Gungrave

About

Gungrave is a third-person shooter where you play as Grave, a tough loner with a personal vendetta against the Millennion crime syndicate. Armed with massive handguns, you'll navigate a gritty urban world, taking on waves of enemies and boss fights across mission-based stages. The story unfolds through straightforward objectives, sniping targets, storming facilities, and extracting info, while figuring out the organization's dark secrets. Combat emphasizes raw firepower and quick reflexes, with a focus on clearing rooms and dodging attacks in fast-paced sequences. The game’s no-frills approach and relentless action have earned it a cult following, particularly for its graphic style and intense boss encounters. Though dated by today’s standards, its straightforward gameplay and memorable characters keep it engaging for fans of classic PS2 shooters. With a Metacritic score of 72, it's a title that prioritizes action over polish, delivering a brutal but rewarding experience.

Storyline

The game opens with the young girl dragging an oversized attaché case toward a warehouse with difficulty. "Bloody" Harry Macdowell has just carried out a coup against Big Daddy, the leader of the Millennion organization, and his daughter Mika needs to find someone that can protect her and stop Harry's mad plans. The occupants of this warehouse include a kindly looking old doctor, and a man with a notable scar on his face. Mika arrives, and the man with the scar claims the contents of the case: two massive handguns. That man is revealed to be the game's title character Grave, and now that he is armed he can start his mission. Gungrave first approaches its stages as a series of missions issued by Dr. T, first to gather information on the current makeup of Millennion from a low-level street gang, and next destroying a research facility that creates Harry's undead soldiers. In the third stage, while attempting to pump information from an informant, Grave comes into contact with the leadership of the Millenion organization—once friends and allies that he now faces as enemies. Each have used the research Harry supported to give themselves inhuman powers. From here on, Grave is hounded by each member as he makes his way to Harry's tower at the heart of the city.