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After, the coming of the massively popular mecha game, Virtual On, by Sega, several other companies making games on the PS began to emulate this success by making versions and variations of VO on the PS. Some are promising and others are not so good at all. One of which is Project Gaiaray.
Like VO, Project Gaiaray features 3 weapons, left, right and centre weapon. Dash attacks are norms in Project Gaiaray, jumping attacks are also available at the call of a button. There are also various special attacks which can be activated by jumping.
The depth of the game is somewhat similar to VO. For example, dashes can be cancelled by dashing in the opposite direction. Jumping can be cancelled as well though it is not really fast. For your information, the designers of this game have somewhat or rather managed to increase the depth of the game by giving players the greater flexibilty in movement. Also, there are plenty of secret moves for you to discover. Some of which are really cool!
One other thing to note about this game is its sound effects. It is really solid. As what a Japanese mag commented, this game's sound effects is really solid and you can hear the the mecha landing on the ground accross the living room. And, some of the weapons have pretty nice firing sounds.
On the downside, the framerate of this game is horrendous. Some of the movements of the mechas is simply too choppy! It just destroys the beauty of the game. For example, when the mecha does a special move, it just seems to skip and presto, a special move is done. It is dreadful. One of the worst things that can ever happen.
As for graphics, it is not even up to par with games such as FF7, Tekken2, and SE. The textures on the buildings becomes distored when in close range. And, some of the arenas are seems repetitive with more or less the same layouts.
The controls are pretty responsive. And, it is easy to master in about an hour. If you have experience with Armored Core, it is less than 1/2 hour. To make things easier, there are 3 different configurations to choose from for the joypad. And, analogue sticks are also supported.
Overall, the game plays well. The commentator feature is note worthy as it offers live update on the battle field situation. The good thing is that it is in English. And, you don't have to scratch your heads over impossible to decipher voices and speeches.
Lastly, after playing this game for about 1 hour, I find that this game is promising, but is simply mawed by flaws such as framerates. The most unforgivable part is the way, it copies Virtual On. It is done in bad taste and a couple of its mecha resemble too much like Virtual On. Yes, it does have some uniquely designed mecha, but overall, not all its mecha are "original". Here's a list of the copies:
Levertad = Virtual On's Temjin and Patlabot's mecha Exalsis = Virtual On's Viper II Longevite= Virtual On's Bal Bas Bow and the list goes on.
In my opinion, it would be better to avoid this game and wait for real robots final attack or Armored Core PP which offers greater playability. Or otherwise, go play something else like Front Mission 2.
Score:
Graphics 6/10
Sound 7/10
Playability 5/10
Overall 6/10