io9: giant robots

MechWarrior's Giant War Machine Gets a Reboot

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:33:35 PDT

Just when you were craving more mega-bot destruction of vast urban wastelands, MechWarrior comes to save you. And it's not your grandmother's game - this is a brand-new reboot, with slicker graphics and more multiplayer strategy.

Over at RobotViking, io9 pal Ed Grabianowski freaks out with glee:

MechWarrior will return to PCs and show up on the Xbox 360 someday soon, and BattleTech co-creator Jordan Weisman is at the helm once again. Are we ready for an intense tactical mech war game in destructible urban environments, with three of your friends joining your assault lance? Yes. Yes we are. . . . To summarize what we know at this point: the game is a reboot, not a sequel. It takes place at the beginning of the Fourth Succession War. Multi-player is a major priority, and they really want to have a four-player co-op mode so you can team up with your friends and form a full lance. Better video game technology will make the game more tactically rich, and improve the feel of "piloting a giant war machine" rather than "being a giant robot." Players will have to use different types of mechs to accomplish various battlefield goals - tactical information will be crucial, so scout mechs will have a vital role even at higher levels of gameplay. No more "lock on, fire and forget." You'll have to actively acquire and maintain targets, and the dense urban environments (which appear to blow up nicely) make for great hit and run tactics.

via Robot Viking

Raydeen's Watchful Gaze Has Never Been So Bright

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:39:59 PDT

Raydeen, giant robot protector of the Lost Continent of Mu, can look out into your bedroom and offer protection from the Demon Empire, thanks to this new art print, for sale by Dano36 on Etsy. And T-shirts are coming!

10 Best Robot Crotch Shots (And One Boob Shot)

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:46:45 PDT

With everybody talking about that up-skirt shot in Transformers where we see Devastator's, um, wrecking balls, it's time to consider the fine history of robot crotches in pop culture. We've got the ten best moments of robo-nethers in history.

This list will give you a powerful injection of robot crotches, real and imaginary. Here you can see concept art of a giant robot designed to put out forest fires. It has four arms and a massive reach. Unclear why exactly it needs that mega-crotch, which I think contains water pistons as well as what seem to be giant graspers in the scrotal region. How would you like your burning trees harvested with that?

Speaking of what you do and do not want harvested, this clip from 1980s classic Cherry 2000 reminds us of the gentle art of the implied robot crotch. Our human protagonist is getting it on with his Cherry 2000 bot, giving us a teeny glimpse of robo-ass before getting all sudsy and humpy with her hidden (but not unused) crotch. Sadly, he hasn't learned the first thing about circuit boards. Water isn't good for them. So his crotch satisfaction is severely undermined.

And then there's another twentieth century classic: Robot Jox. Which is all about people who zoom around inside giant robot armor things, which happen to have crotchly surprises in store for us.

Let's get real again, though. Check out this recently-built Japanese robot, who keeps his human companion safely tucked right between his legs. If you've ever dreamed of being inside robot wood, well this is your chance.

This is an action figure based on characters from Appleseed, the anime where humans and cyborgs are so entertwined that it's hard to know which is which. And that provides us with this amazing and rare double-crotch shot. We've got our fighter girl, showing her crotch, snug inside her robot armor, which also has quite a substantial bulge in its special place. I don't know what to call this. I think what it means is that in the future, genitals will be a lot more complicated than ever before.

Not that genitals will necessarily be any less annoying, as this video by Japanese bizarro artist Murakami makes clear. His character Inochi, a robot going through puberty, still has to contend with unruly boners even though he's an artificial being. Being weird-looking probably doesn't help.

In the realm of dangerous robot crotches, there's the crotch you can just barely glimpse in this picture of the replicant Pris from Bladerunner. At one point in the film, she does a full-on crotch attack on protagonist Deckard, wrapping her legs around his neck and almost squeezing his noggin off.

Nemo Gould's sculpture, Goliath, has such an anotomically-noticeable set of bits between his legs that the poor bot has been defaced multiple times by neighbors in the posh San Francisco neighborhood where he resides. Poor Goliath. Luckily, Nemo has been able to restore him after he was vandalized and his robo-balls still hang free.

This giant statue of a Gundam robotic armor soldier looms outside Tokyo, his mega-crotch keeping everyone safe from forces in the world who hate magnificently large pocket rockets.

Sure, Devastator has giant balls, but nobody competes with Optimus Prime's undercarriage OK? Check out the heft on that.

And no list of this sort would be complete without a tip of the hat to the ladies. Here's Kristina Lokken from Terminator 3, demonstrating the latest innovations built into her model. Namely, an ability to make her termino-boobs expand in order to impress male police officers.

Even Helen Thomas Would Behave When A Giant Robot Gives A Press Conference

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:11:02 PDT

A massive robot addresses the media, in this awesome new still from Astro Boy, the movie that might actually be too beautiful for its own good. Every still so far has looked desktop-pattern amazing. Update: Another image really is below.

Here's hoping that Astro Boy's Pinnochio-bot odyssey lives up to the stills we've seen so far, and the finished product has a sense of motion and excitement to go with these painterly images. The zooming footage we've seen in the trailers has looked promising, but the human interactions, I'm still not so sure about. Here's the above image in a larger format, plus a second image.

Which Giant Robot Is the Greatest of Them All?

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:30:00 PDT

Soon Megatron will be conquering theaters, but would he really be the greatest robot if he didn't have Megan Fox in his orbit? Take our poll and vote on which giant robot is truly the most smashing.

Top image by Alon Chou.

Voltron Mania for Tabletop Gamers

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:47:45 PDT

Rumors have swirled about a possible live action Voltron movie for next year, but there's one piece of Voltron news that's solid. The cat-fisted giant robot is joining tabletop game Monsterpocalypse next year.

io9 pal Ed Grabianowski has the news over at Robot Viking:

The Voltron license is pretty brilliant. Instead of just one monster, you've got an iconic hero force and an assortment of genetically engineered robeasts . . . How will they tie the Voltron mythology into the Monsterpocalypse timeline? The current adventures of G.U.A.R.D. do not take place in "days of long ago." The Galaxy Alliance was based on Earth - maybe Alliance representatives will come to Earth and offer Voltron's help defending against "a new horrible menace." One also wonders if we'll just get the lion Voltron (which is specifically mentioned in the official press release), or if the vehicle Voltron will be along too. The Galaxy Alliance faction will need two robots, so I'm guessing both.

I, for one, welcome our monstery overlords. Just thought I'd say that before everybody else.

via Robot Viking

The Transformers 2 Megatron Mega-Controversy Officially Settled At Last!

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:35:09 PST

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen's cowriter, Roberto "patience of a saint" Orci, has been fielding fan questions for months over at the TFW2005 forums. He finally broke down and admitted that Megatron is coming back.

Yes, all the toy spoilers were right. Megatron is in the new movie, despite all the claims to the contrary. But he still hasn't addressed the crucial "Dinobots in Transformers 3" question, because he wants all the Dinobot-lovers to keep suffering. Megatron concept art from Josh Nizzi, via Film School Rejects. [TFW2005, via Transformers Movie Chronicles]

New Transformers 2 Trailer: The Rave Of The Funky

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:00:00 PST

The full-length trailer for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is in theaters, and someone managed to store their visual impressions electronically. It's going for "epic war movie," but hits "funky boogie bots" instead. [GiantFreakingRobot]

Terminator Salvation Art You'll Want To Spray-Paint On Your Van

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:00:00 PST

McG didn't just show off all-new Terminator 4 footage the other day — he also brought some fiery concept art. I never thought I'd be using terms like Turner-esque to describe giant robot mayhem. Spoilers?!

Latino Review managed to snap some pics of the concept art on display, and here are a few of the coolest images. There's way more splodey, moody robot art over at the link. [Latino Review]

Barnaby Ward Pits Cute Girls Against Monsters and Giant Robots

Lauren Davis — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:00:00 PST

Nearly all of Barnaby Ward’s comics and narrative illustrations feature beautiful young girls, slender, hip, with unruly hair and too much eyeliner. But these girls provide an anchor for Ward’s far wilder depictions of giant robots, elaborate machines, and grotesque monsters, creating manga-inspired works with tinges of Edward Gorey. Check out our gallery to see more of Ward’s glamourous women and their mecha-flavored adventures.

In addition to his illustrations, Ward has his short comic “The Perils of the Uncommon Skyway” available on his website. And his most recent book, Sixteen Miles to Merrick and Other Works features four of his short sequential art stories as well as more of his single illustrations.

[Somefield via Sci-Fi-O-Rama]

Monsterpocalypse is a Rampaging Good Time

Ed Grabianowski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:20:00 PDT

Anyone who ever spent a Saturday afternoon as a kid gleefully watching Godzilla or Gamera battle weird space dragons or giant robots while destroying the vital infrastructure of Japan has got to love the idea of Monsterpocalypse. We've played a bunch of games to see if the game lives up to the hype - and by "hype," we mean, "our fervent kaiju-loving desire for an awesome giant monster fighting game."Privateer Press is new to the collectible gaming market, but they have a reputation for quality with their War Machine and Hordes miniatures games. The Monsterpocalypse minis are no different. The monsters are impressively large and solid, with some of the best paint jobs I've ever seen on a pre-painted mini. The smaller units (tanks, dinosaurs, UFOs, and so on) look great too, although they are not as detailed. The use of translucent colored plastics to accentuate the figures adds a lot. I particularly love the green tractor beams coming out of all the Martian Menace units. One caveat - two of four monsters in our two starter sets were damaged, but some superglue fixed them in seconds. Game play uses an innovative action dice system that has you weighing your options with every turn. Choices are always a good to have in a game, and Monsterpocalypse makes you really feel in control of your force. You have to spend action dice each turn to move and attack with your figures. You can only use either your monster or your small units each turn, and the dice you use transfer to the other "pool" when you use them. If you're taking a monster turn, the dice you roll when he attacks go over to the unit pool. If you want to take two monster turns in a row, you'll need to conserve some dice in the monster pool. The interaction between monsters and units seems simple at first: monsters obliterate everything in their paths, and single units can't even hit a monster. However, you can team up groups of units and actually damage the monsters (a tactic my wife uses to great effect). There are also numerous points on the map that have strategic importance. Power zones, spawn points and buildings can be controlled by your units and give you certain advantages. The most important advantage is the chance to earn power dice. Only monsters use power dice, and they can be spent to boost attacks, to perform special power attacks, or to change into your monster's hyper form. Power attacks are sweet. There's nothing quite so fun as body slamming your opponent's monster into an apartment building, or throwing him halfway across the map so that he lands on (and destroys) three of his own units. Hyper form is an interesting mechanic that I'm not totally sold on. By spending some power dice, your monster transforms into a more powerful version. You switch the figure on the map with the hyper form figure, which is cast entirely in translucent colored plastic. Both the basic and hyper forms must be defeated to end the game. Starters and boosters come with "ultra" hyper forms. There are also limited edition hyper forms known as "mega" hyper forms. These are obtained through mail-in offers or as convention exclusives, and they can be won by playing in official tournaments at your local game store. Update: I talked with the folks at Privateer, and they explained that they've gone to great lengths to ensure that mega forms are not necessarily any better than ultra forms. They will have a different mix of abilities and stats, so they will offer flexibility when building a team, but not an unfair advantage. The starter boxes come with a double-sided map, all the dice you need, a random monster (plus corresponding hyper form), some buildings and a handful of random units. Different building placement means each game will be very different even on the same map. Different buildings have different effects. For example, if you destroy the nuclear power plant, a radioactive hazard zone is left in its place instead of just rubble. Some buildings give bonuses to certain factions for controlling or destroying them. Having more buildings to put on the map definitely makes for a more interesting game. If there's one major flaw with this game, it's the way the figures are purchased. I know some of you absolutely hate collectible games of any kind, and Privateer's methods here are not going to change your mind. In addition to starters, you can buy monster boosters or building/unit boosters. A monster booster includes a single random monster and his hyper form. That's fine when you're starting out, but if you're looking for a certain monster or faction, or just trying to avoid doubles, you can spend more than $10 for a booster and get something you have no use for at all. There's no advantage to having doubles of monsters (other than trading), and with nothing else in the pack to soften the blow, you can really end up feeling like you wasted your money. Building boosters suffer somewhat from the same problem, but having double buildings isn't bad, and you get a bunch of units too. Since there's no difference in rarity between the monsters, I see no reason for Privateer not to sell them non-randomly. Pick your faction, buy your monsters, and then collect units and buildings through random boosters. That would make a lot more sense to me. Ultimately, though, Monsterpocalypse is a blast to play. The monsters and buildings look awesome, and there's a lot of strategic and tactical depth to explore as you learn all your units' abilities. Grab a friend, buy some starters, and while away an afternoon stomping cities into rubble.

Who's The Tallest Giant Robot Of Them All?

Charlie Jane Anders — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:50:51 PDT

All giant robots are just not built the same. Some mechas tower over your city, while others just sort of tower over your garage. When the fate of the world depends on giant robots smashing each other — as it so often does — you want a giant robot that's really giant. Luckily, we've got you covered with our run-down of which giant robots actually deliver on the "giant" part of the equation.

We already covered the tallest giant monsters, but it's important to recognize the robots that measure up in the height department as well. The fate of the civilized mecha-world could depend on it! So here goes:

Gigantor, from Gigantor
Who is he: In the American version of anime/manga series Tetsujin 28-go, it's the year 2000, and Gigantor is the flying robot companion of Jimmy Sparks, who helps Jimmy fight crime.
How tall: Three storeys, or about 10 meters. I think Gigantor needs a new name.

Robosaurus, the real-life robot.
Who is he: The first "car-nivorous" robot, Robosaurus travels around causing fiery mayhem at car shows.
How tall: 42 Feet, or about 12.8 meters.

Imperial AT-AT Walkers, Star Wars
Who are they: The big stompy robo-elephants that smush the rebels at their base on the ice planet Hoth.
How tall: 15 meters, according to StarWars.com.

Killer robots, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Who are they: These giant robots attack the city in this alternate version of 1939, leaving Joe Sullivan aka Sky Captain to save the day. They're supposedly based loosely on Max Fleischer's designs from his Superman cartoon "Mechanical Monsters."
How tall: About five storeys, or around 15 meters.

The Tri-Sentinel, Amazing Spider-Man
Who is he: Ummm... it's complicated. These giant robots, the Sentinels, were built to hunt down and kill the mutants, including the X-Men. But the trickster god Loki merged three of them into a single massive robot, programmed to destroy the nearest nuclear power plant. Luckily, Spider-Man had cosmic powers at the time. Yes, comics are confusing.
How tall: 60 feet, or about 18.3 meters.

The Iron Giant, from The Iron Giant
Who is he: Based on the classic Ted Hughes children book, this is the story of a giant robot who crashlands in a small town and befriends a little kid. The U.S. Army is searching for the robot, and in the end their confrontation gets escalated into a nuclear attack.
How tall: 50 Feet, or about 15.24 meters.

And here's the tearjerker ending:

Megatron, Transformers
Who is he: The leader of the Decepticons, the evil transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. Megatron fights against Optimus Prime, leader of the good Autobots, who come to Earth seeking the Allspark.
How tall: 51.7 feet, or about 15.76 meters.

Tranzor Z, Mazinger Z
Who is he: Constructed of a new kind of metal called Japanium, found only near Mount Fuji, this giant robot was created by Go Nagai. Known variously as Mazinger Z and Trantor Z, this robot is regarded as the first piloted giant robot in history.
How tall: 18 meters.

Kronos, Kronos: Ravager of Planets
Who is he: A weirdly abstract giant robot vampire that feeds off energy and eats H-bombs for breakfast.
How tall: 100 feet, or about 30.5 meters.

Mechagodzilla, Godzilla
Who is he: Created by "black hole aliens," this was a giant robot version of Godzilla, disguised as the real thing. Luckily, the real Godzilla showed up to battle his chrome pretender.
How tall: 50 meters

Shin-Getter 1, Getter Robo
Who is he: Another awesome Go Nagai creation, he is the ultimate Getter. He's made up of three jet-like vehicles, piloted by separate pilots. There's a red jet, a yellow jet and a white jet.
How tall: 55 meters

GoLion, Beast King GoLion
Who is he: One of the giant robot stories that became the lion version of Voltron in the U.S., GoLion features an arrogant beast robot who gets split into five different lion robots that crashed on the planet Altea. A group of five human pilots find the robots and unite them into GoLion to fight the evil Galra Empire.
How tall: 60 meters

Dariugger XV, Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV
Who is he: The "Vehicle" version of Voltron. Originally he was just an exploration robot as well as a peace-keeping force. Dairugger is launched to defend the Earth from the Galbeston Empire.
How tall: 60 meters

Supertrain Megazord, Power Rangers
Who is he: When the Rangers' awesome five "Rescue Rails" join together in an emergency, they can form the Supertrain Megazord, an incredibly powerful giant robot whose only weakness is Congress cutting funding for Amtrak. (The "Megazord" thing refers to the fact that the trains each contain one of the "Omega Zords." Make sense now?)
How tall: 80 Meters

And here he is in action:

SDF-1, Macross/Robotech
Who is he: Also known as Super Dimensional Fortress One, this is the reconstructed spaceship of Zor, the founder of Robotechnology. It crash-landed on Earth and the humans rebuilt it and re-launched it just in time for the alien Zentraedi to arrive and invade.
How tall: 1210 meters.

Unicron, Transformers
Who is he: Known as the "chaos bringer," Unicron dates from the beginning of the universe. The biggest and most deadly of the Transformers, he aims to absorb the entire universe, planet by planet. And he has the voice of Orson Welles. Basically, unbeatable.
How tall: Planet-sized, with a diameter of to 1,000 kilometers. There's really no competition at all.

But don't take my word for it. Here's Unicron speaking for himself. Don't understimate him, yo.

Reporting by Katharine Duckett.

Gladiatorial Combat In 80-Ton Battlemechs

Ed Grabianowski — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:00:00 PDT

As pilot Boris Vassilev directs his heavy-class 'Mech into the five-acre arena, the thundering footfalls are nearly drowned out by the crowd's roars of delight. Viewers in five systems are watching this live, as Boris prepares for a one-on-one battle against top-ranked pilot Inese Lassonde and her heavily modified Nova Cat. There's cash on the line, of course, but for both pilots, this battle means much more. Reputations are made and destroyed in these arenas. Welcome to Solaris VII.

Veteran gamers have fond memories of the original Solaris VII boxed set for classic Battletech, and now Wizkids is revisiting the homeworld of battlemech arena combat with new rules and cards. In the last two years, the company abandoned the collectible aspect of Mechwarrior (their click-based version of tabletop mech warfare), releasing non-random "action packs" with preset units instead of randomized booster packs. 2007's Solaris VII action packs allowed players to fight it out on arena hex maps, but a few weeks ago, Wizkids released a free rules update that could make Solaris VII so much more.

First up: the Solaris VII Campaign Rules. In addition to being an overall update to the Mechwarrior rules system, adjusted for hex maps instead of open terrain, it also allows your arena pilots to have ongoing careers. Create a stable of mechs, track your winnings and build your reputation with the rabid fans of giant robot combat. Since damaged mechs will need expensive repairs, and destroyed mechs will need to be replaced, battles will involve much more strategy than the old "last one standing" matches. Better still, the rules have been streamlined, so a mech vs. mech battle can be played in 20 minutes. To facilitate Solaris VII campaigns, Wizkids also designed a spreadsheet that will make it easy to track your stable's progress.

As if that weren't enough cool free stuff, they're also offering a full set of Rally Cards in pdf format, with an open license to print them for use in the arenas. The Rally Cards represent unexpected events or maneuvers that help keep arena combat fresh and unpredictable. If giant robot arena combat were real, I'd be a season ticket holder. Image by: Wizkids.

The MechWarrior Solaris VII Campaign pack materials are now available! [Wizkids]

Live-Action Voltron to Get the "Frank Miller Treatment"

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:15:00 PDT

Rumors have been flying for months about the live-action remake of 1980s giant robot series Voltron. But now it looks like we're close to achieving liftoff, with new financial backers who say they want to do the five-robots-make-one-giant robot effects using the B-tech CGI that made 300 look so sweet. But can those effects make giant morphing robots look good?

Even with a zillion dollar budget, the morphing robots in Transformers looked kind of lame, so I don't have high hopes for a low-budget version. But Voltron's new production company, Relativity, has also worked on 3:10 to Yuma, which is a good sign. The movie was written by Justin Marks, who has also worked on the as-yet-unreleased movie versions of He-Man and Green Arrow.

According to Variety: Marks' take is described as a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City and Mexico, where five survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth's invaders. I love me some Voltron, but I'm starting to get a little tired of this whole post-apocalyptic New York thing. Can't we set it in New Mexico or something? That's where aliens always attack.

Voltron Facing a Relativity Reboot [Variety]

The Monsterpocalypse Looms

Ed Grabianowski — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Kaiju fans probably already have their eager hands on issue #0 of the new Monsterpocalypse comic book, but the rest of us can head down to our local comic shop and put in a pre-order for issue #1 starting this week. Based on Privateer Press' upcoming collectible miniatures game, the comics will flesh out the back story of a global defense force that uses giant robots to fight off repeated attacks by giant alien (or other-dimensional) monsters. We've more details on the free limited edition figure you can get with the comics, along with some interior art previews.

Globally United Advanced Research and Defense (GUARD) uses a giant robot called Sky Sentinel to protect Earth from all the giant monsters that are, apparently, constantly attacking. In the three-issue series (not counting #0) from Across the Pond Studios and Desperado Publishing, Sky Sentinel has just been repaired after being defeated by Gorghadra, a battle which resulted in the destruction of most of Chicago. Now, a new, horrible menace threatens New York City, and the Sky Sentinel crew has to leap into battle with a green commander they don't especially like.

Anyone who buys all three issues can send in the receipts to Privateer Press and get a free Mega Sky Sentinel miniature (basically a powered-up version of the basic Sky Sentinel). I saw the paint masters for some of the minis at Origins, and they look even better than I expected. The big launch for Monsterpocalypse will be at Gen Con Indy later this month. Images by: Across the Pond and Desperado.

The Comic is Coming. [MonsterInsider]

Only A Giant Killer Robot Can Prevent Forest Fires

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:00:00 PDT

The raging forest fires of the future will be fought, not by puny humans, but by giant hulking robots like this one. (Note little human figurine for scale.) This robot, designed by student Jordan Guelde in a senior project, is willing to do what it takes to contain a fire — including massacre a lot of trees. Want to see more pics of the model, plus some computer images of the robot cutting a swathe through a roaring inferno?

The robot's physical model has 600 parts and took six months to put together. It includes rotating back shoulder brackets, so the back arms can rotate behind the robot's back when they're not in use. It also has welded steel frames running through its legs for extra support, and hubless motors in the feet. [Jordan Guelde, via [H] Enthusiast]

The Best Abstract Giant Robot Ever

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:32:26 PDT

I am convinced that this giant robot, from the 1957 movie Kronos: Ravager of Planets, is perhaps the very best of the abstract giant robots. And by "abstract," I mean Kronos here looks basically like a modernist building — just a big box on giant struts with a spherical head topped by two antennae. Sure there's some backstory here, like a flying saucer crashed in Mexico and suddenly there was this giant robot who is mind-controlling everybody so it can eat electricity or atomic bombs or something. Really, though, all you need to know is that there is a hulking robot building thing roaming the countryside, and being followed by three intrepid robot geeks wearing awesome coveralls that say "Labcentral" on the back. Damn, I want those coveralls. And that abstract giant robot! Here I've put together the very best of the giant robot scenes for you. Watch Kronos from far away, from up close, and in full burnination mode! [Kronos via IMDB]

Your Giant Robot Deathmatch MMORPG is Here, and It's Free

Ed Grabianowski — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:24:17 PDT

If you've ever wanted to climb into a giant, customizable battle robot and have blazing gun and sword fights with other giant robots, your desires are about to be fulfilled. You can do it all, for free, in the new MMORPG Exteel. Filled with Robotech-style mechs waging war in a series of futuristic environments, Exteel is a straight-ahead arena fighting game. And it rocks. Tweaking your build and jumping into a Territory Control battle is a great way to spend 20 minutes on your lunch break.

Exteel strips the RPG right out of MMORPG. It's all about the fighting. From the main screen, you can set up or join any of the usual modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Territory Control and a variation called Last Stand that lets you team up to take on computer opponents. Players can form clans and move up a ranking system. Each battle earns you experience points to upgrade your pilot and credits to upgrade your mech. You can also buy NC Coins from publisher NCSoft, which in turn can be used to purchase a new paint job or that sweet Hellrazor Plasma Shotgun.

Running through the tutorials gives you enough credits to upgrade your basic trainee mech, and from there you can spend a little or a lot to outfit your robotic engine of destruction. I've been having a lot of fun with a modest mech I equipped with just a $5 outlay.

With no real storyline to speak of, Exteel is not quite as compelling as, say, a good Battletech MMORPG would be, but it has some high points:

Low system requirements. You can run this game on a pretty modest PC rig.
Lots of mech customization options. Massive swords, rocket launchers, winged jet packs, and a variety of color schemes are available.
Cool maps, including a futuristic sports arena, a city criss-crossed by highways and filled with hoverbuses and laser tanks, a space battleship and high-tech military installation.
Purchasable skills. With the right weapons equipped, you can trigger a sweet combo with a single button push, like impaling your opponent with your energy sword, then blasting him point blank with a sub-machine gun before kicking him away. pwned!

Check out Exteel.

Godzilla in the Mist

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:38:21 PDT

Over on Flickr there's a great collection of Japanese toy robots who've been Photoshopped to look half-menacing, half-romantic by giant robot enthusiast Jeff Simmermon. Here's his do-up of Godzilla (click to see full-size glory), who looks like he's ready to pounce — or kiss. Check out the whole set.

Two Kickass Giant Robot Movies We Want to See Right Now

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:32:16 PDT

You can never have enough giant robot movies and TV shows, and that's why we can't wait to see Steam Wars and MORAV, two giant robot projects that are about to get of the ground. The best part is that both projects are spearheaded by designers, so there is a lot of amazing concept art for both. Steam Wars is an alternate history of nineteenth century warfare in which soldiers fight from inside giant, humanoid tanks.

Steam Wars has been in development for a while but last year creator Larry Blamire announced he was ready to make the movie. He's done a lot of film work, and is the creator of beloved indie Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

On the Steam Wars site, Blamire already has an elaborate history of US giant robots vs. Prussian ones, along with a list of slang used by the steam rig operators (steam rig is the word for the giant robots). The best part is that Blamire came up with his flick without having seen any steampunk or anime stuff — his original idea was spawned in the 1970s, so it has a very distinctive look that feels fresh compared to all the stuff that's already out there. OK, Blamire, hurry up already and get Steam Wars underway!

MORAV (which stands for Multi-Operational Robotic Armored Vehicle) is a fully-fleshed out concept created by artist and model designer Fon Davis, who has worked on everything from The Matrix to the forthcoming Coraline. The thing I love about the MORAV concept is that Davis has put a lot of thought into the geopolitics of the MORAV world.

In his description of the story, he emphasizes realism:

The story begins with the robot pilots and their peers testing and training then follows them through their struggles with the hardships of war. The audience witnesses the start of a global arms race to build the greatest giant robot army in the world. MORAV covers many decades chronicling the characters through a coup d'etat followed by a civil war that eventually leads to World War Three. The viewer will actually get to see the entire historic saga of robot warfare through the eyes of the men and women immersed in this reality . . . The show is heavily focused on keeping stories character based and making the environment tangible. There is an effort to bring the audience into a world where robots really walk the streets. The robots in this series do not jump, fly, and shoot lasers out of their eyes. They are designed the way giant robots would be if they were real.
The Nation of Kumala. Divided into two separate states, they have endured an uneasy peace for hundreds of years, but now they find themselves embroiled in a bloody conflict that pits East and West at each other's throats for control of the entire country.

Across the Jilta Straits lies her sister country of Tangri Island. A peaceful nation with a rich blend of traditional Asian heritage and Western-influenced modernisms and, not unlike any other paradise on Earth, there are those who wish to exploit her and take what she has to offer, no matter what the cost.

As tensions evolve into all-out war, heroes from both Tangri and Kumala unite with a corporate peacekeeping detachment of the Joint Nations Defense force in an attempt to prevent the onslaught of genocide. If they fail, the conflict could destroy Kumala and threaten not only the stability of Tangri Island, but engulf the remainder of South-East Asia into a global war.

The politics, though fanciful, are recognizably our own. Let's get this made into a miniseries pronto, people.

Steam Wars [concept site]

MORAV [concept site]

(Thanks Averyguerra!)