Capcom is pleased to confirm that Bionic Commando Rearmed will be available for download from Marketplace and PlayStation Store in just over two weeks.

The XBLA version will be available on August 13 and cost 800MPs, with the PSN version following a day later on August 14 and cost £6.99 / €9.99.

With a fully fledged one player game plus the addition of two player co-op, the option for four players to go head to head in multiplayer mode and over 50 timed challenge rooms, Bionic Commando Rearmed delivers a whole lot of content at a great price.

For those who don’t know of the linage of Bionic Commando, it was originally released in the arcades in 1987 and a year later made its console debut on the NES as a remake. It was notable in the game that the main character was unable to jump, therefore you must use the bionic arm to grapple onto the surrounding to leap, swing and move through the levels, forcing you to use the arm as a gameplay mechanic. check out the screens below to see more of what to expect!

In a press release Beez Entertainment has announced that they will be shipping several of their titles now on the Blu-Ray format. Perfect for those who want their high definition fix. Below is the press statement from Beez!

Starting from November 11th, the UK will receive its first full length OAV series on Blu-ray to the UK in the shape of the limited edition release of the Freedom OAVs in one 4 disc box set.

FREEDOM is a groundbreaking Sci-fi anime series in which a restless youth of a moon settlement Eden venture outside the rigorously controlled environment and head towards Earth, a world known to have been destroyed.

Following this, on November 24th, 2008 to the UK – Gunbuster vs Diebuster the movie boxset!

Gunbuster was the first commercial success of the fan turned pro studio Gainax and the directorial debut of acclaimed creator Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion), GUNBUSTER casts pretty girls and giant robots in a moving tale of interstellar naval war and is a story of a young girl’s struggle to pilot the ultimate weapon

Gunbuster 2 (aka DIEBUSTER) is the epic sequel directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL) is set thousands of years after GUNBUSTER, and focuses on a space pilot wannabe named Nono from a lonely snowbound village. Her efforts lead her to join the elite teenage pilot group called Topless in order to defend the Sol System with their superpowers.

Coming as a 3 disc boxset with a bonus Blu-Ray disc. The 2 movies will also be available individually.

Since this is a worldwide release, not all these titles will be available from November 11th here in the UK. Looking through the press release, I have the exact details for the UK market:

FREEDOM (4 Disk Limited Edition)- Nov 17th - £69.99
GUNBUSTER vs DIEBUSTER: Blu-ray Disc Box (Limited Edition) - Nov 24th - £49.99
GUNBUSTER Movie - Nov 24th - £24.99
DIEBUSTER Movie - Nov 24th - £24.99

Just to note, that with the GUNBUSTER vs DIEBUSTER Box Set, you get a bonus disk with extra material. Not a bad deal indeed and its good that animé will be in High Definition, lets hope the trend continues.

Granted this might not interest us in the UK, however there is a good chance of this possibly coming to our shores in a cinema near you in the future, possibly to be distributed by Manga Entertainment. For those who are from the USA though tickets are on sale now and will also feature exclusive footage as well as a behind the scenes look of the characters! This is only available at this event of which will air for two nights only on June 11th - 12th, 7:30pm.

Freshly announced by VIZ Media is Blue Dragon on Cartoon Network! Here is the official press release:

Blue Dragon is coming to Cartoon Network, and it’s dynamite! Based on the awesome Xbox 360 video game, the Blue Dragon anime will mesmerize you with its fantastic tales of magical powers, ancient civilizations, mythical creatures and unbounded heroism! Join a boy named Shu and his friends on an epic quest to rescue the world from the clutches of the evil ruler Nene! And if the characters look familiar, it’s because they were designed by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.

Catch the premiere of the first two episodes
on Cartoon Network on April 5:

Episode 1 at 9:00 A.M.
Episode 2 at 9:30 A.M.

And be sure to watch Blue Dragon every Saturday morning at 9:00 A.M.
on Dynamite Action Squad, starting on April 12!

Check out future issues of SHONEN JUMP for more upcoming coverage of Blue Dragon!

You can check out trailers and more goodies such as Widgets on their website here - bluedragon.viz.com!