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  There’s a Little Thrall in Everyone’s BlizzCon 2011 Bag, Courtesy of Mega Bloks

  In celebration of their upcoming World of Warcraft and StarCraft II lines, Mega Bloks is hitting BlizzCon 2011 big time, with a tiny Thrall for every convention attendee, a limited edition StarCraft II Battlecruiser, and much, much more. I’ve become a bit of a Mega Bloks fan ever since I picked up one of their…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
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  Kotaku Gets Some Face Time on Times Square Billboard

  Kotaku got an appearance on CNN’s Times Square billboard today in New York. Pretty cool, huh? What? You don’t see it? It’s right there. There, to the right. Hmm, let me get another pic for you. Try that next image in the gallery up above this text. Does that help? No… OK, to the right…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 18, 2011
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  Being Heroes? Pfft. Ratchet & Clank Want to Stay Up Late and Play Video Games.

  Everybody’s favorite lombax-and-robot duo returns to the PS3 in an all-new, co-op focused adventure this week. Here’s the opening cinematic sequence from the game, showing off the trademark humor that Insomniac’s known for bringing to the Ratchet & Clank games. The interview sequence at the beginning reminds me of this classic bit from the beloved…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  PC Gamers Enter Arkham City November 15

  With the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions now on sale, Warner Bros. turns its attention to the delayed PC version of Batman: Arkham City, tacking on a November 15 release date for North America, November 18 in Europe.

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
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  Come Party With Kotaku‘s Tallest at BlizzCon 2011

  It’s a party in the Anaheim, C-A this Friday when Kotaku‘s most prominent figures host an evening of drinks, snacks, Samsung, and StarCraft. Won’t you join us? What would a BlizzCon be without a Kotaku party? Why, it would be the past five BlizzCons. This year things are different. Kotaku and Samsung are throwing a…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
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  New Life+: If Life Were A Game, How Would You Replay It?

  You’re lying on your deathbed. Family members of the closest kind test the capacity limit of the hospital room, and finish off what was left of the tissue boxes. The nurse’s shoes squeak on the tile floor from the many fallen teardrops. She checks your monitors one last time. A warm hand clasps yours; you…

  Lisa Foiles Published October 18, 2011
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  Prove That You’ve Purged Your Old Games, Win More Stuff!

  Maybe you just moved in with your lady friend and she put her foot down as to many games you can bring into her precious, fancy girl house. Or perhaps your mom did something similar. Or possibly, just possibly, you made the decision yourself, after hearing about Best Buy’s awesome trade-in program—either way, the deal…

  Sponsored post Published October 18, 2011
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  Grand Slam Tennis 2 Swings Both Ways (DualShock and Move, That Is)

  Tennis games and I have a weird relationship. It was an ancient, LCD handheld tennis game that taught me the fundamentals of tennis scoring. Numbers? Then words? Then words that are numbers? Huh? Then, when I started playing video games, tennis became my favorite sport to play in digital form. The combination of reflexes, response…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  Lessons Learned with a New York Comic-Con Press Badge

  Disclaimer: This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, my first ever convention. NYCC 2011 was, however, my first convention as a member of the press. As it turns out, there isn’t much difference between a badge that says “4-day” and a badge that says “press”—unless the person wearing said badge makes that difference.…

  By Jen Schiller Published October 18, 2011
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  Valve Tinkering With an Excellent Portal 2 Feature That Talks Back

  The people who made Portal 2 want to make it easier for you to make more Portal 2, according to a new report about the making of the game’s Peer Review expansion written by GTTV host Geoff Keighley. In a free expansion to his PC, Mac and iOS behind-the-scenes article/app The Final Hours of Portal…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 18, 2011
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  Watch Kinect Power the Future of Touch-Based Interface

  The whole deal with Kinect is that it’s supposed to free you from touching things. But a new implementation might have you being more in touch with the physical world than before. What you’re looking at is an experimental prototype created by Microsoft Research labs designed to make any surface a touch surface. It uses…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  Surely the First Console Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Game Wasn’t This Bad

  Dorkly’s rewritten the theme song to Konami’s 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES to reflect the overall quality of the title. Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it? This was the first game I bought (or had my parents buy) based solely on the licensed property represented, and if I…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
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  This Secret of Mana Rap Will Make You Wistful

  There’s nothing like old-school JRPGs to make you nostalgic, and this rap about the plucky lads from Potos tuugsa at the old heartstrings. But, what this really needs is a video. Can’t be too hard to mock up SNES-era graphics along with this track, right? [Thanks, tipster Larry] You can contact Evan Narcisse, the author…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  The Uncharted 3 Fortune Hunters’ Club Is Your Ticket to Discounted DLC

  Eschewing the generic Season Pass label many games are using to package together downloadable content, Sony and Naughty Dog opt for the much classier Fortune Hunters’ Club to give Uncharted 3 fans a discounted price on upcoming DLC. Available now for preorder on the PlayStation Store and at select video game retailers, the Uncharted 3…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
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  Assassin’s Creed Line Dancing Adds a Little Shake to New York’s Comic-Con

  New York Comic-Con’s Just Dance 3 stage was always filled with an interesting mix of cosplayers, but these are my favorite: A dozen assassins from Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed line dancing to Sugarhill Gang’s Jump On It with the help of Ubisoft’s other major hit… Just Dance It’s a tad long, but you should probably skip…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 18, 2011
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  Playing with Fire Wants to Crowdsource the (First?) Good Video Game Movie

  Even though many directors clearly play video games-Zack Snyder, Guillermo Del Toro and Christopher Nolan come to mind—and acknowledge them as a creative enrterprise, there still hasn’t been a film that compellingly channels the appeal of the medium. Author/critic Harold Goldberg, animator Bill Plympton and artist Dave Lowery thinks it’s because gamers themselves are missing…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  A Prime Example of an Exciting New Massively Multiplayer Sci-Fi Epic

  Three races vie for control over the one planet in the universe that contains an abundant supply of the element necessary to further technological advancement in Prime: Battle for Dominusm an upcoming science fiction MMO I really should have told you about sooner. What we’re looking at here is actual beta footage of Prime, a…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011
• Tips & Guides

  Before You Start… Tips for Playing Batman: Arkham City The Best Way

  The excellent Batman: Arkham City is now on sale for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and we want you to have the best possible time with it. So, before you start, here are some tips from us about how to get the most out of the game, right from the start. No spoilers here,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 18, 2011
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  Which Game Is the Best Match for This Steampunk Xbox 360 Controller?

  As a trend, steampunk may be yesterday’s fad. And, while this custom controller—created by the folks at MorbidStix— apparently been around for a while, it just popped up into view again. I love the combination of a real-life mechanical act—unlocking the controller with the key-to open up digital worlds. It’s a nice metaphor, almost like…

  By Evan Narcisse Published October 18, 2011
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  You Know What Video Games Need? More Wise, Witty, and Lecherous Old Men

  Commenter Paradox Me believes there’s plenty of room in video games for more wise, experienced, and humorously nostalgic old men, leading the charge or just kicking back and telling us all about how Speak Up on Kotaku was better when they were kids. Video games need more old-timers, like the three gentlemen you see to…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2011