GunValkyrie

The gameplay is very different from most third-person shooters, due to a unique dual analog control scheme, which is the main contributor to the steep learning curve of the game. Players travel to various worlds investigating the disappearance of several colonies, with only giant, mutated, insectoid creatures left behind. These insectoids comprise the bulk of the enemies players face along the way.

Players control Kelly or Saburouta with both analog sticks, the left controlling forward/backward movement and turning, while the right aims their weapons, and when clicked, allows quick turns. Clicking in the left stick while pointing in a direction causes the character to boost. The left trigger is a boost/jump, and when combined with the left analog boost, can be strung together into combos to keep the player off the ground entirely, which is a necessity for some levels. Face buttons are used to select weapons, and the right trigger fires the selected weapon.

The game takes place in an alternate history in 1906 where the British Empire rules all of Earth and several extrasolar colony worlds, powered by technology brought to the planet by Halley's Comet in 1835. An unknown substance known as Halley's Core was found throughout the world, and certain individuals who came in contact with it and gained superhuman abilities became known as "Halley's Chosen." The first of these was a scientist named Dr. Hebble Gate, who was affected by the comet while in his mother's womb.

With his superhuman mind he harnessed the power of Halley's Core and discovered a wide range of scientific breakthroughs, including fusion and nuclear power, genetic engineering, computers, space travel and countless others. With these technologies the British Empire quickly conquered the earth, and Gate is famous as the man responsible. A complete mystery to all, Gate also holds great power over economic, political and military affairs, and is the founder of the Hebble Foundation and the GunValkyrie (GV) Organization, composed of Halley's Chosen throughout the world to prevent the misuse of technology. He suddenly disappears, throwing the world into shock, and has been missing for four years by the time the game begins.

GunValkyrie was originally developed for the Sega Dreamcast by Smilebit. Its visual style was very similar to the final Xbox version. The Dreamcast version's distinguishing feature was that during the game's development, GunValkyrie utilized a unique control scheme using both a light gun and a controller. This control scheme was dropped when development shifted to the Xbox version.

The game's soundtrack, composed by Teruhiko Nakagawa and Tatsuyuki Maeda, was also marketed during the game's release. It was during this time period that TokyoPop was publishing Sega soundtrack releases in the United States, including GunValkyrie, Virtua Fighter 4, Panzer Dragoon Orta and the Sonic Adventure 2 Official Soundtrack. GunValkyrie Official Soundtrack was released on April 2, 2002. Unusually, and in contrast to the titles mentioned above, a soundtrack CD for the game was not released in Japan.

Gunvalkyrie was released in Japan on March 21, 2001. In Japan, during the week of the release, the game sold 6000 units becoming the only Xbox game to make it to the top 30 best-selling video games. Metacritic scored the game a 73 out of 100 based on 28 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Most Disappointing Game on Xbox" award, which went to ToeJam & Earl III.

In 2009, GamesRadar included it among the games "with untapped franchise potential", and commenting on the game's difficulty: "a true gaming workout, but few games in the Xbox library were as beautiful to look at or more rewarding to play."