After the success of the first two titles Koei has decided to make a new version “Gundam Musou 3”. Unlike the prior titles in the series, it is the first “truly” next gen title for the series. With the removal of the dead weight known as the ps2, will this allow the title to soar to new heights, or will it be devastatingly bad?
Without further ado, let’s take a look into the HOTs and NOTs of Gundam Musou 3.
Hot
Updates add a lot
Looking back at the other two titles, the updated HUD makes a huge difference. Looking back at two it feels very cheap and dated, whereas three is very clean and effective. The change in graphics also helps a great deal, however that’s not all they do!
Lag Free
Generally games with a lot going on are quite laggy. Gundam Musou 3 is nearly lag free, the only time I had lag was during the save screen while earning a trophy. You can zip around the screen fighting around 100 units at the same time, kill them in masses which cause pieces to fall off followed by an explosion and move fluidly. One of the most enjoyable features is altering capturing a zone the game will make all enemies currently in there 1 hittable. This can let you kill 1 guy then he kills 3 then they kill 10 and before you know it… 80 or so and STILL no lag. To make this feat all the more impressive there’s no data install. Without a doubt it’s a very impressive feat to make a game with so much going on run so fluidly.
NOT
Cookie Cutter Stages
Most stages in the game are “Cookie Cutter” this means the layout is the same, the background is the same, and the task is the same. What causes this is the “pool” system Koei added, this has a limited amount of designs and so you will endlessly play on the same 10 stages/layouts. To make matters worse you will usually fight a random boss + aces… There is really no “learn from your mistakes” you have the “sooner or later” mentality. This makes the task of adding levels overly easy…
Too many unlockables
There are about 250 unique stages built in, most stages are unlocked via a domino system. Let me warn you, this system is ok at the start… but as you progress it feels very trivial and bothersome. Unfortunately it’s not just the levels…
Characters unlock as you play with them, or use them via support. With so many you will have to constantly work at raising everyone to a point that unlocks them. Not everyone is a straight shot either… A lot of characters require you to play on stages where their on your side and this can become very tiring. Mechs are just as bad requiring 5 missions to have the right to buy the license to pilot them thankfully you have a lot of changes to play as them.
Mission Restrictions
Over half of the missions in the game have some sort of stipulation… These are often annoying, like play as X mech, play as Y pilot, don’t use Z support… Some will not mind this, but some get to be ridiculous and cause you to spend all your money upgrading units you don’t like. The tier system is in full swing here too… God Gundam who uses areas is far more fun to play with than a lot of other units. The same can be said for unicorn and many others… though playing as a low tier unit can feel alien and make stages which usually take 3 mins take 20 or so without a high end upgrading. Thankfully we have multiplayer to fix this.
Online
Online and Offline has “different missions” I put this in quotes as most of the “Challenge missions” are just online missions. No online mission is as hard as a challenge mission, as a matter of fact no online mission is hard period. Many of the missions you encounter online are things like “Kill big zam” you have 4x people to help, and you can die twice… and anyone on your team can heal you if they have a support item… and they can hold up to 3 at a time. Offline you can get killed in 1 hit by him doing the exact same mission. There are two key kickers that make online a lot less than you would expect…
1) Every mission offline has the option of a second player joining in.
2) There is no lobby system.
What’s that no lobby system? Yeah none… There is enough to keep going with random people, and there is the option to play around while waiting but let’s face it how many people have no desire to play with friends? It’s far too annoying to invite, win which average mission is 2 mins, then reinvite… Thankfully there’s a lot, well there are less than 20 missions to do online so… YAYS!
VERDICT
There is a lot to do… well there’s more so is too much to do for the average gamer to still have fun. The cookie cutter stages will make the tasks feel that much more tedious, and after killing thousands of mechs it gets old. It would be nice if the game changed it up like Hokuto Musou did, but the most you get is no boss. It’s a good game if you + a friend want to blow some time here and there… but you can find something far better and have a lasting playtime which isn’t so bothersome.
[Editor’s Note: Gundam Musou 3 is reviewed on a PlayStation 3 platform. Take note that the game is a Japanese version.]
