Final Fantasy XIII – Serah Revealed

Some HD footage of Final Fantasy XIII was shown on Japanese  TV overnight, which showed for the first time the character Serah.

She’s been mentioned before in the Kickoff trailer in January, as well as the Jump Fiesta trailer with the release of Advent Children Complete in the US. But she hasn’t featured in a trailer until now.

According to reports going around the web (we dont know if this true or not. Maybe our brain is pulling tricks), Serah is Snow’s missus and is the one “who saved us” according to Snow in the two trailers mentioned.

Get the footage after the jump. Game was confirmed for December 17th in Japan yesterday.

Thanks to UFFS for the asset.

Guitar Hero 5 Takes Customisation to the Next Level

With the release of Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band only a few short days away, you may be wondering which of these rhythmic heavyweights should get your hard earned money. In an bid to convince you that Guitar Hero 5 is the way to go, we received news today about some of the options for Create-A-Rocker.

To create a more authentic experience, Activision has team up with several real world instrument makers, footwear and equipment brands, all of whom are creating virtual equipment for you to use in game. With brands such as Ernie Bell, Ibanez, Krank, Line 6 and many more, there are plenty of options for creating the rock god you always wanted to be. Full details after the jump.

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 Goes On Tour

Codemasters today unleashed another trailer for DiRT 2 with nine locations revealed, ranging from the dusty desert tracks of Morocco to the serene mountains of China, sweeping up past fields in Yangshuo.

Over one hundred events will be playable in DiRT 2 too, along with varying game modes ranging from classic rally racing to Last Man Standing where every thirty seconds the racer in last place is eliminated until just one driver remains.

The brand new trailer follows the jump.

DiRT 2 launches on all systems on September 8th in the US and September 11th in the UK. If you wish to whet your appetite there is currently a demo of DiRT 2 on the Xbox Live Marketplace and on the PlayStation Store in the EU.

Cologne 2009: New ModNation Racers Trailer Shown

A new trailer for ModNation Racers was shown today at GamesCom by developers United Front Games. The trailer shows a track being created in a desert, with the initial track being built and the land around it being sculpted and tweaked.

As always, the trailer is after the jump.

Cologne 2009: Final Fantasy XIV Gameplay

An alpha build of Square Enix’s upcoming FF MMO was debuted at GamesCom today.

Final Fantasy XIV is set to launch on PS3 in 2010.

Cologne 2009: Dante’s Inferno Trailer

Straight out of GamesCom, this is the newest trailer for EA’s God of War rival Dante’s Inferno.

The trailer shows some shots of the various antagonists we’ll meet as we descend through Hell and showcases the 7 circles.

Dante’s Inferno launches February 12th 2010 in the EU and February 9th in the U.S. on Xbox 360 and PS3.

Check the new trailer after the jump.

Cologne 2009: SingStar: Beatles coming

MCV are reporting that Sony have tied a deal with EA to release a SingStar game based on the songs of 60’s band The Beatles.

The game is set to launch in September this year along side the The Beatles: Rock Band game from EA, and it will be an instrument-free port of the game to a degree.

The Beatles will be the fourth band to have their own dedicated SingStar game following in the steps of ABBA, Queen and Take That.

Kmart Confirm PS3 Slim “Rumours Are Reality” and Price Cut

US Retail giant Kmart have began taking pre-orders for the much-rumoured PS3 Slim model, and on the banner on their homepage have confirmed it too.

The price has been cut and is listed at $299, whilst a release date has been given of August 24th.

Asda in the UK have slashed the price of the PS3 nationwide to £250, bundling the console with the Terminator Salvation game, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on Blu-ray and a choice of either Ghostbusters: The Game or inFamous too.

Stay tuned for information from Sony’s GamesCom press conference at 17.30 BST to see if the Slim is finally unveiled.

Cologne 2009: EA Release New Fifa 10 Trailer

It’s coming to that time of year again when the big guns at EA and Konami get ready to release their annual football sims.

EA have just launched a new trailer for Fifa (the demo of which launches in 23 days time) at GamesCom in Cologne, it can be found after the jump. Improvements this year include 360-degree dribbling and an improved Manager Mode alongside other new features like a set-piece creator mode.

Fifa 10 launches in Europe on October 2nd across all formats.

PS3 Gets Unofficial Price Cut in Spain and Italy

For many months now, there has been much rumour and speculation about the PS3 receiving a price cut (possibly in the run-up to a new Slim edition), with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick calling for the price to be slashed.

It seems the price has been cut by some major retailers in mainland Europe, unofficially for the meantime.

Spanish retailler Alternate have cut the price from €399 to €299, whilst in Italy retail giant CHL have reduced the price of the console yet further from €389 to €249.

Whether the price will be officially cut at GamesCom remains to be seen, but these two drastic cuts would indicate a price drop is inevitable. From the changes in price made by Alternate and CHL, prices in the UK and US could be expected to be approximately £199 and $299 respectively if cuts occur there too.

And Japan looks set to be readying in the price-cut, or for another SKU, in some fashion.

Kotaku (via Japanese gaming blog Hatimaki) have reported that pre-orders for the 80GB (black, white and silver models) will not be taken after August 9th at 10am, at the request of the manufacturer. The notice also states that all in-store displays for the 80GB SKU are to be removed too, leaving Japan without a PS3 console, with either the 160GB model coming on sale or nothing until the PS3 Slim is, inevitably, revealed.

Thanks, Gamezine