Life-Size Gundam RX-78-2

Remember back on your younger years where you dreamed of actually seeing a huge gundam or even piloting one when you first watched any Gundam series?

This may be a classic gundam but it's still one of the amazing thing I've ever seen on the Internet.  It was show last June 2009, the fans were excited to wait for the unveiling on July 11 and will remain for public viewing on August 31st.

It may be an old news but I still want to post this amazing structure.

This 1/1 scale statue was built on Odaiba as part of the Mobile Suit Gundam's 30 anniversary celebration.

 I was surprise that it is possible to create a life-size one.

I want to have a chance to even interview these guys for their amazing job on building one.

Nice boosters.  I mean look at the detail.

See how big that thing is.












At night time, it's as if the gundam has come to life.

Kudos to the photographer for a nice shot.
















Then on June 2010, this mega structure is being re-erected on Shizuoka with a beam saber.

The smoking effect makes it look more real.  It's like on stand by ready to attack anytime if there's a threat detected on the city.













So this is on my wish list when I visit Japan.  I wanted to see it personally, I hope it's still standing by that time.  I wonder if there's going to be a next upgrade.

Source

Life-Size Gundam Completed

Gundam Night Ops

Gundam Dominates Shizuoka

Unbox: HG 1/144 - Strike Freedom Gundam

            I was lucky to see a hobby shop that has a stock of the Strike Freedom HG 1/144. I've been wanting this model for a long time, so I bought it right away. This is my 5th gunpla and my favorite of all the gundams. I want to cherish every moment of my gunpla, starting from the unboxing up to the completion of the model. I thought it would be a good idea to take photos everytime I unbox a new gunpla. This will also help to set expectations on what are the things inside the box.

Underneath the box

               I thought this model comes with a free stand because of the picture underneath the box. It has an image of the Strike Freedom with a stand. I checked it in the manual and there really isn't any stand in the package. But thats ok. What I'm really after is the model itself.

Manual for the HG 1/144 Strike Freedom

Stickers

  

Frame for the chest and wings

Gold frames for the hands and joints

Frame for the head, arms, hip and legs

Frame for the feet and dragoons

Frame for the beam rifle and hip rifle

Clear parts for the beam sabers, shield and dragoon effects

Expectations:
My favorite part of the kit are the blue clear parts. Aside from the beam rifles you will also get 2 beam sabers, a well detailed shield, and the awesome dragoon effects. The dragoon effects are the one that makes this kit special because only the HG Strike Freedom has this one. Even the MG and PG Strike Freedom doesn't have this dragoon effects. Unfortunately you will only get 2 effects which will cover 4 dragoons. Which means you'll need to buy another HG Strike Freedom to make the full burst mode. It would also have been better if the beam sabers were red instead of blue.

Just seeing this frames makes me excited in building the Strike Freedom right away. I hope my unbox pics helped you in some way. I will now start in building the Strike Freedom. I will post it right away as soon as I finish the model.

Click HERE to view my full review of the HG 1/144 - Strike Freedom Gundam

Gundam Assault Survive

Developer: Artdink
Publisher: Bandai
Platform: PlayStation Portable
Genre: Action
Language: Japanese
Release Date: March 18, 2010

Review:
                Gundam Assault Survive is a classic action - simulation game where you will take control of a mobile suit and roam around the battlefield to fight foes. It is the 5th installment in the Gundam Battle series. This is a game where the old and new gundam series collide. You will start with UC 0079, going through different gundam series and end with 00. I didn't expect I would play this kind of game again. I've already played the early games of this series and I easily got bored. I just want to check if there are any improvements in the new game. Unfortunately it's still the same. Well, there are some new minor features. But they're not enough to attract my attention. What I'm really after are the gundams from the 00 series. I want to see the Exia in classic style action.
              
                  Expect several hours of gameplay as you go through a lot of missions and collect mobile suits. But don't worry because you are not alone. You will be accompanied by two AI mobile suits. So team work plays a role in your victory. As you can see even though the game is in japanese, the mechanics is quite easy to understand. The graphics are good. It's something you would expect from a psp game. If there's something this series specializes at, that would be the game designs. The mobile suits are well detailed and each stage are properly made. You could really feel the atmosphere of the battlefield. The sound effects are still the same classic gundam style, which should always be remain unchanged. That's about it for the game's main features.
              
                 I'm not a fan of this type of game and disappointed on how it turned out.. It might be because I'm already spoiled by the Another Century Episode series type of gameplay. The only great thing about Gundam Assault Survive is that there are so many gundams in the game. I am able to play my all time favorite Freedom Gundam in a classic style gameplay. Hopefully, the next volume would make a major improvement. Overall, I didn't like the game. I wouldn't recommend this game unless your a fan of the classic gundam gameplay. There are a lot of better gundam games out there. That concludes my review for Gundam Assault Survive. Thank you for reading and I hope you found it useful. Also, check out my other gundam related game reviews.

Rating: 2 out of 5

Another Century's Episode: R

Developer: From Software
Publisher(s): Banpresto, Namco-Bandai
Platform: PlayStation 3
Genre: Action
Language: Japanese
Release Date: August 19, 2010

List of playable mobile suits from different Gundam series:
Gundam Z
- Z Gundam
- Z Gundam Unit 3 (White Unicorn Custom)
- Hyaku Shiki
- Dijeh

Gundam: Char's CounterAttack
- RX-93 v Gundam
- RX-93 v2 Hi-v Gundam

Gundam Crossbone
- Crossbone Gundam X-1
- Crossbone Gundam X-1 Kai
- Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth
- Crossbone Gundam X-3

Gundam Seed Destiny
- Strike Freedom Gundam
- Infinite Justice Gundam
- Destiny Gundam


REVIEW:

                    Finally, the ACE series found it's way to the PS3. I thought that the ACE:3 Final in the PS2 would would be the last game of the series. I'm glad to find out the series lives on with ACE: R. The game really deserves to have a continuous series since it's the 1st action game where all the popular robots collide. For those who are new to the series, this is a action game where you take control of robots and fight an army of enemies. It's really easy to understand even though it's in japanese. Each game is special with it's unique set of robots and the ACE: R is no different. Your probably wondering what the "R" stands for. It simply means "Rebirth". It really fits the title, because the ACE series made a huge comeback with it's new line up of robots. All of the robots came from popular animes such as Code Geass R2, Full Metal Panic, Aquarion, Gundam Seed Destiny, and many more. With these power house roster, it's certain that the game's going to be epic. But as we welcome these new robots, we have to say goodbye to the old ones as well. Some of the great robots removed were Gundam God, Master, DX, Turn A and Zero Wing Custom  Another thing I'm happy about is the addition of the trophy.  It really makes the game more interesting and challenging.

                     Now let's proceed to what the game has to offer. One of the great things you will like is the graphics. Every battle and cutscene is breath taking. This game has one of the best graphics I've seen in the PS3. The sound system remains the same style we all love from the previous game. When it comes to the gameplay, it is still the same with some new added features, the chase mode and burst attack. Another new feature is the pilot switch. You can now switch pilots from different robots. Find out for yourself on how it will affect the performance of your robots. As usual you can still upgrade your robots to make it stronger. The setting of the story takes place in a independent timeline. Most of the missions are scenes taken from each of the robot's respective anime show. So expect several hours of gaming as you go through each world. But that's not all. If you want your game to be perfect, you have to unlock some secret robots and finish the extra missions. This concludes the game's main features. Now let's proceed to the final verdict.

                    It's great that the game menu is now in english. It would really help us in understanding the game a lot better. Still, it would be nice if the game got an english version. But we can always search the internet for some guide. The only flaw I noticed is that there's no dlc. Being a PS3 game means a lot of fans will demand for some dlc. There should be atleast a few new robots or some extra missions. Other than that, the game itself is perfect. Although there's  always a room for improvement. That's why I'm looking forward on the series would evolve even further on it's future games. Hopefully, more surprising features and a bigger rosters of robots. Overall, I like this game and my love for the ACE series grew even more. I highly recommend this game to everyone, whether your a fan of robots or not.  Everything you want from a action game is here. This game is worth buying and playing. This finishes my review for ACE: R. I hope you found it useful. Check out also my other gundam related game reviews.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Another Century's Episode: Portable

Developer: From Software
Publisher(s): Banpresto, Namco-Bandai
Platform: PlayStation Portable
Genre: Action
Language: Japanese
Release Date: January 13, 2011

Upgrade your gundams

Perform combination attacks

00 Raiser (TransAm)

Strike Freedom (Full Burst)

List of featured Gundams on the game:

- Zeta (Gundam Zeta)

- RX-93 v (Gundam: Char's Counterattack)

- Zero Wing Custom (Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz)

- Double X (After War Gundam X)

- Turn A (Gundam Turn A)

- Strike Freedom (Gundam SEED Destiny)

- Destiny (Gundam Seed Destiny)

- Exia (Gundam 00)

- Exia Repair II (Gundam 00)

- 00 Raiser (Gundam 00)

- 0 (Gundam 00)

Review:

                This is the 5th installment to the ACE series and is probably the best mecha action-based game on the psp. In this game you will get the chance to pilot your favorite mecha coming from different popular mecha animes such as gundam, code geass, macross, eureka seven, etc. Each mecha is well detailed and has its own unique weapons as seen on the anime. The ACE series started on the ps2 and made a sequel on the ps3 last 2010 and now on the psp. There are many new units added to the portable version such as the Exia and 00 Raiser Gundam.

               Although the language is in japanese, the gameplay is easy to understand. All you have to do is embark on missions, destroy the enemies and protect your allies. After every mission you will acquire ace points which you will use to upgrade your mechas or buy new ones This will take a lot of time if you want to collect all the mechas. Other than doing missions, there's also a multiplayer that allows you to play with your friends.

                The story is pretty much the same like the other ACEs: the world is in trouble and the mechas have gathered to save it. When it comes down to graphics, I could say it's pretty good for a portable version. The background music is perfect. You will get different BGM depending on the mecha your using. But for me it would have been better if there's a vocal in it to add some more feeling. If your wondering on what's new on the portable version other than the mechas, well the only thing I noticed is that the map has been expanded. Some missions require you to go through different areas which makes the game more challenging. Other than that I didn't see any big changes in the series.

                 The flaws I saw on this game is that the animation were reduced and the mechas were also lessened compare to the past ACEs, especially the gundams. If it weren't for that, the ACE Portable could have been the best mecha game in the psp. It would have also been better if there were more gundams such as the Master, Justice, Akatsuki, etc. But still ACE Portable is a great addition to the ACE series. Overall, I highly recommend the ACE Portable. It's rare to see all the popular mechas in one game. This is a game you don't want to miss. I'm looking forward on how this series will turn out in the future. Hopefully the next title would have better graphics and more features.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5