We now have the first promo for Super Robot Wars Operation Extend. It shows off the 3D and 2D battle animations nicely, with much of the 2D art indeed being for the characters. That said, some of the 3D animations have some 2D flourishes for good measure and whilst this is re-purposed from the GC line of games the art and animations are all pretty fancy. We’re actually looking forward to this know quite a bit.

Whilst we have lost somewhat all hope for Lost Planet 3, this new trailer has re-ignited a modicum of interest on our part. In so far that this trailer covers the multiplayer aspects of the game, it also reveals that the game will have early vital suits (rather than the huge and fugly “rigs” that we’ve seen thus far). Admittedly you still seem to control these VTs in first person (why Spark, WHY?) but the fact they’re here at all is still a blessing. Especially as from a multiplayer standpoint VTs are more comparable in terms of size to that of human players and that makes it more of a fairer and faster paced fight (read: good). The game is still on track for it’s late August release this year and we will be reviewing it once it’s out.

The first livestream for Armored Core Verdict Day has been archived and we’ve linked it below. Whilst there’s a noticeable absence of gameplay footage the new weapon switching animations are pretty damn sexy. As for the collector’s edition figure, it does indeed seem that it isn’t a proper Super Robot Chogokin but instead some nasty ABS monstrosity. For the price tag it does seem somewhat cheeky too. Anyway, enjoy the livestream and it’s nice to be seeing some more Armored Core again.

We now have our first trailer for Armored Core Verdict Day (shown below) and it looks pretty cool. It also thankfully lacks any wubwub nonsense that we got with the last game’s trailers. In addition, we also have details on a collector’s edition release of the game. This will come with (in addition to the game itself) an artbook, soundtrack and a figure. The latter won’t be part of the Super Robot Chogokin toyline annoyingly but instead will be just made of ABS plastic, so it’s likely to be a bit pants. It will be priced at 16,800 yen. Finally, don’t forget that the first livestream for Verdict Day is today.

Sentinel have updated their site for the forthcoming Riobot Blodia toy from Cyberbots. Showing all manner of new shots of the figure, which emphasises its use of diecast (see above), and a promotional video that shows of its various gimmicks. All told, it looks fucking amazing and is definitely going to be the best Blodia figure we’ve ever had. Whilst it is somewhat pricy (10,290 yen) it is a lot cheaper than many of Bandai’s high end outings, which is impressive. It will also be available in 2P colours as well (blue basically). The toy is released this July and you can pre-order yours here.

What with the beta out for Gundam Breaker already (and one that had over 300,000 downloads in its first week online), it seems a bit odd to have a promo. In any case, it is pretty thorough and shows off the game pretty well. We’re definitely looking forward to the game’s release and will probably be picking up the PS3 version (which you can pre-order here).

Today, the YAMS-132 Rozen Zulu gets added to the Gundam Extreme Full Boost roster. Hot off the tails of the recent release of Gundam UC episode 6, the Rozen Zulu is a nice complement to the current stable of Unicorn mobile suits. Weighted at a cost of 2000, the Rozen Zulu has a multitude of weapons to include its incom claws, mega beam shield, and psyco jammer that traps the enemy. Gameplay wise, it looks reminiscent of Zeong with decent offensive options while moving. Make sure to check out the reveal video below!

On February 26th, the Zaku III Kai and Gundam Astray Gold Frame Amatsu will be added to Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost. Like the last release of Archer Arios and GP-03 last month, these two units that were released as DLC for the home version of Gundam Extreme Versus will be fully realized with the newer gameplay mechanics of the sequel.

In addition, Namco Bandai is getting ready for the 2013 Premium Dogfight tournament by having qualifiers starting from February 23rd to March 31st in select locations in Japan. If you don’t know, Premium Dogfight is the national Gundam Versus tournament sponsored by Namco Bandai. Last year, a team of 00 Qan[T] /Tallgeese III defeated a Zaku II/Hildolfr team in a very thrilling battle to claim the national championship for 2012. It will be interesting to see what sort of high level team synergy will arise from the plethora of units in the sequel. The 2013 Premium Dogfight finals will take place on May 25th.

Maybe we’ll see some info on the home release of Full Boost then as well, similar to how they showed off Full Boost during last year’s Premium Dogfight finals for Extreme Versus.

As the forthcoming Macross 30 is literally around the corner in terms of it’s release (less then a week in fact) we’ve now been graced with a trailer showing off a montage of the game’s custom anime footage. It’s clear there’s production value afoot here and it’s very nice to see (and hear!) many of the classic Macross characters again. We’ll be reviewing the game once it’s out and don’t forget you can still pre-order it here.

Following the success of Armored Core Reprises, the internal From Software band called FreQuency (as headed by Kota Hoshino) will be doing another Armored Core remix album. Called Sunrise, the first track to be premiered is that of “Vanishing” (as shown below). Released as a physical copy at the end of the week in Japan and then digitally next week, it’s clear that we’ll be seeing and hearing more of FreQuency in the future. There’s also an excellent fan made Armored Core tribute album called The Answer if you’re at all curious.