SkyGunner
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| SkyGunner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | PixelArts |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Hiroyuki Kotani Yuji Nakamura |
| Producer(s) | Tomikazu Kirita |
| Designer(s) | Yoshikazu Hiraki |
| Composer(s) | Mayuko Kagesita |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | AI combat simulator, Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Sky Gunner, often stylized as SkyGunner, is a 3D third-person combat flight simulation video game for the PlayStation 2. The game's setting and art style has elements of steampunk. It was developed by PixelArts and was released in Japan on September 27, 2001 by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released to the North American market by Atlus USA on June 24, 2002.
Plot[edit]
Sky Gunner follows the story of 3 ace pilots, Ciel, Copain and Femme, who are hired to protect the "Eternal Engine", an engine capable of perpetual motion. Little do they know, the criminal genius, Ventre, is planning to use the town's celebration aboard the luxury airship, Merveilleux, as an opportunity to steal the Eternal Engine for his own evil ends.[1]
System[edit]
[edit]
A system that always places locked-on enemies in the center of the screen, regardless of the state of your aircraft.
This has resulted in various benefits, such as eliminating radar maps, making it easier to identify attack targets, and being able to watch aerial battleships explode and sink. This also plays a role in building the worldview of this work, where there are no radars, etc., and enemies can only be detected by visual recognition. By the way, the face of the character riding your own aircraft is always facing the locked enemy.
Flight Assist[edit]
A system that automatically changes direction and avoids obstacles when the aircraft is about to collide with them.
Even if it crashes into a place that is physically impossible to avoid, it will only damage its wings and will never take any damage. This solves the problem of the enemy navigation system, where you can't see what's in front of your aircraft, and at the same time, it provides relief from the situation that beginners often encounter, where they crash into an obstacle and end the game. While flight assist is active, it becomes nearly impossible to operate, and may be thrown in an unexpected direction, but it is also possible to use this to change direction at a speed that is incomparable to normal operation.
Crash Avoidance System[edit]
A system that allows you to recover from a crash by pressing the directional pad or buttons a certain number of times within 10 seconds when your aircraft completely loses its balance and crashes.
The number of consecutive hits required to get back on your feet increases each time you crash in the same scene, and is reset at the end of the scene. Immediately after recovering, you will be invincible while English text is displayed on the screen. Also, in light of the term "consecutive hits," you can increase the number of times by pressing the pad of your thumb against the directional pad and buttons and rock back and forth, rather than pressing the buttons at high speed as you might normally do.
Prize Money[edit]
The so-called score. It will be displayed as "Co 1,000,000". Increases and decreases in real time during play due to shooting down enemy planes, being hit by bullets, crashing, using machine guns, etc., and the five elements of clear bonus, event bonus, number of times shot down, optional weapons used, and battle bonus are added or subtracted on the result screen when clearing each scene. and calculated as the scene total. The ranking for each character is displayed based on the prize money for that scene, and the gunner rank is also affected by the total prize money for all scenes. You can check the highest prize money earned by each character under ``Score on the main menu, but only 8 digits are displayed (the score caps at ``Co 99,999,999). However, if the game ends with this value exceeded, the 9th digit will also be recognized, although it will not be displayed.
Story Progression[edit]
Story mode consists of five scenes, except for Rival's story (which is only two scenes). Each scene consists of multiple missions, and by completing them you will clear the scene. Missions branch somewhat depending on success or failure, and some failures lead to an immediate game over. Also, certain missions are called events, and they affect the event bonus when clearing a scene and gunner rank. In between scenes, there are cut scenes including characters' conversations and actions, leading to the next scene.
Reception[edit]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 75/100[2] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Edge | 6/10[3] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8.33/10[4] |
| Famitsu | 29/40[5] (PS) 28/40[5] |
| Game Informer | 6.5/10[6] |
| GameSpot | 7.2/10[7] |
| GameSpy |   [8] |
| GameZone | 8.2/10[9] |
| IGN | 7.8/10[10] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine |  [11] |
| X-Play | [12] |
The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight and three sevens for a total of 29 out of 40, while Famitsu PS gave it a score of one eight, two sevens, and one six for a total of 28 out of 40.[5]
Sequel[edit]
In 2006, doujin software house EasyGameStation released a download only, unofficial PC sequel to Sky Gunner entitled "Gunner's Heart". The game features all of the original cast of the first game, with the addition of two new female antagonists that work with the original game's main antagonist, Ventre. One of the main changes between the two games is the fact that Gunner's Heart is a rail shooter, whereas the original game featured open air flying and gameplay. Gunner's Heart also has new two-player gameplay.
References[edit]
- ^ "Atlus USA presents SkyGunner". Atlus. Archived from the original on February 19, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
- ^ a b "SkyGunner for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Edge staff (December 2001). "Sky Gunner". Edge. No. 104.
- ^ EGM staff (August 2002). "Sky Gunner". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 157. p. 130.
- ^ a b c Gene (May 23, 2002). "SkyGunner (Import) FAQ". GameFAQs. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Barber, Chet (July 2002). "Sky Gunner". Game Informer. No. 110. p. 83. Archived from the original on November 14, 2004. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Lopez, Miguel (June 19, 2002). "Sky Gunner Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Turner, Benjamin (June 27, 2002). "GameSpy: SkyGunner". GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 31, 2005. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Bedigian, Louis (June 25, 2002). "SkyGunner Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ Smith, David (June 25, 2002). "Sky Gunner". IGN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- ^ "Sky Gunner". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. July 2002. p. 102.
- ^ Concepcion, Miguel (July 12, 2002). "'SkyGunner' (PS2) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
