Mobile Suit Gundam was one of the first mech games on the market and continues to have a cult-like following. The game which is based on the anime series has been highly successful over the years because of this fan base, but that may change after fans experience the latest take in the series on the PlayStation 3, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire.

If you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam allows you to play as one of two factions, the Earth Federal Forces or the Principality of Zeon. The game is set in the future on Earth as both forces are battling it out with their Mobile Suit units for control.

Let me make it clear from the outset, there’s not much done well in this game. Probably the best thing Mobile Suit Gundam has going for it is the various upgrades to your suits. Players have the ability to upgrade offensive and defensive capabilities. You can even hire pilots, repair damage, purchase new weapons, and more. There are also over 30 different mobile suits featured in the game to play with. All of these aspects are likely the only thing that actually will keep you interested.

Aside from that, the voicework and sound effects are average. The music in the game doesn’t really provide anything extra to the experience and neither does the voice acting which mostly is just narration and commands. As for the sound effects, they don’t exactly add much to the game, but they don’t take away from it either.

Even though it’s a launch game, nothing about Crossfire screams next-generation. This specifically has to do with graphics. Aside from the actual mobile suits and dismemberment of them which look pretty good, everything else stinks. The environments are relatively dull, bare, and almost non-interactive. Although some environments feature water and jungles, none of those things look very good. Add to that the fact that the game’s menus and presentation are equally poor, and there’s no question that the graphics in Crossfire are just plain bad.

Sadly that’s not all that goes wrong with the game though. Mobile Suit Gundam has a terrible story too. Basically all you know is that a war is going on between the Zeon and Earth forces and mechs are battling it out. The storyline and missions don’t provide a lot of depth to the entire experience.

On top of that, the gameplay is horrible. The framerate moves at a snails pace which almost makes the game intolerable to play. It takes forever to move around and attack your enemies and for an action game that just isn’t right. The only times the game actually moves a little better is when there is nothing in the environment.

The camera controls with the right analog stick are very poor as well. Players do have the ability to lock onto their opponents with the L1 button, but because the enemies will use their thrusters to get away it’s very easy to lose track of where they are around you. Also noted, the game doesn’t utilize the SIXAXIS motion sensor capabilities at all.

As for the combat itself, there is a variety of guns, but only the lightsaber seems to really make any significant damage. Since the framerate and camera are so bad, that makes it very difficult to move and shoot your opponents. Of course your enemies don’t have those same problems and instead fire on you constantly. Your only hope is to whip out the lightsaber and hack and slash them to pieces. In fact, the melee weapon almost works too well in taking down your enemies in a matter of seconds.

Lastly, the game doesn’t feature any sort of depth. The storyline is very short with approximately 25 missions and is beatable within a day or two. That means the only other option you have to play is split-screen two-player which still suffers from the terrible framerate. Crossfire is one of just a handful of PlayStation 3 launch titles to include no online support whatsoever.

Obviously Namco was rushed to make Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire a launch title for the PlayStation 3. It’s too bad because with more time the game actually could have been decent. The problem though is the framerate, graphics, and controls are miserable and certainly don’t show off any of the PlayStation 3’s capabilities. Even worse than that is the fact that they’ve slapped a $60 price tag on it. Simply put, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire should be the last game you consider if you want to get a launch game for the PlayStation 3.

The camera is terrible and the framerate makes the whole experience nearly intolerable.

The suits look good, but the environments are lackluster and bare.

The voicework and music is mediocre at best, but certainly doesn’t provide anything worthwhile.

There’s very little good hear and that means it just isn’t fun.

Aside from the rather short story there’s a Vs. mode, but the game features no online offering.

]]> Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:35:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/fatal_fury_mobile_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/fatal_fury_mobile_announced http://www.gamebump.com/go/fatal_fury_mobile_announced#
“It is our distinct pleasure to bring this much loved SNK fighting game to cellphones” said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. “It is quite impressive how all the action-packed essence of the classic title fits on a small device. It serves as a great compliment to our library of games.”

The One Year War will put gamers right in the cockpit of a mobile fighter as you battle for independence from The Earth Federation. Mobile Ops will feature full Xbox Live support giving players multiple scenarios and battlefields to battle it out online. There will also be a many customization options including beam sabers, heat hawks and other weapons.

Yoshi Niki, business director at Namco Bandai said, "With dramatic coackpit views and exquisitely detailed mobile suits, we fully expect Mobile Ops to immerse gamers into a futuristic world where giant meachas loom against a war-torn horizon. As desperate battles ensue in both open battlefields and urban environments, players can choose to engage enemies on foot, in vehicles or in mobile suits."

Perhaps the game with the most buzz for the PlayStation Portable coming out of the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo was Gran Turismo 4 Mobile, this is because Polyphony Digital confirmed that they weren’t bringing a new version of the game but instead transferring the widely popular and graphically amazing fourth game in the series to the upcoming handheld.

From what the media have been told by series producer Kazunori Yamauchi, Polyphony has transferred the fourth installment over completely to the handheld. This hopefully means we’ll see all 500 cars and 50 tracks that’ll be included in the console version. There has been rumor swirling that you’ll be able to connect the two games and perhaps transfer data between them; this would be a tremendous advantage to selling both versions of the game and allow players to continue their game on the road.

Gran Turismo 4 Mobile’s graphics look just as good as the PlayStation 2’s so far and it has already been confirmed that it will do more than its console counterpart by offering WiFi capabilities. This is especially good news for Gran Turismo fans that were disappointed by Polyphony pulling out the online option for the console because finally players can race against another person.

Overall, I think there are two major questions concerning Gran Turismo 4 Mobile. First, is the fact that the game is so graphically impressive that it will wear on the already low battery. From what we know, the more graphically intense games cause the battery to run down faster and this would be an even greater drawback if it sinks below the two hours play time.

Another question and perhaps even more important is the fact that Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2 continues to get delayed. Right now the game is confirmed for March close to the PlayStation Portable’s potential launch. The problem with this though is that if the fourth edition of the game continues to get delayed, this will most likely negatively affect the Mobile version and could mean Gran Turismo 4 gets delayed even later. There is still some time and currently both versions are on schedule, so Sony has plenty of time to answer questions as we get closer to the PlayStation Portable launch.

There is no question that Gran Turismo 4 Mobile will be a must-buy when it releases for the PlayStation Portable. Polyphony Digital never lets anything than the highest quality racing title to come out, so you shouldn’t expect anything less with this latest incarnation. The graphics are far superior to almost every other game that is coming out for the handheld and then when you include the addition of WiFi play, Gran Turismo 4 Mobile is certainly setting itself up to be one of the most sought after games for the PlayStation Portable handheld.]]> Tue, 25 Jan 2005 19:11:00 -0600