If you are looking for quick, dynamic, mecha combat full of memorable pilots and swirling combat, this game delivers. Using simple but elegant mechanics, GUNFRAME, allows you to build your bots any way you like. There are three example builds from purly speculative anime. Once you know the rules, you can build anything from Transformers to Gundam or Evangelion.
This is not a "crunch" game. Torso twists, heat tracking, ammo fires, crit charts...those do not live here. If you have ever played a rules heavy game and tried to get it to feel like anime, you will understand why this is a good thing. Your "frame" determines movement, weapons loadout and armor (hit points). Weapons loadouts are not by weapon but a die pool by range band. No bullet counting here. You can then add a quality like "powerful" to a range band and improve your chances of dealing a nasty critical hit.
This game has flow to it. Positioning is important, you are going to want to move your "frame" Initiative wins keep the turn sequence from being predictable. Crits open up a number of cool options for the shooter to select. What seals the deal for me are the number of anime tropes you can play with to give your pilots personality. Maybe you have a pair of lovers in the squadron, maybe a pair of rivals, a berzerker pilot with "anger issues". Perhaps a young, heroic pilot will meet an enemy ace who becomes his nemesis...all this and more is in the game as part of your force building. You could do "historical refights" of favorite anime episodes with ease.
There are a few places where a minor edit could help but nothing that prevents me wanting to order a hard copy for the bookshelf. Love of the genre permeates these rules and if you want to bring anime style combat to the table, using any models you like, from any show or movie, your way, then this is going to deliver for you. If you need to know if your pilots have built up too much heat by firing missiles and making a latte using the onboard espresso maker in the same round, well, this is not going to work for you.
Give it a try. It's great fun and easy for kids and non grognards to learn and enjoy.
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