Good news: it seems that English speakers are getting an actual Gundam game localized overseas, even if it’s decidedly the least ‘mecha’ of the Gundam games, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3. The US site gives the release date as June 28th 2011, and Europe gets it a few days later, on July 1st 2011.

Needless to say, fans of pressing the X and Y buttons for hours on end will be chomping at the bit to play this, but despite the repetitive gameplay of the first two games I also have to admit that I have 200 hours of play time split between them. The third installment doesn’t seem to change the formula so it’s hard to recommend it, but the Dynasty Warriors series is as long-lived as it is for a reason; sometimes you don’t need the depth of Armored Core, but just want to hammer away at 1,000 Zakus for fifteen minutes, or play something split-screen with a friend without them needing a half-hour tutorial. And, unfortunately, mecha fans don’t exactly have much to pick from in terms of Gundam games in English, and being able to take part in the epic finale to Zeta Gundam is often worth suffering through occasionally mindless gameplay.

The English trailer shows off the new cel-shaded graphics, and seeing the Turn A Gundam again–now accompanied by the absolutely godlike Kapools–does my metallic robot heart some good.

The latest live stream footage for Armored Core V, from the first of two extended sessions, is now archived (we’ve linked it below). For those that found the first session a bit hysterical, then you’ll be happy to hear that this session is much more grounded. Mostly because it is handled by the people at From Software themselves excluding the somewhat unnecessary “tarento” that were present in the first session, with Toshifumi Nabeshima (effectively the father of Armored Core) in the driving seat for most of the time. With each passing day, the more we learn and see of Armored Core V in action the more we feel compelled to build a time machine and zip forward to the game’s October release.

Similar to a post we made back in 2009, GameSetWatch have found another industrious individual has taken the epic Steel Battalion controller and used it for
DJ-ing purposes. Called the “Zero System”, no doubt a nod to Gundam Wing, The Asterite as he’s known also has two additional joysticks to help him mix. Again, we always find this re-purposing of gaming hardware pretty nifty and we’re always happy to see more use made out of the brilliant Steel Battalion controller.

The much anticipated live demo for Armored Core V has been and gone. Thankfully From Software archived the 2 hours plus of footage (shown below). The highlights, for us anyway, were the all new scan and combat modes for the HUD (with scan mode shown above) as well as the fact that the combat looked utterly bloody amazing. For those concerned that ACV would be slower than the last two games, don’t worry. Whilst it looks more manageable now, you’ll be boosting all over the place in what can only be described as ecstatic abandon. In short, October cannot come soon enough for us.

Out of the ashes from the team that brought you the Warhawk reboot, comes an all new game in the same vein. Entitled Starhawk, the game is fundamentally similar to Warhawk but with two major changes; an RTS element and a bipedal mecha mode for the jets. Considering that the hover mode in Warhawk was a semi-mecha themed mode anyway, this sounds like a good fit. Unfortunately, the mecha are entirely groundbased and look a tad clunky (no boosting basically). We’re obviously hoping it won’t turn out like the dreadful Bayformer cash ins but we wish the team luck.

It finally seems that Solatorobo will be given a Western release. Though weirdly it appears to be only in Europe at present, specifically for July 1st. In addition, Nintendo are handling the European release rather than Namco Bandai, who published the game in Japan. From what we played at last year’s TGS, the game was really interesting. We’re just glad it’s finally getting localised. The official English trailer is shown below.

The rather brilliant and much anticipated Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury has hit XBLA today. For only 800 MSP you can spew missiles at teeny enemies to your hearts content. This new game also sports online co-op, which is a pretty cool addition really. In any case, we’re just glad the game is finally out as we loved it at last year’s TGS. Again, if you’re at all curious about the Bangai-O games then make sure to check out our feature on the very subject.

The upcoming PSP game Gundam Memories received its first trailer recently which shows some gameplay footage. It’s clear already that this game will not be akin to Artdink’s Gundam Battle series but instead far closer to Yuke’s Gundam 00 Meisters game. Specifically in the way that combat is on a relatively fixed horizontal plane and the use of somewhat odious quick time events (which are now being called “Special Triggers”). Whilst it’s technically impressive what they’re getting out of the PSP, the game itself has us less interested than it did before. Plus, there’s also the unfortunate association with the ill conceived PS2 swansong Gundam Climax UC as the game operated similarly. There’s also a new write up over on 4Gamer as well, with some new screenshots.

Say it ain’t so, Irem. First it was a rumor, and then that rumor was confirmed. Irem, the game’s developer, was perhaps the hardest hit of any game company by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, for they cancelled their big game release for this year, Disaster Report 4, because of the obvious similarity of the game’s hypothetical scenario and the very real nightmare that Japan was currently living. Having their big budget game pulled out from under them at the last second likely caused Irem to reassess their financial situation, and continuing work on Bumpy Trot 2, or as it is known in the West, Steambot Chronicles 2, probably seemed impossible – especially given its vaporware nature, being first shown at Tokyo Game Show 2006 and only sporadically talked about since.

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.