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Gundam Side Story 0079
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Graphics & Sound:
If you've been looking for a nice 'mecha' game, with great graphics and a cool storyline as well, look no further. Gundam Side Story 0079 provides some pleasant scenery to storm through, some well-designed enemy mechs to blow away (oops... I mean 'mobile suits' ...oh, ick!), and some groovy explosion effects. If you have a top of the line PC with some serious graphics power behind it, you might find Gundam Side Story 0079 to be less than spectacular. But if you're into console gaming primarily, you'll be quite happy with the graphics. The sound is pretty nice as well, with a lot of attention to detail in the animated bits. When you choose your mobile suit armaments, for example, you actually interact with the head mechanic in the garage via voice and video communication (on his side, anyways). He will describe each suit, weapon or shield, and explain their benefits, etc. Although, the place that this game really shines is in the gameplay...
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Gameplay:
Imagine piloting a high tech robotic armored suit into heated battles. Not only are you in charge of your own actions while in your 'mobile suit,' but you are also leading a team of two other mobile suit pilots and a hover tank. They all know the mission, and will work towards its completion, but lack the insight you have. That's why you're in command. So... command. There are several duties that come with this responsibility. You must fend against attacks made on yourself by using your long range, short range, and hand to hand weaponry effectively. Also, efficiently obtaining mission objectives by directing your allied mobile suit will pilot attacks on the targets of your choice. You must use your sensitive hover tank operator to scout out targets without getting it destroyed, and develop team strategies for accomplishing mission objectives. Begin with choosing the mobile suits and armaments for each pilot to use, then go right on through to planning the best way to approach, attack, guard, locate, and assist. Sometimes, when the chips are down, everything comes down to a simple executive decision, which rests as lightly as a ton of metal on your shoulders.
Gundam Side Story 0079 is a brief game, but in its short presentation has achieved near perfection. It has a realistic, intriguing plot, identifiable characters, and all of the extra 'filler' that makes an environment real. There are emails that come in, radio broadcasts that you can listen to, even photos which adorn the cockpit of your mobile suit. The little 'extras' that make a game feel more like 'home.' The presentation is, in a word, excellent. |
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Difficulty:
Possibly the most difficult part of Gundam Side Story 0079 is learning to manage your team, while carrying out your own personal objectives as well. It's not good enough to simply take care of yourself. You'll have to direct, command, and assist your team to get things done. As far as settings go, there are three difficulty settings. While there is a noticeable difference between the difficulty levels, mastering the ability to command your forces heavily affects the difficulty. If you can't manage them, 'Easy' will be a challenge. If you can master the art of efficient command, 'Difficult' will be much easier.
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Game Mechanics:
I understand the concept that excellence requires a higher cost. I really do. I know that if you take $15,000 to a compact car dealership, you can drive away with a new car. If you take the same amount to a dealership that sells exotic supercars, you can spend the same amount and be the proud owner of a front seat. Now, the question is this: when you get home, which one will you enjoy more - a car that will get you to and from the places you have to go (with a bit of embarrassment), or merely the front seat of an exotic car, proudly displayed in your entertainment room, acting as your new favorite chair? While this first option has the most function, the latter has the most flair. And so goes Gundam Side Story 0079.
The game has a great story, excellent character design, great ambiance, lots of attention to detail, an excellent combination of first person fighting, small tactical command, and conservation/management of resources. However, the game is not long at all. It indeed lasts long enough to deserve its title as a 'side story.' I completed the game in a mere five hours of gameplay. I DID, however, love every minute of it. Compare this to the many games which require 40+ hours of gameplay to complete, but more than half of that time is taken up by making the gamer backtrack to find missed items, or forcing the gamer to accomplish ridiculously difficult timed sequences of rote repetition to proceed. I really must say that I prefer an excellent game that's short to a long-lasting game that's aggravating. Only... I do wish the game lasted longer. If the game had more missions in it, it would have received a 100%. With the game's length being shorter than one would expect, I was forced to take points away from the score. Still, no mecha lover's collection is complete without this gem. |
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-Geck0, GameVortex Communications AKA Robert Perkins |
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