Mobile Suit Gundam

The amount of Mobile Suit Gundam video games is just crazy and the one I am looking at today is Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space. This was released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2003 and is one of the more interesting games in the series due to its setting and time that it takes place.

One Year War

In terms of the story and the premise of the game, I will say that if you are familiar with the world of Gundam you will love this. There is no hand-holding here in terms of the story, Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space is the kind of game that demands you are familiar with the franchise before you jump in. Most of the story takes place during the One Year War which is cool.

The game is very cinematic and has some serious style to it. Back in 2003, this was a fantastic looking game and while it may lack that wow factor the more recent games in the series have. I still feel that this is a very polished and impressive looking game for the PS2.

Zone of the Gundam

The easiest comparison in terms of the gameplay is Zone of the Enders. The game mostly takes place in space (hence the name) and you are free to move your Gundam around in a three-dimensional space. There is a handy lock-on button that you have to make use of and the controls can take around 30 minutes or so to get the hang of, but once you do you will feel unstoppable. The gameplay is a tad shallow, but when it is this much fun you will not care at all.

More Ways To Play

The main single-player mode follows the One Year War storyline quite closely and that is great, but there is more to do in Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space than just that. The main story will take just a few hours to get through, but you have many other modes to enjoy. These are Ace Pilot Mode, Side Story Mode, Mission Move and Versus. I really like how you can create your own character and then level them up and make them awesome all with a bit of story to drive you along.

So, while the main single-player mode is short, I feel that there is more than enough here to keep you busy for a very long time.

Pros:

• It has that Gundam style
• The story feels very authentic
• Tons of awesome things to fight with!
• Multiple game modes will give you tons of reasons to keep coming back
• Fans of Gundam will love this!

Cons:

• It does demand that you are familiar with the series
• While it looks good for a PS2 game…. it is still a PS2 game

While still early in development and lacking a final title, Bandai's first entry into the PS2 market will be a 3D action game with a third-person perspective. Players will be able to train and control their own units using mechs from the Universal Century Gundam series. Also, these mechs will learn new strategies on their own the more you fight. Bandai proposes furious multi-mech battles. Look for it in early 2001.

The first series of the long-running sci-fi robot animes returns as an eye-popping 3-D combat simulator. Play as Amuro Ray, a rookie pilot of RX-78 Gundam to take on the highly advanced mobile suits and mobile armor of the treacherous rebel Zeon forces. All the fighting is done from within Gundam's cockpit against all the classic mechs of the pioneering series. There's also a fantastic 3-D database of all the mechs that appeared in the year-long series!