PAX 2009 will play host to demonstrations of quite a few big-name titles coming out. Among them is Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed II (PS3, Xbox 360, and PC), the follow-up to last year's Jade Raymond-advertised original. This time, Altair's out of the picture and stepping out of the shadows is another of Desmond Miles' uniquely skilled ancestors, Ezio.
On the scene at PAX 09 were the merry band of men called Left4Friends, and they've let us in on the goings-on that happened in the Assassin's Creed II live demo. Read on for their thoughts on it.

The Palazzo Medici is a Renaissance palace located in Florence, Italy. It's famous. It's also one of Ezio's playgrounds in Assassin's Creed 2, provided you pre-order either the PS3 or Xbox 360 version of the game.

All-new character, all-new setting - what did it take Ubisoft to jump from Assassin's Creed to its sequel? Patrice Desilets had to call the shots in terms of creative direction for Assassin's Creed 2, and from what we learn in this video interview, the switch from Altair to Ezio and the setting of the Third Crusade to the Italian Renaissance took a lot of research. They even went for some tours in Italy! (Maan, being in video development is so cool, huh?)

An Italian 13 year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after his father found him in a shocked stupor. The kid, one Lorenzo Amato, didn't seem to respond to anything around him - initially, they though he suffered from stroke. Cue panicked father, sound the sirens. You know what they say about having too much of a good thing... For Lorenzo, it seems he just had too much of his PlayStation that he now feels like throwing up just thinking about it.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president and CEO David Reeves said that this summer,  they are expecting the PlayStation 3 to have a bigger user base than the Xbox 360 in every PAL territories.

Before you doubt Reeves' claims, he justified his statements with some pretty interesting data. Head on over to the full article for more information.

Think the previously released demo was the end of Naughty Dog's good tidings? Think again. We have picked up word that the official site for the PS3 console's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is offering a challenge that's sure to test your sleuthing skills, and can win you and a friend a trip to Mexico. More details up ahead in the full article.

With Sony's 40GB PlayStation 3 still listed under a "Coming Soon" tag for the UK, a recent info snippet we've picked up indicates it will be launching soon elsewhere in Europe.

The info comes straight from Gamestore Magazine, which states that Italy will be receiving both the 40 GB unit for €399 (US$ 565), and the 60GB PS3 starter pack for €499 (US$ 706) by this October 10.

As you guys may recall, there have been persistent rumors of this much-anticipated 40 GB model. Documents from US retailer Best Buy, for example, indicate that they'll be selling the unit for US$ 399.

Play UK also carried a similar products listing, although the online retailer further hinted that this new console may not carry backwards-compatibility. We'll let you know if we can pick up any further details. It may also pay to wait up for Sony's rumored Big Bang announcements for this October 12.

We finally get some details about Final Fantasy XIII after Square Enix revealed that the game will remain exclusive to the PlayStation console. After that, the only detail that's been revealed (said in passing no less) is that the game is finally running on actual PlayStation 3 hardware. The latest details come from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.

Since the text is in its Japanese and we're a little short on vocabulary, we had to rely on Maiki's translations on a Livejournal post. It looks like the city featured in the FFXIII's trailer is called Cocoon, and the towns and plains in were inspired from fair Italy.

The new FFXIII girl will also be different from the previous girls of the Final Fantasy series. Two new characters were also revealed in the trailer but they could still be changed. Even the main character's design may change by the final release.

Tetsuya Nomura says the latest trailer of Final Fantasy Versus XIII (from TGS) is the closest to his vision of the game yet. Final Fantasy Agito XIII also "looks pretty tame" compared to FFXIII and FFXIII Versus but there will be a bigger revelation to be out next year. If you want to take a look at the actual scan, you may click on the image above.

If you've ever wanted to play international hoops in a video game but couldn't find one that will offer such a thing, then worry no more. NBA Live 08 (also coming to the Xbox 360, Wii and PC) just sealed a licensing deal with world basketball governing body FIBA and international teams will be included in the mix.

The Play Now mode allows you to pit the world's best teams against any ballclub in the NBA, while the FIBA mode will have you battling it out in an 8-team tournament to determine which national squad has the right to be called world champions. This means you can take it to the rack using Manu Ginobili while Spurs teammate Tim Duncan tries to stop you. Can T-Mac shoot fadeaways over Yao Ming? We'll find out soon.

2006 World Championship winners Spain led by Memphis Grizzlies star Pau Gasal will be there as well as runners up Greece and USA, as well as France, Germany, Italy, Argentina and China.

The announcement adds to the already stellar list of new features such as the Go-To basketball gameplay, deep customization and management. Combine that with the trademark quality graphics and sound and the NBA Live dynasty just might go on well into the new age of digital sports.

  

We imagine that this year holds a special place for car fans, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the Italian-based car manufacturer, Ferrari. As part of this occasion, the car-manufacturer is currently holding a special "Ferrari 60 Relay" world tour, with vehicles spanning Ferrari's history being paraded around a few days ago at London.

On the gaming side of the news, we're also announcing that this event was sponsored by System 3 - the group that's currently publishing the Ferrari Challenge racing game headed for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS. In line with the tour and future game release, Ferrari GB Managing Director Massimo Fedeli had this to say:

Since the launch of the next-generation consoles, the video game industry finally has, at its disposal, a machine with enough power to truly and loyally represent the Ferrari driving experience. The British public's incredible reaction to the "Ferrari 60-Relay" coming to these shores has demonstrated the strength of the Ferrari brand here and we're very excited to be working with System 3 to produce a cutting-edge racing experience for those fans.

The "Ferrari 60 Relay" celebration tour began this January at Abu Dhabi, and is expected to travel through 50 countries before before concluding on June 23 at the home of Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. The tour will also feature a special commemorative baton, 60 badges symbolising the memorable events in the Company's 60-year history, from the Rome Grand Prix in 1947 - the Ferrari FXX Programme of 2006. System 3 hints that Ferrari Challenge will be launching this Christmas - just stay posted for more details as the tour goes through its paces.