Stepping Into the CROSSFIRE: “Mobile Suit Gundam” Gets Ready for the PlayStation 3 Launch

by Louis Bedigian

“I think it's the gameplay that matters most, which is why the PS3 outshines PS2.” 

Imagine, if you will, a line of ten people. They’re dressed in sweaters and heavy winter coats, with blankets and pillows and even a few tents. Veterans know what to expect – they’ll bring coffee, hot chocolate, and have an alpha team on call.

“Alpha, this is bravo. We’re out of donuts.”

“Alpha, this is bravo again. The little wizard has to evacuate his Wii….er…wee.”

Rookies will be the first to feel the burn. Inevitably, someone will come wearing shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. It never fails.

He’ll shiver, pretend to shake it off, and hope no one ever finds out about the horrible flu he got – a virus that kept him from enjoying the fruits of his labor for several weeks.

The courageous few who wait the good wait are doing it for one simple reason: PlayStation 2 is about to be succeeded. On the morning of November 17th, between the hours of 8am and 10am, retailers across the country will open their doors to the few, the proud – the obsessed. They will open their doors to gamers. 

One of 20+ launch [“window”] titles.

Within minutes, store shelves will be emptied. And within a few hours, retail managers will have to answer the question everyone’s dying to know:

“So, uhh…when’s your next shipment?”

“What do you mean there aren’t going to be anymore this year!?!? You’ve got to be kidding me! They’re pulling a 360!”

Technically they’re pulling a 180, as the PlayStation brand has never seen a shortage this massive. But I can appreciate the Xbox reference.

PlayStation 3 will be the hardest system to acquire this Christmas. That should make the few who have it feel very lucky – knowing that they are one of 400,000 gamers who will get the chance to experience Mobile Suit Gundam: CROSSFIRE. Built from the ground up for the next generation, CROSSFIRE isn’t just another Gundam sequel.

“CROSSFIRE doesn’t follow the anime series,” said Localization Manager Brian Glazebrook, Localization Manager, addressing attendees during a recent conference call. “You play a role in the events of the animation era [but] from a different part of the world. You don’t play as a main character from the Gundam series.” 

Take on the role of a leader from either side – The Earth Federation Force or The Zeon Forces. “For the most part, it is played from a different perspective,” Brian explained. “For example, let’s say you’re playing as the Federation and you’re trying to protect your base. Zeon enemies attack, trying to destroy your base. Your role is to stop the Zeon forces from destroying your base. On the flip side, if you’re playing as the Zeon forces, your mission is to go and destroy the base.”

“Not all of the missions are like that,” he concludes. “There are a few that are a little different. But usually you get to play the game from both perspectives.”

Environmental Body Damage

Brian Glazebrook: “If you bump into a building, the walls will crumble. Things that you normally would be able to destroy if you were in a real mobile suit – cars, buildings, and so forth. Also, let’s say if you’re walking through the forest, some of the trees will actually bend. They might not break or crumble, but as you push your way through it, they’ll bend.” 

Talking about body damage, Brian says: “It does play [a] strategic [role in the game]. Let’s say you blow off an arm, the arm holding a bazooka. Well, now you have to use the other arm. Next, you blow off that arm – you can’t use your weapons ‘cause you’ve got no arms. But you can use your legs to kick, and if it’s a mobile suit with a special head, you can shoot from there as well.

“Depending on the enemies you’re trying to attack, there are different strategies. If there’s a shield you want to take out that first. You also have to think: should I take out the arms first? Then he wouldn’t be able to attack as easily. It’s really up to how the player plays it, but there is definitely a strategy to it.”

Brian also informed us of the game’s simple command system. “You’re controlling your own mobile suit,” he says, “but you can also issue commands to your squad They’re usually basic commands – regroup, spread out, seek and destroy, etc. The types of commands you can give out depend on your rank. The higher your rank, the more strategic commanding given to your squad.”

And what about customization? “You can upgrade suits based on how many missions you’ve accomplished, which determines how much money you have. You’ll have to wait a day or two (game time, not real-time) until the upgrade gets implanted before it can be used.”

Speaking of game time, CROSSFIRE features on a calendar system similar to the Dynasty and Manager modes of EA’s hit sports titles. Brian sums it up nicely, saying, “If you miss a day, sometimes you’ll miss a really cool mission.” However, the benefit of missing a day, says Brian, “Is that I also got my mobile suit upgraded and equipped.” 

CROSSFIRE and Answer

What are some of the things that you have done with this game that were not possible in previous Gundam games on previous consoles?

Brian Glazebrook: The old Gundam games were tied closer to the anime series. They had the actual mobile suits – they moved very human-like, instead of mechanical.

This time around, with much more powerful hardware, we wanted to create a game that showed how a big robot should move and react. We also [wanted to enhance the] physics. For example, things we couldn’t do on the PS2: say you blow up a head on a mobile suit. If you leave and come back, say, 10 to 20 minutes later, the head will still be there. It doesn’t do a whole lot for the gameplay, but it’s one of those little details that gamers have been looking for with the recent hardware improvements. Stuff like that we can do.

There are a lot of special effects, explosions and weaponry being fired. One guy pulls out a beam-sabre and attacks you. There’s a combination of a lot of things that happen at once that make the game really vibrant, things that couldn’t have been done on previous-gen consoles. 

What is the technology behind that? More ram?

BG: The memory is a huge factor. Whether you play PC games or console games, that’s the thing people complain about. And there’s a good reason for that. The things you want to see and do – it’s the memory that allows you to pull it off. The PS3 is very powerful hardware, allowing us to do thing we could not previously do.

Graphically, yes – it’s a much more graphically oriented game than would be possible on PS2. But in terms of the aspects that surround the gameplay, they require additional horsepower, which PS3 has.

Pretty graphics are great. But personally, I think it’s the gameplay that matters most, which is why the PS3 outshines PS2.

The objects you destroy – not just trees – will they stick around long after they’ve been abolished?

BG: Yes. If you step on a car, it’s going to stay like that [crushed] through to the end of the mission. [These objects] don’t fade away.

How much more effort has to go into the development of an object that sticks around than one that could simply disappear?

BG: I don’t know the logistics of it, but I do know that memory helps a lot. 

Tell us about the multiplayer content. Is the game online-only? Can you play split-screen? What is the maximum number of players allowed?

BG: It's not online, so it kind of limits how many players we can have. We have two-player deathmatch via split-screen.

Note: It was previously reported that Mobile Suit Gundam: CROSSFIRE includes two-player co-op. Namco Bandai has since confirmed that that is not the case.
 

Thanks to everyone at Namco Bandai and Kohnke Communications for having a wonderful conference call.