Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space

A statement that’ll never not remain true is the fact that giant robots are cool. In the early 2000’s Gundam Wing brought this series over and made it popular in the US. I obviously watched it but the 80’s Mobile Suit Gundam was more my speed. Thus I ended up with a bunch of PS2 games based on different sections of the One Year War story arc. Which is a conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon as they wage war to see who will come out on top. Telling the different stories from a bunch of different pilots is the gist of what most of this game is about.

Highlighted prominently by the White Base arc following the trials of Amuro Ray and the rest of the crew. A lot of the budget seems like it went into this section as noted by it being first in the main menu. Unlike the rest of the game it has a lot of linear shooter parts that happen before getting put into a arena to take on other mobile suits. All these really do is show off how fast it is possible to dodge just about every laser blast headed in your direction. This is the gist of the gameplay since dodging is 100% required. Also thanks to the that shield most mobile suits get being just a extra life bar instead of something that could deflect damage. These statements are true in the other style of gameplay you'll be seeing a lot of.

Once the game switches to all range mode the it consists entirely of locking onto a bunch of targets quickly then blasting them to space dust. Other than some minor dialogue changes or a extra in game cut scene missions can start to blend together. Especially in the Ace Pilot mode which has very little variation in the type of mission you'll encounter. Some missions are widely different like the ones set after the war. Yet that still just comes down to how each mission is framed. Since none of the mechs feel different other than looks you are pretty much doing the same thing even when you're in a gigantic mobile armor that fills up half the screen.

As you might have already noticed repetitiveness is the main issue. In hindsight that is an issue that is prevalent in a lot of games from any era. Yet how each developer manages that problem is different. In this case they rely on showing off scenes you remember from show and some original content too. They do a solid job on both points by adding in animated cutscenes and some good mission set up dialogue. Playing through each section of the different stories doesn’t take long either with each one taking about an hour to finish. Some of it really feels like fluff like the create a pilot mode that goes through the same missions again but now you're putting points into making your pilot better. Yet after you finish the only thing the pilot can do is take part in a vs mode.

So in the end we are left with a repetitive game that is easy to play and is a respectful of the Gundam universe. Someone that has enjoyed Gundam in the past should be able to enjoy this game. Yet this is the worse game to play if you're going into it without knowing anything. Dropping the player half way through a storyline and expecting them to get caught up quickly is dumb. Plus all the side stories have very little impact if this is your only context for them. Leaving me with the fact that I still enjoy this game but I don’t know if someone that knows nothing about Gundam would enjoy this. Coming to play this just for the gameplay would most likely be boring. Still if this review has peaked your interest then check it out.