As part of a rather nifty Japanese campaign, PS3 owners that watch at least 6 episodes of various Macross series via the Home video theatres will be rewarded with a new piece of furniture for their apartment in Home; the SDF-1. This being the SDF-1 from the first Macross TV series, as it sports both the Daedalus and Prometheus as arms. That said there are a few elements of the model that bear a closer resemblance to that of the movie version, notably around the “feet” and the tips of the main cannon. Considering that the movie version was rebuilt from a Meltran Gun Destroyer, rather than the Supervision Army variant as in the series, this mix and mash of elements is most curious. In any case, the fact you can have a fully transformable Macross in Home is pretty neat. Thankfully there is also a real world option too if you are so inclined, albeit a bit smaller. This campaign started a few days ago and will finish on March 16th, so get watching while you can.

To tie in with the newly announced Bayformers sequel Dark of the Moon, Activision seemed to have finally done something smart with their approach to film tie-ins. Specifically, they’ve hired High Moon back to make the game. Considering that War for Cybertron was pretty decent, especially for a Transformers game, we’re suitably upbeat that this game will actually be playable (even if the mecha designs do suck rather horribly). As expected, the game will operate in an almost identical way to that of War for Cybertron, even down to the online multiplayer setup. However, for those concerned on the turnaround in terms of development cycles on this new game, fear not. High Moon started work on this game whilst War for Cybertron was already in development, so they’ll have enough time to polish the game (something that most film tie-ins rarely get the chance to).

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Following on from Hidetaka Tenjin’s previous Valkyrie themed book, it seems that we will be graced with yet another wonderful entry called Valkyries Second Sortie. As the cover suggests, it seems that this edition will also be more focused towards the recent Macross Frontier. As with all of Tenjin’s work, this will be a must buy on its release later this month. Make sure to pre-order it now!

After all the hubbub of last week over the re-announced Armored Core V, the official site has been suitably renovated. Whilst the site shows the same trailer and set of screenshots revealed last week, it does cast some interesting light on a few other things. For one, on load the site offers an English language option; something that never happened with any of the previous games. This is a massive shift for the series, as it shows that right up front that both From Software and Bandai Namco are pitching this worldwide from the off. The other elements that are worth noting, bar the blog and Twitter feed, is that the coupon campaign (via the rather dire Armored Core Last Raven Portable) is still valid. So for those that bought the Japanese version of the game, the coupon still applies. This means that a week prior to the game’s release you will start receiving DLC codes for exclusive parts.

Still no word on a concrete release date but both GameWatch and 4Gamer have joined the PR fray this week, so now that the cat is out of the bag expect more regular updates.

Update: In line with the obvious global focus for ACV’s PR, there’s now an official Facebook page for the game. Apart from the screenshots, there are some lovely scans of the new AC designs too.

On the 9th February, another mobile suit will be added to the ranks of Gundam Musou 3. Specifically that of the GN-006 Cherudim Gundam from the second season of Gundam 00. The Cherdudim was also the upgraded version of the GN-002 Gundam Dynames, though with a new pilot that happened to share the same name (long story). 4Gamer has some nice shots of the new playable mecha too. In terms of pricing the DLC will cost 600 yen (PS3) and 480 MSP (360).

Gamespot has managed to land a very interesting interview with the father of Armored Core and producer of Armored Core V, Toshifumi Nabeshima. In addition, there are a slew of new screenshots available too alongside the interview. The full interview is shown below and it’s even dubbed in English. Enjoy!

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In the latest issue of Famitsu more details about Armored Core 5 have surfaced. From the news that Bandai Namco will be publishing this worldwide to the increased focus on online multiplayer, it seems that From Software have been quite busy. Regarding online play, the game will be based around players forming teams and undertaking a form of territorial conquest, with whoever taking the most territory winning. Teams are of 5 players a piece, with 4 in traditional Armored Cores and the fifth in a new command unit. If all this sounds familiar, then you’re not alone. This setup was used very successfully in From Software’s other mecha game Chrome Hounds. With the reduced size of the mecha the levels consequently require more strategy too, which is where the whole commander setup comes in. For those concerned about the absence of a singleplayer segment, there will be an option for this but the main online campaign is intended to be an almost meta-campaign. Again, this is a follow on from the Neroimus War concept seen in Chrome Hounds. What with this new information regarding the online setup, as well as the previous nods by From Software to games like Metal Wolf Chaos, it really seems as though they are cherry picking design elements from their previous games and merging them with how Armored Core used to traditionally work. All of this is clearly brilliant and Armored Core 5 could turn out to be something genuinely special. The game is set for a 2011 release in Japan but no actual dates as yet.

Update: Famitsu now has some screenshots on their site. These show the commander view as well a front end war menu, so it is indeed very Chrome Hounds (as we suspected). Bandai Namco have also mentioned the fact that Armored Core 5 will be released in 2012 for Europe and America (rather than this year as was previously stated).

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Over at Anime News Network they’re reporting the news that a live Macross Frontier concert will be held within Home. Despite the obvious Macross Plus/Sharon Apple nerd association of attending a virtual concert performed by human controlled CG characters, it does sound pretty cool and not at all life threatening. In terms of when the event will be kicking off, both Aya Endo and Megumi Nakajima seem keen (in the video below at least) to point us at the official Twitter account. This is obviously in advance of the forthcoming movie released at the end of February and with Macross Triangle Frontier released just in a few weeks too, it’s getting pretty busy for us Macross fans.

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Back in the fall of 2009, TimeGate Studios released Section 8. A fairly robust, though nearly totally ignored, multiplayer shooter title for the Xbox 360, PC, and later the PS3. Although the game suffered from poor controls, it remained popular with those who had discovered this gem.

The game itself featured power armor clad soldiers, a variety of vehicles, weapons, custom load outs and even larger powered armor akin to Gasaraki’s Tactical Armors.

Although Section 8 was passed over by many. TimeGate, being an independent studio saw fit to make a sequel. Bigger. Better. Cheaper. Section 8: Prejudice seeks to correct many of the design flaws of its predecessor. The game will feature much of the same core game elements as the last and then some, as well as an all new single player campaign.

One feature that seems to be getting a little more focus is the heavier mecha you can purchase through play. Playing similar to some sort of Halo: Reach/Planetside mash up, Section 8: Prejudice promises to be a fun, engaging sci-fi shooter. Prejudice is set to come out early this year at a very affordable 14.99 (USD).

4Gamer is showing that the next DLC pack for Gundam Musou 3, that’s released tomorrow, will feature the NZ-666 Kshatriya from Gundam Unicorn. This suit is a successor of sorts to the NZ-000 Quin Mantha and the ORX-013 Gundam Mark V (with the latter forming the basis for the AMX-014 Doven-Wolf). However, much like with many of the ill-fated designs in Gundam ZZ, the Neo Zeon mantra of “more power” rarely seems to work out for them, as the lighter and nimbler mobile suits often take them to the cleaners. As with many of the Unicorn mecha, there is a strong ZZ connection though. Especially as the pilot of the Kshatriya, Marida Cruz, is actually a grown up clone of Elpeo Puru. The DLC pack will cost 600 yen (PS3) and 480 MSP (360) respectively .