The second episode for Super Robot Wars Operation Extend is now out. If you’ve already bought the combined pack that you can download it for free, otherwise you’ll pay 200 yen. More units will be added to the roster, featuring that of Gurren Lagann. We’ve been enjoying the game thus far but without the freemium booster (which we bought) the game would be a motherless grind and in places probably quite unfair. Once all the episodes have been released we’ll likely review the game but thus far it’s pretty good.

There’s an interesting little game that allows you to play with with a VF-11 Thunderbolt via Oculus Rift. Admittedly you just shoot down drones but it looks pretty nifty. The first person view from the head of the battroid does look a bit strange though. In any case, there’s also a similar little browser game available here too (via Unity). The video below shows the Oculus Rift version in action and starts around the 11 minute mark

If you didn’t get a chance to see it live, watch some great North American Gundam Extreme Versus action at the EVO 2013 Championship Tournament held in Las Vegas. Courtesy of TheBrett and the NorCal Dogfight crew, this video displays the Top 8 of the tournament with some of the best North America has to offer. Using an impressive streaming setup, you can watch all four combatants during each of the matches. Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 tournament and hopefully we will see some Full Boost action at next year’s EVO. So stop waiting and check out the action below!

There’s an online Virtual On tournament happening this weekend. Featuring the 360 ports of the original Virtual On, Oratan and Force. The entry deadline has already passed but you can watch the tournament via Godsgarden Twitch.tv channel. The tournament for Virtual On and Force happen tomorrow (27th) and Oratan will be the day after that (28th). The standard of the players online for these games is very high, so expect some truly spectacular matches. Thanks to Zaarock for the heads up.

On July 23, the XM-X3 Crossbone Gundam X-3 will join the Gundam Versus Extreme Full Boost roster after winning the mobile event against the Gerbera Tetra just recently. The final Crossbone Gundam unit in the original Crossbone trio, the Crossbone Gundam X-3 is a 2500 cost suit and is very melee oriented as expected. Equipped with its Muramasa Blaster, as seen with the Crossbone Full Cloth, the X-3 has very quick striking melee that can be powered up with its safety release. Other attacks include a nice little whirlwind throw with the EMS-VSX1 Quarvarze, burning tree logs, and the lovely nuke found with the Crossbone Gundam X-1 Kai. To make up for not being equipped with the iconic ABC mantle, the X-3 also has a very quick approach move with the I-Field, blocking all beam like projectiles for a certain period of time. My only gripe with the suit so far is the fact that while it can throw burning logs, it does not have the infamous monkey controlled mobile suit as an assist. Regardless, it’s still very exciting to see it added to the roster! Cecily Fairchild will also be added as an operator as well. Check out the little gameplay teaser for the X-3 below!

Apologies for the delay in posting this, as we’ve been somewhat busy as of late. In any case the fourth livestream for Armored Core Verdict Day is now archived and linked below. In addition, there are all manner of new promos and adverts that have been unleashed online. The promo is especially interesting as it covers more the narrative side of things, which seems to be a bigger deal in this game compared to the previous one. Following on from that news of a Raven’s Meeting has surfaced. This will be held on August 8th in Shinjuku. Not only will the in-house From Software band FreQuency be playing live but the next livestream will be hosted there too.

With Pacific Rim ramping up to release on July 12th in the west, Hideo Kojima recently tweeted a collaboration with Guillermo Del Toro and famed artist Yoji Shinkawa on the Japanese Pacific Rim movie poster. The titular mecha Gipsy Danger is given the Shinkawa makeover, with slick lines and a slim profile with its blades protracted over what looks like a defeated Knifehead kaiju. Hopefully this will be a collaboration that will spark more mecha-themed games from Kojima such as the long awaited Zone of the Enders 3 as he has been giving Pacific Rim nothing but high praises. Until then, check out the latest Pacific Rim trailer below!

We now have some more details on Super Robot Wars Operation Extend, specifically that it will be released on July 18th and that you can buy all 8 episodes for 5,980 yen. If you decide to buy each episode separately, then the first will cost you 500 yen whereas the remaining installments will be priced at 1,000 yen (so it makes sense to buy them all at once really). The new promo also covers more about the back-end management system in the game too, with parts trading being a pretty cool thing to add. Apart from that we have all manner of sexy new battle animations to look at, including that of the game’s unique OG mecha and pilots. In any case, we’ll be absolutely buying this on its release and we really can’t wait for it either.

Following on from the previous promo for Masou Kishin III, we know have a similar brief entry. This time it features Fang Xan Vicias and his mecha Giorias. In addition to this, apparently the game will feature a cross save setup. Allowing Vita and PS3 owners of the gamer to exchange save data via a server. Admittedly, you’ll have to buy both versions of the game but it’s a nice little thing to do. Still no word on winkysoft and it’s looking like we’ll have to wait until the game is released this August before we’ll know for sure. Don’t forget you can pre-order it here.

The third livestream for Armored Core Verdict Day has been archived and we’ve linked it below. As you’d expect, a lot more was shown and discussed about the new UNAC AI system and it’s looking quite comprehensive. In addition, the game will also come with a new death animation for all ACs (with them tumbling to their respective dooms). This is somewhat reminiscent to the more ostentatious deaths seen in Last Raven. This new death animation was compiled into a new YouTube video, accompanied by suitably Shaft-tastic music, and we’ve included this below too. If we’re honest, the new rolling death looks a bit odd but maybe this is due to the camera angles they’ve chosen.