Having been a fan of
Japanese anime since I was but a wee scamp obsessed with all things Robotech, my
fascination with the art form continued well until today. Among my favorites is
the Mobile Suit Gundam anime (if you haven’t checked out Mobile Suit Gundam Seed
then you’re missing out). So it is as a fan that I review Mobile Suit Gundam:
Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam, a game that will have you taking part of a brutal
conflict between men in machines and, well, men in machines. Unfortunately, the
end result is not one fans will remember best.
Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam’s
main campaign mode called Universal Century Mode takes place in the year 0087,
otherwise known as the Universal Century. Having defeated the Zeon rebels
during a long conflict, the Earth Federation finds itself in a crippled state
makes them vulnerable to their enemies. And so the Axis, the Titans and the
A.E.U.G. battle it out in a war that will inevitably go down in history. Those
who were once enemies join the ranks of familiar mobile suit pilots like Kamille
Bidan and fight the Axis. With an interesting set up like this you’d think
there would be a story but there isn’t one.
Then again, this game is
all about the fighting and Universal Century Mode has a good number of battles
to be fought as Kamille and his companions like Emma, Quattro Bageen, Apolly and
Roberto. Picking from the three different sides, there’s a map with colored
dots that represent missions of varying difficulty. You’ll also be able to
assume the role of other allies and their mission paths. Taking place
within an enclosed area your chosen fighter, in his or her mobile suit, armed
with a beam rifle (or Hyper Bazooka) and a light sword does battle with opponent
mobile suits. There are no side missions or fun objectives to complete. This
game is purely mobile suits smashing other mobile suits until one of them is
defeated.
Unfortunately the fights
themselves are pretty straightforward and awkward due to a poor targeting
feature and stiff controls. Often times you’ll be aiming at everything but the
enemies so your opponent has to be facing you in order to get a clear lock-on. Even
then its possible to hit an ally who is dumb enough to get in your line of fire. Since
shooting often results in injuring a friend, you’re reduced to using your light
sword but thanks to the poor targeting you’ll often hit nothing at all.
Your mobile suit has the power to transform into mobile armor and gamers will be
grateful for this feature since the enemy somehow doesn’t miss as often as you
do. You’ll also be grateful for the Awakening System, which unleashes a
specialized power that doubles the damage when the Awaken meter is full.
The other modes are
Arcade, Versus, Survival, Training and Replay Mode. Arcade basically allows you
to pick from the up to fifty mobile suits and to play a series of battles.
Versus allows you to play with or against a friend while Survival allows you to
see how many stages you can clear before you are defeated. Replay Mode allows
you to watch replays of the Versus battles while Training, essential for
first-time gamers, is a great training tool.
Visually, Gundam vs. Zeta
Gundam is not a very appealing-looking game. While the mobile suits are nicely
detailed and do look good in battle, the actual battlefront is just too plain.
There are city landscapes, backdrops set in plains and there are even missions
that take place in space but neither one looks particularly good. This is too
bad, really, since the game attempts include destructible objects such as
building that can be reduced to neat rubble. The visual effects don’t add much
either and explosions lack that fiery impact seen in other games. In short,
this game just doesn’t utilize the PS2’s graphic capabilities.
Sound-wise, the game
doesn’t have a strong audible punch that could have made the fights more
impressive. There are some great metallic grinding sound of mobile suits being
dragged across a hard surface when they’re knocked down and a misplaced shot can
bring down a building loudly. What doesn’t work are the short dialogue clips
that pop up every now and then from your allies or from your character. Here’s
a familiar sound, though. They’re brief comments, really, but most of what
you’ll hear is mumbled or said too fast to understand. The game’s score isn’t
bad at all and there’s an appropriate number of tunes that fit will with the
battles and intros. When you take out your secondary melee weapon, which is
usually a light sword, it makes the same familiar sound as a lightsaber does in
most Star Wars games.
Sadly, Mobile Suit: Gundam
vs. Zeta Gundam delivers a lackluster game unfitting of the much-loved series.
BanDai has produced better games for this series before but this one just does
not rise above its controller problems or its uninteresting story involving a
conflict that should have been more epic than perplexing. In the end, the game
will only disappoint fans of this series. If you’re a true fan of all things
Gundam, then by all means do yourself the favor of renting before considering a
purchase. Everyone else could just skip this one.
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Gameplay: 5.5
There are a large number of
mechanized suits to pick from and they each offer their own unique attacks but
the actual fighting itself doesn’t rise above its targeting flaws and its stiff
movements. The environments place you in the same situation over and over again
so don’t expect some interesting twists in the level design aside from the
appearance of massively powerful enemies in mobile suits bigger than your own.
Graphics: 5.0
Unfortunately, this isn’t even the
most visually impressive game either with its bland environments, so-so visual
effects and its unimpressive anime-styled characters. While the suits are
nicely detailed, it does not distract from the choppy framerate that plagues
this game.
Sound: 5.2
The sound doesn’t do a good job of
bringing out the action with its short dialogue clips during the somewhat tame
sounding laser and explosion effects. The sounds of mech suits grinding against
each another and building being demolished are a nice touch and the soundtrack
isn’t half bad either. As for the ignition of the light swords … the makers
of the game can expect an angry phone call from George Lucas.
Difficulty: Medium
There are times when you’ll go up
against monstrous mechanized suits that take multiple hits to bring down and
there are even times when you’ll be up against more than one opponent at a
time. The most challenging part, though, is wrestling with the flawed targeting
that will often have you shooting or slicing into an ally.
Concept: 6.5
All the Gundam elements are here and
both the Arcade Mode and Universal Century Mode are lengthy game modes. You’ll
be able to play different routes as different allies but there’s no story to
sink your teeth into or victory conditions that stray from its usual
don’t-lose-an-ally requirement. There’s a Gallery filled with unlockable items
such as illustrations, character profiles, videos and even new music.
Multiplayer: 5.5
Two-player action still doesn’t fix
the game’s weaknesses nor does it make for better gaming. Still, keeping it
between two players means a more personal affair without the distractions.
Plus, with over fifty mobile suits to pick from its fun just exploring each
suits strengths.
Overall: 6.0
Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam has its
moments of mech smashing fun but they are just fleeting moments ruined by its
flawed design. This is unfortunate seeing as there are plenty of mobile suit
fans of the series will love to get their hands on but with nothing much to
offer gameplay-wise I suggest mobile suit fans should just consider this one a
rental.
