Macross Spreads Its Wings

TOKYO - If you're a fan of Robotech, then you know what Macross is (the first of the three Japanese TV series' that formed the basis of the show). There have been a few Macross games in the past, but none have really captured the true spirit of the show's battle sequences.

Emotion and Bandai Visual have 2 new Macross games in the works for PlayStation. The first is a PlayStation translation of Macross: Do You Remember Love, which came out on the Saturn a few years ago as a double disc game and included loads of cinema sequences from the movie. The PlayStation version also includes loads of cinemas, some new, some old. It will come with demos of two other Bandai/Emotion games - Macross VF-X 2 and Patlabor The Game.

The second Macross title is Macross VF-X 2 and yes, it's a sequel to the amazingly bad (how can a game like that with everything in the Macross universe going for it go so spectacularly wrong) PlayStation title that came out 2-3 years ago. Seemingly gone are the group of idol singers that were in control of the first VF-X, replaced by more meaningful characters. You can pilot seven different vessels, not all from the original Macross, but from some of the later iterations of the show - including the very bitchin' VF-19 and VF-22 from Macross Plus.

Bandai Visual had one other anime-based game, based on Patlabor called Patlabor The Game. If you're not familiar with Patlabor, in the future, police pilot big mecha instead of driving around in cars. While a playable version was not shown on the show floor, they were showing scenes from the game, movie and TV show. The game is a 3D polygonal action game, with you cast as the series' protagonist, piloting a Patrol Labor.