Namco-Bandai. The name says a lot. After their recent merger expectations are high for the newly formed company and gamers expect their PS3 release title, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire, to deliver. The Bandai Entertainment Company has just wrapped up the development of the new Gundam game and it is looking pretty awesome, and might I add, better than it’s debut at E3 ’06…
At Sony’s Gamers Day, they showed off a playable demo that sported a much more refined look, with smoother textures and a much better framerate. Also, there seemed to be much more action and suits on screen that what was previously seen – and it all ran perfectly. The actual gameplay and weapons didn’t differ much, but there was more to see. The demo sported some areas of the game that hasn’t been seen yet, and it looked good. If you haven’t read previous articles, here’s the basic storyline: Players will find themselves on a war-torn Earth; turmoil and strife are the norm. It’s been a very long nine months since the Zeon forces have invaded and the Earth Federation Forces are now ready to launch a counter-assault against Zeon.
Of course, that’s where the player comes in…but which side to choose? In Crossfire, players can choose which forces they will ally with. Will you choose to help protect earth, or do you help finish off the planet, siding with Zeon? Whichever you choose, you will still be in control of a Mobile Suit (MS) that has suit specific capabilities and weaknesses. In battle, though, there are some big similarities between all suits – parts go flying. Just got your head blown off? Now your suit is blind and you have to scramble and melee your way to safety utilizing your Tactical Radar. No matter what body part you lose, you’ll have to rely heavily on said radar – while kicking and screaming – until you either take out the enemy, or you are wasted yourself. If you can see the strategy in this, then you’re on the right wavelength.
With strategy comes plain out survival. To survive, you’ll need to upgrade. The garage where you do your repairs isn’t fancy, but it does the job. That job is: repairing, adding, and buying new parts for your MS. You can purchase arms, legs, weapons, shields, cannons, etc…Upgrading will be the lifeblood of your suit to make sure you can stay in the fight, at least long enough that you can get back to your garage and repair.
Be aware of how long you spend upgrading, though. If you spend too long playing at that, you’ll lose out on some missions. Why? Because missions in Crossfire are chronological – they are based on time. Consequences could be dire, as you may miss out on some much needed experience, or miss out on a campaign that could afforded you points toward upgrading your suit. This may sound aggravating, but realistically, it makes sense and we give kudos to anything that adds a sense of urgency and realism to a game; even when that game revolves around Mobile Suits.
So how did it play? It was kind of awkward. For starters, the control scheme was undeniably difficult to jump into. Your suit’s top half is mapped to the right analog and the bottom half to the left analog. The difficulty doesn’t last all that long, but don’t plan on playing a shooter right after you get used to these controls, you’ll be all messed up! No worries, though, the learning curve just may be a little steep, but could mean it’s that much more rewarding. Overall, it wasn’t bad in the least, we just hope that some of the minor quirks get ironed out in the little time that is left until the game goes gold.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire will be available at the coming launch of the PS3. Stay tuned to VGCore.com as we bring you the launch details and specifics of the game once it’s on the streets.
