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  The 2011 Video Game Year in Review

  We love video games here at Kotaku. We love them so much. We think they had a good year in 2011, although it was a pretty weird year. We had the PlayStation Network going down. We got a 3DS and, at least in Japan, a Vita. We got Minecraft and Duke Nukem Forever and even…

  Kotaku Staff Published January 2, 2012
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  Portal 2 Takes Kotaku’s 2011 Game of the Year Award for Science, You Monster

  After several weeks of debate, discussion, and deliberation, Kotaku‘s 2011 Game of the Year Award came down to a simple vote, and the majority voted for science. We voted for Wheatley, the delightfully ditzy but well-meaning artificial intelligence that unwittingly guided us to our potential doom. We voted for GLaDOS, the power-hungry robot with a…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 2, 2012
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  Is the PS Vita A Device Ahead of Its Time or Behind It?

  With its big, bright screen, ability to sense touch and motion, and controls that mimic a home game console’s, Sony’s Playstation Vita delivers the sort of gaming that approaches what you might expect to experience in your den. But is that what gamers still want? I’ve spent the past week with a PS Vita, enjoying…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 2, 2012
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  Meet the Team Fortress 2 Kids

  Wee Little TF2 | Dutch artist SLiD3 breaks hearts with these cute little Team Fortress 2 soldiers. Why People Say the World Will End In 2012 You’re going to hear a lot this year about how, at some point in 2012, the world is going to end. That we will all, in some way or…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  New Halo: Reach Figures Capture Tiny Little Flags

  Next month, McFarlane will release what feels like the 117th series of Halo toys, this time based on the characters and bad guys from Halo: Reach There are Spartans with multiplayer colour schemes, actual character Spartans from the game with no helmets on, giant aliens, human pilots and, my favourite, a pack containing multiplayer accessories…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Portal Boots Look Great in the Real World

  Once again, Volpin Props knocks it out of the park. Though in this case, they’ve knocked themselves out of the park. And fallen a great height, only to land safely, thanks to these Portal Long Fall Boots. Master prop builder Harrison Krix’s efforts continue to amaze, these boots looking like they jumped straight out of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Jon Hopkins: Circle

  One day, I’m going to make a science-fiction movie. It won’t be about action, or killing. It’ll just be about some guys cruising the galaxy, exploring all the cool shit that’s out there to see. And when they see it, they lean back in their space chairs and just…soak it all up. When I make…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Mass Effect Monopoly is my Favourite…You Get the Idea

  If you liked the idea of BioShock Monopoly but prefer the depths of space to the depths of the deep blue sea, Mass Effect Monopoly might be more your thing. Tommy LeRoy is the man to thank for this awesome custom game, which changes everything about the original to bring it into line with BioWare’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Bison, Ling Xiaoyu Are In Street Fighter x Tekken

  This screenshot, posted on Street Fighter x Tekken’s Xbox Marketplace website, accidentally (?) reveals two new characters for the crossover title. You won’t see them punching; you’ll find them in the character section up the top of the screen. They’re Tekken’s Ling Xiaoyu and Street Fighter’s M. Bison. For Tekken, the day Bison graced this…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Zelda’s Great Fairy Takes On Star Wars

  Just because you’re (probably) on holidays doesn’t mean the cosplayers of the world take a break. In this week’s Fancy Pants, we have an amazing Great Fairy from Zelda, a double serving of perfect Star Wars cosplay, Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat and, believe it or not, some Muramasa Fancy Pants is a look at the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Call of Duty Ads “Hideous Marketing”, Says Actual Soldier

  Activision’s big-budget Sam Worthington x Jonah Hill commercials for Modern Warfare 3 won a lot of fans, but novelist, essayist and former paratrooper D.B. Grady is not one of them. Writing on The Atlantic, Grant – “a former paratrooper with U.S. Army Special Operations Command and a veteran of Afghanistan” – says the commercial series…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  People are Already Playing Genesis Games on the PlayStation Vita

  Oh look. It’s Genesis game Sonic & Knuckles running on the PlayStation Vita, a handheld that’s been out for less than a month. How is this possible? Don’t get too alarmed; rather than cracking open the Vita itself, this homebrew Genesis emulator (originally built for the PSP) is running via the Vita’s own PSP emulation.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  You Can Use PC Mods On Grand Theft Auto III’s iOS and Android Version

  Merry (belated) Christmas, owners of the recently-released Grand Theft Auto III on iOS and Android. That mobile version you bought is actually, in almost every respect, the old PC version of the original, meaning if you can get at its file structure, you can use PC mods on it. For Android users it’s as easy…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Why People Say the World Will End In 2012

  You’re going to hear a lot this year about how, at some point in 2012, the world is going to end. That we will all, in some way or another, wound up gone, destroyed, burned, eaten, smashed to pulp or, if we’re really lucky, a combination of the lot. We’ll be fine, of course, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 2, 2012
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  Happy New Year, from ‘Black Ops Guy’ and Starbuck

  The gentleman who dressed up as the box of Call of Duty: Black Ops at this year’s Fan Expo in Toronto was one of our favorite cosplayers of 2011. He starred in one of Kotaku‘s best ‘Shop Contests and is currently featured in the all-star revue going on now. He sends everyone here best wishes…

  By Owen Good Published January 1, 2012
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  Kotaku‘s Most-Read Stories of 2011

  In two hours, the year 2011 will have run its course. To video games, it was a year of scandal, of disappointment, of surprise and of achievement. Traveling to all parts of the globe, with staff writers on three continents, serving an audience of more than 3 million unique visitors each month, Kotaku chronicled the…

  By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011
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  A Virtual Season Ends with Plenty of Unfinished Business

  Looking back on the list of video games I finished in 2011, it’s an embarrassingly thin roster. It may be my least productive year ever, in terms of what I finished, what I was expected to play, and what I spent most of my time doing. It’s not a resume that really speaks of a…

  By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011
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  This Is the Last Time You Will Talk Amongst Yourselves in 2011

  Today’s the last day of 2011, which means it’s the last day of the month and the last day you will see that goddamn righteous chicken in our TAYpic. I’ll be sad to see him go. Many thanks to SkyWizard: The True Creator for the final TAYpic of 2011. As the evening winds down, feel…

  By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011
• Culture

  Sunday Comics: Friendship is Modding

  Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Dec. 26.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Dec. 29.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…

  By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011
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  Epic Mickey 2 Rumors Now Peg It for Fall 2012 Release

  An online newsletter from Disney has again confirmed long-circulating rumors about Epic Mickey 2, and says the game will release on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii in Fall 2012, reports the site StitchKingdom.com. The original Epic Mickey, released in 2010, was a Wii-only title. Epic Mickey 2 will feature cooperative multiplayer play, according to the…

  By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011