Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon

"Finally! You Can Pilot the Gelgoog!"

It's said that to better understand your enemy, you must walk a mile in their shoes. Well, in Bandai's Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon, you can finally fight the One Year War (or Zeonic War for Independence, depending on your loyalty) as either a Feddie GM commander or a Zeon MS commander. Among the mobile suits that you can pilot are the Rx-78 Gundam, the RX-75 Guntank, the RB-79 Ball, the MS-07 Gouf, and the MS-14 Gelgoog, just to name a few.

Federation vs Zeon is really three games in one; Versus Mode, Arcade Mode, and Campaign Mode. I'll list the pros and cons of each section below.

Versus Mode - This one is pretty self explanatory. You and a friend (or a computer) can fight in a one on one or two on two match in a choice of about a dozen arenas that range from mostly underwater to in outer space. You have over 20 mobile suits to choose from, but you and your teammate both have to be using mobile suits from the same nation. In other words, you can't have a Gelgoog and a Gundam on one team, and a Guncannon and a Z'gok on another. One team has to be Feddie and one has to be Zeon. This was the only complaint that I had with this section of the game because the rest of it was near perfect! The controls, music, and sound effects are all great and the challenge is also very hard. If the game had this section alone, I would still endorse this game!

Arcade Mode - If you've played a Gundam game in the past, this is probably what you're used to. You pilot two Federation or Zeon mobile suit (one for ground missions and one for space missions) with the purpose of killing as many enemies as you can. However, this game actually improves on this basic principle by making it even more in depth! You can play over a dozen Arcade missions in either Solo, Team Play, or Team Battle Mode. Solo is one player, Team Play is two players vs all, and Team Battle Mode is player vs player. All three modes are very fun, but I should tell you that Team Play is the easiest of the modes. In these missions, both teams have a set amount of life and the purpose is to drain their life before they drain yours. More life is drained if you destroy an advanced suit, like a Gundam or a Gelgoog, rather then a weaker model, like a GM or a Zaku I. All of this is very good, but the only complaint I have with this section is the voice acting. The mission briefings are annoying, and your computer teammates constantly say the same thing over and over again when they're hit. Despite that, this section is still great.

Campaign Mode - This is by far the best part of the game. You can choose to be either a Federation or a Zeon pilot, and you'll battle across the Earth and space in the One Year War. There are over 200 missions in this mode, and just about all of them are fun and challenging. As in war, you can win or lose missions and still go on to fight another day. As the game progresses, more and more mobile suits are added to you ''Deck,'' and you'll have the opportunity to fly all of them. By the end of the game, you'll have literally dozens of mobile suits in your deck, but it's rare for you to have more then one or two teammates on a mission. When your mobile suits take damage, they will be out of commission for a short while so that they can get repaired. All of these features make this Campaign Mode the most realistic Gundam war simulator in existence. I can't think of a single thing to bash this section of the game, but I guess that the only complaint for it is that it's for one player only.

Now, below I'll give a breakdown of where Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon got it's points.

Story: 10/10 - This game follows the series' story to the letter, yet it still adds more surprises to it that veterans of the series wouldn't see coming.

Graphics: 10/10 - I can't say much more then the fact that this game seems very realistic. The cinema scenes look like they belong in a movie, and the actual game is in incredible detail.

Sound Effects: 10/10 - Shells exploding, beam rifles firing, bullets whizzing by, and mobile suits taking damage are just a few of the many sounds that you'll hear in this game.

Music: 10/10 - The soundtrack to this game is incredible! It consists of actual songs from the series and new songs that sound as if they belong in the series!

Difficulty: 10/10 - With ten difficulty levels, this game is not only a challenge to rookies and veterans, it also has incredible replay value!

Ground Gameplay: 10/10 - While on the ground, controls are very quick to respond and easy to learn. Within an hour, you'll be piloting your mobile suit as if you were a Newtype!

Space Gameplay: 5/10 - Yes... I actually have a major complaint with this game! This was the very first Gundam game to actually have realistic missions in zero-g, and it shows. The controls in space are sloppy and it is very difficult to accelerate. Don't expect to to have complex sword fights in space, it's just not possible.

Overall Score: 9/10 - Had it not been for the poor space controls, this game would have gotten a perfect 10! Despite that, this game has the ability to become a classic and a cult favorite for years to come. I strongly urge everyone that reads this review and owns a Playstation 2 to buy this game immediately!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/03