Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire

"Not as bad as some say but not exactly grand either"

I know this is going to seem silly, considering my other PS3 reviews are based on things I personally don't care for but I dislike Gundam with a passion, actually I dislike most mecha anime. That being said I gave Gundam a fair chance and while it isn't as bad as some reviews would like you to think, it's far from perfect.

The games story is your typical world is at war pick a side and fight for it. Whatever, it sort of works but will leave some Gundam fans wanting an actual Gundam plot line. Just don't go in expecting much plot.

Graphic wise this has to be the most mixed bag game yet. The Gundams are drop dead amazing to look at. It's like they are living and breathing on your screen. What's the problem then? The murky and bland levels, water effects that look like PS2 quality. Oh and the game offers some spiffy fog that looks down right nasty in the game. It's a shame too because if they had kept this game under development a little longer and made the levels look better than this would have at least been suitable as a tech demo.

Sound wise again I must apologize as my PS3 currently has no sound. When I do get sound maybe I'll go back and play these games and update the reviews but from reading around I gather that the sound effects will please fans, the music is repetitive and the voice acting can be either Japanese or English and it's all up to the player.

My biggest worry about this game when I started it was the control and while I will admit I had no clue what to do it didn't take me long. While it is easy to get the hang of, some actions are a bit slower, perhaps too slow and can really make the game boring at times.

If you've played any mecha games lately then please just leave this review because I'm sure they were better than this title. The levels themselves are far from large and they have invisible barriers which I think is a big no no. After playing Chromehounds on the 360 I know what next gen mecha level designs should look like and this isn't it.

At the start of the game you get to pick either the good side or the bad side. The missions are pretty much the same. I found that most of the time you just had to defend your base. It's very lacking when it comes to variety in missions and I got bored with this game very quickly.

The Gundam's don't move as slow as some people would like you to think and to be honest it was the first big good surprise this game had to offer. They actually move like I would have expected them to. I found that weapon selection and the use of the sniper were rather weak. Sniping feels tacked on and requires too many button presses and the fact that you can't move kind of makes it lame.

The game is fairly short and with both sides pretty much playing the same it's kind of redundant to play both. The game does offer a two player mode but I couldn't convince anyone to play it with me... Game offers zero online play which is pathetic.

Would I recommend Gundam? Maybe for PS3 owners that love Gundam but this feels more like a game that is loosely based on the Gundam name but has nothing to do with it at all. It's not the best looking game and it does get boring at tedious at times but it makes an alright rental.

Story - 5/10
Graphics - 5/10
Sound - N/A
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 2/10

Final Score - 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/07