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  LA Noire’s Studio Under Investigation Over Alleged Shonky Work Practices

  Brendan McNamara, boss of LA Noire developers Team Bondi, thinks it’s totally reasonable for his staff to be “killing themselves” with long hours because that’s what this business is about. The International Game Developers Association begs to differ. The IGDA, which can serve as a watchdog of sorts for developers, has launched an investigation into…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2011
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  Yes, Female Armour is Somewhat Inadequate

  While this clip was minted with fantasy clichés in general in mind, seeing as video games draw from them (and are as guilty of perpetuating them) as anything else, this is still highly relevant.

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The PlayStation Controller You Never Got to Use

  Yesterday, we looked at the PlayStation controllers that Sony has released (or in the Boomerang’s case seriously intended to release) to the public. Today, we’re looking at one that never made it. Before the PlayStation was released in 1994, development kits had to be sent to studios to ensure games would be ready for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2011
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  The Wasteland

  Oi! It’s been a long day, Kotaku readers. One that won’t even end with a drop of sweet, sweet booze to calm my nerves. I’ll have to settle for stimulating off-topic conversation. Can you help? I’m on something of a dry spell this week, trying not to wet my whistle as it’s helping to make…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  From Kuribo’s Shoe to Requiem For A Dream‘s Fridge, Skullgirls‘ Great Visual Gags

  Fighting game Skullgirls recently unveiled one of its latest feminine fighters, the 1920s-inspired character Peacock, a Skullgirl stuffed with in-jokes, pop culture references and homages to fighting games past, all peppered throughout her more than one thousand frames of animation. Maybe you’ll see some of them in her debut trailer above. Maybe they’ll slip by…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  The Man Behind Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII Jumps To Level-5?

  Yasumi Matsuno, the Japanese video game creator best known for his work at Square Enix on titles like Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII and Tactics Ogre, may have a new home: Professor Layton and White Knight Chronicles developer Level-5. Good news? Maybe. It’s still not officially confirmed, but early reports stemming from the latest issue…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  Edible Insects, You Go First

  Edible (fake) insects. | Sent to me by people whose job it is to get me to write something about Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (Photo by Stephen Totilo) The Best Kinect Game You Never Heard Of (and Maybe the Best of them All) I heard great things about Mother Nature last week at the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 28, 2011
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  The Taiwanese Take On the Supreme Court’s Violent Video Game Ruling

  Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors was unconstitutional. You may have read about that decision and the arguments for and against the ruling. Would you like to see it crudely animated? Thankfully, Next Media Animation, the Taiwanese outlet that trades in hastily…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  X-Men, Comic Jumper and TMNT are Here To Save You Money on XBLA

  Xbox Live Arcade games X-Men Arcade, Hard Corps: Uprising, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Comic Jumper and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Reshelled are all 50% off this week, some of which you should consider buying.

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  When Katamari Damacy and Minecraft Collide

  We got Kataminey Damacraft. Sure, the name isn’t that great, but this mod for the quirky cult-hit Minecraft based on the quirky cult-hit Katamari Damacy looks like a winner. Bat Country Entertainment‘s Kataminey Damacraft does what you’d expect, if you’ve ever played a Katamari game in your life, rolling up the procedurally generated worlds of…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  PlayStation Store Update: Drake, Duke & Delayed Demos

  Woah. Kind of a big week for the PlayStation Store. We’re leading with the new Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer beta, currently exclusive to PlayStation Plus members—and anyone lucky enough to get a code—but following up with so much more. New games that PlayStation 3 owners can buy include Beyond Good & Evil HD, Gatling…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  This is the Entire Resident Evil: Revelations Demo

  If you’ve already picked up your copy of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D for Nintendo 3DS, then you’ve also probably already played the preview of Resident Evil: Revelations, which is included as a special feature. If you haven’t, the preview is about five minutes worth of gameplay, and it’s a great peek at what we…

  By Jen Schiller Published June 28, 2011
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  Your First Hit of World of Warcraft is Now Free-To-Play Until Level 20

  Players of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, the most recent expansion to Blizzard’s still rather popular online role-playing game, are now in the throes of the game’s latest content update, “Rage of the Firelands” (AKA patch 4.2). But if you’re a new, WoW-curious gamer, Blizzard has something new for you too. “Rage of the Firelands” is…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  I’m Commander Shepard and This Is My Favorite Armor Redesign On deviantArt

  With a follow up to his incredible Boba Fett creation, Theo Stylianides throws down a wild redesign of the Mass Effect leader Commander Shepard. [Spoiler alert!] “Bionic leg and arm from his death experience, Saren’s shoulder pad from the close encounter, some Geth eye pieces for a tally and even some collector heads and skin…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 28, 2011
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  click,click,click,click, die,die,die,die… a Review of Dungeon Siege III

  The third siege of dungeons arrived a little while back, with Obsidian taking the reins of the Gas-Powered Games-created loot’n’kill fandango. I’ve been frantically clicking my mouse button at it for the last few days-–an act which I have now transmuted into some words. First point of interest for me in any dungeon crawler: can…

  Alec Meer | Rock Paper Shotgun Published June 28, 2011
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  Activision Makes Transformers Video Games, So Does Its Biggest Rival

  Our intern Joshua Rivera was as disappointed with Activision’s Xbox 360 Transformers: Dark of the Moon video game as I was with the original mold for Galvatron. The Activision game made him feel like a clumsy Autobot. Activision also published PS3, Wii, DS and 3DS games based on this weekend’s Transformers movie. We didn’t test…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 28, 2011
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  Furries and Lolitas Pave the Way for the Modern Journalist

  There’s a lot we can learn from furries. While animal costumes might not be your thing, Lauren Rae Orsini says that they have inspired her as a journalist. Lauren Rae Orsini, better known as The Otaku Journalist, is featured as a guest writer on the PINK SLIPPED Forbes Blog. In her post, “How to Be…

  By Sam Winstrom Published June 28, 2011
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  Capcom Denies Used Game Sales Had Anything to Do With “Forever Saves”

  The inability to start fresh on a copy of The Mercenaries 3D after someone has played it was a design decision that had nothing to do with second-hand game sales, Capcom tells Kotaku Saved data on copies of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is permanent. Since Nintendo 3DS games are saved directly onto the card,…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 28, 2011
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  It Takes 10 Minutes to Explain Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

  Namco has released a 10-minute tutorial video for their upcoming Ace Combat: Assault Horizon game. The video gives an in-depth look at what to expect from the Close-Range Assault Mode in this fall’s air-combat game. You’re soaring high above a war-torn Miami skyline. You dive right into the city, among skyscrapers and past suburban neighborhoods,…

  By Jen Schiller Published June 28, 2011
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  The Best Kinect Game You Never Heard Of (and Maybe the Best of them All)

  I heard great things about Mother Nature last week at the Games For Change conference in New York City. I heard one of the conference’s experts suggest that it might be the best Kinect game he’s ever played. If you know what Kinect is, then you may know that there aren’t many (any?) great games…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 28, 2011