Two Gundam games to blast Japanese arcades

TOKYO--This past weekend at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, Banpresto revealed it is making two new games for the arcades--Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Card Builder and Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. Both games will be based on the science-fiction Mobile Suit Gundam series that has been turned into comic books, television shows, and films.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Card Builder will be a strategy game that makes use of trading cards in a similar fashion to Sega's Sangokushi Taisen. The game uses a sensor-enabled playing table that reads the cards when you place them down. When you move your cards around the table, your characters on the monitor screen will reflect your card movements in real time. You'll also be able to create your own customized characters by combining up to five cards. Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 Card Builder will follow the One-Year War of the Gundam epic, and you can play as either the Federation or the Zeon. The game will be released in Japan sometime this year.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. is the latest installment of the 3D Gundam action games from Capcom. The game can be played with up to four people in a two-on-two team match. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Federation vs. Z.A.F.T. will feature a new boost system, which lets players engage in aerial combat. The game will arrive in Japanese arcades this summer.