In the latest issue of Famitsu, it’s been announced that the upcoming Armored Core V will not only be released (in Japan) sometime in October, at a price point of 7,800 yen, but also that a closed beta will occur before that. In terms of player applications to the beta, From Software will be releasing details about that shortly. In any case, this is very good news either way. Mainly on account of the fact it will massively improve the online QA process, as well as allow From Software to deal with server load issues before the game is released. Whilst we don’t think this is by any means a silver bullet it will make a huge difference to the end game.

Separately, the Famitsu also references several new boosting mechanics; glide, charge, high, jump, drive, and drift. Whether these will sit atop the traditional boosting/movement setup or replace it entirely remains to be seen. Finally, don’t forget that the live stream of the game is still happening on the 13th.

The next in the Composite Ver Ka toy line will be the wonderful Cybuster from Super Robot Wars. Unlike the other Ver Ka figures, this one lacks the overt decals and seems to keep more traditional proportions. Whether the Super Robot Chogokin toy of the Cybuster will still surface after this remains to be seen however. The Ver Ka Cybuster is planned for a Jully release at 5,800 yen and You can preorder the toy here.

The live demo event for Armored Core V originally planned in March, that was obviously delayed on account of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th, is now back on. Scheduled for the 13th May at 9pm (Japan time, obviously), Famitsu will also be hosting a live stream of the event too. In addition, the official Armored Core site is now also hosting a new questionnaire for fans of the series to fill in.

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.

In a comment over on the official Facebook page for Armored Core V, From Software have confirmed that the game will indeed use dedicated servers (on account of their new partnership with Namco Bandai). Naturally, for a game to boast such a thorough online setup it makes sense for the investment of a dedicated server setup. Hopefully the servers won’t get arbitrarily shut down like they did on Chrome Hounds though. There’s also another interview up on Dengeki Online talking more about the story missions (amongst other things). With each new update, it seems that Armored Core V could shape up to be something truly special.

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.

In the latest edition of Famitsu, Armored Core V’s new Mercenary System has been partially outlined. In that teams lacking in members can pay other players to help build up their ranks. No word on how the pricing works as yet, but the whole soldier of fortune vibe does chime in with series’ history very nicely (as that’s effectively what Ravens were anyway). Team members can also moonlight as mercenaries too apparently.

Separately, it’s been also revealed that the story mode will be much more substantial than previous games. As many of the core game missions will be around 20 to 60 minutes in length, as well as featuring multiple dramatic cutscenes. These will be playable via online co-op too. In addition there will also be shorter “order” missions available, that sound more akin to a beefed up arena but with a mission based context. The latter total up to around 70 missions in all.

Finally, there’s also a new Dengeki Online interview with the game’s and series’ producer Toshifumi Nabeshima. We’ll try and condense the salient points over the next few days.

Update: 4Gamer has a selection of new screenshots as well. Showing more of what appears to be the new HUD as well as various laser blade concept art (some of which look decidedly chainsaw-esque).

A new gameplay trailer for the recently announced Hawken went live yesterday. This shows the game from a first person cockpit view. In short, it’s looking bloody impressive and the mecha appear to handle very nicely too. What’s interesting is that due to the size of the mecha (as in a couple of metres) they’ve managed to keep a solid FPS framework and still infer some weight, without doing the dumb thing of treating 20 metre tall mecha like a human being. In any case, the trailer is shown below.

What with the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, many gaming events were understandably cancelled. With the live demo of Armored Core V being no exception. However, both the official site and Facebook page have had a few little updates. Notably the fact that our friends the flaming chainsaws of doom are still very much present in the game. This, understandably, makes us happy as chainsaws are normally awesome and doubly so when they’re on fire.

There are plans to reschedule the live demo though but what with rolling power cuts affecting most of the Kanto region (which includes Tokyo in case you’re wondering), then things like this do somewhat get put on the backburner. Once we know more we’ll obviously post it here.

Kotaku has posted a brief interview with team leader Khang Le at Adhesive Games, the developer making the just announced Hawken. Apart from the reassuring knowledge that the game will be very much real robot in focus, Le also cites the mecha designer Kow Yokoyama as a strong influence for the mecha in Hawken (with Maschinen Krieger, aka SF3D, being notable). Yokoyama is a very interesting mecha designer, as his work melds insect like organic shapes with very gritty industrial elements. He’s also no stranger to games, from the original mecha designs in Front Mission to those in Carnage Heart and Phantom Crash/S.L.A.I., with the latter being especially relevant in the case of Hawken. In any case, the more we hear about this game the more we want to play it.