The battle between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon has reached my home and gone right at the heart of my GameCube. Mobile Suit Gundam: Pilots' Locus was recently released in Japan, and thanks to Videogame Depot, I've been able to take the role of Amuro Rey and take a shot at Char Aznable. After a few hours of playing, I have mixed feelings about the game.

I imagine those familiar with other Gundam games should be more comfortable controling their Mobile Suits, but to the uninitiated (like myself) the learning curve is a little steep. There are two tutorials provided and these are very useful for first time Mobile Suit (MS) pilots. With a little practice and some trial by fire, I was able to get through the first 4 missions. However, even after I came to terms with piloting a Mobile Suit, I still haven't become accustomed to the game's camera. The camera is very passive and requires a lot of manual input to keep the view focused on the action. There is a lock-on mechanism, but in a heated battle with many enemies around, focusing on only one target doesn't always work well. Hopefully, with a little more experience the lock-on and camera systems will feel more intuitive, but right now it's very clunky and really detracts from the game.

Gameplay, in a nutshell, consists of a series of mission based mech combat in the Gundam universe. Missions take place in space or on the ground and relive some key battles of the series. The action is a bit on the slow side, as the game skews slightly more towards simulation rather than fast-paced arcade action. Weapons include Gundam universe staples like the hyper bazooka, beam rifle, heat hawk, and my personal favorite, the beam sabre. While your own weapons will be the main method of defeating enemies, you also have allies fighting on your side that can be directed towards specific targets and given commands via a tactical map accessed on the pause screens. In addition to your weapons and teammates, you can also utilize special skills/abilities that act like power-ups. These abilities can be called upon in a pinch to do such things as improve your accuracy, increase your speed, or keep you off enemy radars.

The choice of Mobile Suits is initially limited (Amuro's RX-78 if you play for the Federation or Char's Zaku-II if you play for the Zeon) but there are 25 slots in the game's MS Graphics gallery, which implies that there'll be plenty of Mobile Suits to unlock as the player advances through the game's story. Additionally, there are 15 slots in the Pilot Directory, so there should be a good selection of playable charcters besides the initial duo of Amuro Rey and Char Aznable. With plenty of Mobile Suits, pilots, and skills/abilities to acquire, the game looks like it'll have plenty of play value.

The game contains a good amount of Japanese text and voice, so it isn't the most import friendly game around. However, the menus are in English, as are key elements of the HUD. Also, paying close attention to mission briefings and having a basic knowledge of Gundam history will allow non-Japanese speakers to figure out mission objectives with only a little difficulty. So if you're a Gundam fan who watches subtitled anime, the language barrier shouldn't be too daunting.