SD Gundam Force: Showdown Review

There have been many Gundam games in the past, but none of them have been more different than SD Gundam Force Showdown. If you have ever played a Gundam game or seen one of the many Gundam TV shows the word Gundam undoubtedly brings to mind pictures of giant robots. Well, seeing SD Gundam will change your outlook a bit.

SD Gundam breaks away from the traditional Gundam look with its creative new look on the Gundam world. Unfortunately though, the game doesn’t do the same. The simple storyline behind this game is that you are a member of the S.D.G. As such, it is your job to protect Neotopia from danger. An alien threat pops up and it is your job to investigate and later combat it. I know that sounds like it could be the basis for about a hundred other games, but I am sure that most every one of those other games grows off this point. The storyline in SD Gundam Force Showdown doesn’t get much further.

One area that SD Gundam Force is not lacking in is its visuals. While you play through the game, you will traverse to four different worlds. The backgrounds in each of them are very aesthetically pleasing. The character and enemy models are also extremely well rendered. Visually, the game isn’t a groundbreaker, but it delivers everything it needs to in this category.

As I said earlier, your fight for Neotopia will take you through four different areas. In each, you will have to go through essentially the same thing over and over again. You go to each level and you will have to go through multiple smaller areas where you will fight enemies and then head on to the next small area until you find the one that contains the portal to the end of the level. Once you go through this a few times, you end the level and usually fight a boss. As cut and dry as that sounds, it is in fact even worse, because you will end up doing nothing, other than hitting one button over and over again.

SD Gundam Force Showdown, like any game, has its ups and its downs. Unfortunately, there are a lot more downs then there are ups. There are a few positive points in this game, like the interesting characters, the many forms there are to unlock, and the SDG report, which allows you to get a better look at the forms you unlock and the enemies you have slain. In the end however, whether it’s the horrible voice acting, the repetitive levels and enemies, or the fact that your thumb will go numb from doing nothing but mashing square to kill your enemies, SDGFS just doesn’t have what it takes to make a good game.