FF8 was firstly announced at E3 back in May 1998, and after more than a half year it was released in Japan. To be more accurate that was in February 1998. Right now Square is translating it to English and release is scheduled for the 9 September. About two months later FF8 is planed to make its way to Europe, but i don't know if it will be Square EA or Square's new started European division that will release it. That doesn't matter too much anyway...
   The graphics in FF8 is bound to be the most spectacular that has been seen on Playstation, with lots of 3d and lightning effects. At least in the fights, cause in the fields it will be the same type of graphics as in FF7, meaning the backgrounds will be only for rendered pictures. You maybe remember those nasty looking characters in FF7? Everything of that is gone in FF8. Now all the characters look more realistic than ever, without those big heads and tiny bodies. The same goes for their faces, which have more naturalistic eyes, noses, and more.
   The story in FF8 takes place in a futuristic place, similar to FF7. However, all the slums and likeness are gone and everything looks clean and beautiful. Squall Leonhart is the main hero, along with at least six other characters. Both males and females so i guess you can expect some love drama mixed together with big adventures.
   And finally, no one else than king Uematsu has composed the music which, i guess, means that the music will be as great as in all the other FFs. You could actually take a peak of his masterpieces in the music as i have uploaded plenty of songs there.