Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force Reviews
Namco Bandai's first attempt at localizing a Gundam game in many years comes with mixed results, as Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs-Force is a largely average experience.
Somebody who just picked up this game would probably express some confusion regarding the issues raised in this review.
There is definiteley some value here for those who would recognize all of the characters and events, but even that elite will have to navigate the gameplay, which for all its playable characters is about as deep as a puddle and just slightly more fun.
So as a companion game to the mainline Gundam Extreme Versus series and as a game you can dip in and out of on the move, Force is great. However, as a standalone game it may leave many confused as to why certain mechanics play out the way they do.
If Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs-Force intends to be the resurgence of the franchise here in the West, it could not start on a more wrong foot. This game is not a primer; it is only for the Gundam devout. Only they may be able to forgive the clunky controls, the tedious battles, and the story that’s just as convoluted as its name. Only they will welcome its muddy graphics and absurd difficulty spikes. Everyone else should know better.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs-Force has its weak points, but if you're able to overlook its shortcomings then you'll be able to find some solid gameplay. It's just unfortunate that more attention wasn't put into the localization effort, as it leaves a lot to be desired. Hardcore fans of the Gundam series should give it a shot, but everyone else should proceed with caution.
If there is one core issue with Gundam: Extreme VS-Force it's that it feels like it should be on a console.
As a fan of the Gundam series, seeing all the different mobile suits with their signature moves duking it out should have been a dream come true. However, a dull single player campaign and a complete lack of online multiplayer makes Extreme VS-Force very difficult to recommend.
Even the most hardcore Gundam fans will find it hard to say they enjoyed VS-Force. It may look and sound like a good game but it doesn't play like one. Poor controls, pointless story, and some crazy difficulty spikes leaves VS-Force missing the mark in almost every way.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force is at its best when it sticks to the series' trademark two-on-two battles. Smaller encounters give the tense combat system room to breathe, but all too often, the game's campaign shoots itself in the foot with overly chaotic group skirmishes and boring boss fights. If you're a Gundam nut then you'll probably be able to stomach some of the title's flaws, but don't expect a true Gundam VS experience.
All in all, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. Force accomplishes what it set out to do.
Gundam fans who have been waiting for the series to come West should temper their expectations for Extreme VS Force — it's a clunky and uninspired mess.
At best, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS Force is a competent but dull beat-em-up with a few neat mechanics, and at worst a cluster of battles mostly controlled by the game’s AI, with only a small amount of help from the player.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force tries a million different things, then botches all of them. Import Gundam Breaker 3 and skip this insipid timesink.
Even with all of that said though, Extreme VS Force is still a fantastic game under all the glut, and anyone who owns a Vita will be doing themselves, Gundam fans and action fans a favor by buying this one. It’s a great entry point to the series for the casual player as long as you don’t let the story confuse you, and Gundam fans who haven’t played this series finally get a chance without importing.
If you’re looking for a pretty challenging fighting game, with lots of missions lasting less than ten minutes each, then you’ll probably get a kick out of this.
While offering a solid gameplay experience, Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force lacks that extra bit of detail that could have come from all of the characters and lore that it sits upon. There’s too much assumed knowledge, and this lets down the missions and the variety of units available. It’s a good game if you’re fully caught up with Gundam lore, but even casual fans might struggle to get along with this one.
A good way to experience the basics of the terrific 'Extreme VS' games, but it absolutely falters compared to the rest of the series due to the lack of any sort of online play and a far smaller roster than it deserves. There's a long, content-rich campaign mode that ends up being far more fun than I'd ever expected. I sincerely hope later entries have a similar mode, but then also have online multiplayer.
Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS-Force is not a bad game at all, the setup and premise is pretty simple, the characters interesting, and the designs colourful. It is by no means the prettiest title on the PS Vita, but a smooth framerate makes up for that factor. If a long term Gundam fan picks this up, a good amount of content with a fulfilling set of lore can be expected, but for anyone else, it may just fall short of greatness.
There are simply too many things working against Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme VS-Force. The stiffer combat system doesn't work for anything but one-on-one battles, while your AI partners can be rather useless. The story doesn't feel like any attention had been paid to it, and the lack of localization for important parts of a fight certainly hurts things if you aren't keen on replaying stages. Given the lack of online play and some of the bland presentation, it's difficult for even the biggest Gundam fan to get behind this title.