Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On is Coming West!

It's finally happening! Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On is leaving Japan for the first time ever, and releasing world wide on the PS4! Yeah, I'm saying this like everyone knows what it is... But I guess I should explain.

The Gundam Extreme Vs series is a very popular arena fighting game in Japan. It has had many, MANY revisions over the years, and continues to expand as the Gundam series itself grows in size. The game is a co-op 2v2 based fighter, where each player chooses one of the mobile suits from across Gundam's history, and then goes head to head with the other team. Fights are crazy fast and hectic, with each mobile suit having their own unique set of abilities and skills.

While these mechs do have the vast majority of their weapons and skills seen in the shows/manga/other games, to keep things fair they are put on a point ranking system. Weak mobile suits (such as a basic GM) are low point value machines, which can be destroyed very easily. Of course a skilled pilot can make them last, but if they were to be destroyed it's not too big of a deal. When you die in this game your unit's point value is subtracted from your team's total life bar, with lower level suits taking off less health when they fall. On the other hand stronger almost "super robot" like suits will have a much higher point value to make up for their power. They have more health, deal more damage, and have better weapons at their disposal, but if they are destroyed they will take a huge chunk of the team's life bar with them. It's a trade off system that makes every unit useful, and rewards you for your own skill versus your machine's power.

Now technically this is not the first time a similar Gundam game has been released in the west, but it is the first time for an entry from the main Vs series. Previously we got Gundam Extreme Vs Force for the PlayStation Vita, which was a handheld spin off from the main series. Afterwords we received Gundam Versus, but we don't really talk about that. (I personally liked the game, but there's no denying how big of a step back it was from the "real" thing. It also only had a fraction of the mobile suits to pick from.)  So while this game isn't totally new to the western audience, it is the first time we get to experience all that Extreme Vs has to offer. Eh, technically. In reality this version is outdated compared to what is being played in arcades in Japan, but that doesn't stop it from being a fun game that can be played at home, and online with players from around the world.

So with that being said, check out the new trailer!



I personally can't wait to bust out the Exia again. Or maybe I'll go with the 00 Qua[t]? Or the 00 Raiser. Or Strike Freedom.... or Wing Gundam Zero EW... Yeah it's never easy for me to decide in these games.