Software:Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space

From HandWiki
Short description: 2003 video game
Not to be confused with the 1982 animated film of the same name, see Mobile Suit Gundam#Films.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space
NTSC-U cover art
Developer(s)Bec
Publisher(s)Bandai
Composer(s)Tadayoshi Makino
Yasuharu Takanashi
Takanori Arima
Koji Yamada
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: September 4, 2003
  • NA: December 4, 2003
Genre(s)Action, Hack and slash, Mecha simulation,
Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. is a third-person shooter action video game for the PlayStation 2 released in 2003. The game is centered on space based mobile suit (or mecha) combat. The game is based on the Universal Century timeline of the popular Gundam franchise.

Rather than tell a single continuous story, the single-player game in Encounters in Space is broken up into a few short vignettes that take place over the course of four years. These vignettes are accounts of several significant battles during and after the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon.

Gameplay

The game takes place entirely in outer space, although the Moon, space colonies, and asteroids are sometimes visited. The player pilots a wide variety of Mobile Suits, Mobile Armours, and other spacecraft throughout several different zero gravity environments. Also thrusters can be used to give these mobile weapons a temporary boost in speed and maneuverability. These vehicles can move forward, backward, and side to side using the left analog stick and can move up and down using the R1 and R2 buttons, allowing for 360 degree combat. The game is mostly free roaming, although a few rail shooter sections are commonly encountered.

Players can use a large assortment of different main, sub, and melee weapons that vary greatly between different units. Certain crafts are also equipped with a special attack, which can be activated once a special meter has been filled. The game is divided into several different story modes, each corresponding to a different pilot or setting. These pilots range from main characters of the original Gundam series to lesser known pilots from the Gundam manga. The game also includes a two player multiplayer vs. mode. Players can also play against AI units in multiplayer. Finally there is a mode where players can create their own unique pilots for use in multiplayer.[1]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic66/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu30/40[3]
Game Informer6.5/10[4]
GameSpot7/10[1]
GameSpyStarStarStar[5]
IGN7.9/10[6]
OPM (US)Star[7]
PSM7/10[8]
X-PlayStarStar[9]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] IGN said the game was the best Gundam title on the PS2 so far. They stated that the game played like a Zone of the Enders clone but said that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They also praised the game for its large assortment of units, levels, and bonus content and recommended the game to Gundam and shooter fans.[6] GameSpot called the game one of the more accessible Gundam games to be released. However, they criticized that the plot would confuse newcomers to the Gundam series. Still, they praised the game for its quick pace action.[1] Game Informer gave the Japanese import a mixed review over a month before the game was released stateside.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[3]

Manga

Cover Art for Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, to The End of a Flash

"Thoroughbred Mode", one of the stories in the game revolving around a Pegasus class ship named Thoroughbred and its crew, was adapted to a three volume manga written by Tomohiro Chiba and illustrated by Masato Natsumoto, named Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story: Space, to The End of a Flash (機動戦士ガンダム外伝 宇宙、閃光の果てに…, Kidō Senshi Gandamu Gaiden: Sora, Senkō no Hate ni...?). It also received a novelization, which was released to coincide with Encounters in Space.

See also

  • Mobile Suit Gundam
  • List of Gundam video games

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Davis, Ryan (January 23, 2004). "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space Review". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mobile-suit-gundam-encounters-in-space-review/1900-6086974/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space for PlayStation 2 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/mobile-suit-gundam-encounters-in-space/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "機動戦士ガンダム めぐりあい宇宙" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=1592&redirect=no. Retrieved September 25, 2021. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space". Game Informer (GameStop) (127): 153. November 2003. 
  5. ↑ Meston, Zach (February 29, 2004). "GameSpy: Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space". IGN Entertainment. http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/mobile-suit-gundam-encounters-in-space/499137p1.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dunham, Jeremy (December 5, 2003). "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/12/05/mobile-suit-gundam-encounters-in-space. 
  7. ↑ "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (75): 164. December 2003. 
  8. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (January 2004). "Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space". PSM (Imagine Media) (80): 48. https://archive.org/details/psm-080/page/n49/mode/2up. Retrieved September 26, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Bemis, Greg (March 29, 2004). "'Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space' (PS2) Review". TechTV. http://www.techtv.com/xplay/reviews/story/0,24330,3650339,00.html. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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