rumbuddyboo's Full Review: Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes for Dr...
O.K., After seeing a ton of reviews trashing this game I'm sure this isn't gonna help my overall review rating, but I actually like this game. A lot. Gundam Side Story 0079, published by Bandai, put me in a place I had always wanted to be when I was a kid. In the cockpit of an immense Mech, armed to the teeth!
I haven't religiously followed anime for years so I'm not too familiar with the Gundam Wing series. All I know is what I've heard around work from other "game geeks" like myself. With this said, this review will be a little light on story line details and I'll focus mainly on what I do know, game details.
Before you really get to play the game you are briefed on the mission at hand. After receiving details concerning the mission you move to the garage and equip your Mechs with the necessary artillery (more on this later). Once your Mechs are equipped you head to the front line. This is where the actual gameplay begins and here are my opinions on the more important aspects of the game:
Control: The control set-up for Gundam Side Story 0079 takes a while to get used to. Battles are fought in the first-person point of view and in a totally baffling decision Bandai chose to control view changes (looking left, right, up, and down) with the analog stick, while all movement is controlled with the D-Pad. This is a little confusing during battles and makes it hard to control the Mech for the first several hours of play. To remedy this problem there is an auto lock-on feature that will keep you facing your enemy in battle and it really saves the control scheme from being a disaster.
Graphics: The graphics of the game are up to par with Dreamcast standards. They are not ground breaking, but the game looks good and it's enjoyable to watch. The in-game cinemas are presented with an anime feel and look great.
Missions: The missions you and your group of "Disposable Heroes" take on are well thought out and have plenty of variety to keep things interesting. Many missions have multiple objectives to meet before continuing. You will often find yourself fighting multiple enemies, having to find pre-destined targets, and trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, all in the same mission. On the strategy side of this game, you have the opportunity to issue orders to your comrades. You can have them attack the enemy, watch your back in combat, search out areas, etc.
Weapons: This is one of the most important points of any Mech game to me and Gundam Side Story 0079 does not dissapoint. You are armed with various weapons ranging from hand held laser swords, grenade launchers, machine guns, laser cannons, and more. One of the coolest parts of combat is the sniper scope. Like in Metal Gear Solid, Goldeneye, and Syphon Filter, the sniper scope lets you get up close and personal with the enemies. It's also useful to scout out enemies from a distance and drop some mayhem in their lap before they scope you out!
This game has it's problems but overall it's just too cool not to love if you are a Mech fan. Seeing an enemy Mech completely fill your cockpit view and locking swords, with sparks flying, really make for "in your face" action . Elements of action, adventure, and strategy games, are all found here. I hope fans of the genre will give this game a try and be as pleased with this purchase as I am.
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