Before we get down to the nitty gritty of this review, I should make it clear that the overall score is very much dependent on your interest in both the Dynasty Warriors franchise and the long running and hugely successful Gundam series. If you are a fan of both games then in all honesty you probably already own this game and need to read no further. Equally, if you find the Dynasty Warriors franchise derivative and repetitive and have little or no interest in either Gundam or anime then you might as well stop reading now, as Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is in no way going to win you over. Finally, if you have even a passing interest in either then please keep reading, because you might - just might - be in for a pleasant surprise.

Let's make one thing clear straight away - Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is an unashamed cash cow. KOEI and Namco Bandai have obviously not bothered with a drawing board, clearly deeming new ideas unnecessary when they have a plan as ingenious as theirs. You can just imagine how the boardroom meeting went as you play:

"Okay, so we're going to replace the Chinese warriors from Dynasty Warriors with those big robots from that popular anime, you know, the one with the successful toy line. Yeah, that should work nicely."

And that's it, end of meeting! Although I'm being a bit cutting here, as basic and in many instances lazily developed as this idea is, it has clearly worked and the game has achieved what it's been designed to do. The game is literally just Dynasty Warriors with Gundam characters clumsily dropped in - but honestly, what did you expect? In fairness the name is a bit of a giveaway! Regardless, Japan predictably went nuts for it, with the game staying in the bestsellers chart for quite some time over there; the Japanese do love their mechs though. However, to expect the same kind of blind loyalty on these shores would be naïve at best and stupid at worst; this game has 'niche' written all over it, but believe me, there will be a market for Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, as surprisingly enough and despite itself in fact, it's a game worthy of both the Gundam and Dynasty Warrior names.

Although Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is a Dynasty Warriors game by the numbers, it's clearly aimed more towards pleasing the Gundam fans out there. For any fan of Dynasty Warriors, the Gundam edition clearly attempts to bring nothing new to this surprisingly popular sub-genre, with KOEI and Namco Bandai opting to lean heavily on the Gundam lore and mythology in an attempt to compensate. For anyone uninitiated with Gundam this could turn to be a touch off putting; from the huge collection of characters, each of them with their own baffling and often ludicrously scripted back story, to the mammoth selection of different mobile suits at your disposal, this is unforgiving stuff for those who don't know their Amaro Rays from their Chaz Aznables. With this said, anyone who is a fan of the Gundam series will find an absolute plethora of fan boy treats here. Even if you are just a fan of anime and can get past the incomprehensible storylines, there is much to like from this surprisingly charming title; from the wonderfully over the top script and pleasingly cheesy voice acting (available in both English and original Japanese) to the large collection of beautifully realised mobile suits and perfectly replicated sound effects, the authenticity of the Gundam experience cannot be questioned.

If you have played any of the Dynasty Warriors games in the past then you'll know exactly what to expect from this Gundam edition, because other than the ancient Chinese warriors being replaced by giant mechs, it's exactly the same game that has been released numerous times across pretty much every format imaginable over the past few years. You are still tasked with fighting your way through hordes of largely gormless enemies, often racking up kills in the region of seven hundred. Luckily, there's just enough tactical edge to this release to keep it from becoming too repetitive too soon, as you are tasked with taking control of numerous fields across the battlefields. You will often find yourself having to race across the battlefield to help out a companion losing ground to the enemy or to help protect one of your ships that has come under attack. It's all standard Dynasty Warriors stuff, with the one change coming in the form of space battles. Sadly, this is fought on a single plain and short of the different aesthetic plays out exactly the same as a land battle - this is a real shame, as it offered a chance for the title to distinguish itself from the series, and the lack of an all-new full space battle mode is very lazy indeed.

One other change for the series comes in the form of the mobile suit's weaponry. The laser swords play out exactly the same as a traditional sword would, be it with a few nice visual effects and some great sound-bytes taken straight out of the TV show; however, it is the firepower available to the mobile suits that allows for an all-new approach, as you can now take out enemies from a distance. Sadly, beyond once again being pleasing to the eye, they offer up little in the way of tactical options due to the majority of guns being hugely underpowered and almost impossible to aim. In fairness, they do look good as part of a combo or special attack, but this invariably has to be put down as another missed opportunity for the two developers.

As mentioned previously, the selection of characters and Mobile Suits really is impressive, with no two suits playing alike and each character having their own storyline, so there really is a lot for fans of the series to enjoy. Sadly, beyond the suit-specific moves and visually stunning special attacks, most of your time on the battlefield is spent simply smashing the same two buttons, usually in the same combination. Although there are quite a few moves available, due to balancing issues it's as easy to take out enemies with a continuous basic attack as it is with a strung together combo. Balancing issues aside however, it is worthwhile to string together combos simply on the basis of their visual allure - and let's be honest, beyond these factors there is something just plain fun about one big robot smashing its way though a lot of other big robots! This is probably all sounding a touch repetitive by now, and that's because it is. However, thanks to both upgradeable characters and Mobile Suits, it's surprising just how addictive the gameplay becomes. With stats upgrading as you battle and new abilities awarded at the end of each level, this does create a 'one more go' mentality, as beyond completion of the two main single player modes, you will often find yourself driven towards maxing out your chosen character's abilities and stats.

Although there is a huge amount of content, once on the battlefield, objectives rarely ask anything more than the destruction of everything in your path across the different fields on the map. Luckily, the mobile suits do move around very swiftly, with some nice animations as you burst through the marauding hordes of mechanical monstrosities. Boss battles however, which occur frequently, do offer up a slight change of pace, as the bosses often give as good as they get, thus forcing you to plan your attacks with a little more panache than usual.

Speaking of content, for all those who quite like the idea of smashing through a continuous army of mindless opponents, the amount on offer really is impressive, showing some real effort on the part of the development team to flesh out what is an otherwise repetitive beat 'em up. The main single player game is split between Official mode and Original mode, with sixteen playable characters available across the two of them. Okay, so the gameplay within all the modes is largely the same, but this does give a greater incentive to keep upgrading your character through both storylines. Official mode offers up a branching storyline, split across the playable characters on offer, and is based upon one of the many existing Gundam storylines. Original mode, although playing almost exactly the same as official, does offer up a new and unique storyline for the game, with a wide variety of characters and storylines. These efforts on the part of the development team show a real commitment to creating as robust an experience as possible for Gundam fans while extending the Dynasty Warriors experience as far as they can without actually doing much new. Of course, due to the very dated gameplay mechanics, these efforts will fall on many a deaf ear, but for those sucked into the enjoyably robust if largely mindless gameplay and the so bad it's good storyline and dialogue, there really is more than enough here to keep you busy for quite some time.

On top of the comprehensive single player options, there is also a collection of multiplayer options to get on with, allowing you and a friend to play through both original and official game modes together, along with a versus mode that allows you to fight one another or attempt to clear an area of enemies in the fastest time. These modes once again add longevity to the experience, even though both cooperative and versus mode feel largely throwaway and are dependent upon you finding someone else who likes repetitive arcade-based gameplay as much as you do. Shockingly there is absolutely no online mode to speak of, which although forgivable for online battling is baffling when considering how much a simple online leaderboard would have brought to the package as a whole, and indeed online co-op is one of the many big missed opportunities in the game.

When it comes to presentation, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is a very hit and miss affair. The mobile suits look great, as do the superbly old-school character animations and simple but very solid menus, complete with a smart gallery mode that lets you take a closer look at the lovingly recreated suits and characters. Sadly, the rest of the game often looks dull and is largely uninspiring. The locations especially bring the game down, thanks to generic, empty environments that have very poor resolution and are usually devoid of anything even remotely interesting to look at. On top of this the enemies are far too repetitive, leaving you more often than not surrounded by an army of opponents who sadly look, act and attack in exactly the same way as each other. In contrast, the audio throughout is superbly fitting; for those who revel in cheesy anime dialogue and old-school combat effects, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam gets it just about bang on, with superb weapon effects and surprisingly decent voice talent in the case of both the English and Japanese audio options.

This review has probably come across as somewhat schizophrenic at times, but when it comes to a game like Dynasty Warriors: Gundam this simply can't be helped. Despite the dated gameplay, lack of online options and baffling storyline, the game manages to still be fun thanks in no small part to the charm that the Gundam license brings to the title. It also doesn't help that for every person who loves this game there will unquestionably be quite a few out there who simply despise it. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam was never going to win over those not interested in the Dynasty Warriors style of play, but in all honesty it never tries to. This is unashamedly built for a niche market (on these shores at least) and for the most part, this decision pays off. For anyone interested in KOEI's unique style of repetitive arcade action, there really is a lot to enjoy here. While the lack of any kind of online options is a big downer, the comprehensive single player mode, simplistic, but fun multiplayer and extensive Gundam storyline and character options make this a package more that's than worthwhile for all those who find the concept appealing.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).