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  CultureTotal Recall

  A History of the Serious Sam Series

  Call this a developer diary, call it a trailer, I don’t care. There’s facts beneath the bullshit, the bullshit is entertaining, and that guy has a great turtleneck on.

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  A Beautiful Collection of Awesome Nintendo Logos

  I like the games and the hardware, of course, but one of my favourite things about Japanese video games from the 1980s were the logos. And some of the best ones came out of Nintendo. I’m not talking about the company’s primary logo, either. I’m talking about the series of logos drawn up for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012
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  The New Way

  Hello, Kotaku, and welcome to the Thursday evening open thread. Oh, I like Thursday evenings. I’m slaving away all day on Kotaku Melodic, and then I get to organize the open thread. Today, for some reason, I got started off on one of my favorite films of all time, Wet Hot American Summer. I hope…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
• Reviews

  A Wireless Headset That Changes Channels and Gets Out of the Way

  How do you review a product for something that isn’t there, and isn’t supposed to be there? That’s the distinguishing trait of the Turtle Beach X32 headset for the Xbox 360. It’s identical in nearly every way to its X31 predecessor, released in 2009, except for one. A big one. It’s the frequency at which…

  By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012
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  The Very Essence of Sonic the Hedgehog

  This is What We Fell in Love With | A piece of Sonic the Hedgehog fan art that gets everything right (Photo Credit: Reddit User BansheeIndian via Imgur.) Learn How To Make Video Games With This Video Game Code Hero isn’t your basic first-person shooter. You’ll have enemies, and you’ll be “shooting” them, but it…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2012
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  Blizzard Working on a Free-to-Play Game? [Update]

  According to a report on Develop, World of Warcraft and StarCraft developers Blizzard are working on “an upcoming, as yet unannounced game” which will be based around a free-to-play business model. It’s unknown whether this free-to-play (F2P) game is Blizzard’s famous “Project Titan” or a separate title. To date, Blizzard’s games have either been available…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  This Game Puts You Inside a Gigantic Synthesizer

  It took me a long time to understand synthesizers. When I was a kid, I would often think of a synthesizer as being more or less the same thing as an electric piano—wasn’t a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer basically just a synthesizer? No, in fact—a synthesizer, like a Moog or a Yamaha CS-15, is much…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  This Lovely, Soothing Ballad Makes Lunar Sing

  Music is kind of a big deal in Lunar, a lovely set of role-playing games that hit its peak on the PlayStation back in the late 90s, when a non-stop barrage of Japanese RPGs hit the United States after Final Fantasy VII showed the world that, yes, we’re into this stuff. “Golden Voice” (embedded above)…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Many Melodies of the Nintendo 3DS

  Welcome back to “Menu Music,” a regular Kotaku Melodic feature in which we’ll be listening to the best and worst menu music in video gaming. Last week, we listened to the mind-numbing music of the PlayStation Vita, so it seemed only fair that this week we should listen to the music of its competitor, the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Music To Creep Through the Jungle To

  Last week, I had some fun sharing a bunch of jokey dubstep videos inspired by the new trailer for Far Cry 3. In doing so, I remembered how much I loved the music from Far Cry 2, and so I’m sharing some of it here. This music, composed by Marc Canham, stands apart from the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Video Games are the New Best Way to Make a Living Composing Music

  You may have heard that it’s tough to make a living as a musician. You heard right! It’s a tough world out there, and very few people get paid a good living to make music. But while it may seem daunting from the outside, there is actually a greater demand for music than ever—there is…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (Until Now)

  Like anyone with a brain and ears, I seriously love Frank Zappa. Certainly one of the most brilliant, idiosyncratic composers of the 21st century, Zappa’s amazing orchestral compositions, unhinged harmonic freakouts, and hilarious lyrics have long been a musical inspiration. As great as many of his more well-known albums are, the first album that truly…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Grindy Grooves of Danny Baranowsky

  I’ve written in the past about how much I like Danny Baranowsky’s work, but tonight during Kotaku melodic, we’ll be running a more in-depth feature about him, so I thought it would be cool to share some of his non- Binding of Isaac work. You can download most all of this stuff at his Bandcamp…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  In The Hall of the Gaming King

  I’ve been playing a bit of Escape Plan on the Vita; it’s a charming puzzle game that places you in a series of incredibly dangerous rooms and tasks you with helping the two hapless, goofy main characters survive. It’s got a neat, clean black & white art style, and a humorously mournful style. It’s also…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  The Many Samples and Sound-Alikes of Earthbound

  Few games boast soundtracks as bizarre and innovative as Earthbound‘s, but perhaps the most innovative (and legally troubling) aspect of all is its use of sampling and sound-alikes. Click the video above to see what we mean. Over the years, Earthbound‘s devoted fan base has picked apart every aspect of the SNES cult classic, tracking…

  By Chris Person Published February 23, 2012
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  Kotaku Melodic Starts Now

  Welcome to Kotaku Melodic, your Thursday Night spot for music, games, and things pertaining to the two. Coat check at the door, two-drink minimum.

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
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  Yes, the Next Medal of Honor Game is Called Warfighter

  Between this official art (released by EA alongside confirmation of reports from earlier today) and the name, which isn’t just funny but is also part of an existing, competing series, we’re getting dangerously close to self-parody land here.

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Madden 13 Focusing on More Fun Defense, Says EA

  News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • EA Sports is aiming to create “a better defense that’s more fun to play” in Madden NFL, according to Richard Hilleman, Electronic Arts’ chief creative officer. The game’s design team, which came under new management in the past year, “haven’t accepted any of…

  By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012
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  Culture

  The Ultimate Jeremy Lin Highlight Reel Arrives in the Nick of Time

  Of all the tributes to the Knicks phenomenon Jeremy Lin, the best one on video might be stitched together from highlights in NBA 2K12, where Lin is currently rated a 75 and, who knows, may see the mid-80s before the end of the month. This video was cut by Operation Sports’ Shady 00018. Last night…

  By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012
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  EA Sports Keeps NBA Live in the Game, but Can It Compete?

  At the time I asked about its readiness, EA Sports’ next NBA game didn’t even have a name. Peter Moore, then the label’s boss, avoided my question and told me was doing so. “It’s in the shape you would expect it to be for a title that’s a year and four months away,” Moore said…

  By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012