Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Being a GUNDAM newbie, I really had hoped that playing through Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM would educate me on the series beyond what I already knew; robots fly around and destroy other robots accented by meaningless and poorly translated dialog. Unfortunately, after playing through the game, I have not only confirmed my original assessment of the series but also been soured on ever again taking part in the franchise at all.

I wish I could’ve been in that boardroom six months ago to berate whoever decided a perennial bore like Dynasty Warriors would be an excellent mix with the worst franchise to hit the PS3 thus far; GUNDAM. It’s not horrendous or even completely incompetent; DW: GUNDAM is just so damn repetitive and vanilla that you might not be able to keep down your cheetos.

If you’ve played Dynasty Warriors, you’ve played Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM. If you’ve ever mashed the Square button with your eyes closed, then you’ve mastered all the skills necessary to beat DW:G in a single evening. Did I mention it’s uninspired?

DW:G is broken down into two main modes of gameplay, Official Mode and Original Mode. I’m not sure why one is “official” and another “original,” but they both rely on the player tapping the attack button repeatedly until the level is complete. There are multiple GUNDAM heroes to choose from and even some of your enemies from previous play-throughs will unlock to control. Unfortunately, the only difference in the campaign from one character to another is the appearance of the mech they pilot.

There are a few bright spots, the game has an excellent feature that when you press the PS button and choose “QUIT GAME” it quickly exits and allows you to play a quality titles like Warhawk or Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online. These are games that cost half as much as DW:G and also offer 100 times more enjoyment in every facet.

Okay, enough bashing. For the GUNDAM hardcore, you will find something to like here. There’s a large colleciton of mech parts to aquire through your linear travels and before each level, you can mix and match a limited amount of these parts and abilities on your GUNDAM. You aren’t able to customize your team members’ GUNDAM mechs, which would’ve been a huge plus, but any customization is a plus.

Graphically, DW:G carries itself quite well. The rendered mechs look fantastic in high definition and it’s a shame that the game doesn’t display more variety of them. The framerate also cruises along with nary a hiccup, even when the screen is full of mech mangling madness. The game doesn’t grant you a proper sense of size so it really does feel like you’re playing Dynasty Warriors in suits of armor with energy swords. You can decide if that’s something you’d enjoy.

There’s a competitive, offline multiplayer component in DW:G as well but once again, it would’ve been a huge plus to toss in a dash of offline or online co-op. The gameplay is so linear that a competitive multiplayer match will come down to whoever can tap the Square button faster, not exactly my idea of a good time but to each his own.

Watching the quick anime preview clip of GUNDAM in the XMB made me realize what this game is really missing. Turn off the “over heat” in boosting and flying in the next iteration (if there is one) and let the gamers cruise through a sea of enemies. In the end, my best advice for the sequel would be to not to make it at all.

Final prognosis: For the hardcore GUNDAM fans only and even then, rent first and buy discount.