Capcom to release Gundam arcade sequel

According to Impress GameWatch, Banpresto has revealed that it will be releasing Kidou Senshi Gundam Z: AEUG Vs. Titans in arcades in Japan starting late September. The game will be developed and distributed by Capcom. Gundam Z is the sequel to Kidou Senshi Gundam: Federation Vs. Zeon, released in arcades in 2001 and later on the PlayStation 2.

Gundam Z takes place seven years after the previous Gundam and will have new mechs and stages. Similar to the previous Gundam release, Gundam Z will be a 3D multiplayer mech battle game that involves shooting and close-up combat on an open field. Up to four players can play the game, with two players on the AEUG team and two on the Titans team. The CPU will fill empty player slots. The objective is to deplete the opponent's military capacity meter by destroying as many mechs as possible. Destroying stronger mechs will deplete the opponent's meter more quickly.

Gundam Z's game engine is fundamentally the same as in the previous Gundam release, and it uses a four-button setup for shooting, executing close-range attacks, jumping, and targeting. Unlike the previous game, in which the mechs were constantly fixed in their robot forms, Gundam Z will allow the mechs to transform to their alternate-plane styles. Also, holding the jump button and hitting a direction twice on the joystick when the boost meter is not empty causes mechs with the ability to transform to fly at extremely fast speeds.

Gundam Z also has a new feature called the hyper-combination. When two players are playing cooperatively, both players' combination meters will accumulate, and when they hit the start button after the meters fill up, their mech abilities will rise for a limited time.