4Gamer have managed to cover two new gameplay videos for Carnage Heart EXA. The first video shows the traditional AI controlled OKEs battling it out based of the programming they’ve been given, whereas the second video shows the manual control mode in action. It’s clear that Artdink’s recent mecha gaming expertise on the PSP has paid dividends with EXA. Whilst we were deeply disappointed with Gundam Assault Survive, it’s nice to see Artdink go back to their roots like this and it’s clear from this videos that EXA will be excellent.

Over at 4Gamer they’ve got a few updates regarding Artdink’s upcoming Carnage Heart EXA for the PSP. From nice new screenshots to a promo video, it seems that Artdink are keen to promote this game as being something of a genuine continuation for the series. What’s slightly odd about the promo video, shown below, is that the opening explosion montage is actually from the film Starman. Why they decided to choose that is somewhat of a mystery to us. In any case, seeing the new variety of OKEs the game will offer is rather encouraging and we can’t wait to get our hands on the game when it comes out in October.

As part of Bandai’s increasingly infuriating Tamashii Web shop exclusives, they have finally announced that they’ll be releasing Soul of Chogokin Spec toys of both the Dragonar 2 and 3 units from Metal Armor Dragonar. Now, Dragonar has had somewhat of a resurgence since it was featured in all three of the PS2 Another Century’s Episode games (though it had obviously been featured in a multitude of Super Robot Wars games prior to that). Up and till this point however, Bandai had only released toys of the Dragonar 1, specifically two variants of the design; one with original proportions from the show and another that was stylised by Masami Obari. These new toys obviously seem to fall into the latter Obari stylised camp, not that we’re complaining. At present it’s not clear whether these toys will also sport the “lifters”, backpacks with wings on effectively, that were used in the show but we may see more options surface in the oncoming months. Both toys will be released in December, though you’ll obviously have needed to pre-order them online first. Personally, we’re holding out for the day when they finally release a Dragonar 1 Custom.

Recently at E3 2010, Bungie in cooperation with Idea Planet unveiled life size statues of Noble Team, from the upcoming Halo:Reach. The Spartan III battle armors have taken a significant aesthetic change from the series’s prior genre convention power armor, and seem to have undergone a heavily militarized look. While not quite resembling the masterful Starship Trooper’s OVA cap troopers, designed by Miyatake Kazutaka, the Spartan III armors seem to suggest a greater sense of realism and actual mobility. Previously mentioned on this site, the growing influence of Yutaka Izubuchi’s GM Sniper II becomes even more apparent in Halo:Reach as evidenced by the Spartan III armor’s customizable visors and magnifying optics. In the video, the lead artist briefly explains the delicate construction of the statues and gives the viewer a good perspective on just how large the actual Spartans are.

The wondrous Armored Core For Answer has had a selection of rather nifty fan based animations since its release in 2008. The one below shows the face off between White Glint and Stasis, with the track Dragon Dive from the game’s soundtrack playing in the background (though our choice would have probably been The Bloody Honey Cannot Stop). Thanks to therumblefish77 for the heads up and enjoy the video linked below!

Gametrailers recently uploaded an interesting dev diary for the upcoming Front Mission Evolved, as it covers a lot of ground on how the new game is handling the classic wanzers. From customisation to the three available leg types the game will offer, it’s all pretty standard Front Mission fare. However, one comment especially from Michael Willette (the game’s lead producer) concerns us. Specifically, around the 4:50 mark he talks about the responsive controls being something no-other mecha game has yet offered. From the various reports from E3, as well as before that, it’s clear that the jury’s still very much out on that statement. In addition, that kind of comment is a pretty bold claim considering the scope of mecha gaming. After all, games like Armored Core For Answer have the player travel in excess of 2,000 km/h just in normal gameplay. I’m not sure how much more responsive you can get from that without your eyeballs/hands melting. In any case bold comments infused with testicular fortitude aside, we’re still curious to check the game out come its September release.

Over an 2chan they’ve managed to uncover (via a scan from this month’s Hobby Japan) the truth behind the mysterious animated gif we reported on Tamashii Web. It turns out that the next Composite Ver. Ka, a new toy range personally supervised by renowned Japanese mecha designer Hajime Katoki, will be none other than his very own design of the MBV-04-G Temjin from the original Dennou Senki Virtual On (they’ve even updated the image banner on the Tamashii Web site to this effect too – despite still using the Oratan font). This is not the first time an original Temjin toy has surfaced, as SEGA made a selection of toys back in the late 90’s. In any case, Temjin is by far and away our favourite VR from the series, not only in terms of functionality but also due to its clean and classic aesthetic. What’s nice with this new Composite Ver. Ka toy is that it will also feature the rail gun used by the initial prototype (something that you see in the leaderboards background in the game itself). If you’ve never played the original Virtual On (shame on you!), then the SEGA AGES PS2 port is unarguably the best version to date and in some ways even eclipses the arcade original, as you can force a higher framerate amongst many other things (you can also still buy it here). Though the PS2 port does lack sticks, unless you mod a pair of old Saturn ones (like we did). In commemoration of this toy announcement it only seems fit to show the original game in all its wondrous glory and be sure to check out our feature on the Virtual On games too. Enjoy!

Over at Gametrailers they’ve managed to capture some surprisingly steady hand camera footage for a multiplayer game in Front Mission Evolved. Much like the older videos, it seems the mecha handling still has no real discernible weight. As such there’s no penalty with momentum between dashes, which makes the movement look very jerky. On the one hand the reasoning behind this choice is pretty obvious; as it means more gamers will have an easier time with the mecha handling learning curve but the downside to all this is that the mecha control will plateau very quickly in terms of player skill (something not entirely ideal for a game with online multiplayer). Naturally, we’ll reserve judgment on our review come September but these videos do continue to fill our robotic hearts with a palpable sense of foreboding.

The upcoming Killzone 3 will be featuring an interesting new power armour of Helghast design. For those that played the last game, this shouldn’t be too surprising as the latter parts of the campaign also featured playable mecha too. What’s interesting, in the wider sense at least, is that Killzone 3 is another entry in an increasing list of upcoming games games that are folding in mecha based functionality into their make-up. From Gears of War 3 to the continued usage of Walkers in Red Faction Armageddon, not to mention Vanquish as well. It seems that the benefits of mecha are finally being explored and appreciated in the broader gaming context.

We meant to cover this a good while back but lots of new games have been kicking off, so it got lost amongst that. In any case, the wondrous Border Break has been receiving numerous updates via the BB.tv channel, showing off the new blast runners as well as the new maps. What’s most striking in the video below is how much faster the game has become since we reviewed it. Whilst we greatly enjoyed the slower pacing before the Ver 1.5 update, as it made matches feel very tactical, it seems that this speed increase is something that’s quite short range and localised. As such we’re inclined to think that this development is actually a positive one, as it’s merging both the tactics that occur at range and a more instinctive approach to closer range combat.