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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Hear ye, hear ye! The time of day has come to officially commence the official Kotaku forum. Talk, subjects, talk! Let’s thank UsernameOfTheDead for their “yeah, it does kinda look like a Dreamcast” TAYpic. Don’t we all wish we could relive the Dreamcast? If you’d also like to play Frankenstein in Photoshop, kindly drop your…

  By Drew Cohen Published June 16, 2011
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  Tomb Raider Hopes to Recreate a Gaming Icon

  Don’t think of Tomb Raider as an origin story, think of it instead as a sort of metaphorical creation myth, a game that won’t redefine just who Lara Croft is, but also the world in which she exists. Gone not only is her over-sexualized physique, two guns and ponytail, but also her past, her way…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 16, 2011
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  The Third Call of Duty: Black Ops Map Pack Hits This Month, Includes Shangri-La Zombies

  The rumors (and signs) are true. Call of Duty: Black Ops isn’t done yet. Treyarch will release a third map pack, on the Xbox 360 first, on June 28. It’s called Annihilation and will feature four maps: Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard. “Players will also enjoy an all-new Zombies experience, Shangri-La,” Black Ops‘ studio…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 16, 2011
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  1000 Heroz Brings A Thousand Mini-Trials to Your iPhone

  1000 Heroz promises that you’ll have something new to do on your iPhone or iPad for at least the next three years, updating daily with 1000 heroes, 1000 things to collect and 1000 quick bursts of physics based platforming. Even if the raw numbers of 1000 Heroz don’t wow you, perhaps the development pedigree will.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 16, 2011
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  Sometimes, You Just Want to Put a Lancia on Kotaku

  Jump In | GREAT BRITAIN:Juha Kankkunen races his Lancia Delta at 1991’s RAC Rally of Great Britain. (Photo: Allsport UK | Allsport) The Beautiful Fighting Game Art of Stanley Lau Stanley Lau has been asked by Capcom to provide the official artwork for the upcoming Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition. Being both an…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  Ragnarok Online Comes Alive

  Earlier this month, South Korea’s GungHo held a, well, GungHo Festival in Tokyo. The event also saw the Ragnarok Online Japan Championship—so there was that, too! Ragnarok Online is a South Korean MMORGP that has a sizable following in Japan and throughout the world. Kotaku Japan was on hand for the festivities, the costumes, and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  A Game Release from Beyond the Grave

  Game Republic, the Tokyo-based studio behind PS3 titles Folklore and Genji, appears to be dead. The studio’s honcho went from riches to rags, and the studio’s been erased from the internet—and the Earth. Yet, Game Republic’s Knights Contract is still getting promoted in Japan, garnering a huge splash on Famitsu. Namco Bandai, the game’s publisher,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  Multiple Wii U Controllers Are a Cost Issue

  The Wii U comes with one Wii U Controller. Each console will support only one of these controllers; Kotaku broke the news that Nintendo is looking into games that support two Wii U controllers. But why is Nintendo planning to release the console with single Wii U Controller support? “There’s a cost issue,” Nintendo president…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
• Culture

  The Beautiful Fighting Game Art of Stanley Lau

  Stanley Lau has been asked by Capcom to provide the official artwork for the upcoming Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition. Being both an accomplished comic artist and a Street Fighter nerd, his work does not disappoint. In addition to the stuff he’s done for the game’s upcoming re-release, Lau is something of a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  For $35,000, You Can Make Your Own PS1 Games

  Website PlayStation Museum has a complete PS1 development kit, including everything you need to make a game, from coding it to burning master discs. And now it can all be yours. The site is selling this obscure and yet amazing collection of hardware, which includes dozens of pieces of equipment as well as software and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of a Boy Band

  Europe gets Robin Williams and his daughter. Japan gets boy band Arashi. In Japan, Arashi have been Nintendo pitchmen of sorts, selling titles like Wii Party and even the Nintendo 3DS. The group is appearing in recent television and print spots for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the 3DS. Arashi are one…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  World of Warcraft: Cataclysm’s 4.2 Trailer Burns the House Down

  You know a game is big when its patches get big fancy trailers. Rage of the Firelands, an update to the expansion Cataclysm, brings new raids, new massive bad guys, new quest hubs and more

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  Pikachu, in Wonderfully Disturbing Song Form

  I shouldn’t like this. I should think this is stupid. It’s not, and I don’t. For some reason, I cannot stop watching this. “Singachu” was written and performed by A.J. Pinkerton. He also has a Sonic musical showtune. Likewise, I like it, but I don’t know why!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  It’s a 2D Multiplayer Shooter…Thingy

  Take Arms is a 2D multiplayer side-scrolling combat game destined for the Xbox Live Indie Games Channel. And it looks pretty great. With two teams, selectable classes, bots, three maps and three game modes, you’re getting a lot for the $3 developers Discord Games will be asking for the game. And yes, before you ask,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  BioWare Hacked, 18,000 Accounts Compromised

  BioWare, the creator of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, has had its servers raided by hackers and the account details of around 18,000 customers have potentially been lifted. BioWare’s Aaryn Flynn writes on the company forums: Yesterday (June 14), we learned that a hacker gained unauthorized access to the decade-old BioWare community server system associated…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  I Don’t Know About This Neon Genesis Evangelion Game…

  Grasshopper Manufacture is making a Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira Yamaoka, best known for Silent Hill, is handling the sound and remixing. Cool! The game’s debut trailer is less so. It’s all so underwhelming, so blergh. Maybe it plays better than it looks.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  Devil May Cry Series Getting HD Re-Releases [Update]

  This year is the 10th anniversary of the Devil May Cry series, and to commemorate the occasion, it looks like Capcom will be releasing a collection of three games, all of them remastered in high definition. Those games are Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3, the collection outed not…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  When All Else Fails, Use Final Fantasy to Sell 3D

  As you may or may not be able to tell, this is Final Fantasy XIII running on a glasses-free Toshiba television. The game’s trailer was on non-stop loop at an Osaka electronics shop. Interesting choice! For those who have seen glasses-free 3D televisions, you’ll know how the effect is lost once you leave the screen’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011
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  The Struggles of a Gay XCOM Scientist

  It’s hard enough finding enough major characters who aren’t white in games, let alone people who aren’t straight. So it’s interesting to see how 2K is handling the inclusion of a homosexual character in upcoming shooter XCOM As is becoming customary at the Canberra studio where XCOM is in development, 2K Marin Australia have snuck…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011
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  Japanese Gaming’s Greatest Ambassador

  It’s over. That’s what people say about Japanese gaming. While there are bright spots in Japan, Western games (and gamers) now rule the roost. It’s easy to forget just how great Japanese games used to be. One man is here to remind you of that. His name is Shinya Arino. Shinya Arino is the host…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 16, 2011