Gunvalkyrie

Gunvalkyrie is an Alternate History/Science Fiction video game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Microsoft Xbox. It was originally developed for the Sega Dreamcast and strongly resembled the final Xbox version in its visual style. The Dreamcast version was distinguished by the fact that GunValkyrie used a unique control system during the game's development, using both a light gun and a controller. This control system was dropped during the development of the Xbox version. The gameplay differs from most third-person shooters due to the unique dual analog controls, which are the main reason for the game's steep learning curve. Players travel to different worlds to investigate the disappearance of several colonies, leaving only giant mutated insect creatures behind. These insects form the majority of the enemies you'll encounter on your way. Players control Kelly or Saburouta with both analog sticks, the left controlling forward and backward movement and turning, while the right aligns weapons and allows for quick turns with a click. Clicking the left stick while pointing in a certain direction gives the character a boost. The left trigger is a boost/jump and can be combined with the left analog boost to create combos that keep the player completely off the ground, which is necessary in some levels. The face buttons select weapons and the right trigger fires the selected weapon. The game consists of ten levels, with the story told through text between levels or occasional in-game cutscenes. At the beginning of most levels, with the exception of the boss fights, you have the choice of selecting either Kelly or Saburouta. Kelly's primary weapon is fast, but weaker, and she is faster and more agile overall. Saburouta is slower, has limited maneuverability in the air, and carries a more powerful primary weapon, the Matchlock Cannon. Basically, the two characters make up the two difficulty levels, with Kelly representing the "normal" level and Saburouta the "advanced" level. The real difference is that Kelly's style can target multiple targets, while Saburouta's gun splashes and is aimed at specific targets. For this reason, Kelly's playstyle is more frantic and requires less direct concentration, while Saburouta needs targeted objectives and direct attacks to be effective. Kelly is also the only character that can upgrade her gear skin. The game's artistic style resembles the steampunk subgenre of fiction, but the game designers prefer to call it "electropunk", which goes a step further and uses electricity for imaginative new applications. The game sections are divided into mechanical-looking interior sections with lots of gears and squiggly metalwork, and exterior sections set in very organic-looking valleys, craters, and other fantastic locations.