[PSP] Gundam Assault Survive

Gundam Assault Survive is the latest sequel to the long-running Gundam Battle PSP series. The gameplay and controls haven't changed much, but there are several new features to make sure that veterans from past games won't get bored with this one. It not only features an expansion to the UC timeline scenarios, but there are also ones available for more recent incarnations, namely Cosmic Era (Gundam Seed) and Anno Domini (Gundam 00) arcs respectively.

From young cadet greenhorns, scruffy veterans, wannabe pilot lolis to war-ruined spinsters, GAS has them all.

The most noticeable change in GAS is the original character creation system. Rather than just picking through uniformed pilots with their own preset stats, you have much more freedom in customization: you can choose the face, hairstyle, voice and hometown. After that, you take a personality test to determine your pilot's type. Normal-type classes are numerous, making it rather difficult to get the special types (Newtype, Coordinator, Gundam Meister, etc). Thankfully, if you don't get the ability you want, you can always retake the test without deleting the prior entries. Also, you are no longer forced to choose between opposite factions in one save file, so your custom character/s can now officially be called free agents (or in a more negative sense, two-faced traitors... lol).

This ain't no Zaku, boy... um... er... wait, I AM in a Zaku... sorry 'bout that, Chris.

The timeline missions in the UC era are still the same as before, except that there are new scenarios for the F91/Crossbone Vanguard Arc. However, the inclusion of a resupply point adds to your available options. If your MS/MA is almost at it's limit, you just return to your base (ship, hangar, etc.) to recover HP. During missions, you now have two other allies, which is more faithful to the usual number of members per squad in the Gundam series. As the squad leader, you can command them to do specific attacks, avoid combat, or return to the resupply point. You can also order one ally to make a quick field repair of a downed squad member's unit if you are unable to do it yourself. But if your unit goes down, they can't save you...

Ellen: "This mission is impossibly hard... don't show anyone a picture of your lover back home or you'll surely die even if you're not in a cheap grunt unit..."

Section breakdowns are no longer one-way, and the events happening in another area occur in real-time, similar to the Sangoku Musou series of games. For example, while you're fighting in one place, you may receive orders to back up allied forces at another section. If you arrive too late, they may get wiped out. Luckily, missions are no longer given rank grades, so as long as you finish the job in one piece, then it's all good. The fact that those tedious procurement missions were also taken out of GAS is a very big plus.

In your opinion, which is the creepier pilot? The one who's loud and thirsty for blood, or the one who sits in the cockpit quietly and just grins?

The tuning system is still in place, but now requires the in-game currency instead of tuning points earned per suit. Sadly, you can't get money back by detuning outdated MS. Importing save files from prior games (as well as the GAS demo) grants you extra dough, taking a bit of stress off. Aside from tuning, you can also buy optional parts, MS/MAs, Pilots, Call Signs, Research Plans, and the ever-so-moetastic Operators.

After a year or so of negotiations, the Universal Century Operators' Union finally convinced their military employers to give the poor girls a bonus for overtime work. Ellen-chan comes from a rich family, so she didn't need the extra moolah.

The 7 lovely operators are back with two new additions: Maureen Kitamura from Blue Destiny and Charlotte Hepner from Zeonic Front(You may be asking the same question I did: What about Mirialia Haw from Seed and Feldt Grace or Christina Sierra from 00? UC gets all the love, sadly). Like the original characters, operators are no longer faction-locked, but except for Ellen Rochefel, you have to purchase the services of the other operators. Fortunately, it's a one time deal, and now you can switch operators per mission now instead of just per timeline.

Who do I pick? The ditsy one from the Marmot squad, or the hot one with a weird-sounding scream? Decisions, decisions...

The Research Plan system is a bit of a pain for most people used to getting spoon-fed units from the prior games. To get a variation or upgrade of a specific MS, you have to fulfill certain requirements to complete the research: For example, If you want to get the Perfect Zeong, you have to unlock the plan, buy it, equip the legless wonder with a New Manipulator part, then tune it to the required level... and yes, you guessed it, it'll cost you a bit to accomplish.

Here comes Char! Quick, play his theme song!! Be~am kagayaku flashback ni~~ yatsu no kage... CHAR! CHAR!! CHAR!!!

By far, the best feature in this game is the Custom Sound system. if you put mp3 files in the GAS folder on the music section of your memory stick, you can program the game to play them during the scenarios. In my review of Gundam Battle Universe, I expressed complete disappointment over the vocal songs being absent from the game. While they still weren't included in GAS, at least now you can do something about it. Whenever I'm playing a scenario where Char will soon appear, "Char Ga Kuru!" is the order of the day. Heck, if I get into some fast-paced fights, I even put on "O2" from Code Geass R2. Best battle music ever!!

Why did loser pilots like Jerid Messa make the cut while moetastic ones like Elle Viano and Sarah Zabiarov were taken out!?! I just don't get it...

If there's one thing that really irks me with this game, it's that you aren't allowed to have your custom pilots join in the CE and Anno Domini missions immediately. You have to play the scenarios first with the main cast, then you can do them with original characters in an unlocked (and redundant) EX sequence. I mean for goodness sakes, if they're gonna add these alternate timelines for contemporary fanservice, they could have at least given it the same system as the UC arcs... but despite this minor fault, GAS is about as fun and addictive as it's predecessors. It may eat up a lot more free time than you'd be comfy with, though...