Not long after the game’s announcement, Gundam Battle Operation has received its very first promo video (shown below). It comprises entirely of in-game footage, from mobile suits doing combat rolls (no, really) to teeny people taking down said mobile suits with a variety of weaponry. Some of the animation looks pretty fluid in places but this game really reminds us of the very ill-fated Gundam Operation Troy on 360. Admittedly, the development was outsourced on that but the attempt to effectively turn Gundam into a Battlefield game didn’t really work out. Likewise, this looks to be a similar setup in places but we hope it will work out a bit better this time. That aside, the engine and tech do look more and more from Gundam Senki 0081 though and this is definitely a good thing, as that already had a pretty solid multiplayer infrastructure. There are also some nice screemshots of the game over at Famitsu too.

The original Steel Battalion had a pretty epic price tag, but that was because you were getting a huge custom built controller to go with the game. In a recent move by Capcom though, they’ve seemed to rather missed the main point of pricing the forthcoming Steel Battalion Heavy Armor. Whilst this is not the standard price for the game, as that’s roughly what you’d expect it to be, the Limited Edition will come in at 35,000 yen. For that you get a jacket, helmet (?!?), soundtrack, book on the game and the game itself. This is nearly double what the original game cost and this pack doesn’t even come with a Kinect peripheral. We’re really beginning to doubt that the guys at Capcom know what they’re doing.

Famitsu has a nice new update showing some more units in the forthcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen. From the majestic Shin Getter (pictured above) to the rather lovely GNR-101A GN Archer from Gundam 00. Even the re-done animations for Overman King Gainer, a favourite series of ours too, look really great. It’s also intimated elsewhere that another longer promo will be forthcoming showing off a lot more of the game. Considering that the game’s release is a few weeks away, the timing is suitably apt. Don’t forget you can also preorder the game here.

In the latest issue of Famitsu, Bandai Namco have announced Gundam Battle Operation (pictured above). A free to download online multiplayer PSN title that will very likely offer further paid content (freemium basically). It’s being developed by B.B. Studio, though they’re citing the upcoming Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen as a reference. That’s a little odd as it’s far more likely being developed by the team who made Gundam Senki 0081, who are also part of B.B. Studio (plus the early screenshots look like it’s similar tech anyway). Apart from the freemium thing, which inherently concerns us (as many titles that adopt this model are often pretty crappy to play, though Hawken may likely change all that to be fair), we are more worried if Terada gets involved in this. As whenever he ventures outside of SRW he tends to ruin everything, especially when it comes to action games. That aside, the game seems to be set in early Universal Century, judging from the mobile suits on display, and will feature 12 player online matches (6 per side). Apparently, you’ll also be able to exit your mobile suit and walk around on foot too. There will also be a closed beta at the end of March for 10,000 players and the final game is expected in June.

The forthcoming Gundam Seed Battle Destiny has received its first commercial and it’s all in-game footage too. Despite not being huge fans of the Seed branch of the Gundam saga, this game looks to be similarly decent as per the original Gundam Battle games that were released on the PSP. There are even some new screenshots going the rounds too, though w’re not overly fond of the game’s boxart (especially after the awesome work of Naochika Morishita on the older games). Don’t forget that you still can pre-order the game here.

Kaiyodo have announced that they’ll be releasing a Revoltech of the Mass Produced Evangelion this May. At 12cm in height, the demonic sock puppet with lipstick will be yours to own in more accessible toy form. This will allow eager fans of the anime to recreate the end of the show and films, with intermittent screaming from Shinji obviously. We’ve always found this mecha design to be weird/creepy/comical and enjoyed smiting these buggers in whatever Super Robot Wars game they surfaced in. As with all Revoltechs expect a reasonable price tag but with awesome articulation.

In a rather cool move to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Macross this year, Bandai Namco will be releasing some new DLC for Ace Combat Assault Horizon with some F-14D’s made up with the livery from Hikaru Ichijoe’s VF-1J and Roy Focker’s VF-1S. What’s especially lovely about this is that the F-14 was in fact the base by which Shoji Kawamori penned the original VF-1 series of variable fighters in the first Macross. So to have F-14D’s made up like this brings a nerdy tear to our eye. Naturally, these jets don’t transform but both will be available (as a set) on March 21st for either 600 yen (PS3) or 400 MSP (360).

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan we’ve been sent the Super Robot Chogokin Zeorymer from the anime Hades Project Zeorymer. Whilst this is somewhat of a niche super robot OVA from the late 80’s, it has garnered a rather infamous reputation due to its suitably uber presence in several Super Robot Wars games. We’ve also made sure to include some nice footage from the anime as well as its various game appearances at the bottom of the review.

Despite a few announcement hiccups, it seems that Gundam Seed Battle Destiny will finally be released on June 7th. Sony have subsequently been doing a slew of videos to assure new PS Vita customers that games are indeed on the way, with Battle Destiny being notable (shown below). Even Terada has been summoned to talk about the forthcoming PSP game Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen, which whilst technically not a PS Vita game per se it can be run on the system (just like Hakai-hen already is). That aside, the game footage of Battle Destiny looks good and seems very much in line with the prior PSP games in the series. If you haven’t done so already, you can also pre-order the game here.

Updated: Despite elsewhere stating that an SRW is being made for the Vita, the video with Terada that we linked doesn’t actually state this. He merely says that they’re investigating how the system works at present. Whilst it’s likely an SRW game will come to the Vita, it’s a bit early to make any such assertions. Saisei-hen will definitely work on the Vita though.

Now with the Western release of Armored Core V only a few week’s away, the PR machine has kicked it up a notch. A nice new walkthrough video (shown below) takes you on a whistlestop tour of the game, showing all manner of cool stuff from the customisation to the huge bosses too. Interestingly, the Overed Weapons have been renamed to “Ultimate Weapons” now. Whilst it sorta makes sense, we did like the original term. In any case, both versions of the game will be available on March 20th in the US and March 23rd in the rest of Europe.