It has been over a month since the announcement for the next Gundam game, but the wait is over. Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation 2 now has a western release date, and it is only a week away. This free-to-play game will be available to all PlayStation 4 users and seems to be a console exclusive. Fans of the series have waited diligently for this release since its announcement in July.
The announcement was not made by Bandai Namco but rather from The Drop which is a blog run by Sony. It periodically posts release information for games that are coming to the PlayStation 4.
If you are not familiar with this game’s story, do not fear as it reportedly has a stand-alone storyline. The game will be free and puts you in control of a mobile battle suit called a Gundam. The focus is on six-person team battles in a 3D space environment or on planetary maps.
This game will not restrict you to only mech battles as it also features the ability to leave the mech and fight on foot. There is options for weapons outside of the mechs as well as a whole new level of strategy added to the game.
There is a constantly growing roster of mechs to choose from in this title. Recently Zeong and MLRS variant of Gundam GP02 was added to the game. Naturally, the focus is on the original show and spinoff series so if you saw it in the anime chances are you can ride it in the game.
The roster is gained through a gacha system and an in-game store. You can purchase them with in-game currency, and as per usual gacha systems, it will include microtransactions. It seems that many games coming from Japan have increased the priority of gacha systems in their work, but at least it is mostly free.
Back in August Bandai Namco did hold a poll as to see what fans wanted for free on launch day. The results of that poll are as follows:
- Zaku 1 (GS) from Zeonic Front
- Blue Destiny Unit – 1 from Side Story: The Blue Destiny
- Gundam Pixie from CRoss Dimension 0079
- Guncannon Mass Production Type from War in the Pocket
- Gundam RX-78-2 from Mobile Suit Gundam
- Gundam Ground Type from 08th MS Team
- Full Armor Gundam from Mobile Suit Variation
- Dwadge from Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
- Gouf Custom from 08th MS Team
- Xamel from Stardust Memory
The game will be seeing a full launch on October 1 in both North America and Europe. The game is already available in Japan and Asia.
