4Gamer has some very extensive coverage for the upcoming Carnage Heart EXA. Despite the large amount of pictures that show off the suitably intense OKE programming setup, the update also talks a lot about the increased complexity of the chips themselves and how this will (hopefully) create more interesting and capable OKEs. Whilst the chip area won’t be increased over Carnage Heart Portable, the increase in chip number is something that should make the game considerably more intricate and deep. Following on from this will be a SATLOKE service hosted by Artdink – this will allow players to upload and download user created OKE data from their servers (similar to the original Formula World for the original Armored Core Formula Front). Unsurprisingly, this will help the resurgent Carnage Heart community spar with their respective OKEs. Other interesting tidbits of note, are that Artdink aren’t sure whether a download version of the game will be made on release and that they are thinking of DLC content but don’t have any specifics to divulge at present. There’s still no word of a Western release for this but considering Carnage Heart Portable didn’t receive one either, a localised released of EXA is pretty unlikely. That said, Artdink are handling this new game (Not Genki), so we could end up seeing EXA released abroad. In any case, the Japanese release is still on track for the October 28th for 5,880 yen. You can also pre-order the game here.

Over at the official SRW blog, series producer Takanobu Terada has divulged the fact that ACE:P was developed alongside ACE:R. This isn’t overly surprising in the current climate; as why fund one PS3 game properly when you could siphon some of the funds to make a cut-down PSP game too. What’s more worrying about this though is that ACE:P will share much of the functional setup as seen in its bigger brother ACE:R (hardware changes notwithstanding obviously). This doesn’t really bode well, as much of ACE:R’s consumer based ire was linked to how functionally awkward the series had become (relative to the PS2 versions) – something that has directly and negatively affected the retail price of the game. This sounds like ACE:P will fly very much in the face of that, without any real concessions to appease a disgruntled customer base. Terada also goes on to talk about how the mission progression has changed to allow casual play now, rather than the larger investment of time a scenario mode would have required. Overall though, we were more upbeat about this entry into the ACE series but these new revelations don’t exactly fill us with confidence. We’ll know for sure come January next year though.

In the latest Famitsu, a new entry to the Another Century’s Episode series has been announced; titled Another Century’s Episode Portable, it will be released exclusively on the PSP. There are a fair few cool things about this version that should also help assuage the genuine player anguish caused by the last PS3 effort, ACE:R. The first of which is a return to the straight mission setup of the PS2 games, rather than the series scenario adopted by the recent game. Not to mention the similar mission based “secrets” seen in the first ACE that will require multiple replays in order to accrue various unit unlocks. They’re also offering resupplying areas now too, similar in setup to Gundam Senki 0081 – where ammo and health will be replenished during the mission. The big and absolutely awesome aspect of this new version is the epic and wonderfully old school series roster the game will have. Admittedly, many of these are from the PS2 games but we’re still chuffed that Layzner and Dunbine are back (the full list is linked below).

The big and somewhat scary unknown is whether this ACE will revert to the boosting setup seen in the older PS2 games or stick with the idiotic new approach from ACE:R. Considering there is no real chance of retaining the camera look from the PS2 games, the least they could do is return to the old and brilliant boosting setup. With any luck, the legacy animation from the PS2 unit assets will force Banpresto to take a step back and let From Software do their jobs again. As this is the main aspect that helped the older games, as Banpresto were unwilling to fund substantial rewrites so From Software got to control their code and asset base more effectively (without publisher interruption) – hence the consistent functional improvements between each of the PS2 iterations.

In any case, we’re cautiously optimistic that this new ACE will be a return to form. It’s released on January 13th next year for 6,279 yen.

Update: Famitsu now has the screenshots up on their site too.

The ongoing Tamashii Nation 2010 show has received various bits of coverage, with AkibaHobby’s being one of the most extensive. From the White Dingo GM Sniper Mk.II variant Robot Damashii shown above (still no release date though), to a veritable avalanche of Super Robot Wars OG toys, from the PTX-007-03C Weißritter, to the the R-Series (as in R-1, R-2 and R-3). The latter offers the potential for a chogokin SRX down the line (with some anime/engineering magic). In any case, this year’s show has had a lot of surprises.

Notable of which is the teaming up of Studio HalfEye and Bandai to make a new transformable Escaflowne chogokin, most probably based on the older and very expensive garage kit. Hopefully it will be better than the awful Yamato toy. Whilst it’s somewhat kept quiet, Escaflowne did receive a PSone game back in the day (but as you probably guessed it was a bit dire). Even the Ver.Ka Temjin made a showing too, as well as a brief presence from Dann of Thursday from Gun X Sword.

All said and done though and it is admittedly not in a mecha game at all, we’re also very excited about the announcement of the Gunship from Nausicaä in Bandai’s new Formania line. Put simply, it looks bloody amazing.

The next episode in the anime adaptation of Harutoshi Fukui’s Gundam Unicorn novels is still set for release at the end of October. To commemorate the upcoming release of the “Red Comet” a new promo video has been going the rounds. Despite showing off the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam and MSN-06S Sinanju in more luscious detail, it’s really quite something to hear ShÅ«ichi Ikeda’s voice again. Now only if the episode could get here three times as fast…

Again, apologies for the somewhat blurry photo but the game in the picture is Level 5’s new PSP game Danball Senki. In many ways it’s a spiritual successor to Custom Robo Battle Revolution on the GC, as Danball Senki has an RPG type hub with a simple mecha action game core. Unlike Custom Robo though, Level 5 clearly have oodles of money as the game has pretty amazing production standards (even the anime cut-ins are very nicely done). The game will also be kicking off an anime, manga and even a model kit line, so Level 5 have clearly invested a lot in this one. The impressions are after the jump.

GAGraphic has finally previewed an upcoming and somewhat unassuming Robot Damashii toy, that of the wonderful RGM-79SP GM Sniper II. This version is using the Gundam 0080 colour scheme but this design has a worthy gaming history. Whether we’ll see the previously shown White Dingo variant remains to be seen however. The sculpt does look brilliant on this toy though. In any case, this version of the GM Sniper II is released later this month for 2,940 yen and you can pre-order it here.

Whilst we know Darius isn’t strictly part of the mecha pantheon its recent entry, that of Darius Burst, had its designwork helmed by two renowned mecha designers; Kanetake Ebikawa and Takayuki Yanase. What with the new arcade version around the corner (and 4Gamer has an interesting interview with the developers on that) the rather small model manufacturer PLUM/PMOA (who also made those lovely Silpheed kits not that long ago) are making a 1/60 scale injection plastic kit of one of the latest Silverhawk fighter’s from the game.

GAGraphic has a very nice preview article showing the kit off (including its landing gear) and it is clear to see Ebikawa’s style shine through, especially from his recent designs from Gundam 00 (specifically the Exia, 00 Raiser and 00 Quan[T]). The kit will be released in September at a very reasonable 4,500 yen, you can pre-order it here and the PSP game is also still available here.

4gamer has covered some interesting new features that will be present in the upcoming Carnage Heart EXA. Specifically, a new screenshot tool as well as an emblem setup that allows you to edit the image on your PC as a bitmap. Considering that Carnage Heart is very much of a remote versus endeavour, as you share configs to “battle” other players, a screenshot tool will be invaluable in producing proof of victory as well as obviously taking snaps of your extended OKE family. The openness of the emblem editor is somewhat worrying though, as it’s pretty much inevitable that you’ll end up facing the pixel art equivalent of a throbbing man sausage at some point in your OKE battling career. That unfortunate aspect aside, EXA continues to look like a very promising continuation of the Carnage Heart series and seems to be helmed by a team that seem to really understand what its fanbase wants.

The next in Kotobukiya’s very successful Variable Infinity range will be the Oracle from Last Raven. This was an AC piloted by a Raven called Evangel and whilst he was also prominent in Armored Core Nexus, he even adorned the game’s cover, it wasn’t until Last Raven that his role in the corporate/Raven conflict came to a head. Very much on the side of the corporations, Evangel was a noble and disciplined opponent, but also suffered from a bit of an inferiority complex. This isn’t the first time Evangel’s Oracle has been given kit form as one of the very first Variable Infinity kits was his AC from Nexus. This new kit will be released in December this year.

Update: Dengeki has shots of the Oracle kit, as well as the Sunshine, at Wonder Festival.