Gundam Side Story 0079
You'd think Bandai really loves us (the Gundam fans) since they took the time to actually release a Gundam game over here in the US. But just wait till you get your hands on this sucker because it's gonna make you think twice about that statement. 0079 has got some pretty good cinemas, the big plot, and a fluid control set up. But the big thing this title misses out on is gameplay.
Most of the missions involve you and a team of 2 other Gundam pilots destroying specified targets. But before that you gotta find them and exploring these huge environments are tedious at best. Considering there's very little blow up or see. In fact half the game is about walking around (but the game is still short somehow). Luckily the battles are decent. You have a variety of weapons to deploy. But I wish they were more extravagant as alot of them just aren't that unique. And you have the ability to command your other team members, but you really don't need them most of the time. The game can be completed in about a half-hour if you move fast and know what you're doing.
Gundam fans might find the story interesting, but the gameplay is definitely not. In fact that seems to be the tradeoff. You get the Gundam license with an epic story, but you loose out on adrenaline pumping action. Oh well. At least Bandai tried (to make a cash run that is). Looks like anime enthusiasts are gonna have to look elsewhere for their gaming.
(thanks to www.gamefan.com for the pics)
| Category | Rating | How & Why? |
| Graphics | 6 | Well Animated In-Game and CG Cinemas / Old School Gundam Models / Terrain Lacks Realistic Design and Look / Unexciting Weaponry / Too Much Fog for my Tastes... |
| Music | 5 | Some Okay Voice Acting and Soundeffects / Lots of Dialog / Very Little Music... |
| Gameplay | 6 | Fluid Control Scheme / But Lack of Gameplay / Repetitive and Over Simplified Missions / More Walking than Action / Ability to Control 2 Other Team Members but they're hardly needed... |
| Innovation | 5 | It's New to Recent Gundam Fans, but Sega Saturn Importers will reconigze the Game Structure Immediately from Previous Gundam Titles... |
| Replay | 5 | Decent Controls, but Lacks the Gameplay to Keep you Going / Interesting for Gundam Fans but definitely Not a Fun Game to Play... |
Overall 5.4
Review written by ShinjiZ for GameyPlace.com on January 08, 2001