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![[GAMES & SOFTWARE]](images/section_games_sw.gif){kind=small}  |  GUNDAM GAIDEN 3
| | For the final installment in the 3-part series, Bandai kept the improvements made to the game system in GAIDEN 2 and added a few new locations. As most aspects of the game remain the same, this review will focus on the differences rather than rehash what was said in the previous reviews of GAIDEN 1 and 2.  When the Jion forces raid a Federation research facility and nab the Gundam Blue Destiny no. 2 (the Feds must have pretty lousy security), the main character receives the BD-3, which sports the more familiar white-limb, blue torso paint scheme rather than the all-blue coloring of the previous Blue Destiny machines.After fending off cold-weather Jion MS at the south pole, you are taken into space in pursuit of the BD-2. Level 3 takes place inside the spaceport block. Players who employ the "lock on target and circle enemy while shooting" tactic will find that this doesn't work very well inside the narrow corridors, which also makes dodging shots a greater challenge.Level 4 takes place inside the colony itself, but the level is no different from other flat-terrain missions. True, you can see the rest of the colony's inner surface in the distance, but this proves to be a touch disappointing. The game does toss in enemy Gelgoog mobile suits with fearsome, spinning beam naginata, and the sheer number of opponents makes this one of the more challenging missions. The finale with the BD-2 takes place right outside the colony, and this is where GAIDEN's emphasis of action over realism becomes evident: instead of true 3D maneuvering, the programmers decided to keep things simple and implemented an upper/lower plane system, with the "jump" button switching your Gundam's position between the upper and lower planes. This, coupled with the mission boundaries (step outside the lines too long and you lose by default), doesn't make for much realism. But the complicated maneuvering system in the Playstation Gundam game was one of its downfalls, and GAIDEN's simplified system keeps things at a breakneck pace, which is a good thing. Once you get over the fact that it isn't true 3D, prepare yourself for some of the fiercest battles in the GAIDEN series. Last but not least, GAIDEN 3 has an added bonus for the self-proclaimed "Newtypes" out there: a simulator mode that pits you against the most lethal of pilots, Amuro Rei. Unlike most Newtype pilots, whose tactics seem to be "let's charge the enemy head-on and hope they're too terrified to react," Amuro employs speed, cunning and sneak tactics to defeat his opponents, and it shows. To date, I've yet to hear of anyone who has managed to nail Amuro in the simulator...If you liked the first two installments and want more, GAIDEN 3 should provide the same fast and furious action. Although it's mostly more of the same thing, the finale and the Amuro Rei simulator provide enough of a twist to make this a worthwhile purchase to GAIDEN fans.
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