I heart mobile suits!
Holy shit! Blue Destiny kicks some major ass.
I don’t have much info on this, but there’s an SD Gundam MMORPG, something from Netmarble. This is probably the only way to get me to try an MMORPG. Unfortunately, it’s in Korean. It might be fun to just sign up and muddle through it, but I suspect there’s money involved. If it ever comes out in English, I’m totally freaking there!
[Via Gundam Netmarble]
This week we have Masked Rider 1 and 2 from Kamen Rider: The Next and an amazingly detailed 1/144 Super HCM Pro version of Char's Zaku II. Big thanks to HobbyLink Japan for once again hooking us up.
I’ve also set up a YouTube channel for the vlog, Angry Zen Movies, so if you like you can subscribe and get the latest AZM video madness when I update.
At some point I’m going to actually watch this show, but for now, I’m satisfied with watching Exia ninja its way through mobile suit after mobile suit. Reader Kevin Bahrt tells me that the red one is Gundam Throne Unit-2 Zwei. I thought he might be this series’ Red Comet, but apparently, the Thrones get horribly pwned.
Even as a U.C. purest, I think this looks like a lot of fun. Sacrilege, I know. G Fighter Gundam was sort of like Gundam’s Dragon Ball Z. Gundam OO seems a lot like Gundam’s Street Fighter. Much faster paced fighting than G Fighter. I’m kind of curious to know if they use any CG for the mobile suits.
Thanks to Kevin Bahrt for sending along hawt Gundam on Gundam action!
Powered armor is the only weapon we’ll have against the armies of pissed off robots SkyNet will launch at us from Japan when they’re tired of taking care of old people. Fortunately, the U.S. Army has contracted robotics firm Sarcos to develop the XOS exoskeleton. The XOS is made of lightweight aluminium and matches human movement with enhanced power and endurance.
The demo videos are a bit lame. I mean, who really cares if you can punch a speed bag when a Hunter Killer is decorating the walls with your guts, but I guess you have to start somewhere. I’m surprised the guy in the suit doesn’t haul off and smack those two jerks who keep stealing his ammo cases.
Right now the biggest stumbling block is coming up with a mobile power supply that can power the suit for extended periods of time. The U.S. military plans to take delivery of XOS early next year with intent of making a combat ready powered armor within eight years. 2016 is nine years before SkyNet takes over Japan. We’ll be ready for you, you overgrown tin can!
Thanks to reader Bonzai Rob for the link.
[Via BBC]
It’s April 15 and boy does it suck! Let’s see if we can’t use your pent up rage for the forces of awesome!
Would you like to win the 1/200 HCM Pro “Military” RX-79(G) Gundam Special Painted that I reviewed back in March? Grab a camera, put on your angriest face, get someone to snap a pic, and send it to azmnews@gmail.com with “Angry Face Contest” in the subject. Send me your angry face photo by midnight EST April 22. A panel of expert judges will grade your photo on level of anger and creativity. Depending on the number of entries we receive, we will announce the winner by April 25. We’ll ship the review copy of the RX-79 to anywhere in the world!
One entry per person. No digital manipulation is permitted (color correction is okay, but no Photoshoping your head onto someone else’s body or any mess like that). We are looking for anger and creativity, not necessarily quality, so camera phones should be fine. If we can’t tell what the frak is going on or can’t see your face, obviously it’s going to make it difficult to judge. Oh, and no group shots.
By entering, you give me permission to post your picture. Other than that, you retain the rights to your photo.
Um… that’s all the legal mumbo jumbo I came up with. So grab that camera and get to snapping!
Remember that $750 million estimate for constructing a 1/1 Gundam by the Japan Science and Technology Center? Turns out that director of center Takayuki Furuta admits that such a project may be financially unfeasible. Furuta instead plans to create a smaller 1/22 scale Gundam (approx 13ft). He hopes to roll out his baby Gundam by 2011.
We here at AZM salute you Furuta-san. Sure, a 13ft Gundam may be too small for me to pilot. But maybe by then I shall have a toddler who I will have trained to use its Newtype powers to pilot Mobile Suits! MWAHAHAHAHAA!
Thanks to reader David Caceres for the tip.
[Via Gunota]
Kamiigusa’s train station in Shinjuku is safe as long as this disco Gundam is here. Kamiigusa is home to Sunrise, INC. so it’s not just a random act of awesome.
I must now go to Japan to give the great Gundam Kami-Sama an offering and worship at its disco feet.
[Via alafista]
There’s no other way to describe this website other than Giant Robot Porn! I speak, of course, of Robobox. Each post is like a giant robot pictoral with mechs in all sorts of mighty poses from all sorts of awesome angles. If you find that you life just doesn’t have enough giant robots in it, as I sometimes do, Robobox will certainly satisfy your needs again and again.
Excuse me while I change pants now.
I’ve never seen a commercial for a novel quite as awesome as this! Screw OO! Make mine Unicorn! I really hope they animate this because this short thirty second commercial is quite crunchy pants inducing.
There are two types of Gundam games, the games that suck and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam.
The major problem I’ve found with Gundam games in the past is that they’re overly complex. You’re generally put in a three Mobile Suit team and command your fellow pilots through a series of controls that never really make any sense. And you spend a lot of time walking around a city before your first battle. Realism is nice for the show. 08th MS Team is one of my favorite U.C. shows precisely because of the realistic combat. But it doesn’t necessarily make for a fun game.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam dumps you right into the thick of things. No waiting around for your next battle. No idiots to command. No funky control schemes to get in the way. Just hardcore mobile suit on mobile suit action! There are two modes to play, Official Mode and Original Mode. Official Mode lets you fight through the Universal Century wars as Amuro Rey, Kamille Bidan, or Judau Ashita. Original Mode takes place on a mysterious planet and lets you choose from some of the alternate universe Gundam pilots, Domon Kasshu, Rolan Cehack, or Heero Yuy. You can unlock more pilots and more mobile suits including the Musha Gundam which never appeared in any show but is damn sexy. Took me all week but I fought through Amuro’s Official Mode and unlocked Char Aznable. Can’t wait to destroy Feddies as the Red Comet!
Though combat in the animated series usually relies on vulcan cannons and beam rifles leaving beam sabers as an absolute last resort, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam is all about beam saber action. Imagine giant robot Jedi. Fighting as God Gundam should be a real treat since G Fighter is all about hand-to-hand. Your Gundam is equipped with its beam cannon or beam rifle depending on the model, but most of your fights will end with a beam saber blade.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam likes to throw a lot of enemy suits at you, but apparently, the AI pilots never graduated from the academy. More often then not, you’ll jump into the middle of a large pile of enemy suits and dispatch them without much resistance, especially if you’re pilot and suit are leveled up. General enemy suits are piloted by morons, but it’s still fun to mow through the and see all the cool combos your mobile suit can perform. You’ll actually have to start using strategy when it comes to fighting ace pilots. Anavel Gato and Johnny Ridden are both huge pains in the ass. And it took me ten tries to finally defeat Char in his Z’Gok. The nice thing about loosing in battle is that you retain all the levels or spare parts you acquired during the campaign.
This is such a fun game, certainly a must for Gundam fanatics such as myself. I really want a sequel and I have a number of suits that I’d love to see in action. I desperately need to pilot an MSA-0011 Ex-S Gundam, MSZ-006 Zeta Plus, RX-93 Nu and Hi Nu Gundams, MSN-04 Sazabi and Nightingale, and a MS-18 Kampfer for good measure. Here’s hoping for more! Until then, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam will have my undivided attention.
SIEG ZION!
[Via Bandai Namco Games]
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