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  Kotaku East

  Learn Japanese One Dead Zombie at a Time

  Way back in the year 1999, Sega took its successful horror light-gun game, House of the Dead 2, swapped guns for keyboards and released it in arcades under the name The Typing of the Dead. Two years later this typing tutor was released in America on the Dreamcast and PC. It was—and still is frankly—the…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 6, 2012
• Kotaku East

  A Hairy Butt, a Drunk Businessman, and a Power Ranger Make Train Rides More Interesting

  Commuting can be so dull. Just sitting there on the train, which, throughout much of Asia, is always so damn quiet. Boring! But sometimes, exciting things happen. Sometimes, you get this. This being—I’m not quite sure what this is. There’s a businessman passed out on a seat. Next to him there is a blue Power…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Assassin’s Creed Dives into Final Fantasy. Here’s a First Look.

  As Kotaku previously posted, Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s Assassin’s Creed outfit is coming to role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII-2 as downloadable content. Here are some screenshots that show Noel Kreiss, Final Fantasy XIII-2’s male protagonist, decked out in AC gear. Collaborations like this are neat and all, but they also seem off putting. Like, why…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  When You Devote Yourself to Chun-Li

  Music has its Elvis impersonators, but video games? Video games have cosplayers, but there’s a difference in the nuance. “Cosplay” implies an element of play—as though you are going from outfit to outfit. Not this lady. This lady is Elin Kuzunoha, and while she’s cosplayed as characters from One Piece and Final Fantasy, there is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 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 April 6, 2012
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  Firefall’s Intro Wants to Blow up Brazil

  The cinematic intro to multiplayer PC shooter Firefall has just been released. And unlike previous pieces from the game, there’s no shooting in it whatsoever. If you live in Brazil, though, you may want to get an umbrella before watching. The forecast is for giant falling spaceships. Get More: GameTrailers.com, Firefall – Exclusive Intro HD,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  That Other XCOM Game Just Got a New Coat of Paint

  While there are two official games coming based on the classic XCOM (or, really, X-Com) universe, there’s another, less official one in the pipeline as well: PC indie strategy title Xenonauts Originally unveiled in 2010, and billed as a spiritual successor to the original X-Com game, it’s just received a fairly substantial visual overhaul, which…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  One of Batman’s Greatest Ever Fights, Immortalised

  If it wasn’t for the part where he beats the living shit out of Superman in the very same comic, the epic showdown between the Dark Knight and The Joker from Frank Miller’s 1986 classic The Dark Knight Returns might well have been Batman’s most memorable fight. Which means it’s awesome seeing its concluding moments…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Rest Easy. There is now a Yanni Video Game Contoller.

  With Nintendo’s Vitality Sensor MIA, this arcade fighting stick has just become the most new-age and relaxing video game peripheral around. Inspired by our story on a Michael McDonald stick, reader Sean and his buddy Chris went several times better and made a custom Brian Crecente Yanni fight stick. I don’t think I could bring…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Road Never got a Video Game, but Deadlight Might be the Next Best Thing

  Spanish developers Tequila Works are working on Deadlight, an Xbox Live Arcade game that has you wandering around what’s left of a post-apocalyptic 1980s America. Calling it “a cinematic action-platformer with action-based puzzles”, I’m calling it “a game that’s already pushing nearly all my buttons”. It’ll be out on XBLA in the Summer.

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The New Double Dragon Game Looks, Hrm, Well…

  Wayforward’s upcoming Double Dragon: Neon has its first gameplay trailer. If you liked what Wayforward did with its last homage to an old property, A Boy And His Blob, well…this doesn’t look anywhere near as charming. It’ll be out on XBLA and PSN sometime in the Summer.

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  What Journey Would Look Like on the 3DS

  PlayStation Network amazement-inducer Journey is very much a PS3 exclusive. But let’s just pretend, for a moment, that it was also on the Nintendo 3DS. It might look like this! Maybe. This may look like simple fan art, but it’s actually been drawn on the new 3DS version of painting suite Colors!, called Colors3D! Oh.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Please, Start Making This Space Combat Game Again

  New Zealand developers Sidhe are best known for their local sporting games based on stuff like Rugby League. They generally release one or two games a year. Sadly, one game that’s not being released anytime soon is also one that looks damn impressive, especially for anyone who remembers a time when people actually made video…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Screw Kickstarter, This Developer is Selling Old Transformers to Raise Money

  Are you already as sick of seeing the word “Kickstarter” as we are? Yeah, probably. Remember, developers: not everyone has to jump on the same bandwagon to get money to make a video game. Instead of holding out your hands, you could always do what Finnish developer Petsku is doing, and sell all your old…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Watch as Dubstep Ruins Your Favourite Video Game

  Kotaku’s own stationary troubadour Kirk Hamilton has already shown you how some movies can be improved/ruined by the addition of dubstep. Now it’s time to see how video games can be improved/ruined by it. New games, old games, it doesn’t matter. These videos are taking a game, ripping its heart out, showing you a few…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 6, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Unboxing the Mother Lode of Old PC Games

  If you think unboxing new games is fun, wait until you see how awesome it is when a guy finds a box of old PC games and spends seven minutes taking them out of a single, larger cardboard box Space Quest. Man Hunter. Police Quest. Gold Rush. I can smell the musty manual paper through…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Atari’s Founder Also Made Kick-Ass Robots

  Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Atari and also the man behind Chuck E. Cheese’s, won’t just be remembered for those two towering achievements. The guy also made robots. In 1981, having left Atari three years previously, Bushnell founded Catalyst Technologies, a venture capital group designed to help invest in technology start-ups. Catalyst in turn went onto…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2012
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  Total Recall Starts Now!

  Time for your daily dose of video game history, Kotaku!

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  What Are You Up To, Hillary?

  Why hello there Kotaku. This is your Thursday night open-thread. Are you ready to do some serious chatting? Hope so! Here are some things gathered from around the internet for you to check out and enjoy. Ugh, I’m being too affected by a dumb Nike commercial – Curse you Don Draper! A new interview with…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Today’s Most Entertaining Video Game Catfight is Now, Sadly, Over

  The slinging-handbags fight that boiled up when Take-Two Interactive honcho Strauss Zelnick gave THQ six months to live has been, officially and semi-politely, resolved. Backing up, THQ has been in a bathtub full of trouble for much of this year. The publisher has shut down its kiddie division, fended off rumors it scrubbed its publishing…

  By Owen Good Published April 5, 2012