No importa como empiece este análisis, pero si hay algo de cierto es que este juego no es lo que uno espera. Y no es de esos ejemplos donde te sorprende gratamente desde alguno de sus aspectos, sino todo lo contrario: un titulo aburrido que no hace nada para mostrarse a si mismo, siendo como resultado algo que sería mejor que dejes de lado. No es que no me guste personalmente porque amo la estética en general, los robots y un poco el anime, pero eso no justifica que sea un juego mediocre. No malo, no pésimo, sino mediocre.

Armored Hunter GUNHOUND EX es un “run 'n gun” con mechas al mejor estilo de Metal Warrior o Cybernator, con lo cual uno se espera la idea de manejar un robot gigante a través de escenarios dependientes de la historia o algo interesante de ver, a su vez de enfrentar oleadas de enemigos y jefes de nivel gigantes e imponentes. En si plasma la idea de manejar algo que se asemeja a un tanque con piernas estando muy alejado a la idea de Evangelion, Patlabor, Aldnoah Zero, Macross, Zone of Enders, etc., por lo cual no es el típico juego de ritmo adrenalistico que uno acostumbra y mentaliza cuando algo de este estilo proviene de desarrolladores doujin. Como lo dije, plasma bien la idea, pero lo hace de una forma un poco dudosa y para nada amigable para jugadores que recién comienzan.

La historia nos pone en un conflicto por una fuente de energía llamada “Neutron Polymers”, que es la razón por la cual el mundo combate por ellas. Tomaremos el papel de Yuri, piloto del HOUND 2 para parar de alguna forma lo que acontece... y claro que mucho más de eso no puedo explayarme porque sinceramente me importó casi nada la narrativa, no porque fuera compleja sino porque no acompaña para nada con el gameplay y el ritmo de juego (cosa que veremos más adelante), habiando una desconexión difícil de remediar cuando el factor principal de un videojuego no acompaña a los otros.

La jugabilidad es sencilla de aprender donde dispararemos a todos los ángulos posibles pudiendo bloquear alguno de ellos para poder movernos y seguir disparando en la misma inclinación, saltar, usar armas secundarias que podremos desbloquearemos de la forma menos intuitiva y aburrida posible y alguna que otra cosa que el tutorial intenta imponerte a toda regla pero que ninguna se siente realmente obligatoria o esencial puesto que no hay progreso como jugador, es solo dispara a todo lo que se mueva de principio a fin manteniendo el mismo concepto sin salir de la zona segura.

Quizás lo que mas se critica es la movilidad del mecha. Como ya dije, Armored Hunter GUNHOUND EX plasma bien la idea de manejar algo pesado, que a pesar de su increíble potencial es difícil de manejar, pero lo hace de una forma poco placentera y tediosa. Aunque podremos “aligerar” el mecha para poder ganar agilidad a costa de poder ofensivo y defensivo, con lo cual se halla un poco de profundidad jugable... pero se queda corto ahí. Si tendría que recalcarle uno o dos asuntos que veo que podrían haber sido mejor es el diseño de niveles donde son aburridos, chatos, planos y que no ofrece ningún tipo de desafío acorde a la temática del genero; los jefes finales sufren del mismo pecado, el armamento no genera ningún tipo de redención y peor aun, desbloquearlos no aporta a la vida promedio del mismo teniendo que jugar una y otra y otra vez... y teniendo en cuenta que NO HAY mecánicas de puntuaciones o algo parecido que te ayuden a aumentar la puntuación y desbloquear nuevas armas, pero como alguien quien los ha visto en acción, no vale la pena más de uno o dos playthroughs.

Es una lastima puesto que se ve potencial de un juego que seria entretenido, pero que al final no es lo que uno espera, y menos por el precio. Un juego que recomiendo comprarlo EN OFERTA o que estés desesperado de jugar juegos con mechas. De todos modos, no hay nada nuevo bajo el sol.

5/10

Very fun game, very similar to the old mech games from the SNES era such as Cybernator and Metal Warrior if you are fortunate to have played them. The ability to customize your mech with different weapons and even change the color scheme is also a nice feature to have even though I have not unlocked any new stuff they do give you a couple things to start with.

I will say that the only negative I can think of at the moment would be that the zero gravity missions have a very wonky feel to them as I have a hard time aiming and not spinning but this is most likely due to me not having enough practice with the controls.

So if you are a fan of old retro side scrolling mech games I think this game will fit the bill as I have not seen anything like this since the old SNES days.

A pretty solid and enjoyable game in its own right, but there are a few things that hold it back enough to not be able to confidently recommend.

• The primary issue with this game are the controls, which I was fighting with & tweaking, and trying to get accustomed to the entire time while playing. By the time I finally found a configuration that worked for me and had sufficient time to get used to it... the game was over; just when I thought it was gaining steam. If the game was much longer or had more content, then the fumbly controls would be a non-issue. But as it stands, the control_weirdness:gameplay ratio is not worth it.
  
  
• Another issue are the unskippable cutscenes & dialog. The game isn't long enough to really warrant the mostly-mediocre story shoehorned into it, and does nothing but add frustration if you have to replay a part over and over. And since Gunhound is a Japanese game, it's more-so unforgiving than it is difficult, so you will find yourself restarting quite a bit in order to experiment and learn patterns. There's also a Mission mode that completely skips cutscenes & dialog, but nobody is going to use that mode on their first run.
  
  
• The tutorial trials are also not very useful nor fun. They suffer from unskippable dialog, and they themselves are unforgiving, mostly-nullifying the entire point of them. If you want to learn the controls, my advice is to just walk around for a bit in the first tutorial and mess-around until you're comfortable - then go and play the campaign. Oh, and map Sprint to right-bumper if you're using a 360 controller.
  
  
• The normal price is $17 CDN. That is way, way too much for what you may get out of it, and I feel like I didn't get my money's worth for $3.

With all that, I had a good time with Gunhound, and am glad I played it - but it's not something I can really recommend for the reasons above.

This game is great- it's a modern take on the Cybernator \ Assault Suits Valken \ Metal Warriors kind of shooter.

You pilot a "realistic" style mech (think something out of VOTOMS) and blast the hell out of anything in your way. The controls feel really good and weighty, the music is great, and it's just plain old fun.

If you like mecha, or quality 2D shooting games, get this. It's like a gem you'd find on the PS1.

Very pleasantly surprised that this of all games got localized and released on Steam! Put some time into the Playism version and this seems like a great Assault Suit style game so far. It's great-looking, certainly a far cry from GIGANTIC ARMY, and probably in the same ballpark as Leynos 2. Very satisfying and hefty mech controls with awesome Valken-style dashing and landing. All signs point to this game being best played without using any continues, and it seems fairly challenging to do that. I'm looking forward to really digging in.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of a better example of the Steam userbase downrating a game because they're complete garbage at it. I've yet to complete it from beginning to end using one continue, but I've beaten the final boss using keybard controls and the only thing I had a bit of trouble with was locking on to a direction and using secondary fire at the same time; even that, though, becomes easy once you've practiced enough.

Gunhound is a sidescroller with actual physics, and you're controlling a mech that's meant to feel heavy. That's it; that's what the "irredeemable horribleness" of the controls boils down to. As soon as you realize that you're not supposed to play this as if it were Mario or Megaman, it stops being an issue.

Presentation's not amazing, but totally fine. The music's fitting enough and the graphics get the job done. Most of the mechs are made of smaller sprites put together and spun around in a Mode 7-esque way, which can be an issue and feel unnaturally robotic in games featuring organic characters but is totally fine in a mecha-piloting game.

The silly anime story didn't amuse me as much as the one in Astebreed, but it's certainly easier to keep track of what's being said during gameplay given you can actually stop in your tracks in this game. Bonus points for a fairly likable female protagonist.

GOTY
This is the most awesome ♥♥♥♥ to come out in ages. Mix Neo Geo, with SNES, with muh animu and Gundam, and you got this ♥♥♥♥ rocker of an experience. You feel like you're piloting a 16-32bit mech, with anime women yelling YOKAI and the like in your ear the entire time. Story is good too, Yuri is likable. The gameplay can be difficult to learn, and even then is challenging. You feel like a genius when you find out what removing armor does. It's great that it doesn't just show you that, as it feels like a good retro game, with high quality sprites and full Japanese voice acting.
10/10, best game on Steam.

Arcadic game taken alive from the old slot machines to this damn challenging at the same time giving a lot of fun.
If someone likes retro, this is a must-have title :)

Jerma985 is a Liar.

I love games like this. It reminds me of a mix of Veigues Tactical Gladiator and Metal Slug.

This is a great port of the PSP version with some awesome new features!
One being able to sync your iOS or Android device to the game for real time events to play out on your device as you play the game! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!? :O

For a demonstration of what I'm talking about, watch my YouTube video showing it in action. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndz3SsIJ94o

That alone makes me happy to play this game! :D