Gundam has been around forever. When mechs and anime were big time, before springy pirates and huge titans, Gundam appeared and showed the world that there is a hefty amount of story to tell, as well as flashy mechs to compliment. There is a reason it has survived so long. People love it. To boot, there have also been dozens of games put out with the Gundam name, even stretching as far as the 1990s (it pains me to write that and remember how long ago it all seemed). The transmedia on this brand is outrageous and only George Lucas could understand, and probably be so proud.
The latest Gundam game and a multiplayer-driven experience are Gundam Evolution. It’s a PvP-based game that puts you against a variety of different mechs in the Gundam universe and wants to see who can use those mechs in the best and most balanced way in the team competition. It’s a fascinating game, featuring a balancing act of mechs that slap in the right way when you get the balance right but also can smack you if you get it wrong. So goes an MP experience.
Thankfully, the most recent season of Gundam Evolution felt more right than wrong in a preview session we were able to participate in. We were able to try out a new base and mech in a sit-down preview of season four.
On that sweet note, let’s get right to it.
Sniping the competition
The preview began with cyphering through a long list of mechs. Each mech brought its own panache, strengths, weaknesses, and helluva a lot of firepower. The game’s mechs go from tank-y (RX-75 Guntank) to John Woo (MSA-005, Methuss) in a heartbeat and everything in between. If you have never tried this game before, as was the case with me, I think you’ll be impressed with the variety of choices you have when attempting to find a comfortable mech to choose from in the game. I did enjoy Methuss, as it was a two-gun-toting son of a gun. The mech’s quick draw and special rocket punch were incredibly fun, as it was powerful.
One of the new characters available in the upcoming fourth season, and one I was able to play for a few games, is Gundam Dynames from Mobile Suit Gundam 00. This was a cool mech and a dangerous one for those who could control it. Armed with a sniper rifle and able to take large chunks of energy off the other mechs, Dynames ended up one of the more powerful characters during the preview session. I had plenty of experience with this one, as I did enjoy playing this mech in the 6v6 matchup and didn’t enjoy playing against it when other players figured the mech out. The mech strangely seemed to balance out the battles I participated in, as it brought that long-range capability that the game didn’t seem to contain prominently or properly. There is nothing like a good sniper to gum up some strategic plans. You can’t just go in firing with Dynames, or go against Dynames without considering its positioning. The mech causes quite a bit of damage and is hard to bring down. The mech was a cool addition to the bunch, and that’s coming from someone who laid eyes on this game for the first time during this preview.
Sometimes a character like this does bring a balance to a game that might seem like there are a lot of different choices and doesn’t feel like it’s completely balanced. Again, this is my first time out with this game, so I can’t speak about how it was before this event, but I can see how important Dynames will be with the dynamics of the gameplay. Everyone who played against Dynames seemed far more reserved in run-and-gun than when Dynames was not in the game. This is what a good sniper does to gameplay. Imagine thinking before you run in guns blazing…it’s weird…but proper.
Overall, Dynames is a welcomed addition to the large library of mechs in Gundam Evolution.
New map!
With the emergence of Dynames comes a new map called the Buried City. This is a multi-level, tight-quarters map that gives you some corners to hide around, but also allows you to sneak around and ruin another mech’s day. It’s a brown, Mars-like mechanical base that can get confusing quickly if you don’t pay attention to what is going on. On this map, we played a 6v6 game of capturing and securing points, then invading the enemy’s base and destroying their power cell. While I was slightly confused about what the hell was going on during the opening two matches of the game, the map was designed so well that I didn’t particularly care about achieving goals (I know, I’m a bad teammate), but was more mesmerized with how to best sneak around and get my enemies while they weren’t looking.
The map is built like a two-level, metal maze with openings from all four sides at any given point and position. Just moving around and strategizing the next point of attack while judging it based on enemy position was easy as it was fun. The preview time I had with this map made me want to continue this journey regularly. It felt like a good ol’ Call of Duty map from the Black Ops II years. It was tight, multi-level, and easy to sneak around and surprise within.
Anyway, this was the only map we previewed, and it certainly lit my spark of interest in Gundam Evolution. Hardcore fans will love it.
More to come
While we only got in a little time with Gundam Evolution – Season Four, the new mech and map will certainly give this game a bit more hitch in its giddy-up. Fans of the series and the game will love what is coming.
On that note, we’ll keep you posted with updates.
