Fast forward ten years to the present and the Gundam Versus games have changed dramatically. The accessibility the games once had has evolved into something far more involved and in many ways has gone back to a more discerning setup similar to that of the original Virtual On games. Either way, the latest iteration in the form of Gundam Extreme Versus is nothing short of an arcade versus thoroughbred.

Following on from Gundam vs Gundam Next, the ability to boost dash cancel is still in effect. This means, if you have boost remaining, you can cancel out of pretty much anything. The difference now is that if you fully deplete your boost gauge you suffer a longer prone animation and in addition when landing you also are similarly vulnerable. Considering the rolling terrain in many of the arenas, you will almost always be landing at some point at the end of a boost dash. Ultimately this simple change has rendered the game far more tactical and more inline with the dash freeze seen in the classic Virtual On games.

This is only one element though that defines Extreme Versus, the other is the wholly reworked step system. Historically, the Gundam Versus games worked around having circle strafe steps that allowed you to dodge incoming attacks as well as create openings of your own. It was simple and pretty effective. This system is fundamentally still in place but the big addition is the ability to cancel out of a step, which produces a lovely rainbow effect. This means what originally looked like an opportunity in close combat can easily turn into a deadly feint on the part of the “rainbow” cancel. Mastering this basic fundamental mechanic of the game is utterly necessary now.

Coupling both these elements together means that not only does the game play very differently from its prior incarnations but that it is now a full blown and deeply complex versus game. Yet this is not the biggest addition to the game’s new mechanics.

The Extreme Burst system harks back to the original “Awaken” setup and in addition to the various stat increases it affords it also fully replenishes your boost gauge on activation. Considering that both the boost dash and rainbow cancel use boost, this means you can be almost out of juice at a crucial moment only to have it refill entirely and get a substantial speed increase. Not to mention that many units already have a speed/performance boost ability on top of this, notably that of Trans-Am system from the Gundam 00 units, means that skilled matches can very quickly become a wonderfully intense rainbow hued blur.

To make matters even more involved, there are swathes of intricate nuances hidden throughout the game. The roster, whilst smaller than Next’s, is still an immense undertaking as each unit has their own idiosyncrasies from the anime that birthed them. However, for those familiar with the multitude of host works, almost all of their respective functional interpretations are pretty damn implicit.

As well as the full arcade mode in effect, the game has a very stable and compelling online setup available. Considering that this is the first time, not including the somewhat flaky PS2 USB modem iterations, that the series has had a fully international online versus mode this alone should be worth the price of entry. Not to mention the fact that being able to finally use a proper arcade stick again makes this game nigh-on worth its weight in a good few precious metals.

The other pretty massive mode available is that of the Trial Mission setup. This is much like the mission modes from the previous Gundam Versus games and is as addictive and compelling. S-Ranking the entire mode verges on obsession at times but it’s never dull by any means. The upgrade system also never degenerates into a mindless grindfest either, which is normally an occupational hazard.

Everyone took the piss out of the “extreme” name when it was announced in the arcades, but in truth it very accurately describes the game. Gundam Extreme Versus is subsequently a distillation of a decade’s worth of arcade versus brilliance. It’s almost an unfettered yet deeply involved arcade game that is on the one hand incredibly technical but on the other almost viscerally accessible. The fact that it can not only be played with an arcade stick as well as online, means that this is ultimately one of the finest Gundam Versus games yet made. It comes thoroughly recommended to all gamers that take arcade versus games seriously, as it also runs at a very fluid 60 fps throughout. From the Linkin Park accompanied opening movie to the sheer production value on display, Gundam games have finally come of age and to anyone that scoffs that this is a mindless license tie-in; just see if they can even keep up with your rainbow cancelling skills.

Tamashii: 9/10

This review was undertaken on a HORI Real Arcade Pro. 3 arcade stick as well as a Dual Shock 3 pad.

In development for almost two years, the game had a substantial engine overhaul as well as some of the most revolutionary aspects the series had then seen. It was also a truly massive game and aptly named, as one whole disc (out of two) was solely dedicated to a new arena setup that had been introduced in the prior title, Project Phantasma. In short, it is simply one of the finest and best entries into the Armored Core series.

Following on from the previous games, especially the first, Master of Arena’s narrative was based around the resurgence of a Raven known as Hustler One who piloted the terrifying Nineball. Now at the end of the first game, this was revealed to be an AI controlled unit that did the bidding of an unseen but positively deified intelligence. Naturally, being a mecha pilot you riddled said AI avatar full of holes and, supposedly, brought an end to the machine god that pulled all the strings of future human society. Turns out, things weren’t that simple and pulling the plug did very little to undermine the plans of whatever was still in power.

Over the course of the game, the player would learn what Nineball truly was and that there were in fact scarier monsters lurking in the depths of our world. The missions themselves were subsequently quite polished and lean, making great pains to help bookend the narrative that had started in the first game. The missions were also substantially more of a challenge than those in the previous games.

The name of the game wasn’t just for show either, as most missions ended with an AC encounter and progressing further through the game meant you had to beat a certain number of separate arena opponents first. The big addition was the Ex Arena on the second disc, which featured a dizzying number of opponents. Many of which were tournament winners recreated in AI form. Compared to the relative walkover of the arena opponents in the previous game, the new Ex Arena antagonists were a lot tougher.

However, the most intriguing and ultimately quite revolutionary feature that facilitated all this arena based arse kicking was the all new Ranker Mk mode. This basically allowed you to build your own AI AC from the ground up, using the same tools that were available to the development team.

So on top of having a very polished set of missions, a vast number of arena opponents you also had the ability to create your own roster of opponents. Despite the delay in its development, with the amount of game on offer it was worth the wait. This is not to say that all the core customisation and balancing hadn’t been reworked extensively either, as Master of Arena was one of the most visceral entries into the PSone saga.

Master of Arena’s legacy is then an important one. It took a risk in extending the development cycle to polish its core content, something that hasn’t really happened since, as well introducing a near limitless almost Carnage Heart-esque AI creation framework. In the case of the latter, this new AI setup fed into numerous games in the series since. All these reasons aside though, we still love Master of Arena for its reveal of Nineball Seraph and the subsequent squaring off against the player. Whilst Seraph has appeared in a fair few games since, we still have very fond memories of finally reaching the end of the mission with barely enough AP to take it down.

In summation, Master of Arena is one of the few defining mecha games that have shaped the genre. It’s also one of the few PSone games that have stood the test of time, remaining as playable today as it did when it was originally released. As such it is one of the few true mecha gaming classics and comes thoroughly recommended to the discerning gamer.

Tamashii: 10/10

In truth this is not the first time we’ve reviewed this game, as back near its release we also penned a similarly glowing review.

So when SEGA announced that the sequel, Oratorio Tangram, would be ported to the Dreamcast there was a collective sharp intake of breath amongst fans. Could they really pull it off this time? Porting from Model 3 arcade board down to the Dreamcast, wouldn’t that just be as bad as what happened to the first game on the Saturn? More importantly, would it have a new TwinStick peripheral?

All those questions were answered come the game’s release and, for us, this game ultimately ended up defining the console in so many wonderful ways.

Oratorio Tangram, or just Oratan, was originally released as a flagship Model 3 arcade game. Much in the same way the first game had championed the then new Model 2 board, Oratan’s The first two iterations, specifically M.S.B.S. 5.2 and 5.4, used Model 3. It was a graphically impressive game too and quite the step up from what had preceded it.

Oratan was in many ways obviously similar to the first game but it evolved and streamlined much of the core mechanics quite substantially. The same dash based combat was still very much present, as were the distinct usage of ranges. What had changed though was how these core elements worked. Notably the dashing no longer had the same punishing amount of freeze at the end of each manoeuvre, so the tactical element had been sadly simplified in favour of something more reflexive. That said, the dashing functionality did receive a work-over to rectify this.

From Watari dashing, that allowed you to change your direction perpendicularly mid-dash, to the equally new aerial dashing. Whilst the core dashing was tactically simplified the amount of choice in approaches countered that and still offered a new type of tactical variety to the player.

Coupled with this was the updated setup for circle strafing in close combat. Instead of the graded manual control of the first game, the player now had access to a more digital quick step function. Allowing a quicker and simpler entry into the complexities of melee combat. This understandably made close combat encounters faster paced and prone to jump cancels, to avoid melee swipes, but this too had a counter; in the form of a new downward slice to curb cowardly players.

One of the biggest additions though was the new usage of the turbo buttons atop the TwinSticks. Coupled with various trigger inputs, the core weapons for each VR had a form of status modifier applied. Right turbo effectively powered up each shot, whereas left turbo was normally more defensive. Tactical usage of these abilities were also crucial in herding opponents.

So whilst all the manual elements and stringent tactics of the first game had been somewhat eschewed in favour of a more digital but broader menu of attacks, the game hadn’t been ruined as consequence of that. That in itself was and remains quite remarkable.

When the Dreamcast and its specs were finally announced it was clear there would be a disparity though. Admittedly it was nowhere the same kind of gulf that had occurred between the Saturn and the Model 2 original, but it was substantial enough to have fans concerned. In hindsight SEGA did the right thing by ignoring this reaction entirely and keeping very quiet throughout the Dreamcast game’s development.

When the game was finally released at the end of 1999 it was clear that the port was pretty much perfect. Whilst there were graphical discrepancies, notably in the heat haze which was entirely absent in the Dreamcast version, it was nowhere near the amount people were expecting. More importantly though, the game played identically and the TwinStick peripheral offered a refreshingly surgical level of precision to the player’s input.

What really impressed people though was that this port was online, using the console’s modem you could play against other people you’d never even met. Back in 1999 that was a concept that blew a fair few console gamers’ minds. You could even customise the colours of your VR too, something that even the game’s mecha designer Hajime Katoki had done allowing fans to download his colour schemes as well (the latter ended up spawning toys to that effect too).

In short, the port was nigh-on flawless and had in the end catered to the fans’ concerns but simply remedying them head on, rather than trying press based damage control (that seems more and more common in gaming these days).

From the beautifully hand-drawn cover art by Hajime Katoki, to the epically large instruction manual (requiring a special case to house it) an enormous amount of love was poured into this game. Even the TwinSticks were engineered above and beyond what was really required and remain the ultimate peripheral for the Virtual On series to this day.

In some ways, and this is remarkably rare, the Dreamcast port of Oratan was arguably more ground breaking than the arcade version that birthed it. Not only did it showcase the potency and the then unique online nature of its host hardware but it did so almost effortlessly. As games and ports go then this, for us, justified the price of entry.

Tamashii: 9/10

Whilst this review is for the Dreamcast port, the subsequent XBLA version based on M.S.B.S. 5.66 (with online multiplayer) is regarded as highly.

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This is no new trait either, as the later years of the PS2′s life also saw a similar trend with woeful games like Gundam Climax UC springing to mind. What with lacklustre efforts such as Gundam Assault Survive, the writing has been on the wall for a while now. So it’s not with great surprise, though with some regret, that Gundam Memories has ventured toward the fecal end of the gaming quality spectrum.

This is not to say that Gundam Memories has no redeeming qualities, as it is arguably one of the most visually and technically impressive PSP game’s we’ve seen. Engine proficiency aside though the game itself is a catalogue of face palming awfulness.

The main bulk of the game plays out similarly to Gundam Climax UC. Simple missions where you circle strafe around cycled fixed lock-ons without much control of vertical movement. Combat is split between ranged and melee with a pretty anemic boosting setup that links the two. The latter is also an issue as the player cannot out flank enemies in many encounters, which is a pretty substantial issue if the game were solely focused on combat but this isn’t quite the case here.

Apart from the core “combat” the other main element to the game are a slew of quick-time events. Now, we’re not overly fond of these kind of features in games but they can and often do have their place. Normally as a means to rubber stamp a victory and then used moderately sparingly. In Gundam Memories none of that is the case. Instead these are used as major means of dealing damage in the middle of a fight once sufficiently charged. Annoyingly, the animation for when an enemy activates their own attacks is identical to yours so you’re often left wondering whether you initiated the attack by mistake. Countering these attacks can also be pretty arduous as well as rather inconsistent. On most enemies, a successful button press awards a counter to the enemy’s attack but on some encounters, normally with bosses in particular, these counters never occur and instead a protracted continuation of events results in something not too dissimilar to what would be a mechanical colonoscopy.

Following on from this is the inevitable upgrade system that’s prime purpose is to buy your way out of failure. Either through directly upgrading your mobile suit’s abilities (such as health, attack or defense) or through buying more powerful quick-time events. The acquisition of these upgrades turns the game game into a merciless grindfest. This is very much apparent that on failing a mission you still receive enough currency to purchase upgrades.

If all this sounds like the game is a walkover, then don’t get ahead of yourself. There are numerous and pretty brutal difficulty spikes throughout the game, often to do with the fact you haven’t reached a sufficient level of upgrades in order to progress.

Though this is not the worst aspect of the game. Despite the fact missions are hugely repetitive, the boss battles are pretty awful as they can initiate their own very powerful quick-time events on you. Almost always resulting in an instant death. The infuriating aspect to this is that you can’t really avoid them, as there is no real messaging to say that your enemy has the option available. So you’re inadvertently caught like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming car, except this car has the lights off and the bastard behind the wheel is wearing nightvision goggles.

Overall then, despite being technically quite impressive the game itself is really quite disappointing and for the most part desperately frustrating. Thankfully there are still plenty of great Gundam related games available on the PSP, so all is not lost at least.

Tamashii: 3/10

Unlike the first game, Project Phantasma shortened the main campaign quite drastically. To make the each mission more of challenge, the enemies themselves became suitably armored. Whilst not quite bullet sponges, the amount of ammunition required to take out the beefier MT’s did make the missions more of a resource management exercise in some instances. The missions themselves were more involved than the previous game too, with one memorable stealth level disallowing the player to go airborne in case they were detected by radar. Not to mention the microwave power receiver station mission, where flying above the structure resulted in the player getting fried. The slightly odd aspect to the game’s balancing though was how an all new arena mode pretty much undermined the increased challenge of the new missions.

Previously, the ranking Ravens were displayed in a simple leaderboard. As the player progressed through the first game, they inched their way up the Raven hierarchy. In Project Phantasma the leaderboard became an arena, where each rank had to be earned in one-on-one AC combat against another Raven. Naturally, the initial matches were very straightforward but the further the player went up the pecking order the more they ended up displaying the somewhat dreaded Human Plus ability set. That aside, each match netted large sums of cash but importantly eschewed any cost penalty in terms of armor and ammo lost. This meant that the harder missions were made far easier on account of the fact the player had a much larger bank account due to their arena winnings.

In some ways, this increase in player funding was taken into account (via the aforementioned increased enemy armor and finite player ammo) but the game was far less functionally considered than its progenitor. However, this was counter balanced against an all new approach to the game’s usage of characterisation. Specifically, that of two characters; Sumika and Stinger.

Sumika piloted a custom pink AC and was the player’s main financier. Subsequently, this resulted in Sumika being the player’s ally and rationalising the events happening around them. Juxtaposed to this was the very pompous antagonist Stinger, which in true anime fashion was overly enigmatic as to his real motives. Again, Stinger also initially had his own custom AC (dubbed “Stinger”) which he later swapped out for the titular experimental MT Phantasma.

In parts, the new characters did help the smaller number of missions make sense but on the other it did feel very odd. As the custom AC’s both characters piloted were obviously meant in place of character portraits. Leaving mecha the size of buildings to infer emotion, which can work in certain circumstances as long as it is done sparingly. Unfortunately, the entire game had this setup and it resulted in partially nullifying the sense that these were very large machines.

This wasn’t to say that Project Phantasma wasn’t fun. As it was in some ways deeply satisfying, with the overtly powerful weapons making the game very compelling. Admittedly this was in a more guilty pleasure sense rather than anything well wrought. The characterisation was a nice touch too, despite the fact the custom AC’s parts weren’t usable by the player (something that would be true until Nexus came along several years later).

Overall then, Project Phantasma was a somewhat experimental and clearly rushed game. Whilst it was a good romp and many of the new elements would grace future Armored Core games, it did still feel lacking. Interestingly, this wasn’t lost on the studio and the following games would receive far longer developmental cycles. So in that sense, Project Phantasma’s legacy was ultimately a positive one.

Tamashii: 7/10

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Cue the initial sequel to 2008′s Super Robot Wars Z, featuring pristine animation and above all insanely powerful super robots from Gurren Lagann to Final Dancouga all of which fist bumping the grittiest of all the real robots; the sturdy little Scopedog. On fan service alone, Z2 technically goes up to eleven but what’s more impressive is how the game has been functionally distilled into a fiendishly compelling strategy game.

We loved the first Z, from the beautiful animations to the formation twist to the strategy. Z2 eschews some of that complexity to return the series to more of its portable gaming roots. In short, squads of mecha that are normally associated with the console iterations have been dropped. Instead Z2 opts for a single unit approach. In addition, units with multiple pilots have been simplified down into a main pilot and multiple sub pilots. Pilot upgrades are still present, from basic ability improvements to purchasable skills though. Mecha are also similarly upgradeable and can be equipped with bonus parts to aid them in combat. All of this is pretty standard SRW fare and for long term players of the games, then none of this should surprise you.

What is surprising though is that despite its almost standardised simplicity, the game itself is remarkably compelling. Animations aside, though I assure you we will get to these later, the game as a pure unbridled turn based strategy title is nigh-on perfect. Doubly so as bouts of gameplay can be handled on the move, regardless of mission length, due to the quick save feature that’s been a staple of the games for a good while now. Compared to the somewhat lacklustre DS outings, Z2 is really very addictive.

Managing your team of disparate mecha and their even more varied pilots is a refreshingly cerebral affair. Especially as much of the strategical nuance encourages the player to understand the history and context these individual units have come from. It’s one of the few series of games where knowing the various host works pays dividends in how you handle their usage in a mission.

What’s also very special about Z2, probably even more so than the original Z, is how the animations have been handled. Despite re-using a good number of units from the first game, the vast majority of the animations and sprite work are all new. This is especially noticeable with units like the Nu Gundam, where almost every aspect of the sprite and its animation have been totally re-tooled. Though the really amazing aspect about all the game’s animations are just how dynamic they are to the point the make the original Z feel almost static. It also goes without saying that the detailing and just simple image quality far exceeds that of the first Z, to the point that this is by far and away one of the prettiest SRW’s we’ve ever seen.

There’s also an inordinate amount of love poured into this game, with each of the series handled with an almost craftsmanship zeal. The sheer amount of reverence in some places is almost palpable, with the Chirico Cuvie and his variety of Scopedogs being notable. Even the glorious introduction of Final Dancouga, almost two thirds of the way through the game, is brilliant. Harking back to the series that partially birthed it and the delayed introduction of the titular Dancouga itself. Naturally, upon our acquisition of said unit we subsequently maxed out all its attributes in one go. Something that felt unnervingly satisfying.

Clocking in at around 50 missions, with multiple internal branches, it’s not as long winded as the original Z but for a PSP game it feels about right. Missions are on the whole very well balanced with no real difficulty spikes to report. Considering that another Z2 will be following this one, as they cunningly only took many of the new series featured halfway through their story arc, means that yet another thoroughly excellent SRW can be expected. In the meantime, Z2 is probably one of the finest SRW games we’ve played in a long time and any self respecting gamer should pick it up forthwith.

Tamashii: 9/10

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The first two Macross games in this series, Ace and Ultimate Frontier, were blessed with a sizable increase in content between them. To the extent that with the latter, they pretty much covered off almost all of the saga. Moving on from that, in the same way the Gundam Battle games unfortunately did, is something that would normally concern us.

However, we now have reached the third game in Artdink’s mini Macross gaming saga and they’ve tried to do a lot to mask the re-use of assets from the two prior games. From the all new Academy mode to new campaigns and units. They’ve even re-worked the missile lock system again. The final result is something again new and interesting, as well as being a lot of fun to play.

The two new campaigns featured in Macross Triangle Frontier are the first Macross Frontier movie and the somewhat ignored (both in terms of continuity and fandom) early 90′s OVA Macross II: Lovers Again. Whilst a few Macross II missions existed in the prior game, they were non-campaign Extra missions. This new campaign has the voice talent from the series as well as a lot of new assets, with the Metal Siren variable fighter being notable.

The latter is what we booted up straight away and the first major change to how the game works was down to the missiles again. In the previous game, Ultimate Frontier, missile tracking was affected by the range and orientation of your craft. This was suitably colour coded to denote the three ranges and stages of orientation. The difference now, bar the reversal of the colour coding (red meaning full lock now), is that the locks cascade into the screen (as per the PS3 game Macross Trial Frontier) and if you hold down the lock button an additional set of locks occur. The latter appears to give not only an increase to the tracking but also a noticeable damage boost.

Whilst the cascading lock icons are annoying, as they lack the obvious precision of the previous fixed locks, the new damage boost setup is a nice touch. As it adds more functional choice to the missile lock setup and encourages the player to really push their luck in combat. It’s also more anlogue than an old school charge system, as you can still fire your missiles off at any point and for the grunts this is actually ideal. It’s just with this additional edge to the missile attacks, you can now face down bosses in a very satisfying and rewarding way. If anything, it emphasises the importance of both your position and timing in terms of attacks.

Considering the obvious bonuses this allows in terms of tuning point acquisition, as it makes higher takings less arduous, the grind that plagued the first game in the series is even less absent now too.

The remaining campaigns encompass the entirety of the animated Macross lineage thus far produced, so as a package it’s very comprehensive. Whilst this is the first game to really feel like a re-hash, as many of these campaigns were present in Ultimate Frontier, Artdink have mixed the missions and areas up a bit more. Despite the publisher remit, they do still care about the game.

Talking of the publisher remit though, the new Academy mode is an all new dating sim-esque endeavour where the player gets to live the heady life of an imaginary high school student aboard the Macross Frontier fleet. If you like these kind of games, then you’ll be happy with the results and the production value (despite it’s palpable creepiness) is relatively high. The very good news about the new Academy mode is that it is almost entirely optional and separate from the real game. Admittedly, the main usage for the Academy mode is to allow you to upgrade your custom character’s pilot stats (as they are now fixed) this isn’t that bad a concession. Whether this was Artdink stepping in and trying to salvage the situation from a mindless publishing marketing automaton is not entirely known but the result either way is wholly welcome.

Overall then, cursory Academy mode aside, Triangle Frontier has built upon the functional approach from the previous games and honed the core game into something with depth and a surprising amount of immediacy. The content re-hashing is more noticeable after Ultimate Frontier but it’s nowhere near the levels seen in the latter half of the Gundam Battle games.

Even if you’re not a fan of Macross, the sheer amount of polish here (especially for a PSP game) makes this a compelling game worthwhile of any gamer’s time. Here’s hoping Bandai Namco do the smart thing and let Artdink finish the PS3 Macross game they’ve been so obviously working on, as it makes more sense to finish this series of games on a high rather than milking it do death like they did with the Gundam Battle games. In the meantime, we’ll be soaring through azure skies in whatever variable fighter ride tickles our fancy.

Tamashii: 8/10

For gamers that have played the older PS2 games, then this news will be a great relief. As the somewhat bizarre control choices in ACER definitely hampered the game. The fact that ACEP has eschewed much of what ACER offered has returned the series back to its former itself.

Ultimately, the regression has been a shrewd one as it has made the overall game far more cogent and manageable. Especially considering that any kind of functional inadequacy in terms of controls are normally magnified within the small confines of almost all hand-held consoles. What has resulted though, is a relatively mixed setup that works competently for the most part but at the expense of the production value the series has been known for.

Subsequently ACEP is an interesting mix of a few games. The combat and controls are very much taken from ACE2 and 3, in that the boosting setup used in the PS2 games has returned and requires ballistic management in terms of firing arcs when engaged. In addition, close combat uses far shorter and easily interruptible animations now too. So you can disengage relatively easily, though once committed to a combo the animation will need to play out. One other element for the boosting is a high speed setup taken from ACER, this is initiated by holding down the boost button. Considering that the ballistic boosting setup is present in ACEP, the high speed version makes more sense now; as it’s purely meant for covering large distances quickly. It also shows up how lacking ACER was to remove the ballistic boost in the first place.

In short, this boosting system and approach to combat defined the excellent PS2 ACE games and in many ways, ACEP has cherry picked the best elements from these mechanics. Despite being on a handheld, the controls are pretty much spot on. Following on from this though are the slightly less sensible design choices, of which fall into broadly two categories; weapon management and resupplying.

In the PS2 games, weapons reloaded on the fly and could be selected via drop downs or a button modifier. This meant that you could easily select various weapons very quickly as well as stay in the fight without the need to resupply. In ACEP, the weapon selection is handled via scrollable panels and they all have a finite supply of ammunition that doesn’t reload on its own. This means you now have a deadzone in terms of weapon selection, as you have to scroll through the weapons you don’t want to get to the ones you do, as well as often running out of ammo when you’re in the throes of battle. Whilst you always have melee to rely on, as that is thankfully in infinite supply, the range weapons do constitute the bulk of the combat and this new restriction does undermine this.

ACEP handles the resupplying via areas on a level that once locked onto and within suitable range will renew your ordnance and health. However, to make matters more awkward these points are often away from the critical path in terms of map progression. This is also another strange addition to ACEP, as some levels are comprised of multiple maps that you move between. This was a system used quite appallingly in Gundam Assault Survive, however the big difference here is that the maps are quite discrete in size which makes them far more manageable. In addition, the number of maps used is often that large either so you can still blitz through a mission quickly enough (something that lends itself to the portable nature of the system). Not all missions are laid out this way either, so you do get a fair bit of variety out of this setup. That said, what still transpires though is a situation where you run out of ammo and have to travel through a few maps to resupply. It breaks the flow of the combat quite noticeably and does feel very awkward and unnecessary, especially when the older games never needed to do this.

This is where the new panels somewhat come in, as you can add new panels to your mecha that can act as a resupply in the field (as well as offer a slew of powerful attacks). This does somewhat help the finite ammo issue but it would have made more sense to drop the setup entirely and return to what worked already.

In total, the missions are split into 9 “blocks” with various missions within them. This lends itself well to a hand-held, as you can dip in and dip out of the game at your leisure. There are also nice nods to other missions from the PS2 games as well. Unfortunately, the game only has 66 playable mecha though which is a little on the light side for an ACE game, thankfully the roster is quite varied so there’s a fair amount of choice still.

Visually, the mecha look good but it’s very clear that ACEP was made on a budget as the game engine is pretty lacking. Whilst the framerate is pretty decent, the environments and draw distance are disappointing. Following on from this, there is now a custom soundtrack option (as per ACER), this is obviously so that Banpresto can sidestep paying the royalties for the licensed songs.

Therefore it’s worth clarifying that in relation to Artdink’s Gundam Battle and Macross games on the PSP, that ACEP by no means wins out. As a whole From Software have dropped the mechanical ball somewhat on the PSP and it’s only now that they’ve begun to pull their finger out. ACEP is by far their most competent effort thus far but Artdink are still the leaders of PSP based mecha gaming.

Overall then ACEP is by no means a looker and despite a few design issues (finite ammo and the extended map setup) the game does play well. Due to Banpresto’s stingy approach on the game’s budget, From Software were allowed to return to what they knew would functionally work. So if you enjoyed the older ACE games and found ACER to be wanting, then ACEP will definitely fill that gap. With any luck, From Software will be allowed to continue this functional approach for subsequent ACE games whilst retaining a decent budget.

Tamashii: 7/10

There is good reason for this finale though and much of it was, and still is, attributable to the decision to make the game accommodate two extra players. Many thought that the red-headed stepchild of the Virtual On series would never see a home release, especially after the pretty catastrophic Virtual On Marz, yet in commemorating the 15th Anniversary of the series we seem to be faced with a painstakingly faithful port of the game.

Virtual On Force, like the games before it, was an arena shooter/brawler based around fixed vectored dashes. Mixing ranged and melee combat with a tactical bent. Force added to this formula by increasing the number of players and splitting them into two sides. Each side had a leader and a wingman, with killing the leader netting a win for the opposing side. This setup was an interesting attempt at making players work as a team, as the wingman would almost always need to cover the team leader. Simply trying to go solo in Force would leave players exposed and dead in equal measure.

Due to this increased number of players, concessions had to be made in order to make the game manageable. The first of these was to simply halve the dashing speed of all the VR’s and lengthen many of the melee animations. This initially made the game obviously feel quite sluggish after the high speed Oratan but to damn Force on this would be a pretty facile analysis as it ignores the real issues in the game’s now modified core ruleset.

Much of what makes a good Virtual On game great is the tactical element of planning where your opponent will be after a selection of dashes. Timing your attacks and relative position to theirs and deliver a killing blow, was and still is remarkably satisfying. Force retained the dash freeze but utterly nullified them with two mind numbing decisions.

The first was the ability to guard any and all melee attacks with far greater ease. On paper it makes sense, with an extra opponent, that the player should have the ability to guard more readily but in reality this made melee combat pretty tedious as each player could instantly guard an attack despite whether they’d been caught out or not. The second and more severe problem was the fact you could pretty much jump out of the way of every ranged attack, again this was a concession to dealing with more opponents but it rendered ranged combat pretty ineffective.

So with the reduced speed making the game more manageable, the ability to guard almost all melee attacks as well as jump out of the way of incoming fire took the heart out of Virtual On. In that, what was previously a cogent and exacting rule set that bound the game together Force opted for greater functional ambiguity that would make players have to take up the slack and work more studiously together.

In that sense, Force is a multiplayer triumph and in many ways laid the groundwork for team based arcade mecha games that would follow (with the likes of Border Break being highly notable in this regard). Yet as a Virtual On game Force does fall short. Even with its extensive online multiplayer as well as a new mission mode, this port is very faithful to the arcade original and as such dutifully recreates its flaws in the process.

What’s slightly curious is that the card system for the original arcade version has somewhat changed. Originally better VR’s were awarded via match victories; effectively ensuring veteran players would always have the better VR’s (this was especially true of the Temjin line). Unsurprisingly this was a pretty broken setup and, thankfully, it’s been all but dropped in the port. Instead VR’s are unlocked via the new offline mission mode.

For those concerned that the mission mode is akin to the one in Marz, fret not. Force’s missions are based around arena encounters, often with a modified rule set (as in no ranged combat for instance) rather than the obtuse and extended level layout seen in Marz. The higher the rank you attain the more and rarer VR’s you can unlock. This also feeds into the new AI wingman setup, as playing the game allows you to upgrade their AI stats making them very useful in other parts of the singleplayer setup. Sadly the AI VR’s cannot be used online

Overall then, this game is cautiously recommended. On the one hand it attempts make a very rigid ruleset broad enough to encompass multiple opponents but in doing so has broken what made the original Virtual On games so noteworthy. It was a brave game to make, especially in the face of such a dedicated fanbase, but it was and still is an unfortunate (though nonetheless interesting) entry into the Virtual On saga.

Tamashii: 7/10

All versions of this game are region free and this review was undertaken with a pair of modified Dreamcast TwinSticks.

This is where From Software saw an opportunity and after their King’s Field games on the PSone, they thought they had the technology to pull it off. However, to create cogent mecha designs that could be literally built from component parts would require a unique talent. That talent manifested itself in the increasingly versatile Shoji Kawamori, who created a slew of base designs in the knowledge they would be disassembled into disparate parts. Thus the original Armored Core was born.

As a game, the original Armored Core was really quite groundbreaking. Not only could it allow players to build mecha practically from scratch but it afforded a refreshingly manual control setup. It was also fast, really fast. After the slugging behemoths from MechWarrior, the Armored Cores (or ACs) felt like highly tuned sports cars. Sports cars that packed almost preposterously potent weaponry.

The game was set in a far off dystopian future where humanity had ventured under ground after the suitably apocalyptic events of the Great Destruction, rendering the surface of our planet pretty much inhospitable. Over time corporations formed that created the backbone of human society, unfortunately their inevitable and petty rivalry resulted in a new conflict. To match the ratcheting up of military might, muscle tracers (or MTs) were created – a new form of mechanical war machine that was more potent and versatile than previous traditional military vehicles. However, the fixed purpose of each MT rendered them awkward in certain combat situations. The solution to this was to build a cored MT with customisable parts surrounding it, thus the Armored Core was created.

Due to the high maintenance cost of each AC, the corporations had to outsource the use of these machines to mercenaries known as Ravens. This is where the player came in. Taking on the role of an unnamed Raven bent on revenge, the player took on various missions from corporations in order to earn money and ultimately find out how deep the rabbit hole went.

The setup was simple and forced a focused discipline on the player. As every round and hit taken would cost money, as such there was a fiscal onus on the player to learn how to be efficient in combat and learn to be where enemy fire wasn’t. This then fed into the customisation, as new parts could then be bought and utilised. Whilst many have stated that the original Armored Core is a game of two disparate halves (customisation and combat) the truth is that both these elements are intrinsically intertwined. In that, a well wrought design fit for a mission’s purpose would allow the player to be more efficient in combat, in turn earning more money and allowing for further customisation opportunities.

The only issue with this gaming ecosystem, was how the combat controls were handled. Admittedly, the game was released prior to the dual analogue capable DualShock but the means in which the player was expected to track targets – often very nimble ones at that – was by a particularly obtuse control setup.

Specifically, the ability to look up and down was mapped to R2 and L2 (coupled with with left and right strafe on L1 and R1). Whilst the buttons could be remapped, this somehwat thorough approach caused a noticeable spike in the initial learning curve for new players. That said, despite this hurdle, the game found a large fanbase eager to learn the controls for these new mecha. If anything, mastering this control setup almost acted in a rather odd and indirect way into making the player feel more like a pilot than a mere gamer.

As with all learning curves though, the game was more than playable given enough practice. Back when functional standardisation was a far off mundane nightmare, Armored Core was able to approach the genre with something new and expected players to make the effort to appreciate that.

From the extensive number of missions to a very cogent multiplayer setup, Armored Core was a very versatile game. Even the wonderfully enigmatic narrative, told in a somewhat voyeuristic manner via e-mail, beautifully framed the player’s context as a hard nosed mercenary. It all coalesced and managed to distill an interesting dystopian take on the real robot mythos, something that had very obvious and welcome shades of Ryōsuke Takahashi’s work.

Unsurprisingly, its subsequent influence has been far reaching as the mecha genre often references the original Armored Core a great deal. As such it has become a functional cornerstone for the genre as whole. As much as that seems to mystify the somewhat parochial Western gaming press, the original game sold very well across the globe and the multitude of progeny it birthed are still with us to this day.

It’s rare to be able to point at a single mecha game and follow the lineage of its legacy back to the source. Armored Core is one of these such games, a unique entry into the vaulted hangars of mecha and one that has shaped the genre for over a decade. That makes it so very special.

Tamashii: 9/10

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