Gundam is big in Japan. It already encompasses movies and TV series, and there have been countless spin-off toys. Bandai's latest offering, Gundam: Federation Vs. Zeon, is just the latest in a long series of videogame tie-ins. The game's already been a huge hit in Japanese arcades, and now it's set for a European release on PS2 - slightly surprising, given the relative obscurity of the series in Europe. But if you're unfamiliar with the space opera politics that form the backdrop of the game, it still has a lot to offer in a very simplistic but stimulating way.

Essentially, it's a third-person combat game. Choose the 'Mobile Suit' you want to pilot, choose a weapon configuration and kill the enemy or defend aliens in environments that range from the bottom of the ocean to outer space. The game's auto-aim system means that there's little subtlety to combat - once you've picked the appropriate Mobile Suit, it's simply a question of timing your shots and using the terrain to evade incoming fire. It's not especially challenging, and it's hardly going to stretch those grey cells, but it can be brilliantly satisfying.

A Campaign mode offers both Federation and Zeon missions, that are condensed into smaller missions for the Arcade mode, while Versus mode adds a two-player element. Our only criticism is that there isn't enough variation in the missions, but it's hard to complain when there's so much fun on offer.

Brainless but bombastic and absorbing fun - even if you've never heard of either Federation or Zeon.

Because it's brilliant, mindless, robotic fun.

The clunky movement and big robots to aren't everyone's taste.