Similar to Bandai’s previous Tamashii Nation events, they are now hosting a Tamashii Features event in both Tokyo and Osaka at the beginning of February. This will showcase their more affordable line of Robot Damashii and S.H.Figurarts toys. Naturally, at these events you often get limited edition toys only available for those that attend. The above Gundam Exia figure is a unqiue Trans-Am variant using translucent plastic for the outer armor. The Trans Am system effectively makes the Exia travel at three times its normal speed, a minor in-joke to Char’s customised Zaku II in the original Gundam (as that too was red and travelled suitably quick). However, the Trans Am functionality is more akin to the V-MAX system seen in Layzner as it’s time specific and relies on a finite amount of fuel. The Exia, and its Trans Am system, was recently featured in Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus. We’ve also included a video of the first time the Trans Am system kicks off for the Exia. Enjoy!

One of the most potent “original generation” mecha in Super Robot Wars is finally getting the figure treatment. Specifically the RaiOh from Alpha 3 will be released in June of 2010 for 15,750 yen. In addition, this is a Dengeki Hobby magazine exclusive item with a fixed pre-order period ending on the 15th February. Thankfully, Tokyo Hunter is taking orders so you’re not completely stuffed when it comes to tracking one down. There’s no word of RaiOh’s upgraded form, that of DaiRaiOh, making a similar leap to toy form but we can always hope. In any case, we’ve also included some game footage from Alpha 3 below of the RaiOh and DaiRaiOh taking a few names.

In addition, Terada-san (one of Super Robot Wars’ producers) recently announced in the series’ official blog that a new and as yet unannounced game will be released sometime in 2010. Here’s hoping it’s a shiny new 2D effort on either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

The Crysis mod almost three years in the making, MechWarrior Living Legends is now finally out in Beta form. For those eager to get cracking with the mod, a list of download mirrors is available here, though you’ll need an account on their forum to access the thread in question. Admittedly, the mod has been delayed over a year now but considering that this is being done for free by a collection of dedicated fans means that the rest of us should learn to be more patient. In any case, they’ve done a truly splendid job and it shows that fan based work is by no means to be sniffed at. It’s also worth noting that this mod is not to be confused with the upcoming multi-platform MechWarrior reboot, though it does seem to give Piranha Games’ effort a graphical run for its money.

The final of the three Armored Core PSP ports, in the form of Last Raven, has received its first promo video and a smattering of coverage. For those unaware, Last Raven was one of the most challenging Armored Core games and ultimately aimed at its loyal fanbase, which wound up a a fair few Western journalists on its PlayStation 2 release (as they found it impossibly difficult for the most part). As a consequence, the original game was very much misunderstood and many of its features overlooked. Notably of which was its very involved branching narrative (though the English localisation was pretty woeful to be fair). The narrative received a large amount of interest, in Japan, and multiple directors were involved in creating various promotional videos for the game (with this being my personal favourite). The current PSP port has subsequently re-used a similar edit to this promo, so you should be able to compare and contrast on how accurate the port is from a graphical standpoint over the original game. This port will be released in Japan on March 4th next year at 3990 yen, along with a nice 60 page artbook containing lots of artwork and interviews.

We previously mentioned the upcoming PC scrolling shooter Gunhound a while back, but the game’s developer’s Dracue have released a trial version of the game online (you can download the installer here). Considering that this has been been made by a small team of people, the final results are impressive and refreshingly well crafted. The game is entirely in Japanese obviously, so pad configuration maybe a bit of fiddle. That aside, it plays an awful lot like Leynos and Valken but that is very much a good thing (though with lots of lovely aesthetic nods to VOTOMS, as the other Hound in the demo sports a commander type radar from Roots of Ambition). The full game is released on the 18th December.

Over at GA Graphic, they’ve reviewed the upcoming release of the DX Chogokin Macross Quarter from the recent Macross Frontier series. The Quarter is aptly named as it’s a more compact size Macross class ship, which makes it more manoeuvrable amongst other things. In the series, it acts as SMS’s base of operations within the auspices of the Frontier colony fleet. As toys go, this looks to be rather good as it uses a lot of diecast in the mould and boasts a full transformation. It’s quite expensive though, coming in at 20,790 yen.

For those that played the recent and excellent Macross Ultimate Frontier, the Quarter is also playable believe it or not. Unlocked by completing the final Extra mission, “Ultimate Bomber”. Unsurprisingly, it’s a pretty epic unit when compared to the other variable fighters. So if you had fun with that then you may want to make a pre-order for its release on the 19th December. To finish off, it seems only fair to show a little video of the Quarter kicking a large amount of Vajra behind as well as footage of the toy itself. Enjoy!

After the announcement of the upcoming Transformers game, Activision have followed it up with a debut trailer that doesn’t really show very much to be honest. In addition, it’s pretty obvious that it doesn’t feature gameplay footage either. Still, for those curious about the designs it does show more in terms of the stylistic approach. Narratively, it looks as though the game is set before the Transformers arrival on Earth. This would explain their more angular and generally futuristic aesthetic. Along with the trailer, there is now an official site for the game.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a kit from the original Virtual On to review. Specifically, Kotobukiya’s 1/100 scale Viper II. This was a lightly armored and mostly airborne focused virtuaroid, that also sported a very powerful secret attack – in the form of its “SLC” (or “She’s Lost Control”) dive. Like the other VR’s in the Virtual On series, Viper II was designed by mecha design magnate Hajime Katoki.

Our review covers the kit in its out of the box and unpainted form but we have also included painted photos towards the end. In addition, to give the kit some context, we’ve also captured some gameplay footage of the design in action from the recent SEGA AGES PlayStation 2 port.

The wonderful and massively popular Gundam networked arcade game Senjou no Kizuna, with its panoramic cockpit, is getting a version update (Rev 2.10 to be exact) on the 9th December. Apart from general balancing the game is receiving new maps and mobile suits, with the former featuring Odessa as well as the Libot colony from Gundam 0080 War in the Pocket. Considering how wonderfully nerdy the whole setup is, the thought of playing that map in a Yutaka Izubuchi designed GM Command gives me goosebumps of glee.

Despite the insane arcade hardware, there is a port of Senjo no Kizuna available (on the PSP to be exact). Whilst it’s pretty solid, as the arcade game only uses a pretty basic board, it does play a tad differently as the panoramic cockpit forces you to look around in the arcade whereas on the PSP the game occurs straight in front of you. In any case, you can buy the port here.

The arcade port Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus is released today in Japan. If you’re thinking of importing the game you can get it here (or here if you’re in Europe). In addition, Bandai Namco are hosting an online questionnaire for the game to take feedback from gamers. There’s still no word on the PlayStation 3 version of the game but this may have been a misunderstanding (as many PSP games can be downloaded via the PlayStation 3’s online store). In any case, considering this is still Gundam’s 30th Anniversary it seems only fitting to finish off with a lovely video of pretty much all the major Gundam’s effectively high fiving for the win. Enjoy!