Head on over to Gamespot where you can catch the latest trailer for the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld, featuring in game footage that looks fantastic. The game looks like it’s really made the leap to next-gen that it has been promising, with amazingly detailed environments and fluid character motions, and oh yeah, the sexy new version of Lara, too.

Fans of the series - whether long term or semi-new like myself - will be quite thrilled when they hear some of the chatter in the trailer, with talk of Avalon and a HUGE surprise at the end which I won’t spoil for those who haven’t watched it yet. You won’t be disappointed, though, and rest assured, this game will friggin rock. Screw that chainsaw game, Tomb Raider is what’s got me looking forward to November.

As many of you know, the newest installment in the Star Wars saga - The Clone Wars - opens today in theaters nationwide. Since we’re not really in the business of movie reviews, I’ll save you from the complete rundown… but since I just got home from the midnight show and really have to say something about it: It’s definitely got some potential. You could tell that they were trying to reintroduce a lot of things and establish the relationships that will make up this part of the story, which is understandable since this was basically the pilot episode for the upcoming TV series of the same name. At that, the movie did a very commendable job. There were some minor faults and annoyances, but also plenty of kick-ass Jedi action, and lots of droids getting blown up.

That leads me to the part that does connect to what we do here at GameLemon. The use of the Force in the movie and some of the acrobatics, while certainly impossible for real-life actors, looked fantastic in CG form. This can only bode well for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, due out on all consoles next month.

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Yeah, yeah. We all remember when Warhawk came out as a direct-download for the PS3, but people who really wanted it went down to the local game store and picked up a physical copy. I’m sure it did all right in the straight to your PS3 format, but it never really took off like Sony (and probably Microsoft, to an extent) was hoping it would. And then there’s the fact that it was supposed to be download only from the get-go… not a huge show of confidence on Sony’s part, huh?

But now there’s news reported at 1up.com that EA and Criterion are going to be releasing a full version of the already-at-retail Burnout: Paradise for the PS3. What’s so special about this? Well, like Warhawk, it’s a game that is already available at retail, so it doesn’t seem that different right away. But it does include all of the downloadable extras and the opportunity for new content, and comes at the reasonable price of $29.99 (which is what the retail version goes for, also). Could this be the title that starts the digital download revolution that we’ve been hearing about for so long?

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As revealed on the Official Tomb Raider website, there’s a new Lara in town, and she’s ready to kick some ass and sell some video games. Alison Carroll, gymnast, hottie, and former receptionist, won the top spot in Eidos’ latest competition and now has the awesome job of representing one of the most recognisable video game characters in the world.

While her flips and kicks are up to par with Lara’s standards, the video on the official site reveals that Alison is preparing to attend some SAS training courses and also get some archaeology lessons to further round out her badassery and make her more of a dream girl for Tomb Raider’s legion of fans. We’ll keep scouring the net and bring you new pictures of Alison’s appearances. You know, because we want to support our readers. No ulterior motives here, I swear. (Extra pic after the jump.)
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Are you sitting down? Well, you’re at a computer, so probably, but just in case, you’ll want to be fully seated with your tray tables upright for this one.

A new study has come out saying that a higher percentage of parents are more afraid of their kids playing Grand Theft Auto than drinking beer or watching porn while at a friend’s house. Let that sink in.
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Well, a new color, anyway. 1up.com is reporting that “leaked” cell phone pics have appeared of a silver DS at Gamestop, and that it will reportedly go on sale September 7. The article also mentions that the silver version is supposedly a Gamestop exclusive, but we at GameLemon have learned otherwise.

The silver DS Lite will, in fact, be replacing the white version, which has seen limited supply on store shelves in recent weeks. In addition to this, the recently released metallic rose colored DS will be replacing the plain old pink one, which has also had its supply dwindle down.

Our sources didn’t give us an exact date on the release, but September 7 sounds as good as any other time, so we’ll go with the rumors on that one for now.

Thanks to 1up for the pic, too.

Microsoft has now confirmed the exact release date for Fable II (one of my most anticipated games for this fall) - October 21st for the US, October 24th for the UK. Although the game is actually being developed in the UK it apparently takes an extra 3 days to get it into the UK retail system. That, or we just used our immense capitalistic wealth to push the scales in our favor. Either way, I can’t wait till October, and might even consider spending some of my own (very minor) capitalistic wealth on the Collector’s Edition.

Proving once again that they are in touch with their fans the leagues with which they have exclusivity agreements, EA Sports has announced that they will have a roster patch ready to go before Madden 09 releases on Tuesday adding Brett Favre as the starting QB for the New York Jets. Although the game will ship with packaging showing Favre in his Packer green and gold, EA will provide a free downloadable alternate cover (limited edition, people!) on their website for the new Favre haters in Wisconsin and the new Favre converts in the NY metropolitan area.

It’s all explained in the MTV Multiplayer Blog, and you can find some nifty new pics on EASports.com of Brett in his new green and white duds.

News is beginning to leak that Microsoft will be the first to do it with the Xbox 360… okay, the Arcade version, but still. It plays 360 games… it’s still “next-gen” even though it doesn’t have a hard drive people. Show a little love.

Anyway, Wired.com’s Game|Life blog found the info through Ars Technica, apparently “Citing the same anonymous tipster who told them that the 20 GB model of the Xbox would be cleared out to make room for the 60 GB system.” Hmm…

The price drop is “allegedly” planned for September, for all of you too lazy to read the entire article, and says that the Arcade will be priced at $199, with the 60GB Pro at $299 and the Elite at $399. No word yet on what any remaining 20GB models will go for (and let me tell you, they just sent out a crapload of those things when the price went down, so a month ain’t exactly a lot of time to clean house). Tell all your friends who were waiting for the Netflix deal or hoping and praying that FFXIII was coming to the 360 that they can soon put their hard-earned cash where it belongs - in MS’s fat ass pockets.

Prepare for havoc, Sony fans - your games are about to start coming with a “made in Bangalore” tag. According to sources Sony is attempting to make India its new hub for game development in an effort to further improve the quality of the games… oh, wait, no, they are just trying to save on development costs. Sorry, mistook this for a move that was actually thinking of the consumer for a change. Don’t know what’s gotten into me.

Anyway, as someone intimately familiar with the concept of outsourcing work to India, I can’t help but shudder at hearing this. Development in India has its uses - web site design, HTML, e-commerce - well-understood, “done this a million times before” kinds of things. But game development is as far from being a repeatable, standard process as it gets - unless, of course, you are trying to make yet another Madden clone. It requires creative thinking, extremely hardcore development skills, and most of all, long-term commitment and dedication - none of them things that Indian development houses are known for. So expect Sony to fumble, stumble, and come back with a bloody nose and a little less cash in the bank.