
For those that may remember, the boxset of Gundam Side Stories contained a limited edition RX-80PR Pale Rider HGUC kit. Well now you will be able to get the Heavy Equipment Version kit via the Bandai webshop this April. While the game had issues, mostly to do with its budget, the mecha design for the Pale Rider was pretty damn great. Another of the EXAM System-esque mobile suits it played a key role in the Missing Link narrative, with its own version of the HADES system causing havoc. Admittedly this kit is a webshop exclusive but it’s nice to see that the design hasn’t been forgotten at least.
As for the more sporadic updates to the site as of late, that’s entirely down to the quiet patch of mecha game releases we are currently experiencing. Much of this is to do with large publishers thinking console gaming was “dead” and have subsequently been playing catch up since the new consoles have been selling like crazy. Modern games take a few years to make, so hopefully this year will see some more interesting mecha game releases.



We’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming Soul of Chogokin Gaogaigar and even played with it at a few events. Despite being utterly massive it’s also simply gorgeous. Aimed at collectors, hence the nearly 35,000 yen price tag, it still retains that joyous core of being an unfettered toy. Partly due to its size and also the amount of diecast used, it is a very sturdy chogokin. It has to be too, as it reproduces the Final Fusion combination sequence from the show.
That in itself is utter mind bending madness, as the sequence was full on magic super robot territory in places. Thankfully, Bandai have produced an instructional video (shown below) to help owners handle the beast. Considering the price tag, that’s a very helpful gesture.
This monster will be released next weekend but you can also order it here. We’ll be picking one up and reviewing it accordingly, though not until the New Year most likely. In the meantime, be grateful of the fact that we are finally getting a toy that the King of Braves finally deserves.



Over at Joystiq they have an interview with Vince McMullin, a producer at Stompy Bot. If you remember, this was the studio that was making the new Heavy Gear Assault game for PC. Despite what they term as a crowdfunding “disaster”, though we think that’s a tad melodramatic in terms of analysis, it seems the game is still being made. So much so that we have some alpha build footage available (shown below).
Now this is using Unreal Engine 4 and I don’t want to be overly unkind, as this is an alpha build, but the game looks like total arse. Art fidelity aside, games like Project HON are clearly doing more functionally than this is. Even the already available Armored Core V and Verdict Day are more engaging than what this looks to be like.
We may be jumping the gun a bit but from what we’re seeing, it doesn’t look that great to play. Though we’ll reserve judgement until the game is finally released and hopefully by then they will have pushed the engine a bit more too.



Following on from the excellent Jigoku-hen released earlier this year, Bandai Namco announced Super Robot Wars Z 3 Tengoku-hen to be released on both PS3 and Vita next April. To accompany this announcement we’ve also been graced with a nice long promo video (shown below). In it we see new series like Gargantia and Gunbuster 2 are now included in the game’s roster but we are still blown away by how crazy nice the Zeta Gundam animations still are. Orguss is also back (as seen above) and that’s just great in and of itself really. The lack of Final Dancouga is somewhat saddening though.
In addition to the main game, for those that buy Tengoku-hen at launch they will also get a separate downloadable sidestory game called Rengoku-hen. This features characters from previous Super Robot Wars Z instalments over 15 unique missions. Most importantly of all, this won’t be available as a separate download at any point.


Posted on : 30-11-2014 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos
Posted on : 30-11-2014 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos
Hardware: PC