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AtomMacross: The Super Dimensional Fortress
aka Choujikyuu Yosai Macross in Japan.
After the release of Robotech: Battlecry in America who would expect the Macross game would be any good? One main difference is the team that was working on it, its done by SEGA who has also done other anime games like Initial D: Special Stage. For those of you who don’t know Robotech was a butchered version of the Macross series. This game follows the Macross story closely, so if you haven’t heard the story before you’ll get the bonus of enjoying a good story.
In the game you pilot a Valkyrie (note: you aren’t a character in the Macross series, but a random pilot who is involved in the series), which is a space ship that has the ability to transform into a plane, a robot and a Gerwalk, which is something in between a plane and a robot. You can switch between any of these three transformations with a press of button and each of these transformations have different advantages. Since each of the three transformations have different abilities there is an element of strategy to the game. Plane mode is obviously the fastest mode, you’ll also have the ability to shoot homing missiles in this mode. The Gerwalk mode can also shoot homing missiles, but it can’t move as fast as plane mode. The robot mode allows you to carry a plasma rifle, walk on surfaces and use your jet boosters to run around. You can also lock on to targets faster during robot mode. You’ll normally have a choice between these three modes and its really up to the player and what they feel comfortable with.
The game itself is composed of various missions. At the start of the game you can choose between the TV story line and the movie story line. Each story line contains different missions, which are respective to their stories. Missions are comprised of very simple strategies like shooting all the enemies, surviving for a period of time or landing somewhere. While the objective is simple, the gameplay is fun. There is really two types of gameplay within the game. The first is a shooter that is similar to Rez or Panzer Dragoon Orta. In the shooting mode you can fly 360 degrees and chase enemies down. You have a radar that will tell you where enemies are and you can chase them down and attack with your machine gun or you can use you homing missiles on the enemies. While you’re attacking the numerous ships they aren’t standing still. They’ll fire back with an array of missiles and a barrage of gun fire. You can evade fire by simply moving side to side or you can do some tricky maneuvers like barrel rolls and somersaults. The game’s flexible controls allow you to freely pilot your plan however you would dream of doing it.
While you’re not chasing down planes you’ll be on land fighting other giant robots. In this mode you can still be a Gerwalk or even the plane, but it’s much more fun and practical to switch to robot mode. The gameplay in this mode is a mix of Mechwarrior and Virtual On. You can run around a cityscape and blast away at other robots attacking you. Another option is to use your plasma cannon, which gives a heavy amount of damage, but has a limited number of shots. Your robot can also use its jet system to fly up and dash side to side. The controls respond just as fluidly as flight does. The land sequences are fast paced you’ll be dodging fire and returning it like in an action movie.
The presentation of the game is slick and well polished. The graphics are highly stylized and SEGA has made a good use of camera angles to capture action. The backgrounds while flying around are amazing. The sky looks is well designed and full of different colors. The characters look just like they would in the series, except that they’re in 3D. SEGA put in a lot of work in making the game action packed. One really neat effect is when you lock on to a group of targets the camera follows the missiles so you get the rewarding sight of watching your target blow to bits. Another cool graphic addition is the smoothness while transforming. The animation shows the parts flipping around into different places in such a fluid motion it looks real.
The graphics are well done and the audio is just as well done. The voice actors are actually the same actors from the series. To gather up all of these voice actors just for a game, is an unusual feat. The sound effects sound like they were lifted from the series. Every little sound effect from the sound while transforming to the jet boost sounds like its from the series. The music is high energy music that resembles music from the series as well. It’s a blend of J-pop and techno beats. It suits the game’s action mode quite well.
The entire game has the feel of the anime to it, everything from following the story line closely to the minute sound effects. The only thing the game makes you want is more, after having so much fun with it you realize that its over so fast. You can complete all twenty mission in three or four sittings. This doesn’t stand too well since the game is $50 and if you’re importing it, its even more. This is defiantly something to think over before importing it.
Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 3
This game and all of its voices are entirely in Japanese, which means you’ll be missing out on the story and the mission objectives. Luckily the mission objectives can be found out through trial and error, but playing through this game without some understanding of Japanese will be frustrating.
US Bound?
It is highly unlikely that this game will be released in America due to licensing issues and since no one knows what Macross is in America.
+ Pros: Two styles of gameplay, great visuals, two story lines, high energy music
- Cons: Short game length, somewhat easy
Overall: Macross is a fun play through and something that any Macross fan would appreciate. At the same time its rather short and requires a lot of Japanese knowledge to enjoy. Therefore I’d have to say this is for Macross fans only, even though shooter fans will enjoy this, its way too short for the price of the game.
< Screenshots >
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