Gundam: Char's CounterAttack

Considering it's Bandai, this game manages to come out pretty good. It definitely has some problems. But thankfully there are a couple of redeeming parts as well. The graphics are down right excellent. The overhead has a futuristic look. And the mechs are fully detailed & look cool when compared to their anime counterparts. All in glorious 3D. The backgrounds are pretty lifeless because most of the battles occur in outer space (flat, untouchable backgrounds). Thankfully there's plenty of anime cut scenes. And most of them are intense & add a lot of life to the story telling. Some of the best anime scenes you're going to see on a video game actually. Even the orchestrated soundtrack stirs a lot of emotion & comes straight from the series. Where the problem is, is in the gameplay department. It's suppose to be a 3D fighter, but ends up feeling like a 3D shooter. Most of time the characters are at great distances blasting numerous projectiles at one another. Not to mention that most of the weapons lock on & you really don't have to target it yourself. But what's worse is that your weapons are limited in their use (you've go to worry about ammo), which eventually forces you into going into hand-to-hand combat. But it's hard enough to get close to one another because somebody is usually pulling away & trying to flee. This is just plain boring & tedious after awhile. And soon you'll just put the game up & give it no more thought. It's a shame considering all the other things Bandai did right. You'll definitely want to check it out for the visual & audio. Otherwise find something else to play.

**note: This is an Import Game. Text & Voice-Overs are Japanese.

the Breakdown (10 good to 1 bad)

Category	Rating	How & Why
Graphics	8	Cool Mech Designs & Amazing Anime Cut-Scenes / Flat & Bland Backgrounds
Music	10	Heroic & Classic Soundtrack / Really Fits the Gundam Theme
Gameplay	6	Playable / But becomes Boring & Tedious
Innovation	7	3D Fighter/Shooter is a Neat Idea / Too Bad it Falls Short
Replay	6	Anime Scenes & Soundtrack you'll Want to See Again / But you Won't want to Play the Game.

Overall 7.4