Developed by From Software, Gundam UC is a retelling of the first three anime episodes seen from the cockpit of various Mobile Suits from all factions.
After a quick tutorial on basic controls, the Story Mode kicks off with a couple of mission with the Kshatriya before unlocking some more tutorials and a about half a ton of cutscenes.
Tutorials cover all aspect of Mobile Suit piloting, from basic maneuvering, additional weapons, the cover system (that up till I've played hasn't been put to use) and different control methods for transforming Mobile Suits.
I don't have any experience with Armored Core or the ACE games, so the control scheme is a bit overwhelming at first, especially when handling Mobile Suits like the ReZEL and the Loto that feature completely different ways to pilot them; the game offers a simplified control scheme but IMO it also limits what it's possible to perform.
Story mode offers several "timelines" seen from the eyes of a particular character, like Barnager, Marida Cruz, Riddhe Marcenas or even non-pilots like Minerva Zabi, though such characters don't offer playable missions and only cutscenes.
Missions are offered in a semi-linear way: normally there are two or three active missions about different characters that must be all cleared before unlocking the next batch. Unfortunately each set of missions come with a large number of mandatory cutscenes that must be seen at least once before being able to play the actual mission.
Right now I've played up what should be episode 2, piloting the Kshatriya, the ReZEL and the Unicorn; the Kshatriya so far has seen the most varied mission types, with one-on-one duels, skirmishes and infiltration against mixed groups of Lotos and Jegans; the ReZEL is the only Mobile Suit that has been engaged in a defense operation (against the Sinanju and waves of Geara Zulus); the Unicorn so far has seen only one-on-one duels and due to how powerful this Mobile Suit is, its missions have been largely uninteresting.
However the best part of the game lays within the Custom Cast, Lab and Tune modes.
Each completed mission awards points, which can be spent in Tune mode to upgrade Mobile Suits, pilots and weapons or to buy several items in the Lab.
Bought items are then used in Custom Cast to face a set of missions with a limited amount of personnel and equipment.
To play Custom Cast a warship, her captain and at least one pilot and one Mobile Suit are needed; should the Mobile Suit not feature a fixed main weapon (like the long-range cannon of the Geara Doga Heavy Arms), a weapon is required as well.
The most common mission in Custom Cast is an attrition skirmish, where you need to destroy a certain amount of enemy MSs or warships to complete the mission; special enemies can enter the fray after fullfilling this objective or when excessive damage has been dealt to the enemy. Other missions include escort missions or simple defense of your warship.
Between missions the warship and the Mobile Suits regain health based on the warship crew's abilities and it's possible to swap Mobile Suits between active and reserves in case one is badly damaged; once a Mobile Suit is destroyed, it's out of commission for the rest of the scenario. During missions your wingmen will alert if they are too damaged and it's possible to "heal" them by touching their MS.
Of course the best part is that your team is fully customizable: you can pick among all purchased items and you're free to mix between Zeon and Federation assets, so that a Delta Gundam will launch from a Musai armed with a Beam Machine Gun and Full Frontal in the cockpit. It's pure fan service, but it's the best mode the game offers, from the mission structure to how the team is managed: it's highly addictive and it easily could stand alone; unfortunately the best equipment is unlock via story mode and it's also expensive, so you need every way to rack up points.
There's a gallery mode which is pure Mobile Suit porn and the options allow to customize the BGMs throughout the game; it's also possible to costumize the control scheme button by button.
First impressions are thoroughly positive, will post later for more.
After a quick tutorial on basic controls, the Story Mode kicks off with a couple of mission with the Kshatriya before unlocking some more tutorials and a about half a ton of cutscenes.
Tutorials cover all aspect of Mobile Suit piloting, from basic maneuvering, additional weapons, the cover system (that up till I've played hasn't been put to use) and different control methods for transforming Mobile Suits.
I don't have any experience with Armored Core or the ACE games, so the control scheme is a bit overwhelming at first, especially when handling Mobile Suits like the ReZEL and the Loto that feature completely different ways to pilot them; the game offers a simplified control scheme but IMO it also limits what it's possible to perform.
Story mode offers several "timelines" seen from the eyes of a particular character, like Barnager, Marida Cruz, Riddhe Marcenas or even non-pilots like Minerva Zabi, though such characters don't offer playable missions and only cutscenes.
Missions are offered in a semi-linear way: normally there are two or three active missions about different characters that must be all cleared before unlocking the next batch. Unfortunately each set of missions come with a large number of mandatory cutscenes that must be seen at least once before being able to play the actual mission.
Right now I've played up what should be episode 2, piloting the Kshatriya, the ReZEL and the Unicorn; the Kshatriya so far has seen the most varied mission types, with one-on-one duels, skirmishes and infiltration against mixed groups of Lotos and Jegans; the ReZEL is the only Mobile Suit that has been engaged in a defense operation (against the Sinanju and waves of Geara Zulus); the Unicorn so far has seen only one-on-one duels and due to how powerful this Mobile Suit is, its missions have been largely uninteresting.
However the best part of the game lays within the Custom Cast, Lab and Tune modes.
Each completed mission awards points, which can be spent in Tune mode to upgrade Mobile Suits, pilots and weapons or to buy several items in the Lab.
Bought items are then used in Custom Cast to face a set of missions with a limited amount of personnel and equipment.
To play Custom Cast a warship, her captain and at least one pilot and one Mobile Suit are needed; should the Mobile Suit not feature a fixed main weapon (like the long-range cannon of the Geara Doga Heavy Arms), a weapon is required as well.
The most common mission in Custom Cast is an attrition skirmish, where you need to destroy a certain amount of enemy MSs or warships to complete the mission; special enemies can enter the fray after fullfilling this objective or when excessive damage has been dealt to the enemy. Other missions include escort missions or simple defense of your warship.
Between missions the warship and the Mobile Suits regain health based on the warship crew's abilities and it's possible to swap Mobile Suits between active and reserves in case one is badly damaged; once a Mobile Suit is destroyed, it's out of commission for the rest of the scenario. During missions your wingmen will alert if they are too damaged and it's possible to "heal" them by touching their MS.
Of course the best part is that your team is fully customizable: you can pick among all purchased items and you're free to mix between Zeon and Federation assets, so that a Delta Gundam will launch from a Musai armed with a Beam Machine Gun and Full Frontal in the cockpit. It's pure fan service, but it's the best mode the game offers, from the mission structure to how the team is managed: it's highly addictive and it easily could stand alone; unfortunately the best equipment is unlock via story mode and it's also expensive, so you need every way to rack up points.
There's a gallery mode which is pure Mobile Suit porn and the options allow to customize the BGMs throughout the game; it's also possible to costumize the control scheme button by button.
First impressions are thoroughly positive, will post later for more.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Madoka Portable!
Comment