How good is Gunners Heaven?

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:27 pm

Another title I've been curious about. How good is it, is it anyway near the level of quality of gunstarr heroes?

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:36 pm

I like it very much. It's fast, solid and good lookin, just like my women. It does not have that certain something that Gunstar has though. It's well worth owning though.

Pa

Post by **Ghegs** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:46 pm

I like it as well. I lucked out and found the PAL version cheap back in the day.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:46 pm

I've only played it for about 15 minutes, that was enough for me. It just felt bland. Some of the artwork was well-done, but nothing amazing. I'm no big fan of Gunstar Heroes (anymore;)), but it's definetly MUCH better than this.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 7:49 pm

Yep, what he said. A solid run n' gun with some decent boss fights thrown in the mix. Yes it can't hold a candle to Gunstar (or any of the Contra games for that matter) but its still pretty good. Well worth the $35.00 or so that I paid for it.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:03 pm

I see... What is it exactly that makes it a less of a game than gunstarr heroes?
Which part of the game is bland, the action, the level bosses?

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:23 pm

The level design is horrid, even worse than it was in Gunstar Heroes (definetly GH's biggest weakness IMO), the action just never really takes off (during first two or three levels that I played). There are some good ideas though, but not enough to catch my attention. Even more imporantly, I didn't like the overall feel of the game.

So I guess that's what put me off: uninspired gameplay mechanics and bland atmosphere. Tastes vary obviously (and it didn't seem like a BAD game, really), so why not give it a try? Best way to find out.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 9:47 pm

zinger wrote:The level design is horrid, even worse than it was in Gunstar Heroes (definetly GH's biggest weakness IMO), the action just never really takes off (during first two or three levels that I played). There are some good ideas though, but not enough to catch my attention. Even more imporantly, I didn't like the overall feel of the game.

Plus, I felt the sprites were oversized, the controls not so smooth, and the weapon system completely unoriginal.

but yeah, it's not that terrible... Just not that awesome either.

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:27 pm

My thoughts and others' can be found at:
http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=292

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:12 pm

Thanx for the replies, and the link Davey. Currently I'm on the fence about this game, I'll just leave it for now.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:24 pm

I agree with everybody else. The long shmup level is also quite boring. The time-based ammo power-up system doesn't seem well thought up. There's pretty much no stage interaction or platforming. Bosses involve the same repetitive strategy unique to each of them. The only interesting point is probably that the 2 playable characters have completely different sets of weapons. A very average sidescroller.

On the other hand, Gunstar Heroes is among my fave games of all time and still shines with originality and fun.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:05 am

Doesn't Rapid Reload (and sometimes Gunners Heaven) go for around 20 bucks anyways? 20-something 'taint much, I say go for it and play it yourself.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:28 am

As I said, it's great and more than worth the price. Gunstar has a certain classic charm and that's the only thing lacking here. Well actually Gunners Heaven also lacks all the slowdown and flicker found in Gunstar heroes. There are some people that like Gunners Heaven better than Gunstar Heroes. To me, it's close.

Pa

Naiera · Post by **Naiera** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 6:29 am

Good enough to buy it and play it. For a while.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:12 am

I'm squarely in the "it's superfluous junk" camp, for the same reasons as Zinger. I wanted it a long time until playing a friend's copy for an hour. Actually, it may have been 45 minutes. I was extremely let down, not that my expectations were high. It has nothing on Treasure's masterpiece.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:54 am

I played it for 10 minutes.

Sprites were huge but animation was lacking. Can you shoot diagonal in this game? I think that put me off.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:22 pm

Gunstar Heroes is great. But it's no masterpiece. When people say that stuff you just know they're looking through the rose colored glasses of sentimentality. Gunners Heaven does not have all of this 16 bit Sega sentimentality built up because it was never released in the states. It's as solid as any run 'n gun that anyone ever liked except maybe Metal Slug and Metal Slug X. People looking for warm Treasure induced feelings of tingleyness can keep playing Gunstar. If you have twentyfive bucks and would like another solid run 'n gun because you've played the living shit out of all twelve other decent run 'n guns in existence, you really can't go wrong with Gunners Heaven.

It won't change your life, but it is pretty awesome.

Pa

jiji · Post by **jiji** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:42 pm

Gunners Heaven is pretty clearly Mediaworks' love letter to Gunstar, and Gunstar is what it desperately wants to be. It doesn't come close in music, animation, style, or mechanics, though, and my time with it mostly just made me wish I was playing Gunstar.

I feel sorry for whichever sap it was who was sure Gunners was ghost-developed by Treasure - the difference is clear.

Valgar · Post by **Valgar** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:47 pm

jiji wins.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 5:48 pm

jiji wrote:I feel sorry for whichever sap it was who was sure Gunners was ghost-developed by Treasure - the difference is clear.

LOL! Somebody said that? The difference is very clear. Doesn't make Gunners Heaven bad or unworthy, but it's obviously not by Treasure.

Pa

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 8:31 pm

PaCrappa wrote:Gunstar Heroes is great. But it's no masterpiece. When people say that stuff you just know they're looking through the rose colored glasses of sentimentality. Gunners Heaven does not have all of this 16 bit Sega sentimentality built up because it was never released in the states. It's as solid as any run 'n gun that anyone ever liked except maybe Metal Slug and Metal Slug X. People looking for warm Treasure induced feelings of tingleyness can keep playing Gunstar. If you have twentyfive bucks and would like another solid run 'n gun because you've played the living shit out of all twelve other decent run 'n guns in existence, you really can't go wrong with Gunners Heaven.

It won't change your life, but it is pretty awesome.

Pa

Agreed about Gunstar Heroes; it is pretty fun to play, but "masterpiece" is going overboard.

Pa, how does the weapons counter work in Gunners Heaven? The fact that there even is one kinda bothers me; does it work like the weapons counter in 1943?

And, is there any video footage of Gunners Heaven out there on the internet? All I've been able to find are screenshots, but those were pretty impressive.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:16 pm

dave4shmups wrote:Agreed about Gunstar Heroes; it is pretty fun to play, but "masterpiece" is going overboard.

Pa, how does the weapons counter work in Gunners Heaven? The fact that there even is one kinda bothers me; does it work like the weapons counter in 1943?

And, is there any video footage of Gunners Heaven out there on the internet? All I've been able to find are screenshots, but those were pretty impressive.

Weapons deplete based on time, not how much they are used. Annoying, but not too terribly bad, since powerups are relatively plentiful. Good luck getting vids.

Post by **Shatterhand** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:23 am

Bullshit, Gunstar Heroes IS a Masterpiece

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 12:49 am

dave4shmups wrote: Pa, how does the weapons counter work in Gunners Heaven? The fact that there even is one kinda bothers me; does it work like the weapons counter in 1943?

You have a set amount of time for your weapons to remain powered up, which can be extended with bonuses left by enemies. The time pauses when you fight bosses. Get to a boss without powered up weapons and it'll take a while longer to kill.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:29 am

Shatterhand wrote:Bullshit, Gunstar Heroes IS a Masterpiece

Absolutely. I'd say it's Treasure's best game. That and Contra III are the pinnacle of the genre as far as I'm concerned. I agree with Pacrappa on one thing, though -- great run'n'guns are few and far between. I think saying there are a dozen is even being generous. I guess I have pretty exacting tastes in these.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:54 pm

Bah! Everybody knows that Bangaioh and Sin and Punishment are Treasure's best!

I don't know what it is about run 'n guns. There are shit-ton of 'em in existence and they mostly all suck. I wonder what makes it so difficult to produce a quality run 'n gun.

BTW, I spent some time with Gunners Heaven yesterday and it is killer. So worth the money.

Pa

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:21 pm

PaCrappa wrote:BTW, I spent some time with Gunners Heaven yesterday and it is killer. So worth the money.

Pa

You seem in minority on this thread, Pa. But I'll say one thing in favor of Gunners Heaven: it does to playstation a much greater favor than Gunstar does to megadrive, because PSone needs games like this badly, while MD has plenty of choice (Contra HC, Midnight Resistance, Alien Soldier, Rolling Thunders...). Although clearly Gunstar tops them all.

PaCrappa · Post by **PaCrappa** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:41 pm

I don't mind being in the minority. I mean I have the game and am happy to play it so there's really not much of an argument here. If the rest of the world wants to write it off after five minutes of play because it shares some features with Gunstar Heroes but is not actually Gunstar Heroes, that is okay. I'll play both

Pa

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:13 pm

I've 1CC'ed Gunners Heaven with the girl ages ago (and nothing special happens of course). I gave it my time and wasn't impressed. Then again, I thought the weapon switching and midair float in Alien Soldier ruined that game so my opinions certainly aren't in the majority often.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:56 pm

Mixed views with this game I see. Thanx for all the replies.

To get, or not to get, that is the question.......

Yeah I think it's best I just hold out for awhile.