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  The Best Game Music of 2011: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is perhaps the most compelling argument yet for “Video Game as Concert Piece.” As a game, it is a smartly designed interlocking series of puzzles, an ever-more-complex world filled with hidden secrets and challenging combat that unfolds with a uniquely Zelda-y sense of joyous excavation. But as a concert…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published December 23, 2011
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  Portal 2 Teleports into Gamasutra‘s Hearts, Snags Their Game of the Year

  The industry- and design-focused publication Gamasutra has released their list of the top ten games of the year, with Valve’s Portal 2 coming in at the top. “All that extra ‘stuff’ isn’t just superfluous,” writes editor-in-chief Kris Graft, “every new addition has a purpose, and has a meaning. They made Portal 2 better than the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published December 23, 2011
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  32 Nintendo Fans made these 8 Short Movies in 24 Hours

  If Nintendo gave you 24 hours to make a short film about one of their games, what kind of YouTube classic would you create? The company behind Link, Samus and Waluigi gave 32 Los Angeles-based “Nintendo Brand Ambassadors” (fans!) the opportunity to make movies about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Super Mario…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2011
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  Copying Your Character and Following You Around is the Sincerest Form of Creepy Flattery

  Commenter KingKellogg the Waffle Haggler encountered a Single White Female situation while playing online the other day, and wonders if you’ve ever had the pleasure of attracting creepy online dopplegangers in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. So here I was playing Halo when one of the people who added me as a friend requested I…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 23, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Oh, how I dread Christmas weekend. Not because I’m some big grinch or anything, but mainly because it requires me traveling to the edges of hell and back over the course of 24 hours. It’s days like this that make me wish my DS wasn’t stolen. How do you put up with your family on…

  By Chris Carolan Published December 23, 2011
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  Why 2011 was a ‘Historic’ Year for Video Games

  Some of us think that 2011 was a good year for video games because Arkham City, Skyrim and the new Zelda weren’t half-bad. Michael Gallagher has other reasons to think 2011 was neat. He is the head of the Entertainment Software Association, the game-publisher-funded group in Washington that puts on E3 every year, lobbies the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2011
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  Multi-Touch Not Worth the Hassle with this Meat Boy Clone

  It was independent games development’s darling of 2010, and all who dared cross it risked the righteous anger of its creators and fans. But badass platformer Super Meat Boy still is not available on mobile gaming’s No. 1 platform. And I don’t think it’s because one of its creators got into a pissing contest with…

  By Owen Good Published December 23, 2011
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  You Can Now Sign Up For Dust 514‘s Beta… If You’re An EVE Online Player

  We’ve shown you armor, weapons and vehicles from Dust 514, the persistent online shooter from the makers of EVE Online. Now, a select few will finally be able to get their hands on the game and how all those elements feel. Over on their dev blog, developers CCP have announced that registration is live for…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 23, 2011
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  Princess Mononoke

  Mononoke Hime | Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke gets a makeover, courtesy of sakimichan Some Guys Who Made Homeworld Are Making A New Sci-Fi Game Over the past ten years, ever since we saw the last of the critically-acclaimed Homeworld series, a number of key developers working on games for developers Relic left the studio. More » Another…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Frank Sinatra: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

  I’m signing off for the weekend, so, as above. Merry Christmas all! Soundtrack isn’t news. It isn’t video games. It’s just Kotaku editors sharing music they dig. Enjoy!

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  No 32GB Vita Cards For You, Europe (Yet)

  The must-have accessory for the PlayStation Vita launch – and this is because you almost literally must have one – have been Sony’s proprietary memory cards. The 32GB versions in particular have been the most sought-after, selling out in Japan and being confirmed for the handheld’s US launch If you’re in Australia or Europe, though?…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
• Culture

  Former Homeworld Developers Are Making A New Sci-Fi Game

  Over the past ten years, ever since we saw the last of the critically-acclaimed Homeworld series, a number of key developers working on games for developers Relic left the studio. Many of them have now settled in at a new home, Blackbird Interactive, where they’re working on “an ambitious and original sci-fi social strategy game”…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Because Santa Needs To Die

  You remember Happy Wheels? Free flash game, dangerously fun/funny. Well, this being Christmas and all, its creator Jim Bonacci added a Christmas theme to it. Where you control Santa and some Elves. Then kill them, repeatedly and without mercy Just head to Happy Wheels’ site, pick a level and at the character select screen, choose…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Congraturations, Sega, This Vita Game’s a Winner

  Now, we should be the last people on Earth to get on a high horse over typos and associated spelling errors. But the fact this screenshot comes from the Japanese version of Virtua Tennis 4 on the Vita makes it too good to pass up. @ItCameFromJapan [Twitter, via Destructoid]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  A Day In the Life of a Shy Guy

  Clock on, office politics, clock off. Just another day in the life of one of the Mushroom Kingdom’s most adorable denizens. By, who else, Zac Gorman (Click on the below image to embiggen). December 22nd, 2011 [Magical Game Time]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  The New Xbox Dashboard Is Stopping Some Users from Getting Online

  Ever since the release of Microsoft’s new dashboard the other week, some unlucky users have been unable to get their consoles back online, something the company is promising to “resolve … as soon as possible”. “We have recently identified an Xbox Live profile data error that results in Error Code ‘801540B7’ for a small number…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Capcom is Opening a bar. A Real, Drinking Bar.

  Japanese publisher Capcom will next year open a bar in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku. It’ll be a sort of cultural and public relations outpost for the company (which is actually based in Osaka), as alongside food and drinks based off Capcom properties it’ll also host public events. The bar, which is called…Capcom Bar, opens on January…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Day a Sporting Legend Became an Unwitting Sonic the Hedgehog Icon

  In the pouring rain on April 11, 1993, Brazilian Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna raced into history with one of the greatest performances of his career. In treacherous conditions, he held off a spirited challenge from arch-rival Alain Prost to take a famous victory, one of the last he would savour before his tragic death…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Half-Life LEGO? One Man Made It Happen.

  Custom LEGO builder Brandon Bannerman doesn’t wait for due process to take its course, he makes his own damn LEGO. And this week he’s made this wonderful little Gordon Freeman. It’d look great with that last set of Half-Life LEGO we saw, give those Combine someone to chase after. You can check out more pics…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011
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  Jedi & Sith Turn Times Square Into a Star Wars Battleground

  To celebrate the launch of video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, publishers EA flew teams of Jedi and Sith into New York City’s Times Square to face off. Then they shipped (or paid the subway fare?) for a whole bunch more. The pace of the action is a little…slower than we’re used to in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011