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News: Gundam Side Stories Release and Impressions

Posted on : 28-05-2014 | By : | In : News, Videos

Hardware:

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After much wait Gundam Side Stories is released today in Japan. However, because we’re awesome we got a copy of the Limited Edition a day early (pictured above). So from playing about fifteen or so missions on the Slave Wraith side of Missing Link this is what we think of it thus far. In terms of controls and gameplay, it’s actually pretty great. It’s fluid and simple but with some nice weight to it. It feels like an amalgam of the old Blue Destiny games mixed with Lost War Chronicles and Zeonic Front. In terms of the latter, you have three units per team and you can switch mid-combat between them (like in Zeonic Front somewhat). These also act as your “lives”, as once one is taken out it has to recharge and you can switch to the others in the team. Once all units are down then that’s game over. Missions are short and simple but still quite varied. The game is quite focused as a whole, in that you don’t really have to customise the mobile suits or their load-out. You also have access to two weapons from the off, normally a machine gun and a bazooka/beam rifle but this varies from unit to unit. All this makes the controls and combat feel very direct and almost arcade like. The story and voice acting is also good and suitably interesting. All this aside though, this game looks really quite ugly in places. The majority of the cutsenes clearly weren’t done by an animator and the engine itself looks very dated indeed (worse than 0081 did in fact). The terrain especially looks like something from the PS2 era. We’re guessing this is because the budget was small and the content in the game as a whole is pretty massive (as they had to make seven games in one package). Once we’ve played it some more we’ll post our review but in the meantime it plays well but looks pretty disappointing. There are also some new gameplay videos, which we’ve linked below. You can buy the standard edition here.

Spoiler

[flash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q2y–Uq9Ls]

[flash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owv2bbUDvSA]

[flash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PZ7XqjVK_s]

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Comments (19)

PS2 era graphics?? o_O It’s 2014…

Yeah, it’s patchy though. The mobile suits and effects look current, environments not so much.

Honestly from what I’m seeing, it’s fine. If they really put gameplay and story over graphics, then I’d probably spend $500 if I had it for this game.

It’s about time we had quality over quantity development again.

Also: Dat Adzam.
Dat Big Zam
Dat Zeong
Dat… ZZ GUNDAM!?

JUST WHAT IS IN THIS GAME!?

This is probably because they could lift half the suits straight from Gundam Battle Operation

Yes, there are developers that prefers to do gameplay and content above graphics. When you have a small budget you need to focus in things. If you want graphics, go to PC and play shit like Crysis 3.

The small budget was fully out of choice by Namco Bandai, they HAVE the money, they were just not willing to spend it. No need to get defensive for a megacorporation that tries to fuck us every turn they get, man.

I hate Bandai, the worst Japanese corporation, the destructor of Gundam and the mecha anime. I’m defending B.B. Studio, the developers, Bandai can go to the hell.

I realize that but even then B.B. Studio has put out some real stinkers (and they’re not that “real” of a studio, more a label at this point.)

I don’t blame them for wanting to do smaller budget games. Western AAA games are about to kill themselves off.

I get that, but it’s more like, if you got less budget, why spread it over a huge amount of content like 7 sidestory games? Just make Missing Link and have some cameos and the MSes.

Probably Bandai has plans for these side stories? …Including Model Kits.

“Yo, so, we needja to revive all these old side story games, get to it chop chop”

Budgets are determined by sales estimates (normally). Even in Japan Gundam game sales have an upper ceiling so the budgets are pretty fixed by that. Unlike Western publishers they aren’t about to spooge 100 million USD on a game unless they think it has a chance of making it back. The problem here though is that there is just too much mission content and the art has suffered, badly.

eh, I would take content over graphics. Too be fair though, I do think if Bandai really did knuckle down and made a Gundam magnum opus it would net them quite a bit but they simply seem uninterested when they make plenty of money from SD Gundam Mahjong. Why should they make an effort?

The problem is that content isn’t that varied, they’ve just had to churn it out. As for investment, well relative to the return/risk the likes of Gundam Mahjong are a better business bet, sadly.

I would take both, they’re not MUTUALLY exclusive is what I’m saying. I’d take focused quality content over sporadic content quality.

Thanks for the info.

That would be sooo much more impressive if it didn’t look like Gundam UC , which is still cool too , 200 Yen to add Unicorn to Side Stories? worth it .

recently bought the game , I’m enjoying it , it does remind me of the old Side Stories DreamCast GM based game , and the constant influx of DLC suits and free VR missions (most recently the NT-1 and Kamfer ) will keep it relevant for a while , it’s too bad the Gundam Battle Operation DLC version of Pale Rider comes nerfed so painfully weak .

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