The VR Zone event space in Odaiba will be getting some changes to its playable game lineup, with one of these being a VOTOMS battle simulator (shown above). Released on July 15th, you will have to reserve a timeslot in order to visit the event (you can do that here). Each go costs around 700 yen and the duration of each battle will be approximately 8 minutes. I already visited VR Zone earlier this year and covered it for Forbes. It was an interesting setup and made me think that Bandai Namco is experimenting with VR for the arcades here in Japan. I am guessing this VOTOMS simulator also replaces the other mecha game, Argyle Shift that was developed by Sola Digital Arts (of Shinji Aramaki fame). It seems this new VOTOMS simulator was also developed in-house, which is a shame as I had hoped that they would have given it to Yuke’s, as their PS2 game was excellent. Getting to Odaiba isn’t too tough and I tend to use the Rinkai Line and get off at Tokyo Teleport. The walk to Diver City is a few minutes and it’s also where the life-sized Gundam is currently stationed. I will be checking out this VOTOMS simulator later this month, so will report back on that accordingly.

After a fair wait, the Assault Suits Leynos remake on PS4 is finally coming Westward on July 12th. I’ve already played the Japanese release and it’s not overtly great. It’s a real shame as Dracue made the excellent Gunhound but Leynos feels really vague in terms of its controls and movement. Compared to the pin-point precision expected of the player in the MegaDrive original, this PS4 remake is far more forgiving. It’s still a playable game though, unlike the PS2 version of Valken. This game is also not all that great visually either and after the amazing Leynos 2 on the Saturn, it feels like a big step back. Anyway, you’ll be able to check the game out for yourself on July 12th, so let me know what you think of it in the comments.

The English localised Asian release of Super Robot Wars OG The Moon Dwellers will be released on August 5th. While the Japanese version is out at the end of this month, I’ve held off on that version and have pre-ordered the Asian release. In the latest trailer (shown below) the game continues to look great and I can’t wait to finally play it. I am still in shock, albeit a rather pleasant type, that the game is getting an English version at all. The only sad point in all this is that winkysoft is no longer with us. If you haven’t already done so, you can pre-order the Asian release of the game here.

The latest footage from the upcoming PlayStation VR game Rigs looks actually decent (shown below). While it’s difficult to recreate VR based footage via straightforward video, the latest footage does a good job of conveying what the game will be like. It looks good too and better than I was expecting. My only minor gripe is that the weapon shot effects look somewhat lacklustre but I am willing to give the game some slack as it is a launch title for the new hardware and the rest of it looks good. The Japanese and Australian version of the game are listed for release on the 13th October, which would make sense as that also coincides with the release of PlayStation VR itself. It’s likely that the US release will be similar, considering how badly Sony needs games to support their new VR push.

Following the news that Super Robot Wars V is coming out next year on PS4 and Vita, as well as the awesome fact the game is getting a full English localization, we now have some very nice screenshots of the game to look at. The obvious weirdness in this iteration is the inclusion of Yamato 2199 but on the flipside we get Crossbone Gundam (shown above) and Hathaway’s Flash. As the game is getting an Asian release it also means Bandai Namco can bypass a lot of the licensing nonsense in the West and localize the game accordingly. Not to mention that both the PS4 and Vita are region free, means Bandai Namco has found a wondrous loophole to bring Super Robot Wars westward. Sadly, the game is out next year so we have a fair while to wait but in the meantime you can pre-order the English release here.

Along with Hawken coming to Xbox One, the game will also be released on PS4. The latest trailer (shown below) also clarifies that the game will also remain free-to-play on consoles. Considering that whole monetization setup killed Hawken on PC, I had hoped they would have gone back to the game’s origins and do something more standalone. I still think the fact that Hawken wasn’t released as a straightforward downloadable arcade game on the 360 is one of the biggest missed opportunities of the last console generation.

The game is now being handled by Reloaded Games and 505 Games. Thus far, they seem to be doing a better job than Meteor Entertainment did, as they pretty much killed the community through overt greed and incompetence. I feel sad for the old team at Adhesive Games though, as seeing their work resurrected like this must be difficult.

That said, Hawken is finally getting a wider release. Let’s hope that this time the game survives a bit better and finds the audience on console it so badly needs.

Following the first Titanfall released back in 2014, we now have an all-new and shinier Titanfall 2 on the way later this year. While the first game mostly serviced Xbros, this new game will also be coming out on PS4. The game looks good though and this time around there’s an actual proper singleplayer mode and the new grapple mechanics give me major Lost Planet 2 feels. While the singleplayer mecha setup looks interesting, in terms of narrative, the mecha themselves still look like they handle akin to people in robot suits.

Admittedly, the whole “Titans aren’t mecha” hilarity is probably worth bringing up here but I know that members of Respawn read this humble site and seem to enjoy it, so it’s clear that one guy’s slightly nutty viewpoint on mecha doesn’t represent a whole studio.

If I am brutally honest, while I personally enjoyed the first game, the mecha were dull to play with. This was proven out by the fact that both Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III only copied the powered suit parkour from Titanfall and eschewed the mecha. It’s a shame as the Titans looks amazing but I just wish they had been more vehicular in terms of their control, rather than just feel like a slow and heavy dude.

The singleplayer and multiplayer trailers are shown below and Titanfall 2 comes out this October.

The Akatsuki Gundam returns to the VS series in Gundam EXVS Maxi Boost On! Last seen in Gundam VS Gundam Next, the Akatsuki brings in more pack-switching action to the roster. Changing between the Oowashi and Shiranui pack allows for different movesets, similar to other pack-switching units like the Strike and Impulse before it. The Shiranui pack has its funnel-like dragoons to attack from long range or act as a beam shield similar to Nu Gundam. The Oowashi pack appears to provide more mobility and a better plethora of melee attacks. And it wouldn’t be the Akatsuki if it didn’t have its beam deflection ability. It will be interesting to see if it works on gerobi type attacks as well. Granted we won’t be seeing Maxi Boost On outside of Japanese arcades for a long time, check out the release trailer for the Akatsuki below!

Gematsu have recently reported the western release of Gundam Extreme VS Force will be digital-only. This comes to us as no surprise considering how late this is coming into the Vita’s life on top of the game’s niche status. Needless to say, if you’ll be wanting a physical copy of an English language version, you’ll have to go hunting for the Asian copy. Another note found in the recent teaser trailer is the fact that all the post launch updates and DLC units will be included right from the get go! No more worrying about missing out on Free Battle, Course Battle, and new units like Extreme Gundam Excellia when the game launches on July 12 next month. Until then, check out the latest teaser trailer below!

Bandai Namco have recently released update 1.04 for Gundam EXVS Force adding three more units to the roster and updating Free Battle to version 1.02. New to Force’s roster are the Tallgeese II, Gundam Virsago Chest Break, and the brand new Extreme Gundam Excellia from Maxi Boost. In Free Battle 1.02, you can now add NPCs and bosses to your matches. If you ever wanted to play against Big Zam and Psyco Gundam at the same time or have a boss on your team, now’s your chance! Hopefully we’ll see more updates come to Force in the near future, but until then check out the recent gameplay vid of Extreme Gundam Excellia below.