E3 06: SD Gundam G Breaker Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Among the games being shown off at Nintendo's E3 booth, Namco Bandai's SD Gundam G Breaker proved to be a cool little gem we happened upon. The game demo let us tool around and smash things real good with our mech's hammer and sword, courtesy of the Wii and the analog stick. Though the game's use of the Wii controller was simple, it ended up being very fun.

The game demo consisted of guiding our mech through a set path through a canyon and cities to face off against a massive airship boss. The early part of the demo was basically a tutorial that pit us against an increasing number of foes and segued into a boss fight. The tutorial walked us through the ins and outs of controlling the mech with the Wii controller. You'll move around with the analog stick, switch your weapon with the C button, jump with the Z button, guard with the A button, and use the B button to swing your equipped weapon. The coolest part of the controller mechanic was using its motion-sensing capabilities to attack. By raising and lowering the main controller, you'll swing your mech's weapon. Swinging side to side will perform a continuous attack. The cool variation is that by holding down the B button, you'll be able to give some slack to the chain on your hammer and whip it around.

Based on what we played, SD Gundam G Breaker is shaping up to be a fun little game. The visceral appeal of swinging around a massive spiked ball or flailing around with a plasma sword is undeniable. Hopefully Namco Bandai can give the game some depth and variety to make the experience an engaging one. Look for more on SD Gundam G Breaker in the coming months.