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 issue of Famitsu, as promised, has a very nice feature on the the upcoming Armored Core 5. Apart from the confirmation the game is coming to PS3 and 360, the other surprising elements are how it confirms the return to the older style gameplay seen in the earlier games. In that, the original Armored Core was influenced by VOTOMS. The mecha were mass produced and featured hardpoints for weapons and other equipment. The difference was that the mecha in Armored Core were around 10 to 15 metres in height. In Armored Core 5, the mecha are now much smaller and at around 5 metres tall. This is roughly the same height as an armored trooper from VOTOMS.

In addition to the size change, the game will apparently feature longer missions than before with more complex environments (this most probably being a follow on from Demon’s Souls level design). Apparently, according to rumours on a few Japanese blogs, the Xbox game Metal Wolf Chaos was also used as a functional benchmark early on in development, which would make sense as the main mecha in that game is around the same height and the environments are quite pyrotechnic. At present Armored Core 5 is at 20% completion, however the game has been in production already for almost 2 years, so we’re not sure with what that percentage exactly corresponds to.

Update: Famitsu online has also run a piece on AC5 too, it also talks about a new “Overed Weapon” function – similar to the Overboost in a way – but it acts as a performance modifier on your weapons. This may tie into the transforming AC head we saw in the trailer in some way.

Update 2: Over at 1up Kevin Gifford has translated a lot more of Nabeshima’s comments about AC5, separately there’s also talk that AC5 will feature “more realistic parts designs” so the mecha will feel more believable.

Senjou no Kizuna, as in that Gundam arcade game with a panoramic cockpit, is getting another update with some rule changes and two new mobile suits. The latter are the MS-08TX (EXAM) Efreet Custom and the RX-79BD-2 Blue Destiny Unit 2, both of which come from the Saturn Blue Destiny trilogy and were piloted by the games’ main antagonist, Nimbus Schterzen. The Efreet is a unique design, as it pops up a lot in the better Gundam games. A new version, the MS-08TX/N Efreet Nacht, also appeared in the recent PS3 game Gundam Senki 0081. The original design came from the Super Famicom game Cross Dimension 0079 in case you’re wondering. The two new suits will also use the EXAM system once they reach critically low health, consequently giving them a performance boost. Both will also be available tomorrow on the 13th January.

A chap by the name of “Aaron C.” has made a custom pair of TwinSticks for the Saturn port of Virtual On out of some cookingware and old joysticks. It’s a good piece of modding but the question remains; why the Saturn version? After all, Sega over produced the original TwinSticks and they are consequently readily available. Still, hats off for his initiative and he also states that he might come up with a Saturn/360 controller adapter, so he can use it on the recent XBLA port of Oratan. If you’re at all curious about the Virtual On games, we a have a very thorough feature about the series here on the site. Thanks to Persona for the heads up.

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!

For those unfamiliar with the Armored Core games, we’ve compiled a feature covering the older games as well as reviewed both Armored Core 4 and For Answer.

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.

Which translate roughly to: Violent, Weapons, Scale, Fire, Rain, Battlefield

Thanks to lordnikon for pointing this out.

Over at Play Asia they have a US copy of Bangai-O Spirits going for a very good price indeed. Admittedly, they also stock the Japanese version too, but that’s a bit pricier and obviously not localised into English. If you’re at all curious about the Bangai-O series of games, then we have a very comprehensive feature that not only covers the gaming origins but also the wider mecha pantheon influences too (the latter is often disappointingly overlooked by most gaming sites, despite the fact they have a tangible presence in the games). Thanks to Tiny Cartridge for the heads up on the Play Asia deal.

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!

Much like the other Valken figure we recently mentioned, this one features the same booster pack but in the traditional green colours (instead of desert camouflage). This was released at last year’s Winter Comiket as a special figure. Thankfully, Tokyo Hunter is taking orders and at 1000 yen it’s a very nice bargain to boot.

A group of intrepid fans have translated the entirety of Front Mission 5: Scars of the War on the PS2 into English (you’ll have to scroll down a bit to see the news post about the translation, posted 29 December 2009; for some reason there’s no way to link to individual posts). The amount of work that went into this project is simply colossal, and is a testament to the power of dedicated fans. The Front Mission games are a series of incredible tactical RPGs, along with a few, more action-oriented side games, with both incredibly realistic mecha and storylines. The mecha in the game (“wanzers”) work by a part system not completely dissimilar from that of Armored Core’s, so the tactical RPG portions are also unique in terms of game mechanics, as more control is given to the player to develop specializations and strategies with their given team. The translation team gave a long but very interesting interview that goes into more detail about the project and just what makes the Front Mission series so special that it engenders such dedicated fans.

Those of you looking for something a bit less epic will likely be happy with an also recent translation of Metal Storm for the NES. While an English version already existed, it had the opening intro and boss text cut out, along with some other changes. Not only is that mecha’s sprite impressively detailed for an NES game, but the gravity-reversing mechanic is used not as a gimmick but as an essential gameplay feature, requiring the player to fundamentally change the way they looks at the game’s stages and enemies’ attacks.