Since the beginning of time us Europeans (like the Japanese) have become accustomed to our Final Fantasy boxes bearing nothing but the logo of each iteration. A minimal but classy approach it’s been somewhat of a tradition in PAL land and traditions aren’t one to be broken, until now apparently.

I, like many of you threw a fit when Square Enix slapped the game’s protagonist, Lightning on the European cover. As badass as she may be, it just doesn’t cut it. For those who relate to my frustration can understand why I was happily surprised to have a gorgeous sleeve hiding covering my Final Fantasy XIII box, even if it didn’t make up for lost tradition.

I know I know I’ve been raving on about minimalistic design but hell this sleeve (above) beats the awful cover we’ve been given, why can’t Square Enix do a Heavy Rain and give us a printable option of the Japanese cover for the insert. If you speak PAL you’re in luck, somewhat – the game will be available in two SKU’s over here and you will have to fork out for the Collector’s Edition if you want Lightning off the box. I guess somethings are worth the extra cash though. Right?

Mmm… 1080p Goodness!

Update: As far as I know this is the standard edition. Good times!

Ever found yourself on the fence about buying a new game? This should get you off it! Watch the opening minutes of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 after the break.

Early this morning a Taiwanese site leaked a trailer for the upcoming Halo: Reach beta. While we can’t yet confirm the videos authenticity, it certainly looks real. And by real we mean really promising! Check out the full trailer after the break!

The new trailer (posted below) shows off some of the new features gamer’s can expect from Halo: Reach when it drops on May 3rd. Some specific additions contained in the trailer include jetpacks, assassinations and the new Invasion and Head Hunter multiplayer modes.

Let’s be honest, do you need any other reason to check out the video? It’s Halo, it’s new, and if the footage below is any indicator, those fortunate enough to have beta invites are in for a treat.

Update: It’s official! Bungie has released the trailer on their homepage.

Heavy Rain’s Madison Paige gets neked in this accidental glitch, apparently a player “stumbled” upon it after reloading his saved game. With “fully” modelled characters wasn’t this bound to happen? NSFW Video after the break.

As seen on Kotaku.

According to G4 some strange things are going down at the studio behind Modern Warfare 2 – Infinity Ward. Apparently the relationship between Infinity Ward and Activision has been pretty “tense” as of lately – tell us something we don’t know. Studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West haven’t been seen since they met with Activision earlier this morning and the staff are described as “on edge”.

The source went on to inform that a “bunch of bouncer-types” stormed the developer unannounced, unwilling to disclose who they were or why they were there. Details are all a bit vague at the moment and if you ask me, this all sounds too surreal. Rest assured we’ll keep you updated once we learn more.

UPDATE:
Going by his latest tweets, Infinity Ward’s Creative Strategist Robert Bowling hasn’t outrightly spoke on the matter, at the same time he hasn’t exactly denied it. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 2:
Ok things are really getting weird now. Apparently Jason West’s LinkedIn profile indicates he’s no longer working for Infinity Ward and his account now lists his position in the company as “past”. According to 1UP, one of their own sources inside Infinity Ward has said that Activision is “flexing their muscles” against the studio, attempting to “push back against change.”.

Even stranger is this, supposedly found on his Facebook page.

Could this all be real? Could Infinity Ward’s President have been let go? Correct me if I’m wrong but all this drama has got to be a first in the video game industry.

Someone cue the hype train!

After missing it’s scheduled 2009 release date, Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines seems to be back on track for a release. In a recent interview with MCV, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford mentions that work on Borderlands and it’s DLC as part of the reasoning behind Colonial Marines’ troubled production. Pitchford explains, “It’s the thing I’ve been stealing from all my career. Now I’m really working on it, but we’ve been quiet about that so far.”

Aliens: Colonial Marines Resurfaces

Last year Nintendo broke their age-old rule of one 3D Mario game per generation with the surprise announcement of Super Mario Galaxy 2. Hitting US stores on May 23 and Europe shortly after (June 11), Nintendo don’t seem to be messing around this year. Check out the game’s mouth-watering box art and a brand new trailer after the break.

Yoshi joins Mario on his second adventure through the galaxy – though I’m still baffled why he was absent from the first game. New power-ups are present, notably the Drill Bit which sees our favourite plumber burrowing through the back of planets as well as inside them, without a Warp Pipe in sight.

Nintendo have promised 95-99% of new content with the sequel, scrapping the complaint from fans that some old levels would return. If the game lives up to be as good as his first outing then we’re in for treat! The game’s fact sheet follows.

• Mario collects stars as he travels from galaxy to galaxy. Every level is new, but the game retains the charm, sense of wonder and beauty in line with Mario’s history.
• Mario works his way through the various levels, sometimes upside-down, sometimes floating from place to place.
• On some stages, Mario can find an egg, smash it open and hop onto the back of Yoshi. Yoshi can use his tongue to grab items and shoot them back at enemies, or to snag attach points and swing across chasms.
• Yoshi has an interesting diet. When he eats a Dash Pepper, he gets so hot and frenzied he can run up steep inclines and vertical walls. When he eats a Blimp Fruit, he inflates like a balloon and floats to new heights.
• New power-ups include a drill that Mario uses to tunnel through the planet’s surface all the way to the other side of a planet.
• Skilled players will want to collect new Comet Metals, which will unlock harder levels with even more challenges.

Mmm… Shexy Box Art!

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No time to waste! A few hours into Thursday morning and Final Fantasy I & II have popped up on the UK and Japanese App Store as promised. Remastered for the PSP back in ’07; the ports have made their way to the iPhone and iPod Touch masterfully, with the obvious touch controls in place. At £5.49/$8.99 each you’d be a fool to miss out on this RPG goodness.

It doesn’t seem to have made it’s way onto the US App Store as of yet. Let us know when you get it guys, shouldn’t be too long of a wait now.

UPDATE: It’s official. Both games are now available on the US App Store and awaiting your purchase. Happy Nostalgia!

Ever found yourself on the fence about buying a new game? This should get you off it! Watch the opening minutes of Heavy Rain after the break.

Marcus takes lead as host as we recap Microsoft’s X10 event. We talk all things Reach, Conviction and Fable III.

As these are still pilot episodes your feedback is more than welcome, let us have it!

Exclusive Mansion Infiltration Gameplay Part I & X10: Lumber Mill Walkthrough (Cam) [GameTrailers]