Dynasty Warriors: Gundam

"Worth checking out if you need a break from Asian men with exaggerated strength beating one another into a pulp."

Talk about a niche genre.. mech beat 'em ups. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is only the 5th robotic brawler to be created (Cyborg Justice, Armored Warriors, Mad Stalker, and Mad Stalker: Full Metal Force are the only other games fitting this narrow description). I've been playing this game on-and-off for months now.. and I think I finally obtained enough willpower to write my first review since October '08.

Story ?/10

I've seen next to nothing related to the Gundam saga, so I wouldn't be able to tell you how accurate the plot or characters is to the Gundam license. That being said, there seems to be a lot going on in the "Official Mode" plot, which seems to chronicle the events of the series from the perspective of the winners and losers of this war. There is also the "Original Mode", which works similar to the plot of Warriors Orochi in that characters from different sagas and eras fight together and against one another around the introduction of an Orochi-ish / Lu Bu-esque super-Gundam. It's not as well written or interesting as the canon storyline, but I guess fans of the series would be satisfied seeing characters who never appeared together before duke it out.

Graphics 8/10

The visuals are probably the climatic point of the game. You will immediately notice the difference in the carnage you leave as you wade through the weak mech hordes as opposed to flood of Chinese/Japanese cannon fodder from the previous installments in Koei and Omega Force's various series. Instead of falling over and fading out, the defeated Gundams are stripped of their limbs and the wrecked metal fragments are spewed across the screen. It is much more satisfying to watch the impact you cause on the masses concentrated around your character, not to mention the bodies are knocked aside more fluidly than in any SW or DW title. The level designs are decent enough, with a mixture of on-land skirmishes and war taking place in a hovering zero-g battlefield. The draw distance, frame rate, and pop-up also seem more refined than in previous examples in the companies' product. The only thing that seems to be missing are the glossy cut-scenes I've grown accustomed to from all the earlier 'Warriors incarnations. Instead, the story is presented in real-time format which isn't as exciting as a pre-rendered high-detailed cinematic could have been. Perhaps the sequel (which is already out in Japan) will emphasis more gloss in this department.

Sound 7/10

Wait, wait... I know that most (if not all) the characters are voiced by their original actors. The problem is that some of the lines and dialogue when spoken by these actors comes off as trite and rather cheesy. There are a couple of characters who I actually enjoyed listening to, but while as playing as others I opted for the thoughtfully included Japanese audio track. You can switch to and from each language easily - depending on your personal taste. The soundtrack and sound effects are average, but not especially remarkable.

Control 8/10

The control seemed pretty responsive and there wasn't any real lag that I can remember off the top of my head. Sometimes you can get knocked down in zero-gravity and it interrupts the pace of combat, but nothing really sticks a metaphorical stick into the spokes of the game-play. The series is STILL lacking an option to command allied units to fall back or remain at certain location (minus story-related events) resulting in suicidal treks by aforementioned allied units into enemy ranks. I'll complain more about this under the "game-play" heading of the review.

Game-play 7/10

The ever-reliable 3D beat 'em up formula is mostly the same as it has been since Dynasty Warriors 2. The laser guns the Gundams used in the series are here, but most projectiles you end up firing are only useful for stunning an enemy before leading it into a melee combo. There are a few new items to use to your advantage that can be obtained from breaking futuristic crates and dropped by random peons. Instead of the enemy-spawning gates from the DW/SW games, you have field which must be cleared out and repopulated with friendly units so your allied generals have a bit of a buffer zone between them and the enemy. Instead of weapons and accessories - you can earn and equip parts and pilot skills which can make a real different from struggling against the horde and cruising through it unscathed. Despite these advances, though - DW: Gundam suffers from some of the same problems as its predecessors, and some of these problems seem worse. Your allied generals are more than often unable to fight off an evenly-matched enemy, meaning you will have to halt your advance into enemy territory to rescue them several times each mission. The series continues to require some kind of system than allows you in situations not dictated by a pre-destined event to direct the actions of your allied generals. Would it kill these guys to stay put by the main camp, keep it safe for 15 minutes - and not fall to pieces while you go out and destroy 80% of the enemy army by your lonesome? And on more than one occasion, a critical allied unit decides than rather than standing behind you - it should go head-to-head with the most powerful enemy unit on the map - causing you to switch between defensively shielding it from attacks and trying to defeat the aforementioned hostile force? And on the subject of powerful opponents, most of the bosses of the campaign are incredibly frustrating to battle due to their cheap execution. The bosses are like regular enemy generals, only with longer life-bars that are SLOWLY chipped away by all assortment of normal and specialized attacks you throw at them. Their own attacks, are of course, much stronger than yours and a few mistakes could cost you the battle in the blink of an eye. The worst part is that you usually fight these bosses, not once - not twice - but THREE times in the same level after mowing down roughly 500 lesser mechs. The quicksave feature is quite necessary for these battles, and as a bittersweet aspect - even if you lose you keep the XP your earned. Still, it is irritating to think that Koei/Omega Force would allow a fresh series to be tarnished by such reoccurring flaws.

Relay Value 7/10

There are a lot of characters than you will have in your roster after meeting certain conditions. The "Official Mode" is more rounded out with said characters, but the "Original Mode" kind of drags on.. with similar missions and objectives for all these extra persons. Still, there are over a dozen different mechs to try out.. and while the achievements aren't extremely hard to unlock.. they are time-consuming (expect to spend 40+ hours to obtain 1000/1000 Gamerscore). I'd say it is on par with the brothers and sisters of its fellow franchises in terms of re-accessibility.

Overall 7/10

If you are a Gundam fan... this game is more than likely meeting your purchase criteria. A DW/SW fan may feel the same way despite the changes of setting. Regular beat 'em up enthusiasts might want to rent it first, although it sells for less than $30 used in stores these days. Overall, I'd rate it an above average brawler that is experienced best in 1-to-2 hour chunks of play-time.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/09

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