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  CultureTotal Recall

  See how 1993’s NBA Jam was Made (and Sold to the NBA)

  We rarely get to see the process by which a video game is pitched to a publisher, even today in an age of developer diaries and all-access marketing. It’s even rarer we get to see how a game was pitched all the way back in the early 90s. Yet that’s what we’re getting a look…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 26, 2011
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  Time to Dress Your Baby Up as Mr. T

  So here we are, at the start of another evening’s open thread. How was your day? Good, I hope. Mine was nice, it was gorgeous in San Francisco and I typed a lot of words. Speaking of typing words, your own words are welcome here in off-topic town. Here are a few conversation starters, and…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  PS3 Owners, You’re Not Getting a Free Copy of Battlefield 1943 After All

  A while ago, EA announced that people buying the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 would get a nice little bonus: a free copy of Battlefield 1943 For those unsure which platform to get the game on, that’s one hell of a sweetener, Battlefield 1943 being a great game in its own right. Fast forward to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011
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  That Uncharted 3 Review Everyone’s Talking About

  I’ve noticed a bit of an internet scuffle breaking out over Simon Parkin’s 8/10 review of Uncharted 3 for Eurogamer. “Uncharted 3 is the most exciting game in the world,” he writes, “but only until you deviate from the script.” Parkin’s criticisms focus mainly on his opinion that the Uncharted games are overly cinema-focused and…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Infamous: Festival of Blood‘s Launch Trailer Doesn’t Suck

  One of the things that’s always a challenge in superhero games is giving the character new powers as they go. Infamous 2 got to bypass Cole McGrath’s origin story, and as a result introduced new powers while presenting a faster-moving, more enjoyable story than the first game. That said, it’s always a good thing to…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Create Your Saints Row: The Third Character Early in the “Initiation Station”

  I’m hard-pressed to think of a game that has a more ridiculous character-creation setup than Volition’s upcoming Saints Row: The Third. From street thugs to superheroes, it’s possible to create just about anything. For those who can’t wait for the game’s release in a couple weeks, players with an access code can access the character…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Battlefield 3 Xbox 360 Servers Are Down, EA Is Investigating [Update]

  No it’s not just you. The official Twitter account for Battlefield has been telling their many, many followers that they are investigating current problems with the Xbox 360 servers for Battlefield 3. “We are aware the servers are down. We have our team working on this issue now, and will let you know when the…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011
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  Festival of Blood, Pixeljunk Sidescroller New on the PlayStation Store

  The two big releases this week on the PlayStation store are Infamous 2‘s bloodsucking “standalone add-on” Festival of Blood and the highly-anticipated-by-Stephen-Totilo Pixeljunk Sidescroller But if you’re not looking for new games, you’re still covered—players catching up with the times can download Call of Duty: Black Ops, MX vs. ATV Alive, and Homefront, the latter…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Seagulls, Cool Jazz, and Megadeth: 5 Favorite Tunes From Grand Theft Auto

  With Rockstar about to announce the release of Grand Theft Auto V, we’re all abuzz theorizing, postulating, and prognosticating about things that the game will or won’t have. Totilo’s looked at what systems the game might be on, Crecente guessed about possible settings. And then, Stephen got a tip that the game will indeed be…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Go In-Depth With Call of Duty Elite‘s “Improve” Features

  Call of Duty‘s online social hub (dubbed “Elite”) revolves around three main features. “Connect” allows players to network with one another in a number of different ways, and provides a social network for players to communicate. “Compete” lets players set up their own brackets and tournaments, or compete for prizes in Activision-sponsored official events. And…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011
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  Boy I Suck At Battlefield 3

  Stats –These stats paint a grim picture of how awful I am at Battlefield 3. But I’m still enjoying myself, so there’s that. Right? (Click on the image for the tragic numbers.) Leeroy Jenkins, Yes That Leeroy Jenkins Gets a Prime Time Name Check I’m a fan of buddy crime-solving comedy Psych. The silly nature…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011
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  Watch Me Beat Kinect Sports 2 Tennis Without Moving

  It’s not often I get to proclaim myself an athlete, and today isn’t going to change that, but I will say that I owned the shit out of my computer-controlled opponents today in Kinect Sports Season Two After feeling really awkward for a while playing a Kinect game in an office filled with quietly working…

  By Chris Carolan Published October 25, 2011
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  Only 500 Wrists Shall Ever Wear This Forza 4 Watch

  Okay, I suppose someone might share or pass down this limited edition Forza Motorsports 4 watch from Level Up Wear, but with only 500 total being made available in the U.S. and UK, but with only 500 being made they might be better off just hanging onto it. Do people even wear watches anymore? With…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011
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  Thanks to Video Games, Someone Pretended That Frank Zappa and Beck Were WWE Pro Wrestlers

  The video website Vimeo is a good place to find video game trailers, clips of people flying Wii Remote-powered drones and people having Kinect mishaps. It’s a place where folks upload their create-a-wrestler for WWE video games. That brings us today’s random finding: the work of one Tommy Else, who used WWE Raw 2 a…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 25, 2011
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  Conan O’Brien Tribute Gallery Recalls van Gogh, Surrealism, Gaming Art

  Late night talk show host, funny man and all-around red head Conan O’Brien is returning to New York City with his show this week, but only for a week. To celebrate, Conan brought his pop-up art exhibit to the city. The COCO MoCA (The New York Museum of Conan Art) will be housed on the…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011
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  Don’t Forget to Suit Up for Today’s Other Big Game Release

  While all the grown-ups are playing Battlefield 3, what’ll the kids be playing? That’s right, Battlefield 3 as well, but keep a copy of Disney Universe nearby in case Child Protective Services stops by. Hey look, it’s got Tron in it! Oh come on, even adults can’t resist the charm of the freaky little critters…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011
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  5 Questions the GTA V Trailer Will Hopefully Answer

  Above is the first trailer for GTA IV. Remember that? It came out at the end of March 2007 and answered questions about the next GTA, even as it raised a bunch of new ones. It showed graphics that shamed its contemporaries, revealed Liberty City (aka New York City) as the location and introduced us…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 25, 2011
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  The Second Wave of Halo Anniversary Edition Toys Gets Animated

  How many different Master Chief figures can McFarlane Toys make? Oh they’re just getting started. The company recently announced series two of the Halo Anniversary Edition figures, featuring the white-striped version of John 117 from the animated Halo Legends short “The Package”. And what a package series two will be. We’ve got “The Package” version…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011
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  Check Out the Party Posse from BlizzCon

  Thanks to everyone who came out to hang with Kotaku and friends of Kotaku at the Kotaku/Samsung BlizzCon party last Friday. The Samsung Blue drinks were flowing, the food kept coming, and the new Samsung 950 Series 3D LED Monitors were incredible. Not even the zombies that escaped from the haunted house across the street…

  Sponsored post Published October 25, 2011
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  Grand Theft Auto V Will Be Set in Los Angeles, May Star Multiple Characters

  Strengthening long-standing rumors for years that the next Grand Theft Auto would be set in Los Angeles or a fictional version thereof, a source familiar with the game told Kotaku today that those rumors are true. GTA V will be set in some version of L.A., bringing the famous franchise to a place that last…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 25, 2011