Mobile Suit Gundam Online: Battle Operation for the PS3

Earlier this morning I decided to look into a Gundam game I had read about a couple of years ago. That game, as the title of this post suggests, is Mobile Suit Gundam Online: Battle Operation. I was bummed to find that the game is restricted to Japan. Or that's what I thought, anyways. Further reading proved that it was quite possible to easily play the game from North America and that there was even a decent English-speaking community.

Flailthrough's videos were quite helpful when figuring out the game!

I'm not the biggest fan of Kotaku, but they did have a detailed guide (with pictures!) on how to set up your very own Japanese PSN account. No VPN is required, either, which is great. The gameplay of MSG:BO is essentially what I look for in a Mech game. First and foremost is what I call 'weight.' I absolutely hate it when a mech feels like there is no weight behind it. If I'm piloting a massive mechanical monstrosity, I want it to feel like it.And MSG:BO provides that feeling.

After that is "cockpit" view. This is where, at least as far as I can tell, MSG:BO falls short. It's a third-person shooter. There may be an option to play in a "first person cockpit" view, but I haven't been able to figure it out. If you read this and you know how, please tell. Anyways, MSG:BO doesn't meet expectations in this area, but this is about the only real disappointing thing in terms of game mechanics.

Next is customize-ability. You're able to customize various components of your mech and you can even paint it how you like. I've seen some videos of more advanced players that have some really odd looking mechs. There are also decals you can get, such as a "Sieg Zeon" sticker. I haven't messed with this part of the game yet, but the options are there.

One feature I always look forward to seeing in mech games is the ability actually get out of the mech and walk around as a person. This is the reason I loved MechWarrior: Living Legends (An extensive mod for Crysis Wars) so much. However, it's also a feature I rarely see. In MSG:BO, you CAN get out of your mobile suit and it is GLORIOUS! You can run around and make use of a jetpack. You will have several useful pieces of equipment at your disposal. Such as a rifle for taking out other pilots out of their suit, a bazooka for helping out against mobile suits and other armored units, flash grenades, and even a repair tool to repair your mobile suit. 

While you're out of your suit, you can also get in other vehicles. For example, there's a hover-bike type vehicle that comes with rocket launchers and a machine gun that is very maneuverable. I've also seen (and piloted) tanks. I'm not sure if there are more, as I've only played on a couple of maps. You can eject out of your mobile suit if it's taking heavy damage. The mobile suit is also on a different respawn timer than yourself. So you might eject out of your mobile suit, get stepped on immediately, and then respawn and find yourself without a suit for a little bit.

I know there are various game modes you can play, but so far I've only played a sort of Deathmatch-capture the point mix. Getting a fair fight can be difficult at the beginning as the basic suit you start out with is essentially trash. So your first few battles may not be very fun. Thankfully the "OH WOW!" factor should still be in play, so you can probably stick through it. It's last me about five games so far. And, as I watch videos and read guides, I'm learning more and more on how not to get completely destroyed by the pink laser-sword wielding Federation mobile suits.

I suppose I can say that I'm not a big fan of the games F2P Model. The biggest issue is the "Credit" system. Each match takes one credit. You can either buy credits for real money, sometimes get them from in-game means, or you can use the free credits. One free credit takes two hours to generate and you can have up to a maximum of three free credits at any one time. That means as a completely free-to-play play, you'll be able to play a maximum of three matches per six hour period. So, essentially, you'll play three matches, go to sleep, and then when you've come home from school/work/whatever, you'll play three more and that'll be it.

So far, though, the game seems like it may be worth investing in. It's kind of old (it originally came out in 2012), but the game play is very solid so far as I can tell. And between Dragonball Xenoverse, Mobile Suit Gundam Online, and SkyForge, I've gotten addicted to this sort of style of play. Speaking of Xenoverse, I may make a post about it soon. I haven't played much recently but I do have a character at about level 50. 

That's it for now. I'll more than likely make another post in a week or so that gives a better overview of the game. Also, the lack of pictures is because I currently do not have a way to take screenshots with my PS3. Other than my phone, anyways, and that wouldn't look that good.