Preview: Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (PS3)

Released earlier this year in Japan with a certain degree of pomp, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam represents a rare team up between Koei and Namco Bandai. Dropping the Romance of the Three Kingdoms source material from the former's Dynasty Warriors series for characters from Bandai's legendary Gundam universe, it's Part robot opera, part metal-smashing interplanetary punch-up. But with the last Gundam title being a critical and commercial disaster outside of Japan and the Dynasty Warriors series in danger of terminal stagnation, does it hold up much hope of success on these shores?

Well, yes and no. First impressions are underwhelming- graphically there's little here to distinguish the title from a solid PlayStation 2 game, save for the absence of Dynasty Warriors' trademark miles-thick fog, and the early preview mission available amounts to little more than moving from battlefield to battlefield, hammering in a few combos and watching puny robot grunts get pummelled. If anything, it feels even slightly lacking compared to its predecessors, with less of the visceral thrill of hand-to-hand combat that made DW feel so involving.

Granted, it would be a weak cross-over that abandons the clearly popular Dynasty Warriors formula to a great degree, but the similarity to previous outings of the series will likely be a major bugbear. There's potential to step away from the earthbound combat of that game via a useful jump feature, and given the majority of combat in the Gundam Wing incarnation of the anime is airborne it would be foolish to root this title to the floor. Based on previous lack of ambition from both sides of the team-up however, nothing can be taken for granted at this point.

What does impress is the fidelity to the Gundam universe, which will likely be the main draw for many players. The voice cast is present and correct, with both Japanese and English available in preview code and hopefully the finished title, and even in the early demo shown, several series mainstays make appearances as friends and foes alike. The plot is predictably dubious, all evil planets and mysterious villains, but at least it looks to provide a fan-pleasing extension to the Gundam canon in the so-called Official Mode, and era-spanning fan-service via Original Mode.

It remains to be seen how well this peculiarly Japanese merger will pan out, and despite considerable sales at home neither Dynasty warriors nor Gundam have maintained the considerable public appeal in Europe they once did. Despite the potential to be a success with the hardcore American anime fan base when released late next month, the possibility of an appearance this side of the pond seems unlikely before this winter. Whether this will amount to missing out on an entertaining slice of overblown mecha action or avoiding a well-flogged horse lying dead in the road is for a review to decide.

Words by Colin Whiteside