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  CultureTotal Recall

  Before They Were Famous: id Software

  Time for another “before they were famous” here on Total Recall. Last time we looked at Bungie, creators of the Halo franchise. This time? We’re looking at id Software, the team behind Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake I’m going to preface this entire thing by saying that if you’re at all interested in the history of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 21, 2011
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  We Haven’t Seen the Last of Duke Nukem

  If you thought Duke Nukem Forever was the last gasp for the ’90s video game icon, well, what the hell were you thinking? Publisher Take-Two certainly isn’t done with Duke, regardless of the reaction to his latest game. Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick tells Forbes that “you will see future Duke IP coming from this company.”…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  It All Came So Close To Never Happening

  Good evening, Kotaku readers. Is it really Monday already? (*sound of heavy sighing*) Good news! We got an open thread right here where we can share in the pain together! There’s a ton of good links just below, so please, take a look and talk amongst yourselves. This *is* an open thread, so please, go…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  This is the Otomedius Excellent Special Edition You Can Take to Bed

  Konami is releasing a special edition version of Gradius-meets-boobs shoot ’em up Otomedius Excellent. It features a bonus rarity for North American retail releases, a two-side pillowcase with busty cartoon girls printed on it, girls that won’t protest being drooled upon by you. For the record, this is what it looks like. The special edition…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  ‘Meet the Medic’ Is* Part of Team Fortress 2‘s ‘Über Update’

  Valve’s forever updated Team Fortress 2 is rolling out “the biggest, most ambitious update” in the history of the game later this week, the Über Update. Despite its name, it’s not solely focusing on TF2‘s Medic class. The first part of the Über Update, detailed on the game’s official site, is Mafia-related, detailing three new…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  Non-emergent sex in emergent technology

  In this excerpt from his book The Erotic Engine, Patchen Barss talks about one part of the future of pornography and sex on the internet: video games. Not all virtual environments take the approach of Second Life, which is to rely on emergent sex as an engine of change and creativity. Some virtual sex comes…

  Patchen Barss Published June 20, 2011
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  Just Cause Studio Says ‘Intelligence’ Points to Next-Gen Consoles in 2014

  We’ll have plenty of time to scrimp, save and perhaps land a second job to afford the next generation of video game consoles. Avalanche Studios, creators of Just Cause and the forthcoming Renegade Ops, believe 2014 is when we’ll get them. So says David Grijns, the man heading Avalanche’s new New York City-based studios. He…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  Game Developers Who Don’t Hate Piracy Get Screwed By… Piracy

  The handful of people making zombie survival horror game Project Zomboid have pulled their game from the Internet, not because they hate that their game is getting pirated. They expected that. They could even live with that, as they had been, quite merrily. They have pulled their £5 game because, despite their tolerance for piracy,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 20, 2011
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  This Is Tekken Bowl In Glorious High Definition, Plus Some Very Pretty Tekken Artwork

  Bowling with Tekken characters is coming to the PlayStation 3 this fall with the release of Tekken Hybrid, the Blu-ray disc bundle that includes one computer animated movie, Tekken: Blood Vengeance, and one PlayStation 2 remake, Tekken Tag Tournament HD That PS3 exclusive will both help us wash the foul taste of the live action…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  Games 4 Change

  SERIOUS GAMING | The Games for Change Festival kicked off this week in New York City. (Photo by Brian Crecente) Resident Evil’s Dip Into Action Is More Experiment Than Evolution I haven’t had a good scare since 2005, at least not at the hands of Resident Evil. While it may not be another six years…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 20, 2011
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  The PR Man Whose Duke Nukem Forever Tweet Got Him Fired Speaks Out

  If you know the name Jim Redner, there’s a good chance you know him for the single Duke Nukem Forever tweet that caused a brief public relations shitstorm last week. If you don’t, Jim Redner will tell you all about the “brain fart” that caused Duke Nukem Forever’s publisher to drop him like a bad…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  Learn Physics The Angry Birds Way

  I’m a bit of a physics hobbyist. That doesn’t mean that I understand or can even converse in the language of motion, but I love reading about it. So you can imagine my delight when ElectricPig wrote up something about a physics professor using Angry Birds to teach students about physics. Turns out he’s not…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 20, 2011
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  25 Years of Legend of Zelda, 1 Fan-made Wall Scroll

  In honor of “The Legend of Zelda” existing in this world for 25 years, Josh Dunbar created an amazing fan art poster to hang on your wall! (High-Res) Now available to purchase at his art blog (18″x19″ $25 | 11″x26″ $45). Zelda 25th Anniversary Tribute by Josh Dunbar (deviantART) Need your daily fill of geek…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  SOCOM 4 Pro Assault Pack Gives You More Guns to Shoot, More Places to Shoot Them

  Zipper Interactive has released a new DLC pack for SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals. The “Pro Assault Pack” includes three new maps and two new guns—and is absolutely free, for registered SOCOM Pro members. [SOCOM Blog]

  By Drew Cohen Published June 20, 2011
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  I Saw the PlayStation 3 Wired to Play Against an Xbox 360, but You Won’t

  I’m supposed to be telling you about a new video game called Defiance, but… I have to tell you something else: I saw one guy controlling the game on an Xbox 360. Another was playing in on a PlayStation 3 But they were playing the same game, on their two distinct consoles, with each other.…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 20, 2011
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  The Robopocalyptic Story of Binary Domain

  This is the story of Binary Domain, a cautionary tale of a rise of the robots wrapped around a cover-based, third-person shooter. It’s a game I was pretty neutral on after playing at E3 2011, but potentially good sci-fi fodder. The game, from Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and Sega, has facets…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  Accused Train Robber and Whiskey Thief Sets Sights on Game Consoles

  An accused whiskey drinkin’, train robbin’, Xbox stealin’ ne’er-do-well was picked up earlier this month after police say he stole more than $100,000 worth of Xbox 360s. Mario Ward and his accomplice William Flowers were arrested a couple of weeks back for stealing hundreds of Xbox 360’s on Christmas morning. Flowers and Ward are each…

  By Sam Winstrom Published June 20, 2011
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  The Halo Remake’s Kinect Support Won’t Ruin the Xbox Classic

  They won’t tell us whether this fall’s 10-years-later remake, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will use the Kinect for voice control, gesture control or what, but Microsoft did tell us, today today, that the game’s Kinect suport won’t compromise the quality of the original game. Here’s their official statement: “It’s no surprise we’re exploring ways Kinect…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 20, 2011
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  Dyad is a Gorgeous Puzzle-Racing Game From People Who Love WipeOut XL

  Probably the best way to sell Dyad, a “very deep hardcore racing/puzzle game,” according to its creators, is to offer video of this unusual looking, but very pretty PlayStation 3 game. So, why don’t you watch? Dyad is the work of Toronto-based indie Right Square Bracket Left Square Bracket Games (or RSBLSB for shorter), who…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 20, 2011
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  What Games Do You Play When You Need to Relax?

  Not all of us play video games in order to relax. No. Some of us play games in order to plan, to strategize and to conquer. Some of us grind. But reader DocSeuss needs to relax, and badly. The guy’s sore, tired and grouchy, and his quest for a game to balm his nerves is…

  By Drew Cohen Published June 20, 2011