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  Payday: The Heist Developers Confirm That They’re Working With Valve on Left 4 Dead Crossover

  The action-packed brand of high-stakes robbery delivered by Overkill Software’s Payday: The Heist might just be pulling off its next job in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Early this morning, an official statement from Overkill game director Ulf Andersson revealed that the Swedish development team will be working on an “in-depth collaboration” with Valve:…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 21, 2012
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  Angry Birds Land Coming to a China Near You

  It looks like the creators of Angry Birds, Rovio, isn’t satisfied with only one nest for their avian children. Not only are they planning on building an Angry Birds theme park in Finland, they are working on multiple roosts in China. Reported by the China Daily in Shanghai, Rovio’s Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka says that…

  By Eric Jou Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Growing Up on Mario and Sonic. Growing Up in China.

  Doodling away at his desk, a skinny and unassuming young man, Li Feng, ponders how to draw a political cartoon regarding missile defense shields. Li, 32, is a graphic artist for a media company in Beijing and he attributes his choice of career to his upbringing, an upbringing in China, with video games. “When many…

  By Eric Jou Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Naruto Inspires Polish Lady To Kick Shogi Ass

  Shogi. It’s typically called “Japanese chess”. And like chess, it’s a board game of strategy—and smarts. To get good, you must spend years playing and studying. Polish college student Karolina Styczynska did that on the internet after reading a manga. The 20 year-old Styczynska first discovered shogi about four years ago while reading a ninja…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Two Juliets Reveal the Absurdity of Cross-Pacific Commutes

  Lollipop Chainsaw has two image characters: Jessica Nigri for the West and Mayu Kawamoto for Japan. Kawamoto is a black belt in karate, but Nigri has, I guess, a black belt in revealing cosplay This weekend in Tokyo geek district Akihabara, both Juliets appeared alongside game designer Goichi Suda to promote the title and pose…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Bureaucrat Allegedly Molested a Male Train Passenger for Thirty Minutes

  According to Japanese news reports, a 40 year-old bureaucrat from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, was recently arrested for groping on Tokyo’s Chuo Line. Between Mitaka Station and Yotsuya Station, the bureaucrat put his right hand on the crotch of another 40-something year-old male and apparently groped the passenger repeatedly for 30 minutes.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Man Sold Stolen Game Console. Victim Accidently Bought It Back.

  Twenty-nine year-old Jin Yasuda allegedly swiped a friend’s game console. When it came time to sell the console (the make wasn’t specified), Yasuda didn’t stray far from his victim’s resident. That, it seems, was his undoing. Yasuda supposedly sold the console back to a local game shop. So when the victim’s eldest son wanted to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Meet Your Tekken Tag Tournament 2 DLC Characters. They’re Free!

  Here’s a video of the first batch of DLC characters for Tekken Tag 2. The first batch of free characters. Actually, to keep the game balanced, there are no plans for paid Tekken Tag Tournament 2 DLC characters (keep in mind that doesn’t mean no paid DLC, just no paid characters). Still, those are very…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  A Clearer, Sharper Look at the New Tales Game

  There’s a new Tales role-playing coming out. Last week, Kotaku posted the first concept art images of the game, as well as excerpt from an interview with Tales producer Hideo Baba. According to Baba, “We want players to be surprised at first and think things like, ‘What is this!?’ and ‘I’ve never seen this kind…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  This Pokémon Lady Has Crazy Long Legs

  Okay, so the Pokémon games are not noted for their realism. Young people catch and train monsters. If this anime teaser is anything to go by, Pokémon: Black and White 2 is no exception. Pokémon: Black and White 2 won’t only feature new Pocket Monsters. It will also feature unnatural limbs. As the recent anime…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  First Trailer for Skyfall, the New James Bond Flick

  007 is back. This fall, Daniel Craig James returns as James Bond, along with Judi Dench, Albert Finney, and Ralph Fiennes. Dubbed Skyfall, the movie takes James from overcast England to the glitz and neon of China. Skyfall hits theaters this fall. The Bond theme starts in your head right now. BOND PLAYS WORD GAMES…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  The Hidden Naked “Lady” of Kirby 2

  While 1995 was a simpler time, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a sexier one. Just look at the saucy hijinks Japanese game developers slipped into Kirby’s Dream Land 2. Oh là là! This game’s 5-5 secret stage shows what looks like lady parts in Game Boy pink. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 was re-released earlier this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  China Is Building a One Piece Theme Park

  The coastal city of China’s Dafeng will soon play host to One Piece fans across the country—and perhaps, even the globe. See, China is constructing a new One Piece amusement park. The theme park has a budget of approximately US$76 million and will be built on 133-hectare plot of land. According to news reports, this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Japan Shows the Beauty (and the Craziness) of the Solar Eclipse

  This morning in Japan, kids and adults alike paused momentarily. They wore funny glasses and turned their eyes to the skies. This Monday morning, just as a new week started, a solar eclipse was visible. And Japanese television chronicled the whole thing the best way it could: sometimes serious and sometimes anything but. For several…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Right Now

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Announcing Street Fighter II: Hyper Portal Gun Edition

  As a rule, Portal guns don’t make everything better. But they can certainly liven up a round of Street Fighter II. Poor Blanka. Super Street Fighter II with a Portal Gun [YouTube, via Gamefreaks]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  The Video Game That’s Also a Rap Album That’s Also a Comic Book

  Raheem Jarbo, aka Mega Ran, aka Random, is one of the more noted video game musicians out there. For his latest album, though, he went a little further than just rapping about video games. With financial help from fans, he’s been able to put together a concept album that includes not just the music, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  Happy 25th Birthday, Animated GIF

  Scourge of internet comments sections and saviour of countless rainy days, the humble animated GIF file turns 25 this year, Compuserve having first introduced the file format back in 1987. To celebrate, here’s a ton of the things compiled in a mildly nauseating video. Note: only celebrate if you call it a “giff”. If you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  Hot Cosplay From Tekken to Warhammer 40K, and Everywhere in Between

  This week’s cosplay roundup here on Kotaku is mercifully short on Final Fantasy and/or Kingdom Hearts, two series that are a little, let’s say, over-represented in the field. In their place, we’ve got some costumes that are way more interesting, including some stuff from Warhammer, Tekken, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Lord of the Rings and even…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  Adventure Game Fans, You’ll Probably Want to Play Journey Down

  Indie adventure game The Journey Down, which has actually been available in various versions for a while now, but today sees the release of a “HD” version which turns the formerly low-fi experience into something a little shinier. If you’ve never played it, but love adventure games, you should see about fixing that. Of all…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012