Whilst we meant to review the awesome PC version of Gunhound we never got around to it (it is awesome though). However, we now know that there will also be a PSP version released in December of this year called Gunhound EX. Sort of a remake(ish), it’s being co-developed with G.Rev this time. In addition, it will still feature music by the lovely Kinuyo Yamashita as well as new tracks from the pretty mad Hyakutaro Tsukumo. The game will also be released on PSN but a limited edition box set will also come packaged with cels and an all important soundtrack CD. We’ll be picking this up though and definitely reviewing it this time.

Whilst it was recently revealed at this year’s Wonder Festival, Kotobukiya have officially announced the release of a truly gorgeous 1/100 scale Metal Gear Rex kit in December of this year. This is not to be confused with the huge and hugely expensive threeA toy, as this kit is smaller and costs a lot less (as well as needing to be assembled and painted obviously). The sculpt also looks spot on and for the money this is something I’d rather have over the threeA toy, as the latter has no diecast to speak of (which at that price is fucking disgraceful). As always, you can pre-order the kit here for a very reasonable 6,240 yen.

Well, we now know how much the forthcoming 1/60 scale VF-4G Lightning III will cost. That of an eye watering 26,985 yen. In addition, this will only be available to purchase via Yamato’s online shop. Whilst the toy will be released sometime this December, orders will be opening up later this August. Despite the price tag, we will be getting this as we’ve always loved the VF-4 and this toy looks to have a really remarkable sculpt.

Update: Yamato are now taking orders here.

Sentinel’s rather amazing looking Riobot Gurren Lagann is now finally out in the wild. Despite having all manner of lovely Gurren Lagann toys already, we’re seriously tempted to pick this one up (purely on the sculpt in fact). As figures go though, the articulation and gimmicks look superb on this too. As always, you can buy yours here.

At this summer’s Wonder Festival, Sentinel have definitely revealed something rather cool in their increasingly awesome Riobot toyline. That of the mighty Blodia (pictured above) from the classic arcade game, Cyberbots. The mecha was also featured in the Cyberbots sequel Kikaioh as well, though as a slightly pimped up unlockable. If that wasn’t enough, Kotobukiya are also apparently releasing a kit of Metal Gear Rex as well. Though, Sentinel still steal the show for us as the recent reveal that the exquisitely designed Tsugumori from the Knights of Sidonia manga (by the simply brilliant Tsutomu Nihei) will be also getting the Riobot treatment. If you want to peruse the rest of the Wonder Festival coverage, then have a look here and here.

Over at the Yamato website they’ve announced a pre-order bonus for the forthcoming 1/60 scale VF-4G Lightning III toy. If you’re a normal member of the public you’ll get a 5% discount but if you’re a Yamato Fanclub member you’ll also get an additional 5% discount (amounting a nice total of 10% in all). The deadline for all the pre-orders is midday on the 30th July. Whilst the price point still isn’t determined what is more worrying is that Yamato are using this pre-order setup to gauge demand. So if they’re aren’t enough pre-orders we won’t even get this toy. If you’re curious as to how the development of it has gone thus far, then have a look here. It looks really quite lovely and there’s clear diecast in the joints too (this being a very good thing obviously). Either way we’ve got our fingers crossed for this one as we want it bad.

As we mentioned a while back, the VF-171EX Nightmare Plus has been given the chogokin treatment (you can buy it here). Following on from that though, we now have the armored parts announced too. Released this December, the armored parts cost a pretty reasonable 5,040 yen. However, as with many of these optional toy parts, these are only available from the Premium Bandai site.

This year’s Shizuoka Hobby Show is now in full swing. Among the many new items shown, with a mention of a Kagekiyo kit being pretty cool, is the reveal of Yamato’s next 1/60 scale variable fighter toy. Specifically that of the VF-4G Lightning III. The mecha itself has an interesting history, as it was originally (though very briefly) shown as a toy in the original Macross TV series. A more substantial display was then later included within Macross Flashback 2012. In both instances though the mecha was only shown in fighter mode. For years this produced all manner of speculation as to its transformation sequence, as well as what the battroid mode would actually look like. In 1995 the questions were answered as the variable fighter was featured (fully transformable) in Macross Digital Mission VF-X. Whilst the game was a steaming pile of bobbins (despite having a damn sexy intro) it did at least lay much of the fan inquiry to rest. Since then, the VF-4 has been a staple of pretty much every Macross game since. All that aside though, it’s one of our favourite designs from Macross and we’re so very happy that Yamato are doing the decent thing and making a toy out of it. No word or pricing or release date as yet but considering that the VF-4 was operationally rolled out in the Macross timeline around September 2012, expect Yamato to try and hit that date. Yamato also have a very nice page detailing the toy’s engineering in regards to its transformation. If you want to have a look at the rest of what the hobby show has on offer, then feast your eyes on this, this and this.

For a third week running, the suitably awesome Super Robot Wars Z 2 Saisei-hen is in the top of the Japanese charts yet again. This isn’t wholly surprising but it is testament to the fact that the game is genuinely very good indeed. It also illustrates another fine point; that no hardware is truly dead and software is all important in a platform’s success. Listening to all the hardware naysayers over the years, it’s now very clear that much of their outlook is desperately parochial.

That aside, we’ve subsequently done numerous repeated playthroughs on the game since our review and it gets better with each sitting. Our favourite unit, by quite a large margin, is also the suitably godlike YF-29 Durandal. Admittedly it’s only available towards the end of the game and then only via a secret unlock, but even so it’s just so damn awesome. The animations are also pretty amazing too. We cannot stress enough how much this game needs to be in your life right now, so buy it already.

Following on from the first part, we’ve been waiting for Saisei Hen with baited breath for quite a while. Unlike previous Super Robot Wars releases, the sequel to the first Z was planned in two parts. This was moderately cunning on the part of Banpresto; as not only would it allow more modern mecha series (often with two story arcs) to be portrayed in more detail but it also meant we could be charged twice for effectively the same game.

However, this isn’t quite the case. Whilst Saisei Hen is very much the second of two gaming parts it still has a huge amount of new content on offer. It’s also noticeably easier throughout too, though your mileage may obviously vary on that point. Either way, we’ve been thoroughly enjoying ourselves with Saisei Hen and it was very much worth the wait.