Namco Bandai Games and Koei join forces to bring the melding of two action titles, Gundam and Dynasty Warriors. Because the game has such a niche, that may be a good thing or bad thing, depending on your feelings on either franchise. Both have been around for sometime now: Gundam since the late 70's cartoons and Dynasty Warriors is about to get it's sixth game.
Here's a review (below) of what you can expect from Dynasty Warriors Gundam, a spin on the the traditional Dynasty Warriors game using Gundam Mobile Suits (available for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360).
Game Modes:
For the uninitiated, the storyline will seem confusing and the gameplay will take some getting used to. Good thing there are two optional modes of play: Official Mode and Original Mode. If you are a seasoned Gundam fan, start on Official Mode. If you don't know Amuro from Haman, start on Original Mode. You'll have three pilots to choose from at the start of either mode. The story is told through mission briefings, pre-mission cutscenes, in-game cutscenes, while in battle and at the conclusion of an episode. Voice acting can be set to Japanese or English, which anime fans will be glad to hear. You can play single-player or split-screen co-op with a friend. There's also a Versus Mode, where you can face off in a one-on-one battle with a friend, although it may wear thin pretty fast.
The game's difficulty can be set to easy, normal or hard. It can also be switched after you have set it on a game in-progress, incase things get too tough or frustrating. On easy level, you'll notice mobile suits stand around waiting to get a beating, while on hard mode they'll get more aggressive and take more hits to destroy. Setting on easy doesn't necessarily mean that the Musha Gundam or other battles are going to be easier to get through or that gameplay rounds will be much shorter. Battles can be a test of button-mashing endurance, as you may already know from Dynasty Warriors games. Good thing there is the included "Interim Save" option.
The Musha Gundam will be the first boss to pound you and your allies.
Gameplay:
You'll start off facing oncoming Mobile Suits, no matter which character or mode you select. This game is about getting through hordes and hordes of them. There could be over 100 on screen at once, so prepare to use boost dashes and sword slashing to mow down your opposition. You'll first take on Mobile Suits within "Fields" that can be captured. Each field has a "Field Vitality " (imagine it as hit points), that is brought down by destroying the Mobile Suits that occupy it. Once the vitality is depleted, some fields will contain one or more defense Guards. Some may contain key characters that have to be defeated. Don't be surprised if you encounter some defense Guards again in the same episode, something that adds to the repetitive nature of the game. There is some strategy involved in taking fields down. Capture fields next to each other to gain power. Break apart enemy fields linked together to weaken their force. Sometimes, you'll have to boost dash all the way to a field on the opposite side of the play map to help one of your allies from being defeated, which could mean "game over" for you.
If you or an ally are defeated, you'll have to restart the mission from square one (another "arggh!"). The good thing is you carry over experience gained in the previous round, making it a bit easier the next time around. Various items replenish your armor gauge, SP gauge or disable nearby Mobile Suits. There are weapon, armor and part upgrades throughout levels, with some parts and skills that are obtained from field guards or key "bosses." You can power up your Mobile Suit with those parts in the Change Part/Change Skill menu before entering another episode/battle.
A well placed shot, over the head.
Using projectile weapons were frustrating because of the power/accuracy and the opposing Mobile Suits were only a sword slash away. Special attacks can be executed when your Mobile Suit levels up and your SP level is filled. Some of the most satisfying eye candy comes when Hyper attacks (when armor is low) or Combination attacks (when next to an allied Mobile Suit) are delivered.
Slashing is where it's at.
The first level is fairly forgiving, but the the following missions ramp up in difficulty quickly. Get through five Missions with a pilot and you'll unlock the ability to freely select a Mobile Suit for him/her. The unlocked Mobile Suits will all be at level 1, so expect a new challenge with each MS.
Unlockable bonus features:
There's a Gallery Mode where you can see Mobile Suits and Battleships encountered in the game. It's like having virtual toys of Gundams, which you can zoom in on and rotate. Voice clips, Background Music and your Play Record can also be viewed. More is unlocked the further you get in the single player game. Complete a game with a character, and more characters and playable Mobile Suits can be unlocked as well.
Overall:
Dynasty Warriors Gundam is entertaining and has an old-school gameplay feel to it. The mix of simple anime, robots and X-button mashing make it a nice diversion. Take breaks once in a while and keep it in your game library to get a long, if sometimes repetitive, gameplay experience.
The good:
+ If you're a Gundam AND Dynasty Warriors fan, this is for you.
+ Plenty of replay value with all the un-lockable Characters, Mobile Suits and parts upgrades you can play with.
+ Co-op gameplay
The bad:
- Can get repetative, especially after an episode that can take 45+ minutes to complete.
- Sometimes you'll fight the same "boss" character over and over in a single Episode. Die already!
- Low quality ground textures and vast open levels are mainly filled with Mobile Suits.
Breakdown on a scale of 1 to 10:
Graphics: 7
Ground textures and environments look more like PS2/Xbox 1 quality. The re-draw distance isn't too far, so there are times you'll see backgrounds "drawn-out" in front of you. Mobile Suits look good, but not as detailed as you may see in other next-gen models. Plenty of glows and slashes.
Gameplay: 7
Although Mobile Suits may be packing pretty heavy looking heat, you're likely to use sword slashing instead. There's some strategy on what fields to take down and where to focus your efforts during battles.
Replay Value: 8
Plenty of Mobile Suits, playable characters, gallery images and more to unlock. Tough Xbox 360 achievements will only be fully unlocked by the hardcore.
Audio: 7
Music and voice acting is Saturday morning cartoon fare. Don't expect anything epic and deep in the dialogue. Keep it on Japanese if it gets annoying.
Game Average based on ratings: 7
(rounded to nearest number)
or 
).
