As this is currently £20 in the PSN sale, I thought I'd go for it, having played pretty much all of the prior ones to a greater or lesser degree.
So Gundam videogames are tremendously variable in terms of quality. The franchise has seen the word of many different developers over decades, and it has some very good games, some very quirky games, and unfortunately some very bad games. There are so many, in fact, that there are game series within the Gundam franchise umbrella, and "Gundam Vs" is one of them.
Some might remember Gundam Federation vs Zeon DX, which got a release in the UK on PS2, and though it was quite a simple game in many respects, it was very entertaining. Starting from those origins, the Gundam Vs franchise, primarily led by its arcade versions, has seen ports to the PS2, PS3, PSP, PSVita and now the PS4.
I don't think it's too contentious to say that the series might be the best among the fold of Gundam games, in that it's loved by fans, but also by arena fighting game fans who would otherwise have little to do with Gundam. It's just generally a good game, and isn't just carried by the licence (though it does make good use of the brand for fans). Games from the series have, in the past, shown up on many "best imports" lists because of their Japan-locked nature, the multi-region ability of some of their platforms, and their friendliess to non-Japanese speakers (as they're essentially arcade fighting games).
The Gundam Versus series has seen limited release in the west; generally we get shafted with Gundam titles unless they're those Musou games. Certainly in the UK, up until recently, that PS2 Federation title was the only one in this subseries we had received (the US got a couple more). A little while ago we got Gundam Vs Force on the Vita, which was... Okay. I mean it was fine, but not the best. Still, it must've done reasonably well, because Bandai have seen fit to give us Gundam Versus on PS4.
The formula of the franchise has been pretty consistent, certainly since the Seed Vs game. You fight in mainly 2vs2 battles in square arenas, and the game is viewed from a third-person perspective. You have a range of weapons, typically ranged and melee, as well as combos and special attacks. If it sounds a bit like Virtual On then that's not a surprise, because superficially they're similar, but I feel that Gundam Vs is easier to get into. The closest thing I can think of that has been popular in the west is probably Zone of Enders, but Gundam Vs's combat system is much better designed for multiplayer play - it's a great deal more intricate, even if as a user you don't need to understand that right away.
Working a bit like a Capcom arcade fighter, the game generally works in generations, within which there are updates (so like how Street Fighter II had Champ, Super, etc.). This does mean that in some ways Gundam Versus can feel a little thin, coming from the prior game (it's like going from Super Street Fighter II Turbo X to the original Street Fighter III) but the game has a lot going for it, with very smooth combat and what seems to be a decent range of Mobile Suits to pick from.
There are a few issues though. I don't have PSPlus, and the game seems to remind me this every 2-3 minutes while playing, including bringing up Sony popups that extoll the virtues of PSPlus that I have to dismiss. Also the localisation is a bit... Odd? There are some mistakes in the character and mobile suit names, for a start, which just seems weird.
Still, so far it seems like great fun. All I'd say, though, is that if you have the previous PS3 version (any of them) then I'd probably only go for this if you're a die-hard fan or you really want to play online. If you don't, then I'm somewhat torn about the value proposition for the game. It isn't just a port; that much is clear - but it is a reimplementation of a surprisingly similar game. Again to use a Street Fighter analogy, there are people who would buy Street Fighter V and there are those who are okay with IV.
Is anyone else playing it?
EDIT: And after all that, I've discovered it doesn't have 2-player splitscreen!! Had to email Sony to see about a refund.
So Gundam videogames are tremendously variable in terms of quality. The franchise has seen the word of many different developers over decades, and it has some very good games, some very quirky games, and unfortunately some very bad games. There are so many, in fact, that there are game series within the Gundam franchise umbrella, and "Gundam Vs" is one of them.
Some might remember Gundam Federation vs Zeon DX, which got a release in the UK on PS2, and though it was quite a simple game in many respects, it was very entertaining. Starting from those origins, the Gundam Vs franchise, primarily led by its arcade versions, has seen ports to the PS2, PS3, PSP, PSVita and now the PS4.
I don't think it's too contentious to say that the series might be the best among the fold of Gundam games, in that it's loved by fans, but also by arena fighting game fans who would otherwise have little to do with Gundam. It's just generally a good game, and isn't just carried by the licence (though it does make good use of the brand for fans). Games from the series have, in the past, shown up on many "best imports" lists because of their Japan-locked nature, the multi-region ability of some of their platforms, and their friendliess to non-Japanese speakers (as they're essentially arcade fighting games).
The Gundam Versus series has seen limited release in the west; generally we get shafted with Gundam titles unless they're those Musou games. Certainly in the UK, up until recently, that PS2 Federation title was the only one in this subseries we had received (the US got a couple more). A little while ago we got Gundam Vs Force on the Vita, which was... Okay. I mean it was fine, but not the best. Still, it must've done reasonably well, because Bandai have seen fit to give us Gundam Versus on PS4.
The formula of the franchise has been pretty consistent, certainly since the Seed Vs game. You fight in mainly 2vs2 battles in square arenas, and the game is viewed from a third-person perspective. You have a range of weapons, typically ranged and melee, as well as combos and special attacks. If it sounds a bit like Virtual On then that's not a surprise, because superficially they're similar, but I feel that Gundam Vs is easier to get into. The closest thing I can think of that has been popular in the west is probably Zone of Enders, but Gundam Vs's combat system is much better designed for multiplayer play - it's a great deal more intricate, even if as a user you don't need to understand that right away.
Working a bit like a Capcom arcade fighter, the game generally works in generations, within which there are updates (so like how Street Fighter II had Champ, Super, etc.). This does mean that in some ways Gundam Versus can feel a little thin, coming from the prior game (it's like going from Super Street Fighter II Turbo X to the original Street Fighter III) but the game has a lot going for it, with very smooth combat and what seems to be a decent range of Mobile Suits to pick from.
There are a few issues though. I don't have PSPlus, and the game seems to remind me this every 2-3 minutes while playing, including bringing up Sony popups that extoll the virtues of PSPlus that I have to dismiss. Also the localisation is a bit... Odd? There are some mistakes in the character and mobile suit names, for a start, which just seems weird.
Still, so far it seems like great fun. All I'd say, though, is that if you have the previous PS3 version (any of them) then I'd probably only go for this if you're a die-hard fan or you really want to play online. If you don't, then I'm somewhat torn about the value proposition for the game. It isn't just a port; that much is clear - but it is a reimplementation of a surprisingly similar game. Again to use a Street Fighter analogy, there are people who would buy Street Fighter V and there are those who are okay with IV.
Is anyone else playing it?
EDIT: And after all that, I've discovered it doesn't have 2-player splitscreen!! Had to email Sony to see about a refund.
Comment