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  Nintendo Has Mario Tennis, Paper Mario and Animal Crossing for Nintendo 3DS in 2012

  The Nintendo 3DS’s 2012 is already looking rosy with new versions of Mario Tennis, Paper Mario and Animal Crossing planned for a 2012 release—at least in Japan. Nintendo unveiled the new Mario Tennis at its 3DS Conference 2011, showing gameplay footage alongside new footage of Paper Mario and Animal Crossing for its 3D handheld. The…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Watch Nintendo’s 3DS Conference Live & Read Our Liveblog Right Here

  Nintendo is holding a press conference in Tokyo today, revealing the future of the Nintendo 3DS. Will Nintendo show its garish 3DS Circle Pad add-on in action for the first time? (Probably.) Will Nintendo reveal a revamped 3DS, as rumors have suggested? (Perhaps!) The only way to find out? Watch Nintendo’s livestream of the 3DS…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Is It Time For Five Questions?

  Eww. Sorry for the gruesome imagery, Kotaku readers, but for some reason I’ve got splatter-fu movie Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky on the brain. Maybe it’s because I feel like my head’s going to explode. Or maybe it’s just a Kotaku open thread, where anything goes! There’s still a lot more to do tonight, like…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Be Happy That James Cameron’s Avatar Never Got That Atari 2600 Port

  Movie to video game adaptations of the early 1980s were difficult things. Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, and The Empire Strikes Back were as hard to master as they were hard to genuinely enjoy. And say what you will of Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game, at least it was no…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Vic Viper, You are Cleared for Take-Off

  So, blogger RoboRay bought himself a model kit of a Vic Viper fighter from classic shooter series Gradius. Upon completion, he took some photos. Not boring inside photos. Wonderful outside, pretend-the-Vic-Viper-is-actually-flying photos. Konami’s Gradius series has been with us since 1985, resulting in over a dozen of the finest shmup games on the planet. Gradius…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 12, 2011
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  Modders Unite to Fix the PC Version of Dead Island

  The PC Version of Dead Island has had a pretty rough launch. First, the developers’ code was accidentally released in place of the retail version on Steam. Even after that problem was remedied, the final code on PC was buggy and the multiplayer servers were problematic. Fortunately, a group of modders have been hard at…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011
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  It Was A Very BioShock Night at the Aquarium

  A night of magic, of Thuggish Splicers, Little Sisters, Big Daddies and men who you wouldn’t think twice about beating beyond recognition with a nine iron. It was a major BioShock photo op at Dragon*Con’s Night at the Georgia Aquarium. BioShock developer Irrational Games took advantage of Dragon*Con’s high density of cosplayers, sending photographer Webb…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  A Voyage of Discovery Into the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3

  Late last week, Microsoft was kind enough to send along a massive box containing the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3. I thought it would be fun to walk you through the various things you can do with this huge, sexy box and its contents. Let’s dig in! Observe the box. That is one…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011
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  The Settlers of Catan The Novel

  My Desk – Yes, there is a book. It is HUUUUUUGE. A Sticky Sweet Taste of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Multiplayer If you give me the option to make a pink and yellow Space Marine, I’m going to make a pink and yellow Space Marine. The Pink Lemonade Brigade is born of the highly flexible…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011
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  How To Get To Work, With the Laws of Video Games Dangerously in Full Effect

  Readers, please don’t try this at home. Let seasoned professionals like YouTube superstar Freddie Wong and crew illustrate the proper way to commute to ones workplace in a bizarre, video game-inspired reality. Using life lessons learned from Frogger, Grand Theft Auto and countless video games in which normal traffic laws simply do not apply, Mr.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  The Game Formerly Known As Trenched Will Forever Be Iron Brigade After Free Update

  Double Fine Productions excellent World War I era tower defense-style third person shooter Trenched is getting two notable updates. One, we’re not going to call it Trenched anymore. Now it’s Iron Brigade. And not just in Europe. Two, SURVIVAL MODE! Why is Double Fine changing the justifiably titled Trenched to Iron Brigade? Turns out there…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Super Monkey Ball Vita Is Real, Monkeying Around Early 2012

  New video game hardware? New Super Monkey Ball! Confirming this weekend’s leak, Sega has officially announced that Super Monkey Ball—arguably as reliable as death and taxes—is coming to the PlayStation Vita in early 2012. Monkey Ball mainstays AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon return for the umpteenth version of Sega’s tilt-and-tumble action game, bringing with them…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Which Came First, the Hardcore Gamer or the Bad Parent?

  A recent study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University found that the more time middle school students spent playing games, the more negative an opinion they held about their parents. It seems like a simple matter of cause and effect, but which is which? The Michigan State University study polled more than 500 middle…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
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  Your Computer and My iPad Are Not the Best Bejeweled-Playing Machines. This is.

  Bejeweled 3 is an excellent video game. Normal people play it on computers. But special people—people who work at PopCap, the studio behind the Bejeweled series—get to play it on a massive touch-sensitive TV right in the lobby of their headquarters. Lucky them. Giant Bejeweled 3 Touch (my name for it) is irresistible, as my…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
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  Warco Looks Like the Unlikely, Fascinating Marriage of Battlefield and Pokemon Snap

  Warco is the most captivating first-person shooter concept of the year. That’s because Warco arms its players with nothing more than a flak jacket and a video camera, capturing the violence of Middle Eastern and African conflicts not as a super soldier, but as a combat reporter. This unexpected blend of first-person shooter and journalism—part…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Generations Plumbs the Darkest Corners of Sonic‘s History

  The problem with mining the rich and varied history of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Sonic Generations is that history includes this red and black jerk-off right here. For some, Shadow is a welcome addition to Generations. For others, he still signifies the looming death of a beloved series. Shadow will appear as one…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
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  Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Rezurrection’ Add-on Hits PS3 & PC Next Week

  The fourth and final add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Rezurrection, hits the PS3 and PC September 22, kicking off a double XP weekend. Rezurrection’s all-zombie maps include Moon, Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese.

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Selling the Zombie Apocalypse the Don Draper Way

  The reviews are in for Techland’s open-world zombie role-playing game Dead Island. Reviewers are talking about immersion and HUDs, PC bugs and control issues, and whether it is possible to love a game for the cool moments it provides while accepting that it has significant flaws. But from review to review, there is one constant:…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011
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  Have A Seat and Enjoy 20 Minutes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  Lock the door. Have your secretary hold your calls for the next 20 minutes. Grab a beverage. Settle in for a nice 20 minute chunk of gameplay from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, informatively narrated by game director Todd Howard. If you attended E3, QuakeCon and/or PAX Prime this year, this may be old hat…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
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  Deals on Deus Ex ($35) and Madden ($50) Start the Week

  August’s two biggest games, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Madden NFL 12 both got discounts through Amazon. Previously Madden was offered at full price with store credits as an inducement. Today’s deal is a straight discounted price. Deus Ex now is nearly half off. • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3, Xbox 360) is $34.99, free…

  By Owen Good Published September 12, 2011