Mobile Ops: The One Year War

So I had this recent craving for a Gundam-esque shooter game. I know that a few years ago Bandai attempted such a thing and called it "Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation Troy" and the state-side name "Mobile Ops: The One Year War"....excluding the fact that the game never made it state-side as well as most gundam games after that. I remember the time when games based on franchises like Gundam were common-place, even in the states, but it seems the american hate for animes at places like IGN have made people like Bandai stay isolated in japan. Leaving quirky games like Front Mission Evolved direct access to the western market, even though Front Mission is no gundam.

The reason for this article is to bring a gundam-esque setting back to the states, on the premise that the story and plot get a significant western overhaul while still maintaining the "anime giant robot" integrity. Given the nature of the original gundam, this ideal will stick to the title "Mobile Ops: The One Year War" for now.

Now if I were to put the vision of this concept in a nutshell, the game's tentative title would be "Tom Clancy's Gundam". Absurd yes but there IS a bridge between the gap, and that is our shared interest in political intrigue and espionage, even though we "stretch" it quite differently. The only issue is finding the perfect median on which these two similar ideals cross paths.

That being said, most if not all J-robot franchises always star a single hero's rise to power. Amuro, Rick Hunter(Robotech), etc. With this kind of cultural backdrop it's hard to picture a mech game that is squad-based, even though people like Rick Hunter who obtain subordinates throughout their anime's story, and the fact that most Mech games have the nature of wanting the player to feel like "a king" of the battlefield. It wasn't til long after playing "Ace Combat 4" that you get the  feeling that "YOU ARE ACE COMBAT".

Which goes into the big issue that most western military games are nowadays always team-based. Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, Republic Commando, Bad Company...all of which you're just a piece of the puzzle..not THE puzzle. I think the only Japanese-based game I have played that required team-based thinking was "Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War", and even then your wingmen are mostly just there for story purposes and don't really do any killing themselves. The fact of the matter being, will the game have to alienate itself from other mech games and counteract the "Battlefield king" psychological-game mechanic?

Continuing on, is the issue of graphics direction. Most japanese mecha games always result to some japanese-style animation, especially gundam. I think the best median for japanese military graphics were the cutscenes in "Ace Combat 5" Not too cartoony, not too realistic...perfect. This kind of art direction would be perfect for this cross setting and would still give the impression of the japanese nature of the game's roots. That and the mecha themselves looking highly-detailed unlike the washed-out models japanese-mecha are accustomed to would be a perfect companion to this kind of art direction.

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Forming into something like



= Perfect

Now getting back to the whole "One Year War" thing. I find it quite impressive how the japanese have set up most of their combat stories, not too drawn out and not too short to where you just seem like a nobody in a bigger or smaller picture. I think a "one year war" is a great way of setting up the gameplay for this Gundam 2.0 game. Now that being said, everyone needs to start small, and that's going back to the original anime roots of Mecha. How about that Amuro kid just happening to find a Gundam in the middle of a firefight between the Federation and Zeon? Great character development potential right off...kudos to you Bandai/Sunrise. Now the fact of the matter being, having the character getting "Anime PTSD" by the ending...a little over the top for what the game should aim for in such un-treaded territory.

Now, Front Mission Evolved tried to mix Mecha and "just a person" gameplay, and quite failed at it...if any developer were to want a better example...there's always Lost Planet...they had the person-to-mech switching dead-on IMO. Now given the nature of games like Ghost Recon, you're not going to have all "the cool toys" all the time, and it would be nice to check out more vehicles than just Mecha. Suped up fighters and tanks found in Gundam-esque settings would be nice refreshers for more close-quarters missions.

Well, I think that's about it for now, but don't think there won't be a part 2 to this concept...prepare for more bits and nobs later.