Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire (Sony Playstation 3, 2006)

I am a true fan of all-things-Gundam, truly am... but this game made me almost trickle my beverage unto my PS3. As a Gundam game, this would be the epitome of embarrassment and shame in any Gundam Game. I do not really blame the company for it, but maybe due to public demand in Japan and some fans, the game was precipitated and rushed. Let me point out the Pros and Cons:

Pros:
-Decent graphics, yet chaotic in its own way

-Realistic destruction physics and part dismemberment

-True-to-life scenarios when repairing/buying/ordering/tran​sferring MS or Pilots it really does take time and the game is time-based as if waiting for D-Day or commencing of a large-scale battle at the end

-Broad selection of U.C. era Gundams with average customizations


Cons:
-Major Lagging issue(tends to slow down when there are few or more MS's or battles)

-VERY WEAK STORYLINE, wait, there is NO storyline at ALL. This is one of greatest mistakes made, especially for a Gundam game. Worse than Zeonic Front's storyline. Compare this is MSG: Journey to Jaburo... for the PS2 release has a decent story that stays with the series. You are simply stationed in battle with no plot whatsoever.

-Dialogue and Voice-overs tend to get annoying as your enemies/allies would scream three seconds later after being destroyed o_O and the same quotes keep repeating everytime: "Zeon Dogs..!" 60 seconds later... "Zeon Dogs..!"

-Very challenging at times. This is would probably be the most frustrating Gundam game I've ever played. The enemies ALWAYS know where you are, which gives you no tactical advantage(Enemies can aim at you miles away easily) and the most annoying part is that they send you with only few supports or sometimes, no support at all. Being alone is the downfall, especially with no repairs during any mission. The last level of Zeon expects you to guard the first base and take out 12 MS's, but it's not an issue since you have Gelgoogs defending it with you. Then, command tells you to go to a suicide path of destroying the rest of the Federation of which there are aprx 30 MS's, excluding the Federation Airforce.

-Very little replay value, enough said.

Thus, this is far, one of the worst Gundam games ever created. I would rather play MSG: New Dawn than this Gundam. It's a shame to even call this game Gundam. I spent $39.99 and overall, it's not worth that price. Should be worth $20.00!

Nine months have passed since Zeon forces invaded the Earth. At the brink of annihilation, the Earth Federation forces are mobilizing to launch a massive counter assault against the occupying forces. Make your choice to either defend or invade Earth in the most recent release of the Mobile Suit Gundam series, Crossfire.

Awesome environments. View larger.
Game Storyline
Each faction that you can choose to take sides with has their own types and models of mobile suits, each with their own specific specialty and purpose. The two rival factions described in the game are the E.F.F (Earth Federation Forces) and the Principality of Zeon. Dynamic game play allows you to take sides with either faction.

Gameplay
Powered by the PlayStation 3, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire throws you into the midst of futuristic war zones brought to life in ultra realistic graphics. Form your own mobile assault force, strategize their next moves and battle with them side by side while you command them to triumph.

The basic game objective is easy; blast through futuristic tanks and enemy structures, military aircraft, and rival mobile suits. The rival mobile suites form the bulk of the incoming opponents. You can see them moving on the horizon at the start of a mission, or you can spot their locations on your radar at the bottom of the screen.

One of the advanced aspects featured in Crossfire is the ability to inflict location-specific damage. You can fine-tune your aim to destroy specific parts of a single enemy unit. For example, if you want to disable a rival suit's laser sword, all you need to do is aim for his laser and shoot. The same goes for the feet, head and legs. Likewise, if you destroy a mobile suit's head, it will disable its ability to see.

Each mission starts with a short briefing, complete with maps and satellite imagery. When you're ready to play, choose which side of the war you want to join, and then play master to your mobile suits, and guide the ultimate weapons of war to victory.

Like many review before me, I'm gonna say that its pretty bad. Not worth the price it was sold at launch but probably $20. It defies all logic on how often slow down occurs and a lot of the features in the game are pointless. For example, the game has a large roster of pilots from either side to recruit and fight along side, but the only difference between any two pilots is their name that is displayed in text and their statistics, the AI is just as stupid either way! Another useless feature is squad commands, other than the manual, there is no way to check watch each of the digital pad's buttons do. You could test them in battle, but the AI barely knows what its doing half the time so its pointless to test them out in battle. A final useless feature I want to mention is zooming in, sniping, because its completely useless on since the bullets move so slow and enemies with long range weapons will automatically lock on to anyone in sight and instant firing at you. The only positive thing I can honestly say is that its cool to have a large variety of mobile suits to play with and selecting their main weapon. This is probably only something a gundam fan wold enjoy, possibly giant robot fans too, but definitely not fun for everyone.

I've heard nothing but complaints about this game and I'm not sure what people are mad about. First and foremost this is a mobile suit simulation, not a shooter. Simulation meaning that it simulates the movements of units and the combat they are involved in. That being said people seem to think that a 50 foot tall Zaku needs to handle like a race car.

If you've never watched the original Mobile Suit Gundam then you should do so before buying this. Preferably you want to watch the Japanese version with or without English subs but the English dub will do. The reason you need to do this is so you understand just whats going on. You can pick up the game and play it but you'll be confused, and not understand why your machine isn't a bunny hopping, laser eye shooting, Paladin of death.

Watching the series will also make you understand that the suits are moving like they are suppose to. You're literally in a walking tank and sidestepping while blocking isn't an option. You have to be careful how you fight, what targets you pick, and how you choose to engage them. You start out in a Zaku II at the beginning and it's not going to take an artillery barrage to the chest and keep fighting.

This is probably another complaint from most American gamers. Aside from those of us who play Ghost Recon and understand the concept of avoiding fire, most American gamers tend to just charge right in. They then whine that the game is cheating when they get murdered by an entire army. Thus they complain that it's a bad game.

Gundam Crossfire is the best Gundam Simulation game to date. It's essentially a modernized and updated version of Federation VS Zeon, with better combat and physics. While not for every gamer, those that understand the Gundam universe and the mobile suits will have a blast playing this.

As you can tell from the title I'm not much of a fan of this game. The controls are odd and the Mechs are hard to control. I played this game for like an hour and never got past the second board. The time in between missions is far to long, waiting for parts and pilots to come in. Waiting to have your Mech fixed. IMO this game was more of a pain in the a** than it was fun. Some of the Mechs are soooo slow and difficult to maneuver out of the way of incoming fire. It is also difficult to keep view of multiple enemies on the screen and I have a 51" TV. Personally, I say save your money and buy something else unless your need a cheap gift for a bratty little kid. LOL