In the latest issue of Famitsu more details about Armored Core 5 have surfaced. From the news that Bandai Namco will be publishing this worldwide to the increased focus on online multiplayer, it seems that From Software have been quite busy. Regarding online play, the game will be based around players forming teams and undertaking a form of territorial conquest, with whoever taking the most territory winning. Teams are of 5 players a piece, with 4 in traditional Armored Cores and the fifth in a new command unit. If all this sounds familiar, then you’re not alone. This setup was used very successfully in From Software’s other mecha game Chrome Hounds. With the reduced size of the mecha the levels consequently require more strategy too, which is where the whole commander setup comes in. For those concerned about the absence of a singleplayer segment, there will be an option for this but the main online campaign is intended to be an almost meta-campaign. Again, this is a follow on from the Neroimus War concept seen in Chrome Hounds. What with this new information regarding the online setup, as well as the previous nods by From Software to games like Metal Wolf Chaos, it really seems as though they are cherry picking design elements from their previous games and merging them with how Armored Core used to traditionally work. All of this is clearly brilliant and Armored Core 5 could turn out to be something genuinely special. The game is set for a 2011 release in Japan but no actual dates as yet.

Update: Famitsu now has some screenshots on their site. These show the commander view as well a front end war menu, so it is indeed very Chrome Hounds (as we suspected). Bandai Namco have also mentioned the fact that Armored Core 5 will be released in 2012 for Europe and America (rather than this year as was previously stated).

With the PSP game around the corner, Anime News Network have found a cool promo for the Danball Senki anime set for release at the beginning of March. It seems that the anime will closely follow the events in the game and will act as a companion series of sorts. In any case, the production value from the promo alone is pretty damn impressive and many of the villains have a suitably Mitsuteru Yokoyama vibe to them (which is absolutely a good thing in our book).

From what we played at last year’s TGS, Danball Senki looks to be a spiritual successor to games like Custom Robo Battle Revolution and Gotcha Force. Whilst many gamers have already gone somewhat (and admittedly rightfully) batshit insane over the forthcoming Ni no Kuni, Danball Senki is still a pretty worthy title as far as we’re concerned. Plus this is Level 5 we’re talking about here, so it’s blatantly going to be awesome. The game is still set for its March 17th release and you can pre-order it here.

Over at Anime News Network they’re reporting the news that a live Macross Frontier concert will be held within Home. Despite the obvious Macross Plus/Sharon Apple nerd association of attending a virtual concert performed by human controlled CG characters, it does sound pretty cool and not at all life threatening. In terms of when the event will be kicking off, both Aya Endo and Megumi Nakajima seem keen (in the video below at least) to point us at the official Twitter account. This is obviously in advance of the forthcoming movie released at the end of February and with Macross Triangle Frontier released just in a few weeks too, it’s getting pretty busy for us Macross fans.

Over the years there have been a fair few attempts at making a cogent Eureka Seven game. From the misguided attempts by Bandai, in the form of New Wave and New Vision respectively, to the somewhat better approach seen in Another Century’s Episode 3 and Portable. Well, there’s now a new game made by fans using the Unity engine. Called Lift, it offers some pretty damn cool multiplayer action with suitably comprehensive controls. The latter is important to emphasise, this game has been made without functional compromise; surfing mecha through the sky isn’t meant to be easy. It’s also wonderfully free, so there’s no excuse not to play it really. The playable roster of mecha is pretty focused but there’s more than enough to keep multiplayer games interesting. For those that can’t wait to surf the trapar in their LFO, then you can download the game here.

The near launch title for the 3DS, Gundam The 3D Battle has received its first promo video via the official site (shown below). It also turns out that this game is in fact being developed by Artdink and will be part of their ongoing Gundam Battle series. Whilst we weren’t impressed with the recent Gundam Assault Survive, the other games have been mostly excellent (with Gundam Battle Universe being notable). What does slightly freak us out though is the insanely large lock-on icon seen in this new game and whilst we get it’s meant to be in 3D you do feel they’ve overdone it a bit. It’s also painfully obvious that the game will re-use much of the same content seen in the PSP Gundam Battle games too, however we are happy to see that Gundam Unicorn will be represented in the game (which is at least something). Famitsu also has a selection of nice screenshots and it also seems that the cover art has been penned by Naochika Morishita yet again. The game is scheduled for a March 24th release at 6,090 yen.

What with the Macross Triangle Frontier’s release around the corner, we’ve been treated to a new promo video for the game. Voiced by Ranka and Sheryl, it spends an unnerving amount of time enthusing about the new Academy Mode. Where the player will be able to live the life of heady student in the Macross Frontier fleet. 4Gamer also has a slew of brand new screenshots too, showing off a variety of new variable fighters for the player to use. We’re just happy to see the VF-9 Cutlass (pictured above) and the VA-1SS Metal Siren in game. The game is still set for a February 3rd release in Japan and you can pre-order it here.

The upcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 has received it’s first promo video, shown below. This is comprised of the game’s opening cinematic, so nothing gameplay related but it looks very cool nonetheless. 4Gamer also has some coverage regarding the fact that this game will be part of the 20th Anniversary of SRW (as the first game was released on the GameBoy way back in 1991). To commemorate this announcement, three PSone SRW games will be released on the 26th January via the Japanese PSN store. These are SRW2, SRW3 and SRW EX. For those that want to pre-order SRWZ 2 then you can do so here, in advance of its April 14th release.

It goes without saying that pachinko machines in Japan are quite the curiosity. Never-mind the bizarre legal waters that they tread; it’s how hard they try to dazzle one’s senses that’s most amusing. It’s not easy, asking someone to waste away his or her hard earned cash, not on some kick-ass fighter or shooter, but on a game of chance that involves watching little silver balls that rain down. With the goal being to earn even more little silver balls, to then be cashed out for silly prizes that can be exchanged for money by some shifty Yakuza around the corner from the pachinko parlor. One proven tactic has been to tap into popular film, television programs, and anime (naturally); many machines are undeniably amusing, but hardly anything to write home about. Except for Fever Macross…

The next episode of Gundam Unicorn is around the corner, with its PlayStation Network airing occurring in early March (again in advance of the DVD and Blu Ray release in April). The episode is called “Laplace no Boumei” (or the “Ghost of Laplace”) and features a new song by Chemistry called “merry-go-round”. The promo video is shown below and for those that have been fans of the NZ-666 Kshatriya then you may want to avert your eyes.

The upcoming DLC pack for Gundam Musou 3 featuring the GNX-Y901TW Susanowo (as piloted by the anachronistically titled MISTAH BUSHIDO) and a new mission called “For the Future” will hit this Thursday. 4Gamer has some nice screenshots of the new mobile suit too. The pack will cost 600 yen (PS3) and 480 MSP (360) respectively.