As we mentioned previously, the moderately lacklustre Virtual On Marz will be getting a game archive release on (Japanese) PSN on the 21st March for a very reasonable 800 yen. In addition to this, the newly released PS3 specific HORI TwinSticks will work with this version of Marz. After this release we will have had all the Virtual On games ported to this generation of games consoles. We can only hope that SEGA will follow through and give us another arcade iteration of this classic series.

Some nice juicy news for Armored Core Verdict Day has surfaced today. The main point of good news is that the game world will be reset at the end of each game season (or if one team dominates all areas, effectively winning that season). The season resets will also have each group revert back to their starting positions, so no one group will have the advantage over the other. This is a big improvement over the previous game and harks back to how the various factions in Chrome Hounds were handled. Following on from that there will also now be a total of 56 maps in Verdict Day. This naturally includes the levels from the previous game (though we imagine they’ll be tweaked) but this is quite a big jump up in terms of playable areas. Hopefully these won’t be night and day versions of the same map, as that would be a bit bloody cheeky really. Finally players that relegated to jetpack status during a match will be able to take photos. These will be stored in the player’s garage and propagated through the game’s status updates. Whether this feature will work with the (Japanese) Armored Core Official Partnership site remains to be seen but it would be pretty great if that were the case.

Over at 4Gamer there’s a new article on the forthcoming Gundam Breaker for PS3 and Vita. Covering the game’s customisation setup in a bit more detail, it seems that experience garnered will allow increasingly potent parts to be equipped but that this can be bypassed through use of “ace points” or certain parts. In addition the game will allow all manner of visual customisation too, from weathered to glossy kit finishes (as well as decals). Following on from customisation we now have more detail on the game structure too, with new screenshots finally showing some decent in-game HUD. Despite the obligatory tutorial missions, we’ll also have defense scenarios as well as giant Gundam battles. The latter sounds the more interesting of the two if we’re honest. The playable environments also look pretty cool, with the model kit workshop being wonderfully nerdy. Still no word on a release date or price for this but the game is look interesting at least. In addition, Bamco will be holding a free open beta on the PS3 version of the game.

Both 4Gamer and Famitsu are running a piece on network tests for the upcoming Armored Core Verdict Day. For one the site they linked to doesn’t go live until tomorrow and the network test will also only be on the PS3 version of the game. The actual process will be a lottery which you can enter from tomorrow (Friday) onwards until Sunday. There will then be a total of four dates of playtesting; two in April (20th and 27th) and another two in May (4th and 11th). If you’re one of the few to be accepted then you’ll be sent an e-mail as to which playtest you’ll be involved in. The whole purpose of this apparently is to ascertain load on their servers as well as feedback on early gameplay balancing. Pretty standard fare for a closed alpha/beta really.

We now know that the transforming Vic Viper from Anubis will have its Revoltech incarnation released sometime this May. Like the version in the game, the toy also also transforms too. Considering the very meagre price point, this functionality is surprising and wholly welcome. Admittedly Kaiyodo have done wonders with their variable fighter Revoltechs from Macross, which also transform, but it’s nice to see a supporting mecha design from a game get similar treatment.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan we’ve been sent the Robot Damashii Nu Gundam and Robot Damashii Sazabi as seen in the climactic film Char’s Counterattack. In addition, we’ve also included some game and anime footage of the mecha in action at the end of the review.

Following on from the announcement last week, we now have some new screenshots for Armored Core Verdict Day over at 4Gamer. In addition, it’s been revealed that the game will be released internationally this year as well. Currently there are no dates for the international releases, bar “Fall 2013” on the US site, though some places have stated the game will be released this summer. If true that would pre-date the Japanese release and be the first game in the series to do so. All that aside, the new parts and updated operator maps look nice and it seems we’ll also be getting some form of solid shields this time around too. The big thing for us though is that the game should use merged dedicated servers, rather than the regionally locked nonsense we have now. This is simply because there aren’t enough players outside of Japan to make the setup work properly. Admittedly From Software could ratchet back on the design in terms of the online setup but that would be shame, especially when having a global solution would fix the issues we have now. In short, this is in Namco Bandai’s court again and here’s hoping they don’t fuck it up…again.

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.

Over at Famitsu we now have confirmation that there will be indeed be a follow on to the excellent Armored Core V. Entitled Armored Core Verdict Day it will continue the same territorial online setup along with improved matchmaking and the ability to switch sides during battle (!). Though, if we’re honest, we’d be more happy if they were going to merge the various servers for the game. That aside, there will be an obvious singleplayer contingent continuing the overall narrative from the preview game. We also have a release date, that of September 26th this year for both PS3 and 360. Save data from the previous game will also be usable in Verdict Day and there will also be a limited edition version of the game available, which will come with a figure and soundtrack. Considering that Armored Core V was released in January of last year, the turnaround on Verdict Day has been pretty quick.

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.