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  Valve is Looking for Hardware Engineers. Interesting.

  Last month, Valve said that the company was “a long way” from shipping any kind of gaming hardware, let alone a dedicated games machine as some people had expected. Some new job listings for “electronics engineers” with the company, though, show that more people are at least being hired for that “long way” in the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012
• Culture

  You Guys Like Giant Robots, Space Pigs and Fighting Octopus, Right?

  Concept artist Trevor Claxton has, in addition to working on projects like Magic the Gathering, also lent his talents to games such as Dust 514, EVE Online and Warhawk. If anyone’s going to draw awesome mechanical killing machines, it’s this guy. I’m not saying these images come from any of those games. I am saying,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012
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  Video Games are Killing the Proud, Ancient Art of Lumberjacking

  Research firm CareerCast have long been cataloguing the worst jobs in America, and nearly every time, lumberjacks rank at or near the bottom. It’s easy to see why. The pay is bad, jobs are getting harder and harder to come by, it’s hard work and it’s dangerous work. According to Jake Rosa, the owner of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012
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  Strangers Donate $130,000 to Cardboard Arcade Kid’s College Fund

  The feel-good story of the week is definitely the one involving nine year-old Caine, whose cardboard arcade is just about the cutest thing ever The slick film put together to document his arcade was done for a reason, though: it was aimed at gathering donations towards a college fund for Caine. Less than a week…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012
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  8-Bit George Washington and Adolf Hitler Fight With Cyborg Dinosaurs in This Time Travel Art Show

  Sure, you could debate legislative achievements and spheres of influence to determine who history’s greatest leader was. But you could also imagine an old-school video game where Teddy Roosevelt and Josef Stalin—looking a lot like Nintendo’s Mario—face off riding weaponized extinct giant lizards. Artist Jude Buffum has done the latter and we are all richer…

  By Evan Narcisse Published April 13, 2012
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  The Time-Travelling Assassins of Looper

  Ah, finally, a trailer for upcoming sci-fi flick Loopers, about criminal time-travellers paid to whack people. Nothing could go wrong with that, right? Nothing except Bruce Willis.

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 12, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  When “Sexy” Meant “Fully-Clothed With Expensive Race Cars”

  I remember when I was 8, and my important bits still didn’t quite know what they were doing, I thought this was the single greatest image on the planet. A sexy European lady and a McLaren F1 car? It was heaven. Twenty-four years later, my bits know exactly what they’re doing, and…this is still pretty…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 12, 2012
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  Nintendo Won’t be Going to GamesCom

  We had a blast at Nintendo’s comfy GamesCom booth last year. We won’t this year, though, as the company has announced it won’t be attending. Suit yourself, Nintendo. More currywurst for us. [Develop]

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 12, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Sad Story of a Japanese Gaming Legend who Pretends War Crimes Never Happened

  Here at Total Recall, we deal in history. Partly because I love my video games, but also because as a graduate in the field I love my history as well. So it saddens me deeply when I see people involved in video games trying to mess with real, actual history. Which leads me to something…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 12, 2012
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  Disappointment Dog is Disappointed In You

  Aww. I feel so bad when I let down Disappointment Dog. But I don’t feel bad to be here, and I hope that you don’t either. Welcome, Kotaku, to your Thursday night Open Thread. I hope your weeks have been going well! Here, assembled from around the internet, are some things to read and maybe…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Video Game Sex Drive Ends in “Cougar’s” Busted Marriage

  There’s this German browser game called WAR2 Glory. You’ve probably never heard of it. “Alleged Cougar” Lisa Carroll, 39 (pictured), and her 16 year-old “fiancee” have, though, because it’s where they met, and it’s how they started knocking boots. After growing closer through the game, the pair actually got engaged – via Skype – and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 12, 2012
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  Star Wars: The Old Republic Manages to Piss Off Players By Handing Out Free Game Time

  After all the trouble Star Wars: The Old Republic has seen since its launch late last year, BioWare today decided to reward its “most valued players” that stuck with the game a free month of game time. How could that possibly go wrong? It’s all about the definition of “most valued players”. BioWare apparently defines…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 12, 2012
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  How That One Deus Ex: Human Revolution Track Made It On My “Repeat” Playlist

  Kirk has already highlighted the soundtrack from last year’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but I think it’s worth reiterating just how amazing one particular track was. I first heard “Icarus,” Michael McCann’s main theme from Human Revolution, when it was revealed for the game’s E3 trailer. It fit the trailer so well, making the dramatic…

  By Tina Amini Published April 12, 2012
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  The Jazziest JRPG Battle Music. It’s So Jazzy.

  Thanks to our resident JRPG columnist Jason Schreier, I have been playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky on my Vita. (When I’m not playing Persona 3 Portable that is.) Have you played this game? I’m thinking the answer to that may well be “no,” but if you’re a Vita owner looking to…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Rocking Your Face With Nothing But Audio From Mass Effect 3

  Many video game remixes combine tracks from a game’s soundtrack into a new-sounding creation. That’s all well and good, but with “Space Effect,” remixers Reverse Enginears take it one step further, creating an entire tune out of nothing but music and sound effects from Mass Effect 3. It’s a neat bit of mixing that combines…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Keeping an Open Mind About the Halo 4 Soundtrack

  Yesterday, we finally found out the identity of Halo‘s new composer—Neil Davidge, best known for his work with Massive Attack, will be filling original Halo composer Martin O’Donnell’s shoes for the upcoming game. They’re big shoes to fill. If you had told me back when I played the first Halo that the soundtrack for that…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Check Out The Plague Sequence’s Brand of Broody, Video-Game Inspired Rock

  For a band that makes its music out of re-designed versions of classic video game music, The Plague Sequence takes itself very seriously. From their website, a manifesto: Working to create a voice of dissent in a culture poisoned by corporate occupation and a vacuous society lacking sincerity or substance. The taint of commerce has…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Square Enix Has Their Own Radio Channel

  Square Enix fans rejoice: the publisher has opened up a streaming radio channel that plays music from many of their games for free. There aren’t a huge number of games yet, but hey, Xenogears is on here, which should make many people happy, judging by the zealous comments I regularly hear about that game’s soundtrack.…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Kick Back With My Favorite Track From The Witcher 2

  Next week, Xbox 360 owners are finally going to have the opportunity to play The Witcher 2. I really liked that game a whole lot, and so I thought that tonight would be a good time to share my favorite musical track from the game. Titled “Vergen by Night,” it’s the music that plays when……

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012
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  Fez‘s Beautiful Soundtrack Lives and Breathes Video Game Dreaminess

  Fez is a very cool game. Tina’s review neatly sums up many of the things that make it so good. In addition to being a smart, enjoyable platformer that revels in a deep and mysterious energy, Fez is an aesthetic triumph. We tend to throw around terms like that a lot—”aesthetic triumph.” But what does…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 12, 2012