Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles

Mobile Suit Gundam: Lost War Chronicles (機動戦士ガンダム戦記 Kidō Senshi Gandamu Senki) is a Japan-only mecha action game by Bandai, released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. The game is based on the Gundam franchise, and is one of the many spin-offs to take place around the same time as the first series, Mobile Suit Gundam. The game was developed by the same team that made Journey to Jaburo, which got released outside Japan in 2001.

The game has a manga adaptation that came out around the same time as the game; it would get an English release by Tokyopop in 2006.

Plot
The game is seen from the perspectives of Matt Healy and Ken Bederstadt, Earth Federation and Zeon Mobile Suit squad leaders during the One Year War, respectively.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Provides significant gameplay improvements from Journey to Jaburo.
 * 2) Some of the game's menu is in English.
 * 3) Mobile Suits look pretty detailed.
 * 4) Lots of Mobile Suits to choose from both sides.
 * 5) Simple, but good controls.
 * 6) You can hold down the R2 button to bring up a submenu that allows you to use special attacks by pressing another button.
 * 7) You are accompanied by two squadmates that you can issue orders to.
 * 8) Nice AI, both friendly and hostile.
 * 9) The game has both third-person and first-person camera modes.
 * 10) Decent in-game user interface.
 * 11) Excellent soundtrack, including remixes of songs from both the original show and OVA's such as 0080: The War in the Pocket and The 08th MS Team.
 * 12) Plenty of gameplay modes to choose from.
 * 13) Good replayability value.
 * 14) Characters from the show and the OVA's, such as Amuro Ray and Char Aznable make an appearance.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Weak and seemingly non-existent storyline. It gets worse if you don't speak Japanese.
 * 2) Bland scenery.