To commemorate the release of Armored Core V today and courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent the Nineball (Armored Core Ver.) kit from the original Armored Core. Our review is also of the kit in its unpainted form. In addition, to help give the kit some context, we’ve also included some video footage of it from the original PSone and PS2 games at the end of the review.

Despite a somewhat unfortunate release date, sharing it with Armored Core V of all things, Gundam Mokubo no Kiseki will be gracing Japanese shops sometime today (as it’s already “tomorrow” in Japan due to the time difference). 4Gamer commemorates this brave release date with yet another update about the game. We’re definitely interested in picking this game up eventually and review it but we’re going to be pretty busy with Armored Core V for a good while. In the meantine you can still pre-order the game here.

With a new Super Robot Wars Mobile brand on the way, Banpresto have kicked this new series of iSuper Robot Wars games off with Super Robo M released yesterday for 525 yen. On the GBA-end of the SRW graphics spectrum it’s not overly new in terms of animations and sprites but it is an awful lot cheaper than the GBA games were. Currently the game is only available on Docomo phones via the simulation submenu in the games section. The roster of mecha series is pretty classic but we’re just happy to see Dancougar featured again. Considering Banpresto are turning this into a brand it will be likely we’ll see something similar on Android and iOS devices too.

Rather shrewdly, From Software have announced that there will be a support app for Armored Core V on both Android and iOS devices (with the Android app already out). The app will allow players to view the game’s parts list and mull over the complex vagaries of their respective stats. Whilst this doesn’t allow you to customise your AC away from your console as yet, that would be a pretty sweet update. In addition, the app will also feature an RSS feed on things like server status and other player related news. From Software are keen to update the app over the course of the game’s life, so we may get more features as time goes on. It’s also entirely free.

Following the recent promo video, we now have a slew of new screenshots for the upcoming Gundam Unicorn game as developed by From Software. In addition to the shiny new screenshots there are some interesting tidbits too. Namely that the previously mentioned DLC for the Hyakushiki-esque MSN-001 Delta Gundam (pictured above) will be available in the first pressings of an HGUC kit of the mobile suit this August. Not only will the mobile suit have its own mission but it also seems that it will be piloted by Quattro Vagina. Following on from this, in addition to the ability to upgrade your units you’ll also be able to customise their weapon load-out too. With some weapons offering a multi-lock feature. There’s also a slightly odd mention of using asteroids for cover, how this will work will be interesting to see as it sounds like it’s a similar snap-to affair as in Gears of War. Finally, emblems (with extra functional bonuses) will also be available in the game.

Whilst there was a bit of criticism over the graphical fidelity shown in the promo, we’re actually pretty impressed with the game thus far. Bear in mind the host work is animated, so a photo-realistic approach would actually be unfaithful and the game is also considerably cheaper than that of other PS3 releases. That said, we’re more interested in the way the game appears to be more manual in terms of control. So all this graphical willy waving is somewhat lost on us.

Following on from our Revoltech Jehuty (Anubis Version) review, our good friends at HobbyLink Japan have sent us the Revoltech Anubis (from the game of the same name). Now, whilst we aren’t huge fans of the Zone of the Enders series, we’ve always loved the designs that Yoji Shinkawa penned for the games. We’ve also included some game footage at the end of the review.

It’s sad to to report that since the release of Armored Core V’s demo, it has been plagued with problems. The most egregious of which is the inability to play the game online for the most part, something the demo was meant to offer (for a small time admittedly). To make matters more unfortunate, the game has trouble even running at 30 fps (with the PS3 version erring closer to 20 fps). Even with these faults it’s better than the likes of Front Mission Evolved, which is a pretty recent and relevant comparison (especially on the scale of the mecha). From what we’ve played though ACV is a lot of fun, with it handling a lot like a more deliberate Metal Wolf Chaos. The removal of the traditional weapon setup in favour of storing the weapons on the shoulders is an interesting development too, as you have to plan weapon switches ahead as the animation is quite long. In any case, a comparison video of the two demos (showing their respective framerates) is embedded below.

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The upcoming Gundam Unicorn game developed by From Software has received it’s first promo. Clocking in at over 5 minutes, almost the entirety of it features in game footage from cutscenes to actual gameplay. The latter is the most interesting as it shows something a bit similar to the older Another Century’s Episode games but without what looks like a tethered lock system (in fact the game looks an awful lot more manual, bar the melee). In any case, we’re seriously interested in getting our hands on this now and what with it released at the beginning of March we haven’t long to wait. The full promo is shown below.

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Over on Hideo Kojima’s Twitter account, he recently teased two shots (here and here) of the opening anime for the upcoming Zone of the Enders HD Edition. Whilst the shots are pretty blurry, the footage does look nice and we wouldn’t complain if another anime series came as a result. For ZOE fans in general, we also have a new toy review that will be posted in the next few days that might also pique your interest. So keep an eye out for that.

We’re almost there now folks. In a little over a week we’ll finally be getting our hands on Armored Core V (and even sooner for the demo!). In the recent and final livestream, we also finally got to see the very nice Super Robot Chogokin toy that’s now coming out in April, for the very reasonable 5,040 yen no less. If that wasn’t enough, we’ve also been graced with the final story trailer for the game. It’s clear we’ll be treated to narrative in a similar vein and execution to that of Armored Core Last Raven’s. This is no bad thing at all. Both videos are embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

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