Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes

"Realistic Gundam action with lots of eye candy!!!"

Many believe this to be the one true and best Gundam games out there. From the realistic cockpit view and the superb graphics you’re fully immersed in the true Gundam universe. You start of with a showy opening sequence that brings you to your first mission briefing. Once you are dropped into the battlefield you notice the graphics and the highly detailed landscapes. Yeah the controls are very awkward at first but they suit their purpose and after you get use to them you know why Bandai did them the way they did.

Story

January, U.C. 0079...

Space Colony ''Side 3'' declares its allegiance to the Zeon Dukedom, and begins an independent war against the Earth Federation government. The Zeon army carries out ''Operation British'' to make the space colony fall to earth simultaneously as they begin their ground war. The target of the colony was Jaburo, a Federal Army base in South America. Due to the desperate resistance of the Federal Army, the colony breaks apart in the sky over Arabia. Jaburo is saved, but the colony scores a direct hit on Sydney, Austrialia, destroying the city and creating a giant bay where it once stood.

Due to the failure of ''Operation British'', the Zeon army did not have enough resources for the long-term war they now expected. The attack on Earth was carried out at once in order to secure resources, and 2/3 of the surface was taken in a lightning-fast attack. Where Australia took the most impact from ''Operation British'' was also where the Zeon army invaded in order to take the abundant underground resources there. The Federal Army troops in Australia that weren't annihilated by the blast were not prepared for the invasion. 11 months later...

The Earth Federation strikes back with ''Operation Odessa'', a massive counterattack that begins in Europe. The balance of power begins to shift back to Earth forces, and additional counteroffensives begins all over the world. Now in Australia, the troops which survived ''Operation British'' begin their counterattack...

Controls 9

When you first start the game you’ll have a hard time getting the controls down. But after an hour or two they become second nature. You use the d-pad to move your suit around and the control stick to view the landscape. One button for switching weapons, button to jump, button to cycle through enemy targets, button to guard, and a button to activate sniper mode. After a while they become very easy to use but sometimes during battles things can get a little hectic. The only complaint here is how your weapon choices automatically change for close and long range combat. When engaged in long range combat you can use your guns, beam weapons, grenades and such but when you get close to an enemy your automatically switched to your beam saber which can get annoying once in a while.

Gameplay 8

What is with Bandai and short games? Once again you have a very short game at only 9 levels long that last about 20 minutes each max. It’s a great game but really another 10-20 more levels would have really made this game truly perfect. Also you have control of 2 other mobile suits to attack other units and guard objects. Once you beat the game you get some extra weapons and some special armor but that just justifies going through the game one more time. The game is extremely fun for the 9 levels that it has and it’s kept me interested in it since it was released.

Graphics 10

The Dreamcast truly shows its power with spectacular graphics and awesome sequences. The suits show great detail both for the federation and Zeon. The levels are highly detailed no matter where you are at but some levels have insane amounts of fog which makes it hard at times. The cockpit looks excellent although it isn’t like it’s actual counterpart. If you are good you can blow parts of off enemy suits which is really cool to watch. If you pay attention you can see dust being kicked up by the suits and all sorts of cool stuff.

Music/Sound 8

I know there is music in this game but I really didn’t focus on it at all so I can’t tell you anything about it. Really the games sound effects are superb. You hear your boosters, suit moving, guns firing. It’s all their you ram into an enemy suit and you get a surprising sound. Everything you’d expect is here. There is voice acting in this game and the majority is voice acting. The voice acting is good and bad. Some I really enjoyed and others seemed tedious and boring to me.

Overall 9

One of the best and most realistic Gundam games to date. If you are a Gundam fan and enjoy the series this game is definitely for you. The casual gamer may not enjoy this game as much due to its severe lack of levels. The game is definitely challenging in the 9 levels but it’s not long enough to enjoy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/21/03, Updated 07/21/03