Over at Game Set Watch they’ve uncovered a new doujin game by Astro Port called Gigantic Army. Specifically, this is a free two level demo of the game (download link here).

For the more observant of you this may seem awfully similar to Dracue’s Gunhound, which we do still intend to review. Like Gunhound though, Gigantic Army’s functional influences stem from the Assault Suits series, specifically Valken and Leynos II (not to mention VOTOMS, as many of the roller sound effects are lifted straight from the series!). With any luck this may even get an English translation but for the time being the game is more than playable in Japanese.

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A new Macross Frontier game was recently announced in Famitsu, utilising a similar functional approach to Artdink’s recent PSP games (though with an obviously necessary graphical overhaul). Entitled Macross Trial Frontier the game will be out later this year but what makes it especially interesting is that the game will be bundled with the BluRay version of the Macross Frontier movie Itsuwari no Utahime and making the disc one of the first hybrid movie/game products on the market. In terms of line-up, the game will apparently have all the VF-25 variants as well as Brera Sterne’s VF-27. No word on the VF-171′s but at least you’ll get to play with Klan Klang’s Queadluun Rea

4gamer has an all new update on many of the somewhat overlooked units that will be present in the upcoming Gundam Extreme Versus. From the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam (pictured above) to the LM314V21 Victory 2 Gundam as well as the YMT-05 Hildolfr, the latter being finally saved from its appearance in the appalling Target in Sight. Some may think that the Hidolfr actually appeared in the Dreamcast game, Rise from the Ashes, but in actual fact that was the Rhinoceros. In any case, these new shots really show that the game is looking truly stunning.

The wonderful 1/1 scale RX-78-2 Gundam has finally had its opening ceremony at its new home in Shizuoka outside the JR Higashi-Shizuoka Station. The lifesize Gundam now sports a full sized beam saber too. This installation of the Gundam will be held until January 2011, so if you missed it the first time around when it was Odaiba now’s your chance to see it again!

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After ten years, it finally seems that Turn A Gundam is coming to the West. As Bandai Entertainment plan to bring the 50 episode anime series to Western shores in the coming future, whether this will encompass the two movies as well remains to be seen. Since its release in Japan Turn A has become a cult series, due in part to the somewhat bizarre and originally very controversial mecha design, penned by none other by Syd Mead. Over the years these designs have grown on the fanbase and many know appreciate the fact that series was very much ahead of its time. From the gorgeous score by Yoko Kanno to the deft characterisation and narrative from a calmer Yoshiyuki Tomino, Turn A is a series that is quite a mature and thoughtful work. The fact that it will finally receive a Western release is good news indeed, though arguably a tad overdue.

Unsurprisingly, Turn A has graced multiple games over the years. From Super Robot Wars Z to the Gundam Musou games as well as Another Century’s Episode 3 not to mention the Gundam Vs games, the SYSTEM ∀-99 (WD-M01) ∀ Gundam has made its mark on gaming in recent years. Due to the immense potency in the anime though, it’s a problematic unit in terms of games design; as an attack that can wipe out all technology via nano-machines is a bit tricky to implement in a functional sense. The gaming connections of this series also span to the character design too, as Yasuda Akira (or “Akiman”) was one of the original designers on Street Fighter II, amongst many other Capcom games. He went to work with Tomino again on the brilliant Overman King Gainer, which even featured a protagonist who was an ardent gamer.

In Japan they’ve got both a full sized Gundam and a full sized Tetsujin 28-go, plus coming soon a full sized EVA, or the head at least (more on that soon). Meanwhile China, one can find a full sized Optimus Prime.

The sculpture looks far closer to the Michael Bay version it’s modeled after than the Taiwan counterpart from earlier this year, though it’s still made of the same basic elements: spare car parts and other bits of junk. Coming in at 40 feet in height and 6 tons in weight, the Autobot’s commander in chief is the centerpiece of the newly opened Green Dream Park, located northwest of the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, which hosted the Olympics in Beijing two years ago. The park features a wide variety of environmentally conscious objects, all utilizing recycled materials, to help encourage the nation to act and think green in a similar fashion.

Folks who actually dig the live action movie design will surely be impressed, while the rest of us will shrug out shoulders and state “eh, it’s alright… I guess?” And for those wondering why no one had yet to tackle the G1 version, it’s been done already, in China as well, but it didn’t turn out so hot…

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The upcoming arcade game Gundam Extreme Versus has finally had its official site updated, along with a Twitter feed to go along with it. Thankfully, they’ve opted for a more traditional site (over a flash based monstrosity) so we can link to pages directly, such as the game’s current MS List. This is slightly curious though, as we saw a V2 Assault Buster Gundam in the location test videos a few months back but the MS is noticeably absent from the list (as is the Unicorn Gundam, despite adorning the site’s main page art). In any case, we’ll be keeping an eye on this game over the coming months especially considering that a PS3 port is very likely at some point.

4Gamer has some new coverage for the upcoming 360 port of Virtual On Force. Despite showing the four-player splitscreen mode, the above screenshot was of more interest really. For those that may not know, that’s a picture of TWO Jaguarandi’s against a MBV-04-10/80adv “10/80 ADV”. The best description for the above picture is probably along the lines of “incongruously terrifying”. This somewhat insane screenshot actually shows a special mission in progress, which is interesting as it’s something Virtual On Marz attempted as well, in terms of its level structure at least. Having a 10/80adv pitted against the Force era Jaguarandi’s does seem brutally unfair though.

SiliconEra has an interview with Shinji Hashimoto, producer of Front Mission Evolved, teasing some sort of cross-promotion with Hideo Kojima and his PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

This cross-promotion seems to be in addition to an already announced cross-promotion between the two games, where items unlocked in Peace Walker will be available in Front Mission Evolved, and/or vice versa. Considering the very different nature of the two games’ mecha, I’m wondering how this will actually work; if it’s robot-to-robot part swapping it could look awkward, albeit possibly interesting. The mecha in Peace Walker are heavy tank-like walkers and reworked versions of Metal Gear Solid 3′s Shagohod, while Front Mission Evolved’s mecha conform more to the Real Robot standard of quick-moving humanoid weapons, equipped with thrusters and ground rollers.

I wouldn’t mind the big secret being a face-off against the venerable Metal Gear REX from the original Metal Gear Solid. I’ve been waiting years to go mano-a-mano (well, mecha-to-mecha) against that monster without support from an insane cyborg ninja. Getting help from an insane cyborg ninja always felt like cheating.

A somewhat disgruntled Satoshi Kubo recently mentioned that a new Super Robot Wars anime is on the way and that he’s not working on the project due to the involvement of one Masami Ōbari (pictured above with the Max Gohkin Dragonar 1). Despite Kubo’s somewhat petulant demeanour, the news of an Ōbari helmed super robot show is most welcome. As Ōbari has pretty much encapsulated the “hero spirit” in much of his mecha designs. Admittedly, he’s faltered somewhat in recent years as Dancouga Nova was pretty underwhelming, especially compared to the brilliant original. In any case, a new Super Robot Wars anime normally heralds a big game release and a proper 2D PS3 or 360 game is long overdue (XO doesn’t count, as that was effectively a GameCube port). That said, we just want Ōbari to go back and pitch Dai Mazinger again.

Update: It appears that a new SRW game on the PS3 may surface at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, which ties in with the release of this new anime quite nicely.