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  Australian Politician Already Wants Grand Theft Auto Banned

  Never mind that GTAV was just announced, New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith called for Grand Theft Auto to be “banned”. Le sigh. [Kotaku Australia]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Would You Be Excited About a Dude in Jeans with a Boring Name?

  Okay, I like the name “John”. It’s a good name, I think. “John Lennon” was named “John”, and he was a cool dude. Dizzy Gillespie was born “John”, but as good as “John” is, “Dizzy” is way better. What about “Nathan”? Is that better? Uncharted hero Nathan Drake started life as a John. The first…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Call of Duty Elite Delayed on, Yes, PC

  Call of Duty: Elite, the franchise’s new online “platform” may not be a game, but we’re still going to add it to the list of “stuff that launches on console but is delayed on PC” anyway. Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny has told Activision community man Dan Amrich that not only will be service not…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Robots, Gunfights and the Unreal Engine, all on the iPhone

  Epoch, a cover-based shooter developed by a bunch of former 2K Australia guys, will be out on the App Store on November 10. Amazing how far these little mobile games have come, no? You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Is This Spoiler Modern Warfare 3‘s “No Russian” Moment?

  This post has a spoiler in it. If you want a tiny part of Modern Warfare 3, which officially hits Nov. 8, spoiled, read on. If you don’t, this is a post (and comments section) you should skip. Okay? We all here? Let’s dive in. The above clip was sent to Kotaku, with the tipster…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
• Culture

  Dota 2’s Character Art is Like Magic Candy for the Eyes

  While the game’s not out yet, Valve’s sequel to the super-popular WarCraft mod already gets a thumbs up from this feature for its gorgeous character art. It’s being used once or twice a week to accompany the reveal of new characters and/or features for the game, and seeing as it hasn’t been plastered all over…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  The Games Industry’s Biggest Influence at the Moment is Apple, Apparently

  At least, that’s what around 1,000 games industry employees reckon, as the results of a survey for the London Games Conference show. Attendees for the upcoming event were asked who they think the most influential people were, along with the most influential products. Note they’re not being asked their favourites, or the most important (whatever…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  It’s Dangerous To Gamble Alone! Take These

  Last year, Nintendo, who started out as a hanafuda maker, released several sets of Mario playing cards. This December, Nintendo is releasing another themed deck. This time, Zelda Priced at ¥1,050 and out this December in Japan, the decks feature art from four Zelda games. The spades are The Legend of Zelda, the hearts are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Someone is Turning the Crysis Engine Into a…Sports Game!

  Crysis developers Crytek’s proprietary engines are always impressive, but for some reason or another aren’t often used by other studios. Or when they are, they’re used for shooters. Not this time! A Swedish developer by the name of Poppermost is working on a game called Snow, which is a skiing/snowboarding title that, like EA’s Skate…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  An Example of Sexual Harassment? Grand Theft Auto

  Sexual harassment is awful. Many people—often politicians, it seems—say things or create situations that make others uncomfortable. So Bolt insurance agency created a chart explaining “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”. Specific examples include: “Constant and repeated requests for a date or unwanted flirting”, “Unwanted jokes, gestures, comments and repartee”, and “Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Gearbox Thinks Duke Nukem Reviews Weren’t Fair

  Duke Nukem Forever was, I thought, an absolute disaster. I was not alone in this. Yet Gearbox co-founder Brian Martel thinks the game’s poor reviews weren’t a consequence of the game being terrible. They were because reviewers were somehow unfair to the game. “There were [review scores] towards the high and things towards the low,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Don’t Let a Little Thing Like a Sex Video Slow You Down

  During the 1990s, when Neon Genesis Evangelion exploded in popularity, voice actress Yuko Miyamura was along for the ride. Like many other voice actresses, she wasn’t merely someone who read lines, she was an idol. Fans worshipped her. That is, until the unthinkable happened: A porno. In Japan there are, generally speaking, idols who are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Report: Assassin’s Creed Gets a Movie Deal That Even Spielberg Couldn’t

  Last month, it was reported that Sony and Ubisoft will soon sign an Assassin’s Creed movie deal. From the sound of it, this is no normal movie deal. Ubisoft apparently has control over everything, from the budget to the script to the actors to even the release date. According to one studio exec, Ubisoft even…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  The First Grand Theft Auto V Rap Wants to Drive a Wind Turbine

  British rapper Dan Bull, who you may have heard of before, was so moved by the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V he went and wrote a track about it. Part literal description, part wishlist, it certainly makes the trailer worth watching a second time. Especially if you like the Fresh Prince You can…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  If You Get Modern Warfare 3 Early, Don’t Play It Online (Yet)

  There are stores that are, have been and will be selling Modern Warfare 3 early. If you managed to get hold of a copy, good for you! Just be warned, there might be a downside to your early purchase. Microsoft’s Stephen Toulouse has hit Twitter to warn those already in possession of the game that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Buggy Torso Man Will Make You Say, “Oh Shit!”

  Glitches and bugs are a part of life when games launch. Since they can be patched via download, don’t think of them as negatives, early adaptors, but features. Delicious features that can provide enjoyment. Kotaku reader Silverhold found this this glitch in Uncharted 3, which at first was a floating shotgun coming straight at him.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 4, 2011
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  Kinect + GlaDOS is Slightly Terrifying

  Who needs a hostile little mobile phone when you can drop Portal’s malevolent artificial intelligence onto a PC and have her watch you via Kinect? Corey Thomas has rigged up his Kinect camera’s voice recognition to not just operate his PC, but to snap back at hi with canned lines from GlaDOS. The implementation isn’t…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  Borderlands Fan Passes Away, Honoured as Borderlands 2 Character

  Michael John Mamaril sadly passed away last month at the age of just 22. Being a big Borderlands fan, Michael’s friend Carlo thought a nice way to remember him would be to have the game somehow pay tribute. Borderlands developers Gearbox did this and then some. The game’s loud-mouthed robot assistant, Claptrap, has recorded a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Wonderful, Shady World of Knock-Off Nintendo Consoles

  The Nintendo Entertainment System, and its Japanese sibling the Famicom, were two of the most successful video game consoles to ever be released. Which led to a lot of, let’s say, imitators. OK, no, let’s say complete unlicensed rip-offs. But we’re not here to tut tut and point fingers. Today, we’re going to celebrate some…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 4, 2011
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  DC Universe Adds 120,000 Players After First Free-to-Play Day

  Shifting to a free-to-play model yesterday, DC Universe Online opened the gates to the freeloading hordes. More than 120,000 signed up for the MMO said John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment. That figure’s for the PC, though. No word yet on PS3 enrollments. Smedley also touted figures for number of users logged in,…

  By Owen Good Published November 3, 2011