Posted on : 16-02-2011 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos
Posted on : 15-02-2011 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos
Posted on : 14-02-2011 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos
Posted on : 09-02-2011 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos

What with Wonder Festival 2011 Winter going on, a bunch of places online have been reporting the event. Whilst the unnerving majority of the figures being shown are of scantily clad ladies, there are also still a fair few mecha on display. Specifically the announcement of a RIOBOT figure of Detonator Orgun, that was featured in Super Robot Wars W, to the somewhat more niche Cloud Breaker 01 kit from Murakumo.
Whilst this is yet another cool looking kit from PLUM, of prior Leynos fame, the Murakumo mecha are curious due to the man who penned them. Specifically, that of Takayuki Yanase who’s had a rather gilded career as a mecha designer in his own right since he left From Software. Something that From Software have been keen to capitalise on, as this design was featured (albeit modified) in the first Another Century’s Episode, not to mention the Ixbrau units Yanese exclusively designed for Another Century’s Episode 3. He even worked on the OG mecha for Super Robot Wars W too. In any case, whilst Murakumo was a pretty wonky game the designwork was lovely. So this is yet another kit that’s been added to our wish list.
If you want to have a gander at the remaining reportage for the current Wonder Festival, then GA Graphic and AkibaHobby (pages here and here) should satiate your needs. A mild warning though, as some of those links aren’t exactly work safe. We’ve also included some videos of the Cloud Breaker 01 in action below.


Posted on : 03-02-2011 | By : Cacophanus | In : Videos

In the latest issue of Famitsu more details about Armored Core 5 have surfaced. From the news that Bandai Namco will be publishing this worldwide to the increased focus on online multiplayer, it seems that From Software have been quite busy. Regarding online play, the game will be based around players forming teams and undertaking a form of territorial conquest, with whoever taking the most territory winning. Teams are of 5 players a piece, with 4 in traditional Armored Cores and the fifth in a new command unit. If all this sounds familiar, then you’re not alone. This setup was used very successfully in From Software’s other mecha game Chrome Hounds. With the reduced size of the mecha the levels consequently require more strategy too, which is where the whole commander setup comes in. For those concerned about the absence of a singleplayer segment, there will be an option for this but the main online campaign is intended to be an almost meta-campaign. Again, this is a follow on from the Neroimus War concept seen in Chrome Hounds. What with this new information regarding the online setup, as well as the previous nods by From Software to games like Metal Wolf Chaos, it really seems as though they are cherry picking design elements from their previous games and merging them with how Armored Core used to traditionally work. All of this is clearly brilliant and Armored Core 5 could turn out to be something genuinely special. The game is set for a 2011 release in Japan but no actual dates as yet.
Update: Famitsu now has some screenshots on their site. These show the commander view as well a front end war menu, so it is indeed very Chrome Hounds (as we suspected). Bandai Namco have also mentioned the fact that Armored Core 5 will be released in 2012 for Europe and America (rather than this year as was previously stated).

