Dynasty Warriors: Gundam

"If you can't name all the gundam series, then this game isn't for you."

DW: Gundam

Story: 0/10

Don't even try and piece together any of the gundam plots. If you already know it then you can vaguely see the plots from the various series. Even then it's easy to notice that the characters in each series are recycled from previous ones.

The original mode plot is lacking in story. All you know is that a planet wants to crash into earth. When Heero asked "do we know anything more about this planet that is going to crash in to the earth?" Master Asia simply replied "what? do you know nothing of the enemy you fight. You are a fool".

Yes, wanting to know more then 'press x repeatedly' makes you a fool.

Control: 5/10

The camera in this game is HORRIBLE. Although it can be rotated you are changing directions so fast that it doesn't matter. In every mini boss and boss fight you will lose sight of the boss and he will get a free hit on you.

Also blocking is nearly pointless, unless your a boss. Then it works perfectly.

Gameplay: 7/10

Fairly simple, just button mash. I played with a friend who doesn't game at all and she found the gameplay so simple she thought it was a game for children. The one thing that did annoy me was elevation in space. You're flying through space when all of a sudden you go up an invisible hill. The other weird mechanic is being knocked below everyone when you fall down in space. Apparently it was too hard to also program being slammed upwards in space, it only would have added realism.

The only other issue is being endlessly combo'd by bosses. You get hit four times, fall on the ground, before you get up you're hit 4 more times. Then you stand up but are paralyzed. Four to eight hits later you're on the ground again. You stand up, then one of the easily killable npc's fires a shot and knocks you on the ground. While you're on the ground you get hit 4 more times.

This entire time you have absolutely NO control over your gundam.

There is one more issue with the bosses. Alone they are easy, when the have the back up of all their extras who do nothing when the boss is away but like to turn into commandos when he is there.

Graphics: 7/10

Nothing too spectacular. The gundams use the same entrance to every battlefield and their are no cut scenes with really nice CGI.

Sound: 4/10

Master Asia needs to shut his mouth. As a matter of fact all the characters do. They repeat the same canned lines through out the game. After 10,000 kills it gets really annoying to hear "You'd be alive if you stayed home today". After awhile one dimensional characters that constantly yap about nothing just makes a person put the tv on mute.

Now 4/10 may seem low but there isn't a need for sound in this game at all. If anything it improves the gaming experience.

Replay value: 1/10

Each individual gundam get there own set of parts that can only be acquired by fighting mini bosses and bosses. Note, You have to be the one to land the killing blow. If an allied npc throws the last punch, you don't get jack. Of course that doesn't matter cuz if you earn more then one part you screwed. At the end of each level you can only choose one part to keep.

By the time you actually get uber powerful items it doesn't matter cuz you're already dropping bosses in your sleep while butt naked.

Final score: 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (US, 08/28/07)