Front Mission: Gun Hazard

Square released a game in Japan a while back called Front Mission which featured futuristic robots in the RPG simulation format.This new adventure is set in the world of Front Mission and features most of its cool RPG features, but now the battles are fought like a side-scrolling shooting game.The character designs are by the person who did Front Mission, but you'll probably recognize it as by the artist from Final Fantasy III. Just like in Front Mission, you'll interact with a cool cast of soldiers as the story unfolds.You can expect the same level of suspense and drama found in other Square games like Final Fantasy, which gives this shooter/RPG more substance than your average action game. Although it may look similar to Cybernator and its sequel Metal Warriors (both by Konami),the emphasis isn't on action.You can customize your 'mechs with new armor and weapons bought with your earnings, and you'll have access to even greater tools of destruction as the game progresses. Hopefully, we'll see it here sometime in the summer.