In the latest column it appears that not only will Virtual On Force be localised into English on the Japanese and Asian versions (presumably triggered by your console’s system language settings) but also that it will be entirely region free as well. Whilst there is still no word on an official Western release, this does allow for importers to buy the game without fear of it not working on their 360 (meaning you can buy it here if you want to). This was done intentionally as well it seems, as a sort of thank you to the Western fanbase. In addition to this good news, the column also lays out all 32 of the game’s achievements too.

As we mentioned previously, the just released Gundam Musou 3 will receive its first batch of DLC on December 22nd (oddly co-inciding with the release of Virtual On Force no less). The DLC will be split into three mission packs, costing a 100 yen each (on PS3) or 80 Microsoft Points (on 360). There will also be multiple new mobile suits attached to each pack. Whilst we already knew about the GNX-Y901TW Susanowo and NZ-666 Kshatriya, according to 4Gamer there will also be the GN-006 Cherudim Gundam, GN-007 Arios Gundam and GN-008 Seravee Gundam included too. It’s apparent in any case that DLC will be quite vigorously supported for the game, whether that any of it will make it out of Japan come Gundam Musou 3’s inevitable Western release remains to be seen though. Still, we’re just happy to see the Musha Gundam and Musha Gundam Mk. II from the first Gundam Musou game again.

As shown in the latest column over at the Virtual On Force site, there’s now a 1:1 scale Temjin 747 emblazoned across the side of the Gigo arcade in Akihabara, all 16.3 metres of it. For those somewhat confused, VR’s aren’t as big as most mobile suits so the poster is actually pretty accurate. Separately, 4Gamer has some new gameplay videos of the port in action. The game is released next Wednesday, 22nd, in Japan and you still pre-order your copy here.

The nearly released Virtual On Force has been recently reviewed in Famitsu, nabbing a 7,7,8,7 score (or 29/40), which is by no means a bad score – quite respectable in fact. However, it’s nowhere near the almost mythical heights that the Dreamcast port of Oratan reached; as that attained the very rare 39/40. At the time that amounted to a pretty big deal, still does to an extent. That said Force is indeed flawed, compared to the previous two games, but it is an awful lot better than the hacked up port that was Marz. It’s nice to see that Famitsu have called this one pretty accurately though.

One of the largest Perfect Grade kits has finally been released, that of the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam from Gundam SEED Destiny. Coming in at a whopping 26,250 yen, like the other Perfect Grades it’s hardly very affordable. However, this price tag isn’t without reason; as the sheer engineering involved in the manufacturing of these plamodel beasts is suitably epic. Unsurprisingly, this mobile suit has been in numerous games over the years and the upcoming Gundam Musou 3 will also feature the mecha. As with almost all Bandai Gundam kits, Hajime Katoki has a hand in the sculpt and engineering. This can sometimes cause issues with the sculpt on certain designs (original design here), as he has a habit of somewhat standardising them. The Strike Freedom seems to be mostly okay on this front though. In any case, you can buy this impressive kit over at HLJ and they’re even holding a Perfect Grade sale too.

With Gundam Musou 3 near release in Japan, 4Gamer has some cool new screenshots of the game’s Partner Strike system as well mobile suit customisation. Though we’re mostly nerding out on the shots for the RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam Full Vernian “Zephyranthes” from Gundam 0083 (pictured above). Despite being one of our favourite Shoji Kawamori designs it’s also been somewhat in the news as of late, mostly due to Linkin Park’s fascination with the mobile suit. Unsurprisingly, the game’s site has also reciprocated this current interest with showing a new special video of the mobile suit. Naturally, as this is Gundam 0083 we’ve included the series’ two very lovely opening animations (in HD no less) below. That said, we still think that Back to Paradise would have been a better intro song.

4Gamer has announced that it will be hosting an interview session of sorts with the team behind the 360 port of Virtual On Force as well as with Juro Watari, the series’ creator, himself. The session is scheduled for 26th December, which also happens to be my birthday. Whilst the pimping of the upcoming, and utterly redundant, Softbank strategy guide is unfortunate the radio session should be an interesting – unless of course they start talking about how great women’s breasts are again. The game is released on December 22nd in Japan and you can pre-order it here.

With the launch of Gundam Musou 3 literally days away now, the official site has been stepping up with semi-regular video vignettes. Entitled Specials these show around 30 seconds of gameplay footage of a certain mobile suit pretty much owning small armies of enemy mecha. We’ve collated a few of them below, including the latest one – that of the Syd Mead designed CONCEPT-X 6-1-2 Turn X from Turn A Gundam. Enjoy!

To commemorate the forthcoming release of Virtual On Force, the 360 port of Oratan 5.66 is having its price cut in Japan. Specifically from 1200 MSP to a very reasonable 400 MSP. Like the previous price cut, this too will be for a limited time only – from December 14th to the 27th. There’s no word whether this deal will make its way outside of Japan, as the timing is linked to Force’s Japanese release.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan, we’ve been sent a toy from Gundam Unicorn to review. Specifically, the Robot Damashii Sinanju. In addition, to give the toy some context, we’ve also linked some gameplay footage of it in action from Gundam Musou 3 and Gundam Extreme Versus at the end of the review.