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Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire (Ps3)
The long-awaited Gundam launch title for the PS3 was supposed to revolutionize the aspect of Gundam video games, with top-notch graphics and game play that were supposed to one-up the success (or lack thereof over in North America) of their PS2 brethren. Now that’s the game has been around for a few months, let’s see how this game stacks up to all of the hype?
Game play:
Main Game: One of the key features of Crossfire is the “Campaign” mode, otherwise known as the “Story Mode” of the game. However, I can see why this feature was merely called “Campaign” rather than “Story” mode, as there is no story to this game! Just pick a side (either Federation or Zeon), and your character will be created after you enter your name. Your character is then assigned to an MS Testing Team, and you merely fight on Earth through the final months of the already overused One Year War time period.
As there is no storyline, as you are merely assigned selectable missions that consist of rescue, base assault, and defensive missions. The missions are relatively simplistic and easy to clear, but require a lot of patience as some missions involve time limits. As you clear missions, you gain “experience” points to improve your piloting skill in Campaign Mode, as well as “mission” points that allow you to purchase well-known OYW pilots and Mobile Suits to add to your team as you move along the game. The more units you purchase, the more units you’ll unlock for the Versus Mode. In the end, the game play is little more than a glorified version of Gundam: Journey to Jaburo for the PS2.
Mobile Suits could be customized once purchased, with certain aspects of the unit modified or improved. There are five configurations for the unit depending on which environment the unit would be used in: Normal (standard), Heavy (added armor and weight), Jungle (for jungle missions), Desert (for desert warfare), and Marine (improved “marine” capabilities).
Versus Mode: This mode is just the same as any other Gundam versus mode; first to destroy the enemy unit wins. The default selection of units is quite limited, but more units could be used as you purchase them from the Campaign Mode. Weapons and equipment can be selected similar to the Campaign mode.
Graphics:
One of the redeeming qualities of Crossfire is the amazingly good graphics courtesy of the PS3’s Blu-Ray system. Sharp images and insanely detailed renditions of the classic OYW mecha and battlefields of the Universal Century give the game a nostalgic feeling. Any hardcore UC Gundam fan could easily buy this game and enjoy it just because of how pretty the graphics are.
Miscellaneous:
No bonus materials.
In Conclusion…
While Gundam: Crossfire held a lot of promise, the game play was less than stellar and failed to distance itself from its PS2 counterparts. The simplistic and redundant missions are reminiscent to Journey to Jaburo. The lack of any additional or special features also knocks off a few points. The lone redeeming quality of the game came from the amazing graphics that are sure to make mecha junkies swoon. However, any hardcore Gundam fan would easily enjoy the game just because it is a Gundam game after all. Being such a fan myself, Crossfire was rather enjoyable despite its shortcomings. My final suggestion? Rent it first to try it out before making any final decisions to fully purchase it. Now to cross our fingers and hope that Bandai-Namco manages to improve for the next Gundam game coming to the PS3.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars.