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The Lowdown
Pros: Two storylines, RPG element of leveling up your character, side
quests
Cons: Helper computer AI isn't great, control doesn't feel great, plays
like Mechwarrior offline
 Purchase
at Play-Asia
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Bandai has made
Gundam games for pretty much every system ever developed, except for the
Xbox. To keep Gamecube gamers happy they released Mobile Suit Gundam:
Senshitachi no Kiseki (Mobile Suit Gundam: Fighter's Locus). This gundam
game takes place during the one year war between the Principality of
Zeon and the Earth Federation Force. In the game you can play as Amuro
Rei from the Earth Federation Force or as Char Aznable from Zeon.
Picking a different character will allow you to see a different side of
the one year war.
When you get down to the gameplay Mobile Suit Gundam: Fighter's Locus
is like many other mech games. You're in control of a giant mech, in
this case a gundam. Some of the tools you'll start off with are a long
range beam rifle, an energy sword and a short range machine gun. You can
also make your Gundam fly or run faster by adjusting the thrusters. You
can only use your thrusters for a little while before they need a cool
down so you'll have to choose when you want to use them. One nice thing
is that you'll get to pick how the story progresses. You can choose from
a number of missions and side quests from the main map. Doing more side
quests allows for you to gain additional experience (more on this later)
for your character and even unlock extra pilots. Even though you get to
pick your mission the objectives don't vary too much. Most missions
require you to destroy all of the enemies on screen.
To aid you in completing a mission you're given a small squadron of
computer AI controlled gundam. These gundams can be ordered to move
around, attack or aid the main character. The computer controlled AI is
decent at best. It doesn't leave room for tactical options. If Mobile
Suit Gundam: Fighter's Locus is really a tactics based game you should
be able to block with an ally gundam and then surround a bunch of
enemies from behind. Or you should be able to plan a sniping attack by
having your allies in higher elevation positions to attack. Since there
isn't too much to do, you'll find yourself ignoring the computer
controlled gundams all together. This takes away one half of the fun of
the game and makes Gundam more of an action game. Bandai could have
reminded this by using the ill fated Gamecube network adapter or at least
added multiplayer support.
As an action game Gundam: Fighter's Locus doesn't work out too well.
One of the main problems is that the game feels too slow. Like most mech
combat games your gundam moves slowly, too slowly. Add in some plain
backgrounds and moving around becomes a chore to get to the fighting.
When the game comes down to it the fighting system is simplistic. You
block enemy attacks with your shield and then you either close in on
them with your beam saber or shoot them from a far. In either case its
nothing special. Most enemies are destroyed in a few hits so you'll
spend more time moving around searching for the next battle then
actually battling. The controls detract from this game's ability to be
an outstanding action game. A lot of times the controls feel
unresponsive and laggy. It is partially because your mech naturally
moves slow, so its not going to move any faster when you're switching
weapons or when you're trying to block an attack. It's also because the
control scheme takes time to get used to. Flying around to chase enemies
in outer space requires using the thrusters. Unfortunately, the camera
flips when you roll over and you can't tell exactly which direction
you're moving in. All of this just doesn't seem to work out right.
One nice addition to the game are the RPG elements. Both characters
get a rank after a mission is completed. This translates into how much
experience is gained and more experience means greater increases in your
character's stats. Higher stats also affect which skills you learn, too.
You can customize which skills your character has before a level begins.
Some of the skills improve stats or decrease enemy stats. Other skills
give your gundam a new move such as the "bullet time" slow motion
ability. Another RPG element is allowing you to customize the equipment
of your gundam. You can equip different types of guns, some of which are
better at short ranges and some which are designed for sniping. All of
these options allow for you to customize your character and the gameplay
to your liking. If you want the game to be more like a sniping game you
can equip a long barrel sniping rifle and increase accuracy skills. Or
if you want to play the game more like a run and gun game you can add in
skills that increase your damage and a fast firing weapon.
Besides the RPG elements Bandai has some neat graphic tricks to the
game. To capture the feel of an anime the game has the traditional
flashing color backgrounds during movie sequences. On top of that they
add in clips of the characters faces over the action, similar to a comic
book. The actual gundam models had a great transition to 3D. They are
highly detailed and have a good amount of reflective quality to them.
The only thing really lacking in the graphical department is the
environments. You're moving across bland textured land that seems to go
on forever without any scenery in sight. The only other graphical
complaint is that the menu interface feels a bit cluttered. If Bandai
simplified it a bit the presentation of the game would feel much better.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Senshitachi no Kiseki is a gundam game that takes
elements from tactics games, RPGs and action games. Unfortunately, when
mixed together the game doesn't seem like it worked out too well. Fans
of the series will appreciate being able to play as a number of
different characters and from both sides of the story. There is some
replay value to this game since there are two separate stories and a
number of side quests, even though the gameplay remains the same. If you
can overlook the clunky gameplay mechanics there is some fun to be had
with Mobile Suit Gundam: Senshitachi no Kiseki.
To control your troops and select your skills requires some knowledge
of Japanese. Without any knowledge you'll have some difficulty playing
the game.
US Bound?
The series was released in America. However, this game in didn't
sell well in Japan, which means a US release is unlikely.
Overall
Gundam fans will get the most enjoyment out of the game, the causal
gamer probably won't dig it.
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