UA-112394588-1 UA-112394588-1 Game Review: Gundam: Rise from the Ashes   Author    About Us

Game Review: Gundam: Rise From the Ashes

by Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com
System: DreamCast
Rating: 9.5/10

When I think of this game, I feel a twinge in my heart. Unlike so many other games where you go to battle inside of a mech, this made you ‘feel’ like you were there. You aren’t especially powerful..hell, you pilot general models through the entire thing! Yet that is what makes it so good.

The year is Universal Century 0079, and the world is in conflict..again. A group of space colonies, calling themselves the Principality of Zeon, has launched a war of independence against the Earth Federation. Now, you may think that you’ll go to some of the more vicious fights from the tv series, but..you aren’t even in that side of the planet. No, you and your battle group, the White Dingo squad, are a part of Australia’s fighting force, only now starting to fight the Zeon occupation forces. Without the help of any special units to the effect of Gundams, or other such things you see in similar games, all that protects your squad and yourself are the skills you gain in battle, and the way you command your troops. Though your efforts might not look like much, and the battles you go through aren’t that large in scale, they are enough to turn the tides of the battle.

This is the first game where I really felt like I was in the cockpit, and the first time I felt fear whenever someone on the radio said there were more enemies arriving. Your machine doesn’t have any method to heal during the battle, and one-on-one skirmishes leave you on the edge of your seat. On those frontlines, unlike in so many others, you feel like your allies are the only things keeping you alive. Now, allow me a moment to commend the people you will come to love in this game: the sensor operator Anita (aka: Oasis), the calm and experienced pilot Leung (aka: Fang 2), the joking and determined pilot Max (aka: Fang 3), and the mechanic Bob.

Now, I’ve read some of the other reviews for this game, and I’m a little pissed. So what if you don’t pilot a gundam, or fight the well known enemies? That is what makes it so much better than the cookie-cutter mech game, you feel like you’re making your own small impact in the war, not changing the tide of it altogether. I have only two complaints about this game at all, really. The fact that there are only nine missions..and the fact that it wasn’t considered good enough to follow the example of.

Other game reviews by Tim


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