Mobile Suit Gundam seems to be one of those brands that have universal appeal in the game industry. We know that Japanese gamers and anime viewers love it to death, and it's got a niche market here in the US, with many getting into the brutality of big mech action. That might explain why Namco Bandai Games continuously tries to expand upon the idea of the Gundam games, and they're doing it yet again, debuting the series on the PlayStation 3.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire is a straightforward mech action game. There's no real RPG elements to explore here, just your straight-up "blast them before they blast you" style of play. That's not an entirely bad thing, mind you. The game puts you into the role of a heroic mech pilot who's given the choice of either teaming up with the Federation or with their opponents, Zeon, and then carrying out missions that require the ultimate destruction of your foes. So if you're fighting for the Federation, you're tearing apart Zeon scum; and vice versa.

As we played through a more polished version of the game, we weren't able to explore the story elements behind the game too much. A brief introduction is given, as your pilot acknowledges the task at hand via audio chatter, and then you're thrust head first right into the game. From the get-go, you can use the right analog stick to swivel your camera and get a view of the land, in this case either being a large canyon with rocky cliffs, or a field scattered with trees, which you clearly poke over. The final game should have a number of maps to choose from, each with their own ambush spots and plenty of room for exploration (and enemy targeting).

The interactive system keeps tabs on things for you. There's a circular map in the corner of the screen showing you where your enemies are located, although the blips don't indicate what kind of enemies they are. They could either be little tanks or helicopters that are easy to lay waste to, or a huge enemy mechs that lay down heavy gunfire. Your health is also indicated on a bionic drawing of your mech, so it's easy to see if your legs or chest plate have had it. If you have too much of a weak spot exposed, enemies will see it and try to take advantage. Take too many hits and you're done for. Bullets and power shots are also kept track of, so don't waste too much ammunition.

The graphics in the game are well drawn in some spots, although we saw a few things that still needed some work. In the sniper view, which can be clicked on via the analog button, you get a nice, up-close view of tanks and enemy quarters that you can tear apart, and they explode with much detail. However, when you're in the middle of mech combat, the effects of your weapons don't appear too detailed. If you bring down a mech, they'll simply collapse and do a kneeling animation, and then explode rather poorly. So, in some parts, the detail is nice, but in others, there's room for improvement.

The two levels we saw (spread over four missions- two Federation, two Zeon) are great to roam around in, although the frame rate's jumpy from time to time. In the canyon missions, the game moves alright, at around 30 frames per second. However, we saw that the game was chugging along in the forest level, what with all the attention being paid to the trees and such. Fortunately, Namco Bandai has addressed these small things and assured us the finished game will be much better-looking. This is simply a build they had on hand for the Tokyo Game Show this week, to show more than just the animated snippets they've revealed thus far.

The control system is also up-and-down with me. On the one hand, aiming your weapons is a piece of cake, and can be downright addictive in sniper mode. You can concentrate your shots on certain parts of the enemy mechs, making them lose functionality in their legs (kneecapping them, so to speak), or go right for their head and watch them roam around, trying to target you in a heap of frustration. Destroying smaller enemies is a kick, as it just takes a few shots to lay waste to them. But then you have the robot maneuverability, which is loose at times- especially if you're trying to jet around with boosters.

The targeting system is almost spot-on, despite a few hiccups. This system is awesome when you're shooting at enemies from a distance, but isn't really that efficient when it comes to up-close attacks. Each of these mechs pack large laser blades, similar to that of the Star Wars lightsabers, where they can cut into an enemy for several up-close hits. However, there were a few times I was swiping away, trying to hit my enemy, and the next thing I knew I was swinging at air. Again, Namco Bandai is still putting touches on the game, so the finished combat should be worthwhile.

Now that just leaves the multiplayer factor of the game. Namco Bandai is currently addressing online functionality, but couldn't really confirm just how many players can engage in a fight via Sony's servers. It'd be great to see one of those colossal 8-player mech battles, where you tear ass on your friends and remain the last one standing. For now, the game does support two-player split-screen multiplayer. Unfortunately, Namco Bandai didn't let us try it out during the playtest.

The good news about Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire is that it's looking way better than most of the Gundam games that have come out in the past. The combat looks to be more to the point than ever before, and the promise of next-gen beauty is looming about in this near-finished version. If Namco Bandai can just make sure the controls handle smoother and give the mechs more battle damage and more convincing explosion animations on the larger enemies, we may be in for a mammoth-sized PS3 launch game. Look for more coverage on Crossfire in the weeks ahead as its November release date draws near. And if you have no idea what Gundam's all about, hunt yourself down some of the anime and indulge. It's worth a look.