Second verse, same as the first! Gunman Clive 2 is just more Gunman Clive, with all the same pros and cons I gave the original title. There's a few more vehicle based schmup segments, an entire level that's based around the control screwing anti-gravity gimmick I complained about (and yes, it was the worst level in the game), and a worse PC port most noticably. I dunno if I just had bad luck, but this damn thing just wasn't picking up my PS5 controller and made me use the keyboard for a Mega Man game; an experience of cramping my fingers I've not experienced since the early-2010s.

But yeah, it's just about as run of the mill of a sequel as you can get, for better or worse! Honestly think I'd have come away more positive if I weren't straining my fingers through the entire experience, but alas. For incredibly affordable price points, and with runtimes of roughly an hour each if you're skilled? These are some decent Mega Man-likes if you're really itching for a a little something to keep you occupied while the series is still in hibernation.

it's basically the first game but improved. graphics remain beautiful and stylized but now colors strain your eyes way less. level design that was mostly generic in the previous one has improved considerably with stages having their own unique mechanics and atmosphere. the gameplay still focuses on memorizing what is going to happen, but now more as an intentional mechanic than as something annoying. the native american representation and the only level located in a real place (south america) having dinosaurs bothered me a little. that said, it was a far better experience than the first and well worth it for a short game.

My thoughts on Gunman Clive 1, in brief, is that it's, like, solid. It's a quick little game where you're a cowboy mega-bustering your way past bandits and bosses to save your wife. You run through levels, you pick up powerups. It's nothing really amazing but it doesn't need to be — it's a nice way to kill an hour or two on your 3DS when you're bored and don't really want to commit to a bigger game.

Gunman Clive 2... tries to be more than that — more mechanics, more spectacle. It... doesn't really work out all that well. The loose way I can describe it is... if it kind of went for quantity over quality. You know (well, you probably don’t, but whatever) how Gunman Clive had that one vehicle level which was a fun little change of pace that still kept consistent with what you'd been doing up until then? Well now a quarter of the entire game are vehicle levels which throw new shit at you and all control like ass. You know how when the first game brought in new mechanics they stuck around often just played a little bit with how you were already doing things? Here there are new mechanics that barge in, completely force you to change the way you play, then disappear right afterwards. It creates a really uneven experience, where you can't actually apply anything you learn because it's rendered moot by future levels. The original Gunman Clive allowed you to become better in order to combat the harder challenges up ahead — this game just keeps you at the same level, which makes the endgame a process of you throwing yourself against the wall trying to break your way through the new mechanics that keep getting introduced there as well.

And it's a shame, because the strengths of the original are still present here — I like the artstyle and music, combat against enemies and bosses remains a highlight, and there's a certain joy in figuring out the path of least resistance as you try a level over and over again... it's just that this time this game's particular flaws magnify the flaws of the original game: getting sent right back to the beginning of a level when you die is extra punishing when a lot of the individual levels are gauntlets — especially with the vehicle levels where you can't go faster than the game allows you to. Controls still aren't amazing, and get even worse when you have to re-learn them on the fly or there's a new fancy gimmick which requires preciseness in jumping the 3DS analogue stick isn't built for and the first game never required from you.

But in general, like, man, I really wanted to see the changes made as an improvement on the first game — I'm all for sequels that experiment rather than just being the same thing again — but given how a lot of the expansion is straight up a downgrade... I think if I wanna kill time for an hour but don't want to commit to anything bigger I'll just stick with Gunman Clive 1. 5/10.

improves on a lot of what the first game did, making it a lot harder, adding more level design variety, and even adding a few cool little on-rails shooter type levels. this game definitely feels like it tries to encapsulate the difficulty of original megaman style action platformers during their time in the nes/snes era, and sometimes it does a good job at that, and sometimes it's to the game's detriment. the parts that genuinely feel challenging to get through but are still fair are great, it feels nice to overcome some of the challenges the game has to offer. then, sometimes you'll be stuck on a part of a level that you have to keep replaying over and over again because you didnt see an obstacle coming until it was too late like on the panda level, or sometimes the difficulty just comes from something that feels really awkward and unnatural like the gravity switching areas towards the end of the game. overall this game is a huge upgrade over the first, it just feels so much more full and a lot of fun to play, even if it only took me an hour and 20 minutes, but i think had the game not had as many lame artificial difficulty segments i wouldve rated it a bit higher

Eita desgosto da desgraça com esse jogo. Zerei o Gunman Clive 1 faz tempo graças ao vídeo clássico do Sr. Wilson sobre, mas quando fui jogar esse, foi um baque cara.

Primeiro, ele é MIL VEZES mais bonito e criativo, mas o resto, vai se lascar. Esse é um dos jogos modernos com o level design mais filho da puta que vi na vida, e é por isso que demorei quase 3 anos pra conseguir ter a paciencia pra zerar essa merda.

Queime no inferno Gunman Clive 2!

For the most part, this second installment struggles with the same issues that the first game suffered from: an overall dull level design made up of nicely varied but individually mediocre components. Nonetheless, while still being subpar, Gunman Clive 2 proves to be significantly more entertaining thanks to an even stronger variety in level structure with wildly diverse types of stages and tight, pleasantly challenging platforming, all of it coupled with slightly more layered, imaginative boss-fights and the same exquisitely unique art-style.

A solid sequel.

Pros:
It adds more color, visual effects, has a 5 more levels than the original, levels vary a lot more, adds a new playable character, new platforms, and some bosses use unique mechanics well.

Cons:
Enemy placement still isn't the best for speedrunning and some levels are kinda annoying.