Gungrave: Overdose


is a PlayStation 2 third-person shooter video game developed by animation studio Ikusabune and published by Red Entertainment in Japan and by Mastiff in North America, and a direct sequel to Gungrave. The game was released on March 4, 2004, in Japan, September 15, 2004, in North America and October 7, 2005, in the PAL regions. Gungrave: Overdose picks up where its predecessor left off, and follows its main character through a variety of stages on a path of revenge. It is the only known title fully developed by animation studio Ikusabune, as the previous title was developed by Red Entertainment.
Two years after the original, Gungrave, and just approaching of that game's anime adaptation, Gungrave: Overdose was released. Preserving Yasuhiro Nightow's flair and artistic style, this outing adds new playable characters to the series and a new story, in which Grave resumes his tale as an unlikely anti-hero tracking down the sadistic son of a Mafia boss who has struck a deal with a symbiotic seed bent on taking over the Earth.

Reception

The game was received more favorably by critics than the first game, but still received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Many critics praised the game's longer length, IGN citing that the game can easily last for more than 6 hours, which they say is in stark comparison to the first game's 2 hour length. The game received similar praise for the art and visual style as the first game did, and critics also praised the game's value, GameSpots Greg Kasavin stating "its good-sized series of action-packed missions, multiple difficulty settings, three different playable characters, and dirt-cheap $15 retail price make it an excellent value." However, the game's graphics were criticized for being simpler in order to prevent the slowdown present in the first game, and the game's lock-on system was criticized for being too unwieldy and confusing. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one six, two sevens, and one six for a total of 26 out of 40.