An expansion for the RTS/RPG hybrid game Dawn of War II, titled Chaos Rising, has been announced. The official site, with a few more pretty pictures and such, can be found here.

What we know so far seems to imply the single player campaign is again Space Marine centered, so those hoping for a Dark Crusade style campaign, where every race was playable in single player, might again be out of luck. The only new faction announced (so far) has been Chaos, and I’m sure I’m not the only mecha fan who had their hopes on a Tau or Necron appearance, or at least a playable Ork campaign.

Still, it looks like Relic Entertainment might finally start answering some questions about the Blood Ravens’ hidden origins and the consequences of the events in the first Dawn of War. The last Dawn of War I expansion, Soulstorm, had a total of nine playable factions, so it’s somewhat understandable that they’ve been short on narrative time, but after five installments I feel we’re due some background characterization on everyone’s favourite generic Space Marines.

Whilst we already posted a piece on someone else’s hands on impressions, a Mecha Damashii reader felt compelled to send us theirs from the Tokyo Game Show floor regarding the PlayStation 3 version. From the gameplay videos that have been going the rounds, the following report sounds pretty consistent. Considering the submission deadlines with console releases such as these, it’s doubtful that we’ll see many changes between now and the projected release date. So read on to hear the damage first hand (staunch Front Mission fans may need a stiff drink ready).

The remake to the classic Thexder, in the form of the PSP update Thexder Neo, has been finally released on the US PSN store for $9.99. We will be posting a review of this in the very near future but in the meantime feel free to watch the trailer that Square Enix were nice enough to upload to their YouTube channel.

Macross Ultimate Frontier for the PSP is released today in Japan (you can get it here). Naturally, we’ll be reviewing the game in the very near future but in the meantime feel free to read our feature on the more contemporary Macross games available.

The upcoming Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus for the PSP has had a new bunch of screenshots released, displaying the new mobile suits featured in this version. The screens also show some of the initial mission mode screens, which is being called the “Next Plus” mode within the game itself. The game is still scheduled for a 3rd December release in Japan for 6,279 yen.

The rumoured releases of the GP-01 and GP-02 from Gundam 0083 as DLC additions have come true, as Game Watch has a breakdown of the upcoming DLC for Gundam Senki 0081 (which we’ve reviewed in case you’re wondering). It’s interesting to see how these mecha from later in the UC timeline will integrate with units that pre-date them. That said, the inclusion of the RX-178 Gundam Mk. II and the RMS-099 Rick Dias from Zeta Gundam could be a mobile suit too far in terms of the balancing. Each unit will cost between 300 to 500 yen and can only be used in the Free Play mode. Releases are penned for October and November via the Japanese PSN store.

One of the most renowned and influential mecha of all time, that of Tetsujin 28-go, has been given the life size treatment in Kobe. The reason that it’s been erected in Kobe rather than Tokyo is because the creator of the series, Mitsuteru Yokoyama, was born there.

Tetsujin 28-go is also the first real Japanese mecha series, pre-dating the likes of Gundam by almost quarter of a century. Naturally, the series has seen many remakes and sequels over the years, with a new CG film very likely on the way courtesy of Imagi (the same studio behind the upcoming Astro Boy remake).

Personally, my favourite interpretation was the 2004 TV series, as that retained the stylistic overtones from the 50’s and 60’s whilst keeping contemporary production values in terms of the animation. It was also decidedly bleak in terms of the narrative, much more so than the original. The 2004 series also received a video game tie-in (which we’ve reviewed). Interestingly, Tetsujin 28-go has never been featured in a Super Robot Wars game.

Unlike the recent and temporary RX-78-2 Gundam that was in Tokyo, this statue will be a permanent fixture next to Shin-Nagata Station.

Over on the Little Big Planet Central forums a poster by the name of “donkey show” is on the way to making a Gundam themed level, along with an Exia-esque mecha. Separately, he’s also done some nice customised Gundam Sackboys, seen above. The video below shows the level in action and it’s pretty impressive.

There is some decent, though shaky cam, footage over at Ruliweb for the new Gundam vs Gundam Next Plus on the PSP (right click here for the movie file). It looks much like the previous Gundam vs Gundam PSP port, so solid basically. The presence of the 00 Raiser is a nice addition though and it looks suitably beefy in game.

The Tokyo Game Show brings us another set of hands-on impressions, from Kotaku this time.

There’s not too much in the way of new information, and Kotaku’s impressions take a turn for the negative near the end, but I’d guess some of their complaints could stem from either the playable demo being made easy so as to be more ‘accessible’, or them simply not having enough time to get acquainted with the movement and attack options.

It’s nice to see the wanzers’ rollers making an appearance to speed up the combat and give the player more tactical options. That, along with the previously mentioned on-foot combat will definitely invite comparisons to certain other games, and it looks like the Front Mission Evolved team has their work cut out for them.