Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space

"Best Gundam Game On PS2"

Introduction - In a series of unsuccessful games this Gundam game shines giving almost everything a fan of Gundam and even a newcomer could want.

Gameplay - When looking at this game you must first look back at the less then spectacular prequel Journey to Jaburo. JTJ was a great game but based on the gundam license only. In terms of gameplay it was sluggish and the controls weren't responsive, but being a Gundam fan starting from the popular Wing series it gave me a look at the original series in all its glory through beautiful anime cutscenes. But Meguriai Sora changes all that was wrong with fast responsive gameplay. The missions are really fun destroying battleships and other Mobile suits. With the gameplay you really get a sense of watching the movie and particapating in the One Year war. It has no set stage layout but you usually go through countless enemies battleships and then a boss such as Big Zam or GP-02A (Kou's Ace Pilot Mode) watch a cutscene or two. This all gets a little repetetive but there some hidden paths to find. The game also features full 3D movement which works great in this game. The gameplay is great.

Overall: 9/10

Story: Simply put this game follows the story from the last Gundam movie as well as 0083, 0080 and earlier parts of the one year war. Great Story

Overall: 10/10

Graphics/Sound - Everything is perfect from the impressive detailed 3D models of the mobile suits, mobile armors, and battle ships to the crisp sounds and memorable songs all taking
directly from the series. The special effects are also top notch but the backgrounds are kind of boring. I do not blame this on the developers because the whole game is based in space and well space is space and theres not a whole lot to it. there are various pieces of space debris such as spaceship parts asteroids etc which all look great, but boring. certain locale such as Solomon, and A Bao Qu are present but due to the story of the game are reused quite a number of times.

Overall: 9/10

Play Time/Replayability - The Story mode of the game is very short and easy. To give you an idea of what Im talking about I beat it the day I got it. However The cool part is the replay value. There are a total of 5 playable modes including Story Mode, Side Story, Ace Pilot Mode, Mission Mode, and Versus. All of which offer there own challenges, And as always in most Gundam games obtaining an A or an S on a mission gives you a new Mobile Suit, or Mobile Armor. With almost a hundred Mobile Suits in this game you can imagine the hours of gameplay ahead of you. The only downside is that these suits can only be used in versus mode and in the missions you don't have a choice between suits.

Overall: 8/10

Final Recommendation - This is a great Gundam game and arguably the best Gundam game thus far. This is a must buy for anyone interested in the Gundam Universe.

Overall Average: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/03