Super Robot Wars L was released today in Japan (you can buy it here). This is the latest game in the series to be hosted on the mighty DS and despite the extensive asset re-use, we’re still moderately pumped to play it.

Separately, the next Composite Ver. Ka toy will be that of the PTX-EX Exbein from the recent OG anime The Inspector. As with all Ver. Ka treatments it’s definitely been given the patented Katoki flair, but that’s not surprising from a mecha with shades.

Finally, there have been rumours floating around about a new PS3 2D SRW game. Entitled Super Robot Wars U, it would apparently feature mecha from Armored Core Nexus and Front Mission amongst a slew of others (even including Tetsujin 28-go). The only thing is that the article in Famitsu that “announced” it was actually meant as a hypothetical piece. So it’s not really a fake game per se, as Famitsu never intended the exercise as such, but it won’t be getting made any time soon. Whilst an obvious pity, as the line-up was several orders of epic, here’s hoping Banpresto follow it up with a real PS3 SRW announcement.

What with the launch of Gundam Musou 3 around the corner, 4Gamer have a nice bit of coverage for the game’s pre-launch ceremony. From the announcement of background online matchmaking (where players can battle away in the story only to have the game seeking online gamers to help them out), to the unsurprising reveal of forthcoming DLC. The latter will feature two mobile suits, the GNX-Y901TW Susanowo (piloted by one MISTAH BUSHIDO) and the NZ-666 Kshatriya, as well as maybe a new level or two. Pricing and release dates for the DLC haven’t been finalised as yet though. The really classy aspect of the event was how Bandai had rolled out Harutoshi Fukui – author of the original novels – to help pimp the various Gundam Unicorn awesomeness that will be in the game. In the meantime, enjoy some more videos of the game in action.

4Gamer has a a pretty epic selection of new screenshots for the upcoming Gundam Musou 3. In addition to the new four player online co-op, the game will also feature one of our favourite new mobile suit designs; that of the MSN-06S Sinanju, pictured above, from the amazing Gundam Unicorn (a series you can watch in very pretty HD via the PSN store on the PS3 no less). The game is still scheduled for a December 16th release in Japan and whilst there’s no official word on a Western release, it is highly likely as the last two games also made the jump abroad just fine.

The much anticipated Armored Core 5 has been officially delayed until next year. This is something that was intimated at this year’s TGS by the fact the game was noticeably absent. Ultimately this is good news though as the last thing a fresh reboot of the series needs is to be rushed to release. That said, From Software have started the early aspects of their marketing push by firing up their fan supporter setup, so expect more news on the game in the coming weeks.

One of the most renowned mecha series in gaming has to be that of Front Mission, as it has endured the test of time and indelibly made its mark on the genre. It’s practically a beloved heirloom these days and Square Enix had the right idea, or at least the semblance of one, when they tried to bring the saga into the present day. On paper, you’d think that hiring a Western developer to helm a standard third-person-shooter would be a no brainer but Front Mission, like any mecha based gaming series, isn’t one that can slot neatly into a functionally standardised niche.

Ignoring the functional and cultural heritage of mecha is going to get you into trouble when you deal with a series like Front Mission and unsurprisingly that’s where Double Helix have landed themselves; up trouble creek without a wanzer to help them out.

F.E.A.R. 3, the next game in a line of first person shooters about high technology and the supernatural combining to create a general mess of things, has had its power armors, imaginatively named the Power Armor and the Enhanced Power Armor, revealed. The two battlesuits previously appeared in F.E.A.R and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and the EPA was in fact pilotable in F.E.A.R. 2, but the trailer they’ve sent out implies a lot more mobility on their part this time around, making their existence part of what I see as a kind of renewal in Starship Troopers type power armor, where the “power” component to their power armor wasn’t just a heavier load of armor and munitions, but also thrusters which allowed a single infantryman to move quickly across miles of territory. The typical “space marines” of today, for all their glitzy tech, still find themselves cowering behind crates just like any other human but it seems the industry may be moving in a more interesting direction.

The designs of the PA and the EPA remind me a bit of the Tau’s Stealth Suits and Crisis Battlesuits from Warhammer 40,000, which could make it a rare example of a game adding more mecha-like elements by being inspired by a Western design, rather than a Japanese one.

Worth pointing out is that the mechs here seem designed to incorporate the general FPS feel of the rest of the game rather than to merely add a “vehicle mode”; the game still visible looks, and seems to play, like an FPS while unmistakably incorporating the functions granted by the mecha. Obstacles and cover that would hinder a regular human fall easily before your robot’s might, expanding your tactical options, but the player’s point of view stays the same, stopping the player from dissociating from the “closeness” of the action. This was a problem with the EPA in F.E.A.R. 2, where the mech sections, while fun, seemed to be at odds with the game’s main trick of being a horror FPS.

Hopefully the developers, Day 1 Studios, will be able to produce something that will make us forgive them for MechAssault.

We will be reviewing the recently released Front Mission Evolved but we’ve been somewhat delayed with other things recently, which is why the review has been late in coming. In the meantime, enjoy the picture above (courtesy of Persona) where Chirico Cuvie is displaying the same kind of feelings we have towards the game (something that shouldn’t be too surprising if you’ve read our impressions from TGS).

4Gamer has some nice new shots of Gundam Musou 3, showing off its nice cel shading amongst other things. The post also talks more about the new features in the game, though these were also present at TGS (you can read our impressions here). Specifically, the partner system and how that different units you select will do different things. From the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero spewing beams of localised death, to the beefier MRX-009 Psycho Gundam decimating an entire area. Some fields will also have extra properties if you capture them, such as a catapult being able to instantly transport you to other fields in the level. Finally, the game will be building on its dashing system in a manner partially similar to the “next” dash in the Gundam Versus games. Allowing the player to evade enemy attacks more easily. The game is still scheduled for its Japanese released on December 16th for 7,800 yen. You can pre-order the (region free) PS3 version here. Whilst there is a 360 version as well, we can’t verify it’s regioning status but if you have a Japanese console you can also pre-order it here.

What with the Blu-Ray of the recent Macross Frontier movie released a few days ago, we’ve managed to have a play on the game packaged along with it. Entitled Macross Trial Frontier, it’s been developed by those wonderful people at Artdink and as you’d expect it plays almost identically to their last Macross PSP game, Macross Ultimate Frontier. It is also very clear that the “trial” in the title belies the fact that this is only a demo and that a full fledged PS3 game is very likely in the near(ish) future. In any case, the quality of this “demo” is impressive and to package it along with the movie was a shrewd move on the part of Bandai. For those that are curious, Trial Frontier also utterly walks all over the recent ACE:R and shows that Artdink really know what they’re doing when it comes to Macross. The impressions are after the jump…

The next Earth Defense Force, or Chikyuu Boueigun, game “Insect Armageddon” is no longer being helmed by Japanese developer Sandlot. Instead, D3 have given the franchise to Vicious Cycle. Whilst this may not initially appear as being very much to do with mecha, then please allow us to elaborate.

Sandlot were formed from the ashes of a team at Human Entertainment who had made the rather brilliant Remote Control Dandy. This was a unique mecha game as it had the player control a giant mecha limb by limb from ground level. The subsequent effect of this was one of epic scale. Sandlot pretty much made this their functional calling card from that point on.

Their first “game” was on the PS2 and it was pretty much a glorified tech demo for their engine, tying in with the recently released Tekkouki Mikazuki the “trial edition” game was packaged with the series’ soundtrack. Again this had the player control a mecha from ground level, emphasizing its scale.

This then allowed Sandlot to get investment to make Gigantic Drive with the original Enix (before the merger with Squaresoft). Whilst it was received well in Japan the Western version, entitled Robotic Alchemic Drive, garnered a vocal cult following.

So where do the Chikyuu Boueigun games come into all of this then? Well, the tech that had been built up over two games was now sitting around and it was ripe for a B-movie interpretation (with giant alien ants obviously). Packaged as part of D3’s “SIMPLE 2000” budget line, the first and second games sold very well allowing Sandlot to invest in other games along the way (such as this little beauty).

In short, the mecha functional core based around the emphasis of scale in a destructible environment that birthed these games is integral to what made them work in the first place. Even the first 360 game was developed by Sandlot, so to see them absent on the new game is very sad indeed. In any case, the trailer for the new game is shown below and don’t forget to read our feature on Sandlot too.