Last November; Indie developer Dreamloop Games released Stardust Galaxy Warriors to Steam, and… well. It seems hardly anyone noticed. Ourselves included.

What is it? It’s a casual, mecha themed shmup game featuring local co-op. It’s also sporting some great stage visuals, as well as an incredibly fun soundtrack which you can actually listen to here! It’s also available for purchase on Steam. You can choose from 4 different mecha, each with their own abilities, as well as selecting your weapon setup before launching. The game also boasts some light RPG elements, as you can choose different upgrades after beating a stage. This game certainly is fun, and if you’re the kind of person who likes to customize their experience; you can switch things up in the options. Giving you the options for things like enemy durability, fire rate, and more. The game can change as you want it.

With just 38 reviews on steam right now, this title really didn’t receive a lot of attention. Something I don’t quite understand. While researching the game in order to write this small article, I’ve found those who have played it seem to love it. The devs are nothing to turn your nose up at either it seems, as they’re quite passionate and really care about providing a quality product. As this Steam review I found highlights. I really look forward to seeing what Dreamloop has in store for the future. You can view the trailer for Stardust Galaxy Warriors below.

If like me you saw Fallout 4’s power armour, and began to imagine the Gundam or mecha related possibilities in that through modding. Then like me you’re probably pretty disappointed, and a little confused at the lack of such mods. Even after almost 6 months since release, and more than a week since the G.E.C.K was released… Nadda, zip, zilch, and boy have I looked.

It’s not all bad news however, as mod author Artesia58 came up with a sound effects replacement mod named Ultimate Robot Sound that replaces the standard power armor sounds with ones from Mobile Suit Gundam. Not only that but an optional file also replaces the laser rifle’s stock sfx with that of the Gundam’s famous beam rifle, the V.A.T.S noise with the Newtype flash, AND replaces the “flames” paint scheme for the T-45 power armour with a Char’s Custom scheme instead. Over all I’m pretty impressed, and it works really well in game. It’s just tons of fun.

I went ahead and made a small video to demo the mod, which you can view below. So if you’ve got Fallout 4 and you really want a little more Gundam in it. I can’t recommend this mod highly enough.

Having completed the playable demo available via Steam, here a few of my first impressions for the upcoming indie mecha game Dual Gear.

No bugs encountered, just a few rough edges. As expected. Game play was pretty intuitive, and I didn’t really need to bother with the tutorial at all. Battle system is a real time, strategy/turn based hybrid with movement based auto counter attacking. So positioning will be key. AI is pitifully stupid right now. You can avoid most damage by using terrain as cover. The AI will attack you as if you’re out in the open. Graphics are pleasing, clean. Needs some refining, as I am seeing a lot of jagged edges even with all settings maxed on 1080p. Speaking of. The game doesn’t appear to be a graphical power house but it was really working my GTX970. Even experiencing some odd surges in power needed. In spite of this, it still ran above 60 frames per-second without issue.

The UI could use a bit of work. Just to make things a tad clearer. The info it displayed felt muddy, not obvious as to what it was telling me. The mecha featured were well designed aesthetically, and made me quite eager to see what the customization will add to that. The combat was fun to engage in. The missiles and long range cannon were really fun to use, and made short work of enemies. Melee was confusing at first. Looks like it’s a timing based attack(at least with the sword). The blowing off of limbs is fun to watch as well. You can free aim weapons, but it didn’t appear to me that you could specifically target areas of the body. As long as your reticule was on the enemy, you just fired center mass.

This demo was simply fun. It really does remind me of games such as Front Mission, Armored Core, and a bit of Sakura Taisen

Now, you must keep in mind. All of this is Pre-Alpha. So a it is very early build of the game we’re seeing here, all of this then is subject to change. Although it’s already shaping up to be a great new mecha intellectual property.

The folks behind many fine gaming mice, keyboards and other products are cooking up a treat for MechWarrior Online. Razer’s still in development controller, named Artemis, was shown off at this past E3. You can see some pictures here.

As it is still in development, what you see here is likely to change somewhat from now to release. Though what we have now is quite lovely, if I don’t say so myself. From left to right we see a 12 key console with sliding throttle, a centre section featuring an 8 inch monitor to be used in conjunction with the game’s main screen, and finally an adjustable flight stick featuring force-feedback. The unit will also feature fully programmable button combinations (macros). For example; you would be able to bind one key of the 12 to fire a volley a missiles, followed by a barrage of laser fire, topped off with a peppering of autocannons.

We might also point out that this is the first time since the original Steel Battalion, that a mecha game has had a similarly complex controller of its very own (the recent HORI TwinSticks are pretty simple by comparison). We’re quite excited indeed and cannot wait to get our hands on this beauty.

Frustrated with Armored Core V’s regional server structure, one person has taken it upon himself to create an open petition to Bandai Namco; to merge the North American, European and Australian servers into one large server. You can find the petition here.

It’s no secret that Armored Core has never exactly been big outside of Japan. Sure, we few mecha gaming fans have played and loved them for years but the general population has, for the most part, skimmed over the franchise. So to start off with the player base is small but to then make it smaller yet, by braking the online players up from region to region, is a bit of a kick in the side. They meant well though. They just wanted to decrease server lag for us, which is a nice thought.

If the servers were to merge, we would have a great many more opportunities for territory matches, the online would feel more alive and I think all around more robust (albeit perhaps slightly laggier). While I’m not sure if Bandai Namco will listen to the pleas made by this petition, I do believe that at the very least, Bamco will take notice, and think about what the players want. Besides the petition’s stated goal, many people hope that it will bring with it the patches required to bring the game inline with its Japanese counterpart, which would be a very welcome thing indeed.

TimeGate Studios has released Section 8: Prejudice to the Xbox Live Marketplace today. This of course being the sequel to the not so well received Section 8, released in 2009. Listening to criticism from critics and fans alike, TimeGate has promised to fix or totally revamp much of what was wrong with the previous installment, while retaining, that which made the original…well, original.

So, while all of that is yet to be seen, one thing is for sure; power armor mayhem. Like its predecessor Prejudice will have wonderful Landmate-esque powered armor, to stomp, crush, and blow away your competition. Add to that a cacophony of vehicles, weapons, and customization options and you have yourself one hell of a game (or so we hope).

Now for those of you who actually own and have played the original Section 8, TimeGate has announced that they will be giving away “Loyalty Rewards” based on your player level in the first Section 8. The rewards are: For simply playing the original you get the Aegis Armor and Reactive Plating for your character, if you made it to level 25 then you get the Ablative Plating upgrade, and finally for those who reached level 50 you receive  the Explosives Amplifier upgrade.

A very nice gesture on TimeGate’s part if you ask me, and I’m fairly excited to play. Sadly, however, I will not receive any rewards. While Xbox owners can enjoy Section 8 today, PC and PS3 owners will have to wait a little longer. May 4th for PC users, and sometime in summer for PS3 users. You can purchase and play Section 8: Prejudice on your Xbox, right now for 1200 MSP. Additionally upon release on PC (through Steam and Games for Windows Marketplace), it will be $14.99 USD.

Back in the fall of 2009, TimeGate Studios released Section 8. A fairly robust, though nearly totally ignored, multiplayer shooter title for the Xbox 360, PC, and later the PS3. Although the game suffered from poor controls, it remained popular with those who had discovered this gem.

The game itself featured power armor clad soldiers, a variety of vehicles, weapons, custom load outs and even larger powered armor akin to Gasaraki’s Tactical Armors.

Although Section 8 was passed over by many. TimeGate, being an independent studio saw fit to make a sequel. Bigger. Better. Cheaper. Section 8: Prejudice seeks to correct many of the design flaws of its predecessor. The game will feature much of the same core game elements as the last and then some, as well as an all new single player campaign.

One feature that seems to be getting a little more focus is the heavier mecha you can purchase through play. Playing similar to some sort of Halo: Reach/Planetside mash up, Section 8: Prejudice promises to be a fun, engaging sci-fi shooter. Prejudice is set to come out early this year at a very affordable 14.99 (USD).