Kits: Myzr Fair Bianca Announced
Hasegawa have announced the first of possibly three new Myzr kits from Virtual On Marz. Specifically that of the YZR-8004 Myzr Delta IV Type R "Fair Bianca" as piloted...
Videos: Gundam Battle Operation Ground Combat Trailer
Gundam Battle Operation has received a new ground combat trailer. Showing off the human sized combat, the trailer doesn't exactly help to assuage our fears. Whilst it's...
Kits: LED Mirage V3 Release Details
One of our most anticipated kits is that of Volks' upcoming IMS LED Mirage V3 from the wondrous Five Star Stories. Now we know that not only will it be released early...
Videos: Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost Second Promo
A nice new promo for Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost has been uploaded by those nice people at Namco Bandai. At over 6 minutes it features a variety of new mobile suits...
News: Mobile Suit Gundam Online Second Alpha Test Report
The recent alpha test for Mobile Suit Gundam Online has been given a full on report, coupled with a pretty interesting in-game video. In short, the game plays like a standard...
A new promo video for Last Raven Portable was released today. Admittedly it seems to be just a re-working of the cinematic footage but it’s still very nice nonetheless. What is is interesting is that apparently, come the game’s release in March, a coupon will be packaged with the game that will give a special code to unlock parts of the Armored Core 5 site that will apparently contain “special contents” for download.
The upcoming High Moon developed Transformers game; War for Cybertron has received a new trailer. It’s entirely cinematic footage, with nothing actually in-game, but again it’s nice to see the stylistic approach they’ve taken with the designs is more progressive than the live action nonsense we were subjected to. If anything, a full blown movie like the cinematic below would indeed be most welcome. Still no word on a release date as yet but it’s apparently scheduled for some time this year.
The latest entry into the successful Armored Core series has been announced, which confirms the hint that Famitsu dropped quite recently about a new mecha action game on the way. Entitled Armored Core 5, it seems that series veteran Toshifumi Nabeshima has also been helming its development. The game, as per its debut trailer (seen below), also appears to be a return to the slower paced and more ground pounder focused games from the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 era. No word on what platforms AC5 will be released on though but we’re assuming it to be PS3 and 360, like the last two games. Release date is also still unconfirmed but the release window has been promised for early 2010, which makes sense in terms of the marketing/PR run-up. In any case, we’re currently punching the air with glee that a new Armored Core game is on the way!
Update: It turns out that over a set time period, the number “5″ on the official site becomes clickable and triggers individual Google queries. In total there are six words the site searches for.
They are: 暴力的, 兵器, スケール, 炎, 雨, 戦場
Which translate roughly to: Violent, Weapons, Scale, Fire, Rain, Battlefield
Similar to Bandai’s previous Tamashii Nation events, they are now hosting a Tamashii Features event in both Tokyo and Osaka at the beginning of February. This will showcase their more affordable line of Robot Damashii and S.H.Figurarts toys. Naturally, at these events you often get limited edition toys only available for those that attend. The above Gundam Exia figure is a unqiue Trans-Am variant using translucent plastic for the outer armor. The Trans Am system effectively makes the Exia travel at three times its normal speed, a minor in-joke to Char’s customised Zaku II in the original Gundam (as that too was red and travelled suitably quick). However, the Trans Am functionality is more akin to the V-MAX system seen in Layzner as it’s time specific and relies on a finite amount of fuel. The Exia, and its Trans Am system, was recently featured in Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus. We’ve also included a video of the first time the Trans Am system kicks off for the Exia. Enjoy!
One of the most potent “original generation” mecha in Super Robot Wars is finally getting the figure treatment. Specifically the RaiOh from Alpha 3 will be released in June of 2010 for 15,750 yen. In addition, this is a Dengeki Hobby magazine exclusive item with a fixed pre-order period ending on the 15th February. Thankfully, Tokyo Hunter is taking orders so you’re not completely stuffed when it comes to tracking one down. There’s no word of RaiOh’s upgraded form, that of DaiRaiOh, making a similar leap to toy form but we can always hope. In any case, we’ve also included some game footage from Alpha 3 below of the RaiOh and DaiRaiOh taking a few names.
In addition, Terada-san (one of Super Robot Wars’ producers) recently announced in the series’ official blog that a new and as yet unannounced game will be released sometime in 2010. Here’s hoping it’s a shiny new 2D effort on either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
The Crysis mod almost three years in the making, MechWarrior Living Legends is now finally out in Beta form. For those eager to get cracking with the mod, a list of download mirrors is available here, though you’ll need an account on their forum to access the thread in question. Admittedly, the mod has been delayed over a year now but considering that this is being done for free by a collection of dedicated fans means that the rest of us should learn to be more patient. In any case, they’ve done a truly splendid job and it shows that fan based work is by no means to be sniffed at. It’s also worth noting that this mod is not to be confused with the upcoming multi-platform MechWarrior reboot, though it does seem to give Piranha Games’ effort a graphical run for its money.
The final of the three Armored Core PSP ports, in the form of Last Raven, has received its first promo video and a smattering of coverage. For those unaware, Last Raven was one of the most challenging Armored Core games and ultimately aimed at its loyal fanbase, which wound up a a fair few Western journalists on its PlayStation 2 release (as they found it impossibly difficult for the most part). As a consequence, the original game was very much misunderstood and many of its features overlooked. Notably of which was its very involved branching narrative (though the English localisation was pretty woeful to be fair). The narrative received a large amount of interest, in Japan, and multiple directors were involved in creating various promotional videos for the game (with this being my personal favourite). The current PSP port has subsequently re-used a similar edit to this promo, so you should be able to compare and contrast on how accurate the port is from a graphical standpoint over the original game. This port will be released in Japan on March 4th next year at 3990 yen, along with a nice 60 page artbook containing lots of artwork and interviews.
We previously mentioned the upcoming PC scrolling shooter Gunhound a while back, but the game’s developer’s Dracue have released a trial version of the game online (you can download the installer here). Considering that this has been been made by a small team of people, the final results are impressive and refreshingly well crafted. The game is entirely in Japanese obviously, so pad configuration maybe a bit of fiddle. That aside, it plays an awful lot like Leynos and Valken but that is very much a good thing (though with lots of lovely aesthetic nods to VOTOMS, as the other Hound in the demo sports a commander type radar from Roots of Ambition). The full game is released on the 18th December.
Over at GA Graphic, they’ve reviewed the upcoming release of the DX Chogokin Macross Quarter from the recent Macross Frontier series. The Quarter is aptly named as it’s a more compact size Macross class ship, which makes it more manoeuvrable amongst other things. In the series, it acts as SMS’s base of operations within the auspices of the Frontier colony fleet. As toys go, this looks to be rather good as it uses a lot of diecast in the mould and boasts a full transformation. It’s quite expensive though, coming in at 20,790 yen.
For those that played the recent and excellent Macross Ultimate Frontier, the Quarter is also playable believe it or not. Unlocked by completing the final Extra mission, “Ultimate Bomber”. Unsurprisingly, it’s a pretty epic unit when compared to the other variable fighters. So if you had fun with that then you may want to make a pre-order for its release on the 19th December. To finish off, it seems only fair to show a little video of the Quarter kicking a large amount of Vajra behind as well as footage of the toy itself. Enjoy!
After the announcement of the upcoming Transformers game, Activision have followed it up with a debut trailer that doesn’t really show very much to be honest. In addition, it’s pretty obvious that it doesn’t feature gameplay footage either. Still, for those curious about the designs it does show more in terms of the stylistic approach. Narratively, it looks as though the game is set before the Transformers arrival on Earth. This would explain their more angular and generally futuristic aesthetic. Along with the trailer, there is now an official site for the game.
