Joystiq’s uploaded the English version of the Final Fantasy 13 Tokyo Game Show trailer. Drool away.

What better way to start off October than with the ultimate gunwitch. This Japanese advert for Bayonetta features the most uncanny likeness to a fictional character ever. Outside of like…Lord of the Rings, rarely does that happen and they actually look better than what you imagine. How can a character so weird look so lustfully righteous? The lollipop is such a minute detail that adds 5 layers of hawtness in a borderline disturbing psychological fashion. Am I obsessing?

I guess that’s just what Bayonetta does…

If any of you guys are from the PS2 era, I hope you were able to catch either ICO or Shadow of the Colossus. People keep complaining that there are no original ideas from developers these days. You can bet that Team ICO will defy that. I’d never had the pleasure of checking out Shadow, but ICO was a unique and mesmerizing experience with heart and emotion. This simple demo of The Last Guardian from TGS: 2009 speaks volumes of that quality that we can continue to expect.

art by David Yardin

I know I’ve been covering a lot of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 but I just can’t help myself when they finally release some Ms. Marvel footage. I like to call her the Wonder Woman of the Marvel Universe. For anyone unawares, Carol Danvers is a former Air Force ace, SHIELD operative and old school Avenger that has light-based powers, flight, energy absorption and super-strength. She’s also one of the finest toons to ever grace the comic book page.

I don’t think the developers quite had the handle of her in the first MUA outing. They treated her more as a mage type class. But she should have massive melee damage output as well. I make the comparison because all MUA games really are are action rpgs with superheroes. Anyway, enough nerdlust. See her in action.

So Alpha Protocol has recently blipped on my radar. The buzz about it seems to be James Bond/Jason Bourne meets Mass Effect and Fallout 3. Obsidian is the developer whose credits include NeverWinter Nights 2 and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Something like this interests me way more than a Splinter Cell game et al. I love that RPG developers like Obsidian, Bethesda and Bioware have been branching away from elves and dragons. Some other buzz has arisen from this title due to the sexy times that can had with some of the female characters in the story. Which, by itself shouldn’t be newsworthy, but hey it is a selling point.

You’ll be able to pick this badboy up this October.

Big words. As GOW has a ridiculously large following. And rightly so as I’ve seen it in action first hand at a buddie’s place. Touted as one of the best reasons to own a 360, looks like us PS3 fanboys have their own run n’ gun exclusive title. The comparisons are justified by that a large exaggerated beefy soldier type runs around in 3rd person with a large exaggerated beefy weapon. The main difference seems to be the setting with a stronger sci-fi fantasy feeling. Check it out for yourself.

The best game ever to be released, God of war 3, had a special presentation at E3 this year. Let the drooling begin.

E3 2009 is buzzing about Final Fantasy XIV as an MMO. Have they learned from their mistakes? I’m trepidatious at the prospect after getting burned so badly by Final Fantasy 11. For a series so well known for unforgettable casts and unique character designs, FF11 had the most visually homogenized avatar customization I’ve ever seen, not to mention grind heavy gameplay. But the genre has raised the bar on several fronts since the reign of EverQuest and Lineage so let’s hope they come to play this time.

The good news? PS3 Exclusivity. And in 2010? Almost too good to be true! If Square delivers a Final Fantasy mmo worthy of its namesake we are going to be in for one hell of a treat.

Joystiq’s got a new Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Trailer up. It features fan-favorite, Rachel, the blond bombshell with an affinity for blunt objects and clothes 3 sizes too small. Much to her fans dismay. The following video has the viewer deduce that Rachel is, in fact, a healthy gal.

And they said that the fighter was dead.

In the past couple years we saw Soul Calibur IV, MKvsDC, Street Fighter 4, Guilty Gear XX and soon we’re to see a new King of Fighters and Tekken 6. Arc System Works, creators of Guity Gear, seem to be taking the steps along other fighters to bring in a cinematic experience to the forefront with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. Technological limitations have prevented former fighters from really emulating that extreme anime experience, but current generation games are breaking that barrier.

Soul Calibur brought in Critical Finishers which were elaborate effects-heavy beat downs, Street Fighter now has Ultra Combo Finishes that swing the camera around for some dramatic demoralization. BlazBlue has integrated hi-def anime quality “Astral Finishes” that look to be some furious over-the-top insanity. Expect to see BlazBlue hit North America later this year.

Check out the video below.