Front Mission Evolved Pre-Order Bonuses

Okay, looks like our mecha trigger fingers will have to wait a little further, as Front Mission Evolved’s release date has been pushed back to September 28, a full 2 weeks from the original September 14 release date. However, all is not lost as FME’s devs are preparing two pre-order bonuses for those who wish to purchase the game prior to its release date. These bonuses are only available when you pre-order the game at Amazon, Gamestop, and Best Buy in North America only.

The two bonuses are the Calm and Rexson series of wanzers, both of which have existed since the first game and have been given updated visuals for FME. Like in previous games, the Calm is a multi-role wanzer while the Reckson is more sniper-oriented in design. Hit the jump to see what these classic Wanzers look like now:

Macross Trial Frontier Announced For The PlayStation 3

Famitsu magazine released details that Bandai Namco have announced Macross Trial Frontier for the Playstation 3. The PS3 game is set to be a sequel to Macross Ultimate Frontier released a year ago for the PSP. The game itself is bundled with the first Macross Frontier movie in one blu-ray disc packaged as “Macross Frontier: Itsuwari no Utahime ~ Hybrid Pack” an unusual method of distributing a game similar to the blu-ray release of District 9 included an early demo of God of War 3 for the PS3 as well. Hit the jump for the magazine scan:

Busou Shinki and Busou Shinki: Battle Masters

Let’s sidetrack a little from our usual Armored Core coverage and focus on a recent game released under the name Busou Shinki: Battle Masters.

For those who are not familiar with the name, Busou Shinki (Armament God Princess) is a toy franchise accompanied by an online game that features girls clad in armor and weapons. Each series release is called a “Wave” where in each Wave, a specific artist designs weapons and armor sets, giving a unique feel or theme for each Wave release. Continue reading after the jump:

Upcoming Armored Core Merchandise From Kotobukiya

The Last Raven incarnation of Oracle seems to be a confirmed kit, and a fully painted sample exists as seen above which might make its debut sometime this year.

Another upcoming Armored Core collectible series simply called “Fugitto Mechanicals” is expected to get a 2011 release, whether this compliments the current Variable Infinity series of model kits or a totally new line of models we don’t know as of the moment. You can view some promotional materials after the jump:

Front Mission Evolved/ Metal Gear: Peace Walker Cross Over

In the form of decals. That’s right, that MGS/FME crossover we mentioned some time ago turns out to be Foxhound and MGS logos attachable to your customized Wanzer as reveled in the promo video seen after the jump:

Armored Core Analogs: Sniper Rifles

Up until a certain point of Armored Core, sniper rifles were something of the neglected child of the rifle family. While they dished out absurd amounts of damage and had incredible range, their small lock boxes and slow firing rate made them nearly useless at medium to close range, which is where most AC fights happen.

So there they sat in the shops, unwanted, unloved, until From Software hit upon two changes that suddenly made it a very, very bad idea to bumrush anybody packing them. The first were left-arm mounts, which allowed users to expand the SR’s miniscule lockbox by synergizing it with the much larger lockbox of handguns in the left hand.

New Armored Core Model Oracle V2?

That Kotobukiya tweet we covered the last time might lead to this. The Last Raven version of Oracle, the featured AC back in Armored Core Nexus with a few tweaks, namely a change in legs, core, and a different back mount. Could this be the upcoming AC kit that will soon grace our shelves in the coming months? Stay tuned to find out.

If your memory needs a bit of refreshing on what he’s supposed to look like, click the jump for a short video of the AC in action:

Armored Core Diorama

Dioramas for mecha plastic models are pretty common especially with Gundam and other major giant robot franchises, so we were surprised to see an actual existing diorama for Armored Core. As far as we know, this is the first time someone actually made one for our favorite mech shooter, and actually did a good job at it.

The title of this piece is “L’ Agguato 2.0” (The Ambush 2.0) and shows the modeler’s skills in painting miniaturesand some nicely done weathering effects on the set pieces, as well as on the Hogire AC centerpiece all in its 1/72 scale glory. Click on the jump for more pics: