Typhoon Ketsana: The Aftermath

After a month’s worth of rain was poured over the course of a day, an unprepared Philippines was brought to an absolute standstill. Water levels rose too quickly, which flooded major highways, schools, hospitals, and pretty much everything else. In some areas, the flood was several stories high.

Even with the subsiding rain, the calamity has not yet passed, as several people are still stuck in their own homes in areas where the flood waters have yet to recede. Many don’t have homes to go back to. And some don’t have families to go back to.

But the worst has a way of bringing out the best, as shown by the relief drives and rescue efforts currently being undertaken. If the weather continues to be cooperative, things should be better by the middle of the week.

For more information, see the links below.

Forum Thread
Inquirer.net News Updates
Philippine Star
BBC Report
Pictures compiled by the BBC

Front Mission 5 Fan Translation Project Nearly Complete

A fan translation of Front Mission 5 is on its 4th iteration and is nearing completion. Front Mission 5 is the latest of the console versions of this mech-RPG, which sadly didn’t get a release outside Japan. Fortunately, a few hardworking fans of the series started translating it over a year and a half ago, and in its current state it is very close to completion.

As the FM5 translation project is drawing to a close, the translation team is moving to other Front Mission-related projects such as Front Mission 2 and Front Mission 2089: Border Madness, both of which never got an English release.

For more information and for the patch itself, please visit Frontmission.info. You’ll find other details on the project and how to apply the translation patch to your Front Mission 5. Note that the translation patch only works on the original version of Front Mission 5, and not the “Playstation Best” version which is a re-release of the original.

An Unkindness of Ravens

A Nest for Ravens

Armored Core has always been something of a niche catering to the already-niche genre of mecha simulation. The Armored Core trilogy for the PS1 provided mech fans everywhere with the rare chance to build and battle with their very own customized mechs. As players got to know the game better, their skills improved along with their ability to design ACs. It got to the point where bashing the AI rankers wasn’t enough any more and nothing other than an equally skilled human opponent would suffice for competition. But as most AC players surely realized, finding people to play against, let alone skilled ones, was just as challenging as learning to play Armored Core itself.

Curry Curry Curry!

Ah, Japanese Curry. A popular dish in Japan common enough to be seen in most Japanese houses, Anime shows, and Manga. The aroma of this dish is mild compared to other curry variants making it appealing to a wide variety of tastes; it’s not too strong and not too bland and perfect for those who cannot stand the spicier variants of curry. It is an excellent balance of a variety of flavors mixed together that form a wonderful dish that is sometimes touted to be one of Japan’s national dishes.

TO Science Fiction CG Movie

A new science fiction CG anime simply titled “TO” is going to be released in Japan and will be directed by veteran director Fumihiko Sori, who also directed the science fiction CG film Vexille in 2007 and produced the Appleseed film in 2005.

TO is an adaptation of the manga “2001 ya Monogatari” (released as “2001 Nights” outside Japan), specifically the “Symbiotic Planet” and “Elliptical Orbit” chapters. The manga’s story revolves around mankind’s voyages into space, describing the possibilities we might face, and the challenges mankind may encounter during this undertaking. Some screencaps after the jump.

Thexder Neo: October 1 Release

Thexder Neo, a re-make of the original Thexder game, which can be described as sort of a Macross platformer (Transformable mech in a platformer game) was announced by Squarenix to be released over PSN worldwide on 1st of October for the PSP platform. While a relatively obscure title these days, the original Thexder was apparently a huge hit for home consoles back in the mid-1980s which led to a sequel called Fire Hawk: Thexder the Second Contact, and remakes for the Windows 95 OS.

SEGA’s Border Break Finally Released

SEGA’s team-based action strategy game Border Break has recently been released in arcades across Japan. Border Break features 10-on-10 network combat, 4 distinct mech classes, and an innovative touch screen menu to communicate and delegate commands to other players. Primary controls include a joystick with an analog nub on top, as well as a 4-way trackball on the right side.

Front Mission Evolved Teaser From TGS 2009

SquareEnix has just released another short trailer for the upcoming mech simulation/shooter Front Mission Evolved, which seems to be shaping up nicely. Despite no announcement of a release date, the trailers boldly show a simultaneous world-wide release of the title, the latest of which comes from the Tokyo Game Show 2009.