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  See The International Dota 2 Championships Live Here, or Watch them Via Steam

  The livestream for The International Dota 2 Championships is included in our roundup of feeds coming out of (or nearby) PAX 2012, but we’re highlighting it here for you with a reminder that competition resumes at 12:30 p.m. EDT today with the semifinal rounds of the double-elimination tournament. Valve, maker of the game and sponsor…

  By Owen Good Published September 1, 2012
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  The Moneysaver: Heed the Call

  The Labor Day weekend brings us pre-order savings on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and NHL 13, plus half-off savings on Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes—but only for the DS. If you’re still looking to get in on Guild Wars 2 the standard edition isn’t seeing any discounts currently but the digital deluxe…

  By Owen Good Published September 1, 2012
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  Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, Literally

  Oh come on, you know you were thinking it “I kept waiting for it to get good, but it never did. I guess I’ll take store credit.”

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 1, 2012
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  The Best of Kotaku, This Week

  This week ends the summer for most people in school and for those who follow the rules regarding wearing white pants. But it’s not really over for gamers, since PAX is in full swing over in Seattle and the terrific rush of games for the fall hasn’t begun yet. As ever, it was a week…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 1, 2012
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  A Brand-New Final Fantasy XIII Means Exciting New Creatures to Kill

  Fears of a new chapter in the Final Fantasy XIII saga bringing another 40-80 hours of battling the same old beasts were put to rest this evening, as art director Isamu Kamikokuryo showed off a series of decidedly different mythical beasts for Lightning Returns, from gigantic dragons to decaying undead. While I rather enjoyed Final…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 1, 2012
• Culture

  Soak in The Beauty of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII‘s Concept Art

  Final Fantasy XIII heroine returns with, well, Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. The game is set in the world of Nobus Partus, 13 days from its demise. Here is a first look—a first good look—at the game’s stunning concept art. The urban setting of Luxerion looks very intriguing. Check it out in the gallery above.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 31, 2012
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  Here’s Square Enix Talking About The Next Final Fantasy

  Check out these four videos to see Square Enix’s design team talking about Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, announced tonight both here and Japan for release next year on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Square Enix promises more details on September 4

  By Jason Schreier Published August 31, 2012
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  She’s Just Running With The Wolves, Man

  David Semsei, take a bow. Your fan art isn’t just the knees, it’s the bees knees, a pair of knees so tiny and specialised they’re worth taking a closer look at. Just like this art! Resident Evil, Dark Souls, Metal Gear, even Deadly Premonition, there’s a variety of inspirations and a variety of awesome images…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2012
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  Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Makes Major Changes to the Series’ Formula, Ends Trilogy

  Final Fantasy XIII heroine Lightning will be back in a new game, Square-Enix announced today. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. This one is going to be a very different Final Fantasy Series director Motomu Toriyama began a presentation in Tokyo by showing an image of a rose, saying roses have many meanings. He then said…

  By Jason Schreier Published August 31, 2012
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  Double Your Final Fantasy XIII Pleasure with This Limited Edition Pack

  Over in Hong Kong, PlayStation’s Asia branch just announced a limited edition Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 pack. The bundle includes both games (with English and traditional Chinese subtitles and the original Japanese voices) as well as eight eight post cards. It’ll be out September 13 in Hong Kong for HK$558 or US$72.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 31, 2012
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  A Closer Look At Borderlands 2‘s Spritely Robot-Summoner, The Mechromancer

  At PAX 2012, attendees who braved the massive line at the Borderlands 2 booth were treated to a first look at the fifth character class for the game, the Mechromancer, which will now be given free to everyone who pre-orders the game. The character is a trendy, pixie-looking girl in metal armor who summons a…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published August 31, 2012
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  The Cosplay Of PAX: Day One

  The Seattle Convention Center was covered in video game characters today for the first day of the Penny Arcade Expo. We saw all manner of costumes—the elaborate, the humble, the humorous, the bizarre. Tina, Jason and I captured as many as we could for our first gallery. Up top, three ladies re-create three famous Zelda…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published August 31, 2012
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  Surprise Ending of The World Ends With You Remake Teases Sequel

  Looks like we might be getting a sequel to The World Ends With You after all. A new teaser image at the end of the iOS version, sent in by Kotaku reader Michael, hints that the franchise could continue soon, and translator Brian Gray confirmed its legitimacy on his Twitter account today The past few…

  By Jason Schreier Published August 31, 2012
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  Backhanded Box Quotes: Cursing Madden

  Welcome back to “Backhanded Box Quotes,” a collection of measured, thoughtful criticism from the user reviews of Metacritic, Amazon and elsewhere. This week’s Backhanded Box Quotes concern a game that needs no introduction: Madden NFL 13, which has somehow managed to sell a zillion copies the past eight years despite not having anything good said…

  By Owen Good Published August 31, 2012
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  You’ll Get Final Fantasy Versus XIII, When It’s Good and Ready

  Square Enix is being tight lipped about Final Fantasy Versus. And from the sound of it, that game could still be a while off. According to Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada, who recently spoke at a Final Fantasy anniversary event in Tokyo, said that Square Enix was “diligently making Final Fantasy Versus XIII“, but added,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 31, 2012
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  Customer Service Sucks For Those Inside the Gaming Industry, Too

  Console failures don’t just happen to the little people. No, they happen to gaming industry professionals, too, and we’re happy to report they don’t get a customer service batphone and valet replacement service just because they happen to work for a major publisher, as “Frank” does here. He gets to suffer through the same tale…

  By Owen Good Published August 31, 2012
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  You Can Close Your Eyes In This Game. It’s Profound.

  You know what I hate? Audible character heartbeats in games. I can’t deal with that. It’s too stressful. I start breathing harder and I start to feel my own blood rushing as I start pondering the possibility that somehow—despite all logic—I’m about to suffer a heart attack. I mean, listen to my heart (which is…

  By Patricia Hernandez Published August 31, 2012
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  Guild Wars 2 Bear Loves to Photobomb

  There the player was, getting the camera right, the lighting right, the character’s pose just right for that perfect screenshot and…oh, hi bear. Photobombed in Guild Wars 2 [Reddit]

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2012
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  Minecraft Helped Inspire Skyrim‘s Newest DLC

  When the rumors started circulating about a new DLC called Hearthfire for Skyrim, people started excitedly speculating as to what new powers you’d go on in the expansion. Dawnguard brought vampire abilities to Bethesda’s hit RPG so Hearthfire would bring what? Magma-flinging? Dovahkiin sidequests involving arson? No one was really expecting house-building and adoption In…

  By Evan Narcisse Published August 31, 2012
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  The “World’s First True Gaming Laptop” is Now More Powerful, Less Pricey

  First revealed a year ago, the Razer Blade was a fascinating machine. Dubbed “The World’s First True Gaming Laptop” by its makers, the $2,800 17-inch machine, weighing less than seven pounds, was a bold experiment that traded power for portability, and portability for price. The experiment was an overwhelming success. Earlier this year the Blade…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 31, 2012