto-aims at the target nearest your reticle, and this is implemented so well, and you attack so much, that aiming your regular attacks is completely unnecessary. Instead, we could have L1 pull Death Hauler up in front of you, and then have it remap the []. /\, O, and X buttons, like it does with Demolition Shots. An upgrade could even turn Death Hauler into a shield, that could allow your... shield to recharge. One of these could be the all-around spin to knock-back missiles.
As it is, right now, the game focuses on throwing waves after waves of enemies at you, to the point you simply ignore multiple machinegunners, along with multiple enemies with 4-shot missile launchers. Yes, this is part of the game, but you could do a better job with less enemies. Make every RPG count. You could even tie dodge/dash into L1, like Darksiders does. As it is, you have R1 (hold), that is finicky, and only works when an enemy is on the same plane as you. So, the game has dodge, jump, and dash, all of which are so-so, rather than having one mechanic that is well done. You could then tie dodge, (Transformers: Devastation), in with your missile deflection, in with a more functional dash.
Alright, now we've cleared up all of the face buttons, (literally all of them), what so we do?
O: Basic Combo, which the game uses with L-stick + O - O - O
[]: Melee gunplay. One of the big advantages to pistols is that you use them in hand-to-hand combat. I mean, seriously, the focuses 95% of it's game time to gun play. This seems like a no-brainer.
/\: Alternate Death Hauler attacks. One of my favourites is the Buzz Saw, but this is locked into the third phase of the combo.
X: How about a backflip that has him shooting at everyone on the way?
Press L1 at any point during a combo to dodge/evade/dash out of enemy range.
Press L3 at any point during a combo to break the combo and execute an enemy, (once they are stunned).
And all of these could be structural upgrades. Instead of upgrading skills, the game focuses more on buying new skills that are even more over the top.
As the game progresses, it adds more and more enemies that require melee to defeat, while simultaneously purposefully hamstringing melee attacks, and making a system where melee attacks are more likely to break your Beats streak, making them even less useful.
