Final Fantasy XIII's UK launch date official

In an unusual spot of good fortune, November's Friday the 13th brought some epic news for British gamers: Final Fantasy XIII will be released in the UK on 9 March 2010.

To address the karmic imbalance of receiving good news on such a day, it was also announced that Leona Lewis would be wailing on the European version's soundtrack -- on the main Final Fantasy XIII theme song, no less. That, friends, is a total fail.

But the game itself is looking like the most exciting title in the series since 2001's FFX. For one thing, the director of Final Fantasy VII, VIII and producer of X -- Yoshinori Kitase -- has produced the game. Kitase didn't produce 2003's FFX-2 or 2006's FFXII, and they turned out to be our least favourite in the history of the franchise.

The game is set in the high-tech world of Cocoon, following the quest of female protagonist Lightning, some sort of ex-soldier. Apparently she's supposed to be like a female Cloud Strife (of FFVII). And it looks like gunblades -- weapons that are half sword, half gun -- are making a comeback, having been absent since Squall's gunblade in FFVIII.

Final Fantasy XIII will simultaneously launch on PlayStation 3 and, for the first time ever, Microsoft's Xbox 360. Safe to say we can't wait. If you're as excited as us, leave your thoughts in the comments below.