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  Watch the Epic Halo Film That Was Made in the Game’s Single-Player

  It seems like everyone’s making machinima, right? Recent riffs on BioShock, Super Mario Brothers and GTA IV might even make the act of making original narratives from pre-built video game engines look easy. You just need to capture some footage and invite some buds talk over it, no? It’s a lot tougher than that. How…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 20, 2011
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  Who’s Who in Final Fantasy XIII-2

  In case you were having trouble telling your pink-jaired girls from your purple-haired not-quite-girls, Square Enix has released a handy video pointing out which character is which in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII sequel. It’s pretty easy to pick the characters out if you’ve been playing attention. Lightning is the one everyone cares about; Caius…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2011
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  Star Wars MMO Won’t Go Free-to-Play ‘in the Foreseeable Future’

  DC Universe Online‘s done it. Team Fortress 2‘s done it. World of Warcraft‘s done it (sort of). 2011’s seen some of the biggest most ambitious massively multiplayer online game abandon the subscription-based business model and go free-to-play. Valve’s shift to an F2P model takes advantage of a game already chock full of microtransaction content. And,…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 20, 2011
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  Transformers Timeline Just Might Reveal the Next Two Transformers Games

  The official timeline for the non-movie Transformers that have been starring in a series of video games confirms a bunch of things. It confirms that Megatron is not a good robot. It confirms that next year’s Fall of Cybteron game involves a battle between space-bound Autobots and Decepticons. It also confirms that these Transformers will…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 20, 2011
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  Kingdom Hearts 3D is Officially a Thing for North America and Europe

  The final chapter of the Kingdom Hearts saga begins with Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS, now confirmed for release next year in North America and Europe, as if anyone was worried it wouldn’t make it. Hardcore Kingdom Hearts fans around the world are on the edge of their seats waiting for…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2011
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  Star Wars Nerds Win Again

  It’s a popular if tired trope to cast the bankers, traders and other functionaries of the financial industry as big, bad guys. So, either the EA execs who gathered at the NASDAQ this building to ring the trading service’s opening bell this morning were there to cleanse the site of evil or showed up to…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 20, 2011
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  Our Readers Create Their Own Damn Game of the Year Awards

  While high atop Kotaku Tower we sit in high-backed chairs around a marble and gold inlaid table pondering our official Game of the Year, commenter GiantBoyDetective and friends organize their very own awards, and you can help in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Alright. So I think we should start the research for The Speakys…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2011
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  The Delightful, Free Doctor Who Video Game May be the Biggest Doctor Who Thing Ever

  It’s a good time to be a Doctor Who fan. Along with the recently announced PlayStation-exclusive Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock, this week we’ll see the launch of a public preview for Doctor Who: Worlds In Time, a browser-based, free-to-play MMO developed by Puzzle Pirates studio Three Rings Design. I’ve seen it in action. As…

  Rick Marshall Published December 20, 2011
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  If Creative Classic Mario Paint‘s Theme Had Lyrics, They Might Sound Like This

  Retro game lyricist Brentalfloss rings in the holiday season with a musical tribute to the only Super Nintendo game to come bundled with a mouse and a mouse pad. Take that, uDraw!

  By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Star Wars :The Old Republic launches today, and I wish I could play it (I only have Mac computers). Then again, I also enjoy seeing the outside world sometimes Has anybody picked the game up yet? What are your first feelings about? Well, I guess it’s time to Talk Amongst Yourselves! Many thanks to Incursor for…

  By Chris Carolan Published December 20, 2011
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  UK Treatment Group Preps For Next Big Addiction: Video Games

  A UK-based charity treatment group is preparing for what they believe will become the next major addiction issue: Video Games. Norcas, which has been supporting those affected by addictive behaviors in Norfolk, UK since 1978, recently commissioned an independent study into gaming and addictive behavior to prepare for what they believe will be a rising…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 20, 2011
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  Bag It! Magically Finds the Joy in an Unrewarding Menial Task

  Some 21 years ago I spent the summer as a bag boy, filling paper sacks with other people’s groceries. It was the most boring and demeaning summer of my life. Hidden Variable Studios has somehow transformed these bad memories into a hell of a good time. I might hate them. I still remember the training…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 20, 2011
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  Can You Tell These Multiplatform Final Fantasy XIII-2 Screens Apart?

  Because, honestly, it’s getting to the point where I cannot. And that is not a bad thing! Multiplatform games should look relatively the same. But here we have the Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions of role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII-2 facing off in a screenshot battle of who’s prettier. You’re both pretty, Final Fantasy…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  BRZ PLZE

  It’s Meisa | CHIBA, JAPAN: Actress Meisa Kuroki showed off the new Subaru BRZ. (Photo: 4Gamer) Sony Delivers with the PS Vita. It Does Not Disappoint. When I fired up the PS Vita for the first time this past weekend, I couldn’t help but think back to Dec. 2004. So much has changed. I had…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  North Korea Will Be Ruled by a Manga-Reading Gamer

  Kim Jong-il passed away this week—something almost predicted by Homefront, a video game. The question now is: what’s next? Rather, who Kim Jong-un, who also appeared in Homefront, will be the dictator’s successor. Not much is known about Kim Jong-un. Photos of him did not surface until recently, which is why an actor originally played…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  A Treasure Trove of Plastic Fantasy

  Last weekend was the 2011 Treasure Festa in Ariake, Japan. The show is a figure festival, showcasing upcoming releases, one-off originals, and limited edition figures. An array of figures was on display. Japanese website Moeyo was on hand to check things out. Click through the gallery to see what you missed. 「トレジャーフェスタin有明6」 会場速報ダイジェスト [Moeyo]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  How Motion Sickness Can Ruin Games (And How You Can Fight it)

  I can play games for hours on end. No problems. Good friend of mine, though, there are certain genres—FPS and driving mainly—that make him physically sick. He’s not alone. It’s a safe bet most of you either know someone, or suffer yourself, from motion sickness brought on by video games. There’s a great piece on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  Sony Sued Over Its “No Sue” Legal Terms

  Sony, along with several other big companies, has recently tried to institute a “no sue” clause in the terms of service agreements for its consoles. To oppose this, some people are, yes, trying to sue them over their “no sue” agreements. According to a report on GameSpot, a man in Northern California is leading a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
• Culture

  The Star Wars, Fallout & Neverwinter Art of Brian Menze

  Brian Menze’s been around the video game art world for a long time now. If you’ve played, say, Fallout 2 (released in 1998), know that he’s the guy who designed all the Vault Boy images in the game. But that was the 20th century! Since then Menze has worked on games like Neverwinter Nights 2,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  The Realistic Summer Sports Simulator Totally Nails The Olympics

  You know Owen’s 2011 Sports Game of the Year awards? Throw ’em out. Straight out the window. Because now, at the 11th hour, we have a game that bests them all. Get a load of Realistic Summer Sports Simulator. Looking to have been inspired by Epyx’s Summer Games and QWOP, it’s a $0.99 iPhone game…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011