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  Nexon’s Maple Story Security Breach Was Just One of Many Korean Hack Attacks

  So, that enormous data trespass that Korean online powerhouse Nexon revealed last week was bad. Bad enough to be the second-largest such incursion in Korean history. If you think that sounds like there’ve been some other big security breaches, then you’re right. A Korea Times article by Kim Tong-Hyung gives some context as to how…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 1, 2011
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  Batman: Arkham City‘s Creators Would Make a Lovely Matrix Game, Wouldn’t They?

  In today’s completely topical edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Ｓｏｕｌｓ feels he’s found the perfect developer to make the next Matrix game. Does anybody still care about The Matrix? Rocksteady. What a wonderful studio, bringing the Batman license games it rightfully deserves. They did something else though. They’ve created arguably the best hand-to-hand…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 1, 2011
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  To Whom I Have Offended: An Open Letter from Tom Bissell

  Editor’s Note: What follows is an open letter from author Tom Bissell regarding the response to a joke he made in his review of Skyrim for the website Grantland. The joke in question: “If you have no idea what the Elder Scrolls franchise is, you are probably either (a) an adult woman, or (b) the…

  Tom Bissell Published December 1, 2011
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  Someone Who Probably Has All the Games They Want Already

  As soon as games launch, he or she’s got ’em. This gamer doesn’t just play games, this gamer collects them. Their back catalogue is more than a best-of or a bunch of favorites, it’s a compendium—a library. So what do you get the gamer who has all the games? Baby Mario Plush Mario from the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome back to another December (it’s not your first, is it?) and to another edition of our official forum about video games. Go on and talk about games all you want in the comments below. But! Before you do, cast your eyes again at our lovely December art. It is called “Hens and Rooster” and…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2011
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  The Best Fake Peter Molyneux Twitter Account is Back, Go Follow It

  He’s back: Fake Peter Molyneux’s Twitter feed is once more live and ready to Tweet out funny, fake, absurd, sometimes interesting game ideas, as predicted. Follow him

  By Brian Crecente Published December 1, 2011
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  Should You Buy LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7? Yes.

  Traveller’s Tales are the masters of the brick. Their LEGO creations deliver not just fun gaming experiences, but those magical sort of games that you can enjoy alone, with friends, or with children. I’ve been a fan since LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game hit in 2005. Now, six years and twice as many LEGO…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 1, 2011
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  Jokes Fly Faster Than Arrows in the Goofy-Yet-Epic Bard’s Tale

  The Bard’s Tale, the highly enjoyable action role-playing game that launches today at the App Store, has a long, storied history—far longer and storied-er than your average iOS game. The first Bard’s Tale was a well-loved 1985 computer role-playing game, whose protagonist was, appropriately enough, a singing Bard. That alone set it apart from most…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published December 1, 2011
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  Check Out Final Fantasy XIII-2’s Tweaked Battle System in This New Trailer

  Paradigm Shifts? Cinematic Action? Sounds pretty but what does it all look like? You’ll get to see some of the features that I discussed in my hands-on preview of Final Fantasy XIII-2 in the new teaser released today by Square Enix. Will these features change the way you approach the game when it hits in…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 1, 2011
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  Where Nintendo Keeps Its Goodies

  Getting Ready | NORTH BEND, WASH: Nintendo of America readies stock for the holiday season. (Photo: Ted S. Warren | AP) Reviewing Chun-Li’s Giant Plastic Thighs (and Ryu’s Giant Veiny Feet) Square Enix’s first two Street Fighter IV figures, based on series “heroes” Ryu and Chun-Li, have just hit shelves. Part of the company’s Play…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
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  Assassin’s Creed Makes SoulCalibur V‘s Box Art Better

  If Yoda and Darth Vader were happy enough to appear on SoulCalibur IV‘s box art , you can bet SoulCalibur V would not shy away from its Assassin’s Creed guest star. As previously posted, SCV will feature the lethal stylings of Assassin’s Creed character Ezio. The game will be out in Feb. 2, 2012 in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
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  Is Resident Evil 6 Going to China?

  Survival horror game Resident Evil 4 was set in Europe—okay, Spain. RE5 was set in Africa. And the inevitable RE6? The game has not yet been officially announced, but Capcom mentioned it to Kotaku in the past. And Capcom producer Masachika Kawata is even hinting that the game might not be survival horror. So what…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
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  Can You Trust FedEX with Your Nerdy Shipments?

  Do not trust FedEx with your deliveries. I had shipped out a NES coffee table to someone who bought one, and upon receiving it, they ignored the “This side up” stickers and delivered it on it’s side. They also had stacked a large and very heavy box on top of it, tweaking the table inside.…

  Matt Borgelt Published December 1, 2011
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  You Can’t Un-Launch a Crappy Game…Oh Wait, You Can

  Glitch, the casual MMO that’s the work of the creators of Flickr and Katamari Damacy, launched with a ton of promise! It also promptly turned out to be a bit rubbish. So rubbish that its developers are “unlaunching” it. Wonderfully, that’s the term they’re actually using, dragging Glitch back into beta with a promise to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
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  Japan’s Most Talented Pro-Gamer on Television. Set to Music.

  As far as Street Fighter gamers get, they don’t come much bigger than Daigo Umehara. He endorses fight sticks and has his own t-shirts. And here, he’s profiled on Japanese TV. This is a best-of collection, with Daigo footage you’ve probably seen before. There’s also a page from a Famitsu article from 1998 with a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• Reviews

  Reviewing Chun-Li’s Giant Plastic Thighs (and Ryu’s Giant Veiny Feet)

  Square Enix’s first two Street Fighter IV figures, based on series “heroes” Ryu and Chun-Li, have just hit shelves. Part of the company’s Play Arts line, they’re big, they’re detailed and they’re a little on the expensive side. But are they any good? They’re certainly heavy, that’s for sure. Standing just over 20cm each, these…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
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  A Handy Guide for When a Game Is and isn’t Being Sexist

  When is a game being sexist? When is a game not being sexist? They’re tricky topics to wade through with words. Like most things in life, it’s easier with a picture. It’s a rough guide, and applies more to fantasy games than, say, a puzzler, but you can make do! When is it sexist? [Reddit]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
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  So This Call of Duty Ad is Much Better

  OK, so that first Jonah Hill x Sam Worthington Call of Duty ad was…OK. A little cheesy, a little much, but OK. Their newer, second commercial is much better. Less effects, less bombast. Just two dudes from different sides of the tracks hangin’ out, talking tactics. It drags in parts, and Hill’s leaner face is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
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  The New Gran Turismo 5 Is Called Spec II

  Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 is getting an update. It’s called Gran Turismo 5: Spec II Spec II is Gran Turismo 5 with the Online Update Ver.2.00, a free update which was released in October, included on the Blu-ray disc. Spec II also comes with a product code so that players can download the “Complete…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
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  Skyrim Can Mean Only One Thing: Adventure Time

  Artist Robert “DoomCMYK” Mangaoang, who we’ve featured here previously, certainly knows the fastest way to the bottom of my heart: by having the crew from Adventure Time engage in some Skyrim cosplay. Once available as a print, this image now sadly only exists on the internet, but that’s OK. We can still enjoy it. Adventure…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011