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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
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  Two Heartfelt Love Letters From the Mass Effect Universe

  Here’s a treat for Mass Effect fans. If you’ve played Mass Effect 2, you’ll know that at some point, you run into an old friend from Mass Effect 1 on the colony of Horizon, who depending on how things play out, leaves you a heartfelt letter upon your departure. It’s a nice touch for those…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  The Bronx: History’s Stranglers

  Ah, The Bronx. They’re a punk band, if you want to label them that generally, but they’ve always been a little out of sorts in that scene. The last time I saw them live, for example, was at a festival in Melbourne where they played right after Slayer and right before Iron Maiden. And they…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  Sony Sells Over 300,000 PS Vitas in First Two Days

  As sister site Kotaku Japan pointed out, the PS Vita sold 321,407 units in its first two days on sale. Sony shipped over 700,000 units, meaning that around 46 percent of the initial shipment was sold. [Kotaku Japan]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  This Awesome Metal Slug Tank Was Born a Fisher Price Toy

  Jin Saotome, a man who moulds toys like Demi Moore fondles clay, has taken a cheap, awful Fisher Price toy and turned it into something about a million times cooler. What began as an Imaginext Robot Police Tank has, through modifications and a paintjob, become the iconic tank from the Metal Slug series, complete with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  It’s Bikini Time in Final Fantasy XIII-2!

  A slew of new downloadable outfits are coming to Final Fantasy XIII-2, including a low cut “resort style” getup for FF character Serah. Lucky her! The DLC should hit sometime early next year.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  Relic Working On Company of Heroes 2?

  Oh please God let this be true. The rumours section of the latest issue of PC Gamer magazine says that, in addition to its work on yet another Dawn of War game, THQ’s Relic is also gearing up for something to do with Company of Heroes They don’t explicitly say what that is, but the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
• Reviews

  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 a one-year-old son, who is now eight. I hadn’t started writing for the blog you are reading right now. Sony entered the handheld fray, with the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  Farmer Grows Pikachu Fruit

  It was about three months ago that sixty-three year-old Toshinobu Takamoto noticed two bumps attached to a Japanese persimmon growing in his yard. After harvesting the fruit, it became the talk of his Fukui City neighborhood, and it was dubbed “Pikachu” for the way it resembled the famed Pocket Monster. Black eyes were drawn on…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  Batman: Arkham City Gets Cheat Code, Free Costume

  To thank you for making their publishers millions of dollars and themselves a swag of awards, Batman: Arkham City developers Rocksteady have unlocked a couple of holiday treats for owners of the game. First is a “cheat code”, which players can enter and which lets them unlock any skins they’ve earned/accrued without having to actually…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011
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  Could the Father of the PlayStation Run Sony?

  Sony Computer Entertainment honcho Kaz Hirai seemed like a logical choice to replace Howard Stringer. But with Hirai lacking in experience outside gaming, Sony’s old guard could actually select someone with a deep understanding of electronics—namely Ken Kutaragi. [東洋経済]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 20, 2011
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  See How Magic Cards are Made

  How It’s Made is a TV program that shows us how common, everyday items like footballs and musical instruments go from raw materials to the finished product. They have sadly never shown how Magic Cards are made, though, so we’re relying on this write-up from Wizards of the Coast to do their job for them.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 20, 2011