It may sound like a cop-out on my part, but the hard cold truth of the matter is that only those that have a dual fascination with all things Gundam and Dynasty Warriors should even consider play Dynasty Warriors: Gundam. The good news is that this Gundam game is the first based on this legendary and long running anime series that is actually. The bad news -- for those that don't particularly care for the Dynasty Warriors series of tactical action games from KOEI -- is that there isn't much deviation from the usual formula.

Just like Dynasty Warriors you take on the role of a legendary Gundam pilot and his or her mobile suit of choice, arm them with special skills, power-ups and weapons and take down objectives in various maps on the ground and in space. The game isn't particularly complicated and the familiar formula of babysitting other pilots, taking down map points (Fields in this title) and destroying enemy mobile suits equates to the same thing you'd find in any other Dynasty Warriors game.

The basic controls for the game work pretty well and are easy to pick up in just a few minutes. Melee attacks use square, charge attacks use triangle, Special attack use circle and boost uses X. You guard with L1 and jump with R1. Of course, there are plenty of combos and special attacks you can perform that are unique to each mobile suit.

The game offers several modes of play including Official Mode, Original Mode, and Versus Mode. In Official Mode you can play through some missions based on classic Gundam conflicts based on the anime like Zeon and the Federation. The Original Mode lets you play through an all new series of conflicts created specifically for the game. Original Mode is nice because it features several of generations of characters who team up to stop an unknown planet that is hurtling towards Earth. Finally, Versus Mode lets you slug it out with a friend using your favorite mobile suit.

More could have been done with this franchise, but KOEI didn't go out of its way to do that, so what you get is a passable game experience with lots of Gundam flavor. And that particular flavor is delivered in copious amounts. Gundam fans will appreciate being able to take on several generations of Gundam pilots and their favorite mobile suits through multiple scenarios, using familiar attacks to destroy wave after wave of bad robots of all shapes and sizes.

Graphically this game looks as good as any other next-generation Omega Force title, though I have to give a slight edge to the PS3 version. While the character design, voice acting and map designs are good, I can't help but feel that this game could have been so much more promising with a change in the mechanics and more time spent on the overall presentation. If you need proof that change is good, check out the Blade Storm demo on the PlayStation Network to see that concept in action.