Dynasty Warriors Gundam is a series that seems to make a lot of sense. Giant robots fighting other giant robots is always a good thing. Plus, Gundam has a long history with tons of great characters and storylines to draw from. Of course, the “Gundam” part is only half of the equation and it is the “Dynasty Warriors” part that ultimately messes everything up. Does Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 fall into the standard pattern of repetition and blandness DW is known for? Find out in our review.
Game Details
* Publisher: Namco Bandai, Koei
* Developer: Omega Force
* Also On: PS3
* ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
* Genre: Hack n’ Slash
* Pros: Tons of content, co-op, great for Gundam fans
* Cons: Not that different from original DWG; gets repetitive
The first thing that needs to be said about Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 is that it is pretty much exactly like the first DW Gundam. And I mean exactly. The list of modes is pretty much the same and even some of the missions themselves are the exact same as the first game. Don’t misunderstand, there is plenty of new stuff here, but it isn’t terribly different from the first game.
Official Mode is just like the mode from the first game and features real storylines from various Gundam series. Mission Mode takes the place of Original Mode from the first game and lets you choose different characters and mobile suits to tackle stories created for the game. There are also co-op and deathmatch multiplayer modes available both for splitscreen and online play.
Basically, there is a ton to do here. Dozens of mobile suits, tons of characters, familiar missions and locations – for Gundam fans there is dozens of hours worth of content here. The first DWG offered all of this also, however, and if you have already devoted a lot of time to the first game it seems like a heck of a lot to ask for you to do it all again.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 follows the same formula that every Dynasty Warriors game has used since the beginning. There are tons of enemies that don’t fight back, and it is your job to hack and slash your way through them. This means repetitive button mashing and using the same handful of attacks over and over and over again. For fans of the series, this is heaven. For people that hate the series, it is five minutes of fun and then boredom.
If you aren’t familiar with the DW style, the game plays like this. You melee attack with X, shoot your gun with Y, and various combinations of these produce different special attacks. As you fight you build up a meter that lets you unleash a powerful super attack when it is full. The idea is that you run around the maps and claim designated areas by killing the enemies within an area. Occasionally, higher-level command units will show up as well as other mobile suits (i.e. main characters) that you have to take out that put up much more of a fight than the standard drones. For the most part, the same pattern of button mashing repeats throughout the game and despite the wealth of selectable mobile suits, they all play exactly the same.
Dynasty Warriors is, in essence, the same 5 minutes of gameplay multiplied about 500 times.
Graphics and Sound
One area that has seen some improvement from the first game in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 is the graphics. It still isn’t a graphical powerhouse, not by any means, but the game has an overall sharper and noticeably better look. Most importantly, the mobile suits look great.
The sound is good or bad depending on your tastes. The music and sound effects are good, but the game only offers English voices so if you are a die-hard “sub>dub” fan, it’ll grate on you quite a bit.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 is a bit of a tricky game to judge. It isn’t that it is bad, but it is just mind numbingly repetitive. Some people love the Dynasty Warriors games, though, and we’re cool with that. If you love Dynasty Warriors or are a huge fan of Gundam in all of its forms, there is a lot to like here. If you aren’t a huge Gundam fan or already know Dynasty Warriors isn’t your cup of tea, DWG2 isn’t going to change anything. A bigger problem, however, comes when comparing DWG 1 to DWG 2. Frankly, there isn’t a huge difference or improvement between the two games and there plain and simple isn’t $60 worth of new stuff here if you already have played the heck out of the first game. If you’re interested, give Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 a rental or pick up the first DWG for cheap instead, but I can’t recommend DWG2 for a full price purchase.
Eric Qualls
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