The upcoming Super Robot Wars L has received its first promo video (which was shown at C3xHOBBY over the weekend). Despite the nice new Macross Frontier shots, the remaining animation does look awfully recycled and in some instances almost GameBoy Advance in sprite quality. It will be interesting to see what this entry will be like though as SRWK was really quite short, though with any luck it may utilise some of that version’s game system. The game will retail at 6,090 yen on November 25th.

Watch Video »

The upcoming Super Robot Wars OG anime directed by none other than Masami Ōbari has finally received its first PV (shown below). Despite the somewhat unnerving character design, having the cockpits shake and rattle in both the PTX-007-03C Weißritter and PTX-003C Alteisen is rather refreshing. The PV is also quite long too and shows a good chunk of footage.

Watch Video »

As the release date for Front Mission Evolved looms ever closer, the marketing campaign is going into overdrive. From appearances of the game at GamesCom to a somewhat spurious “interactive trailer” (linked below). We’re still a bit sceptical about the game, as the wanzers appear a tad twitchy. In any case, we’ll know for sure when it’s released at the end of September.

Watch Interactive Trailer »

One of the most terrifying opponents in From Software’s series of Armored Core games is the ultimate incarnation of Nineball, that of Nineball Seraph. First introduced as the final boss in Armored Core Master of Arena, it was one of the first transforming antagonists seen in the series. However when Seraph reappeared in Armored Core 2 Another Age, as a secret boss, this was when its reputation as a brutal opponent surfaced. Colloquially known as “jetboy” amongst the Western gaming throng, Seraph would obliterate almost everyone that tried to face it in combat.

It seems that Nineball Seraph has finally made it into the just released Another Century’s Episode R, though with a few minor modifications admittedly (with the shoulders being notable). This would be the first time, since the original Another Century’s Episode, that a From Software mecha made it into the series (as the last was a Cloudbreaker from the Xbox game Murakumo). Whether this is a playable unit remains to be seen though. In other news, the wonderful Hi-Nu Gundam has been confirmed as a secret unlock in the game as well, this would mark the unit’s current generation debut in an action game. In any case, we’ve linked the video of Seraph’s introduction below as well as its appearances in Armored Core.

Watch Videos »

Another Century’s Episode R has finally been released in Japan today. There have been multiple game videos shown already (with one linked below), as it seems that some shops broke the street date. From the rather cool custom soundtracks option, that allows you to use music at specific points in gameplay, to the more worrying use of motion controls it seems that the game has managed to keep a few surprises in store. The most unfortunate of these though has to be the complete removal/changing of the boost system that was used in the last three games. Naturally, we’ll be reviewing the game soon but in the meantime you can import it here.

Watch Video »

The upcoming and curious Blu-Ray hybrid game addition Macross Trial Frontier has been given a decent amount of screen time in the lead up to its release at the beginning of October. Around the 2:18 mark, the gameplay footage kicks in and to anyone that’s played the recent PSP games it will all look pretty familiar (though far shinier admittedly). This isn’t exactly a surprise, as this development was telegraphed somewhat when the hybrid pack was announced. Still, it’s nice to see that Artdink have made their mark on contemporary gaming at least in terms of this game’s functional heritage. Whether they were part of the development for this port remains to be seen but considering the striking similarity I can only surmise that someone at Artdink was involved at some point.

Watch Video »

Andriasang put up a gallery of new pictures for the Game Formerly Known as Solarobo, but Now Known as Solatorobo, including a few pieces of absolutely beautiful mechanical art. It has that “alternate history/steampunk” look to it that was very common in anime as I was growing up, but eventually seemed to get replaced with cleaner and more modern designs, and I’m glad to see this sort of imaginative work back.

Game Watch Impress has an article with much of the same screenshots and mechanical works featured, plus a few extra details if you can read Japanese or are willing to wade through a machine translated version of it. Most of the details in the article are about gameplay elements we’ve seen in action before, but it’s good to know that “dog-man in a bird-robot fishing for battleships” is still a planned feature.

Speaking of things we’ve already seen, the small gameplay videos that were released were edited into a much prettier single movie, complete with gorgeous backgrounds and music. The wide variety of game modes, and the sheer charm of the graphics they’ve been able to squeeze out of the lowly Nintendo DS, have gradually changed my outlook on this game from being a mere curiosity to being a “must have!” title, simply because there isn’t and won’t be anything quite like it. The industry as a whole seems afraid to innovate in 3D action games and platformers, preferring to use proven-successful genre formulas or licensed characters to carry these games, but these fellows are doing something amazing with Solatorobo. Here’s to hoping that the game does indeed get released outside of Japan.

A preview video has also been released, mostly showing off the game’s cast of characters, who are still animal people and not robots like we would prefer:

Watch Video »

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.

Watch Video »

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!

Watch Videos »

The animated version of Gundam Unicorn is receiving its much anticipated second episode this November. Before then though, Bandai are showing off the new footage in a lovely long promo. Apart from looking wonderful in terms of the animation, it’s nice to hear Shūichi Ikeda’s dulcit tones again in Gundam. The promo even shows the glorious Sinanju in action finally, as well as the Unicorn too obviously. Considering that Gundam Extreme Versus is out in arcades at the end of the year, in Japan, the timing of the second episode’s release is fortuitous. For those that want their Unicorn Gundam fix before November, then the unit is fully playable in the brilliant Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus on the PSP. Alternatively, you could pick up the regal Metal Composite toy if you’re after something more tactile. Either way, enjoy the promo linked below.

Watch Video »