Gundam Side Story 0079: Rise from the Ashes (Dreamcast) review "Based off of one of 8 Gundam series, Bandai's giant robot stomper comes stateside possibly due in part to the success of Gundam Wing popping up on Cartoon Network's Toonami. Fans of that show who pick up the game for $44.99 (its going price at Best Buy and other places) may be dissapointed to find that Heero Yui or the God of Death aren't in this one. "

Based off of one of 8 Gundam series, Bandai's giant robot stomper comes stateside possibly due in part to the success of Gundam Wing popping up on Cartoon Network's Toonami. Fans of that show who pick up the game for $44.99 (its going price at Best Buy and other places) may be dissapointed to find that Heero Yui or the God of Death aren't in this one.

This Gundam is set some 274 years before the events that take place in Gundam Wing (Gundam fanboys correct me if that is wrong). The Duchy of Zeon declares war on the Allied forces of the Earth Share Alliance (again correct me if I am wrong) Their campaign begins in Australia, and that's were you start as Lt. Rayer. You lead White Fang (not the same White fang led by Captain Zechs in Wing) through covert missions ahead of regular forces.

Gameplay is squad based. You control yourself while barking out orders to Fang 2 and Fang 3 (you're Fang 1) as well as Oassis, and sort of information gathering tank thingy. Missions consist of ''blow this thing up here'' with the usual wrinkles, such as the second mission which has you trying to knock out Zeon forces and a train carrying a vital shipment through the city while not trying to destroy the town's water supply and leveling the entire place. Orders to your allies during these missions consist of ''attack'' ''defend'' or ''search'' as is the case with Oassis. It's all the type of stuff you would find in Mech Commander and Iron Soldier except with Gundams.

The game's control could have been a lot better. It consists of moving with the cross key and pivoting with the analog. In the heat of battle it becomes a major hinderence, espcially in close up battles which limits you to your sword.

The Gundam models are nicely done but muddy looking. In fact the entire game looks washed out. Add to that the fact that you are only able to use the crumb-bum Leos from the series, and a fan of sorts like me can get a bit bored (an expansion disc in Japan lets you use Wing Zero in training missions but it is incompatable with the US version).

Voice acting is surprisingly competent. All the mission objectives are given in CG so you can't just skip them.

In the end Gundam is an average mech game that's worth checking out if you REALLY like the older series or are looking for MechWarrior for your DC. Just don't expect anything special.

Community review by pestes (Date unavailable) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.