By the second time, we got into the groove of her attacks, as well as timed our dodges and attacks without maxing out the heat gauge. We initially bit the dust because we were guarding too much and couldn't figure out her pattern. When she's upset, she can either summon four orbs that launch at BRS one at a time or slash left and right consecutively four times. Her main repertoire includes charging up close to BRS and slashing her, boosting up her attack ratings, and throwing three projectiles in a row. She's a warrior just like Black Rock Shooter, but she's dressed up like a witch and fights with a pair of giant claws. While the first stage set in a run-down San Francisco felt more like a tutorial level for players to get used to the combat mechanics, things picked up when we fought the first boss, Mefe.
Speaking of which, you gain in-game achievements for each action you perform in a stage, whether it is killing a number of enemies or using an ability a specific number of times. Each stage is usually broken down into six segments, with the last segment usually being an optional stage called a "hunt" to earn rank.
The majority of the game consists of you controlling Black Rock Shooter as you go from point A to point B killing enemies. While these skills have a cooldown meter, they are immediately refreshed upon encountering a new foe. We misused this skill at a frequent rate by following it up with buffs and the Vulcan mode. This stuns any enemy, including bosses, for a brief moment. Don't misuse your dodges unless you want to end up stalled in the heat of battle.Īnother notable skill is the Sniper mode, where Black Rock Shooter zooms in automatically and shoots an enemy at its weak spot. Examples of such tricks to work around the heat gauge include temporary defense or offense buffs, a damaging one-shot blast, and a Vulcan cannon mode that temporarily puts your gun in rapid-fire mode without overheating it. Holding the R trigger brings up the menu where you can activate any ability mapped to any of the face buttons. Luckily, Black Rock Shooter has special actions that do not use up heat. While low-level robot grunts are easily dispatched, the bigger enemies, like black scythe-bearing robots, take some finesse they blink three times before slashing at you for huge damage while shooting projectiles on the fly. You have to study enemy movements to efficiently dodge their moves and pelt down their health while keeping your heat gauge at a manageable level. Additionally, having the gauge at 50 percent and above limits the effectiveness of your cannon.īecause of this, you cannot just mindlessly shoot and dodge to your heart's content. Shooting at enemies and evading builds up heat on the heat gauge if you max it out, you'll overheat and can't perform any action while stunned for a short duration. The X button is used to guard, while the circle button is used to evade to the left or right side of the battlefield. The D pad and left analog stick is used for moving and aiming your reticle, while the square button is used for shooting. Whenever you engage an enemy on the map-major kudos to developers Imageepoch for ditching the random battles concept-you'll enter a battle screen where you defeat enemies in real time. Naturally, BRS is siding with humankind as she helps the remaining human resistance combat the otherworldly menace while finding out more about her origins in role-playing game combat glory.īlack Rock Shooter's main appeal is its combat system. The world is in ruin, thanks to a war between humankind and aliens. All that's missing from these scenes are the obligatory speed lines. Her left eye also emanates a bright blue flame for some reason. Her dress sense consists entirely of a black leather jacket, hot pants, and the top part of a two-piece that is overshadowed by her huge cannon and crooked katana she brandishes for combat. You control the title protagonist Black Rock Shooter, or BRS for short, who is awakened from a capsule in the year 2051.
Based on what we briefly saw and played, the PSP game adaptation of the cult hit anime Black Rock Shooter may be leaning toward the aforementioned mandate. Games like Bleach: Dark Souls and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, however, are huge exceptions to the rule. It's a usual habit for gamers to dismiss any title that's tied in to either movies or anime properties due to their reputation for being nothing more than cash-ins to take advantage of fans and their hard-earned money.