Xbox 360 Review: Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2

Oh, what is that? It’s déjà vu…

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 combines the devastating power of the Mobile Suit, the rich legacy of the Gundam universe and the furious Tactical Action game play of the Dynasty Warriors series. The game will thrust players into incredible battles against legions of enemy Mobile Suits on distant planetary surfaces and in the far reaches of outer space. For the first time, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 will let players engage in melee battles against colossal enemies such as the Psycho Gundam. The massive Psycho Gundam can quickly reconfigure their bodies into titanic mobile fortresses which can move with remarkable speed. However, highly-trained pilots can utilize their own Mobile Suit’s speed, agility, and of course firepower to defeat these deadly juggernauts.

If you have ever played more than one game in the Dynasty Warriors series, you’ll know what I mean when you feel that sense of familiarity, the same old design, the same objectives, the same controls and usually the same visuals. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam was a good step in the right direction for the series to go, but ultimately it felt like the old games but in the setting of the Gundam series. The sequel improves upon its predecessor, but ultimately falls into the same trap that all past games have.

The game is separated into a main story mode which ties into the series of Gundam, there are also some stages which are original and will please fans of the series, but if there’s one thing that bugs me about Dynasty Warriors more than anything, it’s that you can keep killing a specific enemy only for a message to pop up saying that he has retreated from the battlefield and chances are you will see them again only for it to happen again, it’s like some old Saturday morning TV show where the bad guy always got away, it’s just ridiculous.

The objective of Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 is exactly the same as it is in any Dynasty Warriors game. You go to specific points on the map, attack enemies till you take that area over, defeat guards and specific enemies to advance. Combat remains the same button-bashing that you would expect, it can be inaccurate and unresponsive at times, there’s also little satisfaction to it. Enemies are way too easy to kill and the whole idea of 1 soldier vs. 1000 or more is just silly.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 introduces online multiplayer for the first time, but I had absolutely no luck finding a single match. Is there some kind of network problem they need to patch or is nobody actually playing it online? As of this moment, I’m uncertain and would hope it’s a fault that can be patched, because if nobody is playing it online…then that’s a really bad sign.

There are plenty of scenarios to go through in Gundam 2, even if they all more or less feel the same. Levels are varied in the way they look, but the layout is also familiar and it all becomes more than second nature. It also becomes a bit boring after a while, because you know exactly what to do and it lacks a challenge. Gundam fans will like the story aspects that the game offers, but other than that they will find themselves thinking they played the same game before.

The visuals have improved over the original Gundam game and it’s perhaps the best looking Dynasty Warriors game to surface. Having said that, it’s still not exactly the best looking game in the world and I still feel that it needs to try and make the most of the system’s hardware. Voice-acting should please Gundam fans and annoy anyone else; I know it got on my nerves quite quickly…I found myself skipping most of the dialogue.

The Verdict

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 gives off a great sense of déjà vu. It’s not a bad game, but it does become repetitive quickly and it’s far too easy. With no online matches found during my time with the game, I see little point in returning to it once the scenarios are complete. Gundam fans will appreciate the effort that the game goes into, but the core gameplay remains the same…and it’s really beginning to show its age.