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Although the newest English-language trailer for Pokemon Black and White Version 2 reuses a lot of the footage from the games' last trailer, it does reveal that the games' North American release will be on October 7th.

Other information the trailer provides are the English names of the "rival" character and the Water Gym Leader, which are Hugh and Marlon respectively. The previous English-language trailer revealed the Poison Gym Leader's name to be Roxie.

Source: Pokemon

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Who among you is itching to break free and cut loose, but can’t do so because the nearest convention is weeks away!? Fear not – for I have brought the solution!

Descending from the haven of rock heaven in 2003, led by Amaterasu herself, the US has been graced with a musical showcase that has rocked hard and rocked its patrons even HARDER!

What the hell am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about the annual rising sun band showcase – JAPAN NITE!

Every year, an eclectic selection of Japanese bands and artists gather for a short but epic concert tour across the good old US-of-A. Awesomely exploding onto the stage at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX – Japan Nite will once again bring to you solid walls of sound!

A whole deluge of information flooded my news feed today with interviews on the development team working on Final Fantasy XIII-2. The highly anticipated sequel, in previous articles, showcased a new character, Noel Kreiss. In addition, Noel and Serah are speculated as the main characters, but new information said that is “unclear” from the Art Director Isamu Kamikokuryo. Noel and Serah were in the E3 demo, in which Serah (previously a non-playable major character) now wields a compound bow via moogle magic. Other changes include the Mog Clock system, designed to help speed up the battles, frequent auto-saves, and even a new easy mode for the previous game. I'm still a little confused on that.

While the sequel will have new areas to explore, Art Director Isamu Kamikokuryo commented that the game will have a feel of surrealism compared to the first one. You might say the game will basically be “the road untraveled”, and I quote:

Kamikokuryo is excited about the inclusion of the Invisible World, the "afterlife" of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series. "Although it has existed in previous games, it's been a mythical place that we didn't say much about. In XIII-2, you'll be seeing it as one of the game's settings. In this sequel we're really delving into some of the things we wanted to explain before - it's a big challenge." He's quick to reassure fans that while Gran Pulse will be the main setting of the game, that doesn't mean there'll be a lack of futuristic areas like Cocoon. "We've developed cities based on incredibly evolved technologies and societies that will surpass what you've seen in previous games. It was important to us to create a reality you could reach out to, and a real feeling of scale."

Similar examples in the Final Fantasy franchise would include the Farplane in the tenth installment, and its sequel. But other than that, the “afterlife” is mainly mentioned, not explored. Kamikokuryo also mentioned that previous areas can be explored more in-depth, since the player isn’t handling a bunch of fugitives in the game as the last one. Minor changes also include being able to change the camera angle during the beautiful cutscenes, and Lightning’s new outfit, although it’s obviously plot-based but Square Enix is keeping it tight-lipped.

What a tease.

But Kamikokuryo did mention a juicy tidbit about the armor: “It's like a bunch of separate parts have been integrated together. Her armor isn't based on reality; the design has a deep connection with the storyline and the world she lives in. This is a world made by the gods called fal'Cie, and her armor is designed to reflect that."

Final Fantasy XIII-2 will see international release in 2012. Happy waiting, fans.

Sources: [IGN], [E3 Demo], [Final Fantasy-XIII.net]

The gaming industry of today seems to be cluttered with titles of the same nature. Where's the new? The Bold? The step away from the remakes of yesterday's titles? I'm not sure about you but First Person Shooter: McShooty Pants (now with more shooting), just doesn't seem all that innovative to me. Fortunately Atlus is busting out something relatively original to break up the fog of re-runs that has dominated the industry as of late. The name of the game Catherine. Not sure it's innovative? Just check out the trailer.

Catherine is a rated M for mature, action-adventure puzzle game, for the PS3 and XBox 360 gaming consoles. Sporting 4 levels of difficulty, (the hardest of which had to be toned down for the American version since Japanese gamers cried it was simply too difficult) the puzzle style game play kicks off in the realm of the main character's nightmares. For one stage in particular you must climb a series of blocks manipulating them under the time limit in order to make it too the top and escape the demonic fire spitting baby pursuing you. This Vincent guy has some pretty messed up nightmares, no? One of the many cool features of this game is dual multi-player modes it has. Co-op in order to make the challenges of the puzzles that much easier, and competitive in order to increase the fun by screwing over your friends. Of course that's not all the game has, graphically its beautiful, and it has a story line to match. The main character Vincent is dating the beautiful Katherine, and while he claims to be in love with her, he's not quite ready to tie the knot. Unfortunately things get complicated when the beautiful blonde Catherine wakes up in his life, and his bed. His nightmares start soon after that, which wouldn't be that big of a deal if it weren't for the recent outbreak of unfaithful men turning up dead after suffering from similar nightmares.

Atlus has turned the themes of morality and fidelity into major features of the game. From a real time morality meter, which changes for the world to see according to your answers to the questions the game poses, to the multiple game paths and endings the game offers based on your in-game decisions regarding the situations both of the (C)Katherine's put you in.

As usual Atlus has included a ton of extra goodies for those who reserved a copy of the game. Normal pre-orders include an 11-track original soundtrack by Shoji Meguro, and a 36 page artbook. There's also a deluxe "Love is Over" edition which includes the 'empty hearts' T-shirt worn by Catherine in the game, the polka dot themed boxers Vincent's so fond of, and a pillow case with the alluring Catherine on it, all packaged in a pizza box just like the one from the 'Stray Sheep' bar. The game hits our shores July 26^th of this year, if you want to try something new pick it up for $59.99 or grab the deluxe version for $79.99. Check out the official website for even more information http://www.catherinethegame.com/