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So, thanks to some kind (although slightly NDA breaking) fellows in the beta, we have a glimpse of the options for character creation for FFXIV. I've uploaded the most interesting images from these, including beards and hairstyles. Tomorrow, there should be more images showing the particular facial features available to each face (such as scars and tattoos). So keep checking this gallery as the beta progresses.

Back during E3, Bioware sneakily announced a new DLC pack for Dragon Age - Leliana's Song. And, it's out today! For all platforms! Surprise! $6.99, or 560 points, wherever those apply. You play as Leliana (with her same voice actress), exploring her past with Marjolaine, her mentor.

edit: Bioware also released the "Aegis Pack" of DLC for Mass Effect 2. It's 160 MS points, and includes a few new armor pieces for your N7 armor.

Recently, I signed up for GameFly, which has proven to be a rather useful tool in catching up on games - especially those I'd be hesitant to buy. The first of these games was Red Faction: Guerilla - a title that can be found relatively cheaply in a variety of places, yet I still couldn't bring myself to buy it. Well, I was wrong to hesitate.

The game is a mission-based sandbox, much like GTA or any other open-world game. This is where I had trouble approaching the game, since I typically find myself only interested in a sandbox for as long as the novelty of the world lasts. Where Red Faction stands out is its unique Geo-mod engine (also a characteristic of earlier titles in the series). This engine allows you to destroy any object in the environment, taking down buildings, breaking into garages, collapsing the floors underneath enemies, etc. This, along with competent cover-based third person shooting with a variety of weapons, makes for a really fun game. Add to this a compelling story that edifies the player as he frees an oppressed people from the villainous EDF paramilitary organization, and you've got some serious desire to blow shit up.

Your destruction is guided by pleasingly varied missions and mini-map markers showing you which buildings belong to the enemy. Any building will yield the game's currency - salvage - but destroying civilian property carries with it the risk of killing civilians, thus damaging morale (and your profit from completing missions). The map shows you targets of medium-high importance, the destruction of which awards positive morale, while story and discoverable missions can provide salvage, morale, or both. So basically, you're being rewarded at every turn in a different, measurable way, as salvage leads to more equipment, and morale leads to more salvage. The attitude surrounding each mission vilifies your enemy so thoroughly that hammering through their troops feels quite nice. More specifics about gameplay after the jump.

1up reports by way of interview with Sony representatives that the Last Guardian will not be shown at this year's E3. Instead, we can look forward to seeing it at Tokyo Game Show in September. It seems like it won't be released for a while, as these reps say the game will be released when it's ready.

Lots of little details about games are coming in today, so look forward to some surprises!

That was a very long two hours. I feel like... I’m bored. This won’t be a full summary because there was a lot of fluff, but here’s what stuck out to me.

Valve’s big surprise for E3 was Portal 2 on PS3. Not only that, but this version of Portal 2 will be the “best” of all three. During Gabe’s comedically charged presentation, he also mentioned that Steam would be on PS3’s, but I’m not sure why he didn’t elaborate on that. We’ll probably see more information later. As GladOS said in the teaser, “I think we can put our differences behind us, for science, you monster.”

Most of the conference was either about Move or 3D gaming. Killzone 3 will launch in February 2011 with Move and 3D support. Move is coming September 19 with a variety of pricing options. For the wand controller, you’ll pay $50, then $30 for the navigator accessory. To get the camera, you’ll pay $100 for a bundle that includes a wand, a Wii Sports-like game, and a controller. Or, if you’re buying a PS3, there’s a $399 bundle that includes the camera, game, and wand, but you’d still need to buy the other controller. So, to upgrade, it’s $130 total, or $430 to buy a new PS3. Kevin Butler came on stage at one point to start getting people psyched about Move, which was an entertaining diversion.

David Jaffe is making a new Twisted Metal, exclusive to PS3, due out next year. The footage shown seems to be typical Twisted Metal car combat, now with helicopters and class-based team multiplayer. Could be quite exciting!

Read the full article for more. Also, an embedded portal 2 teaser!

EDIT: Check out the FFXIV site for a blurb about character creation, with better pictures than these scans, new screens, new music, and some generic story content.

Famitsu is a pretty cool magazine. They’re more closely tied to the developers than any American games journalist publication/site currently is, so they have a tendency to present material in a sugar coated way, depending on the manner in which it was provided. As such, scans have emerged from the Japanese magazine showing off the finer details of the character creator in FFXIV. Of course, by "finer," I mean they've shown us an inordinate amount of beautiful women, plus some manly men... with scars! In short, those characters are going to be fiercely customizable. In long, I translated some of what the scans said.

The text given at the top of this article, paraphrased a whole bunch, says that the system allows for simple variations, like changes in skin and hair color. Then, if you want to get into the finer details, you’ll find things such as various eye colors and different underwear material textures. The blurbs on the full version of that page (the first scan here, after the jump) continue to elaborate on those points, showing how each detail is in fact, there. Looks like there’s some breast size action as well, so if you were worried about that, go smoke a celebratory sausage. Other scans with these “Hyur” women point out that lip color can be changed as well.