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  Why Do Video Games Hide Their True Endings?

  In today’s slightly spoilery episode of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter 黒人 laments the games that require a player complete countless complicated steps in order to see their “true” endings. I have a bit of a distaste for “real endings” in games. This doesn’t apply to all games with multiple endings where one of them is…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2011
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  Marvel Pinball Celebrates 50 Years of the Fantastic Four

  The family that stays together for 50 years plays pinball together as well. Zen Studios adds to its highly successful Marvel Pinball series with a Fantastic Four table featuring Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, and…wait, where’s Spider-Man? I guess a product celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four needs to stick with the original…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2011
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  The Murderous Math of The Darkness II‘s “Quad Wielding”

  Balancing the Xbox 360 controller lightly between pinkies and thumbs, I twiddle four trigger fingers in occasionally rhythmic bursts. Each squeeze dispenses death in different, surprisingly creative ways. Bad guys die by gun blast, slashing tentacle, severing cab door, skewering light pole. My thumbs, perched atop the controllers tiny joysticks, swivel in smooth movements, directing…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 29, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome to Talk Amongst Yourselves. So it’s Friday. Just one more day until the weekend, so just hold tight and talk about some video games ’til then. Thanks again to Goldfuzzy for the image. (Twice in one week!) Wanna get your TAYpic on Kotaku? Submit your pic to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on…

  By Mike Epstein Published April 29, 2011
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  Just How World of Warcraft Is Order & Chaos Online?

  Gameloft has finally turned its uncanny game mimicking powers to World of Warcraft and the result is a surprisingly enjoyable iPhone MMO with a great deal of potential. But is it a clone? There are definitely elements of Order & Chaos Online that seem ripped directly from World of Warcraft. The characters, for instance, do…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2011
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  If the PSN Attacks Have You Thinking of a New Credit Card, Know This

  In the wake of the attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network, lots of people will be cancelling their credit cards. Just in case. That won’t cost Sony a cent, but boy will it cost the banks. It’s estimated that, with the little slivers of plastic costing banks $3-$5 to replace, if large numbers of PlayStation Network…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Just Another Day at the Office

  RIGHT, OFF TO WORK | A Tonberry sets off for another day of…dying horribly, I guess. By Randis FBI Cybercrimes Joins 22 States In Sweeping PlayStation Network Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigations today confirmed to Kotaku that it is looking into the security breach that brought the Playstation Network down and exposed millions of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Robocop Gives GameStop a Prime Directive

  And it’s got nothing to do with serving the public trust, protecting the innocent or upholding the law. Tomonobu Cop by John Pading

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Reviews

  The New Mortal Kombat Does More Than Just Gore In Its Killer Celebration Of The Franchise

  The ninth major Mortal Kombat does more than just offer a clean slate for the nearly 20-year-old series, famous for its over-the-top blood and gore. NetherRealm Studios’ reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise sets a new bar for what a fighting game should offer its fans. The new Mortal Kombat returns the series to its…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011
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  Australian Officials Investigating Sony As Man Loses $2000 To Fraudsters

  The latest international government body to begin investigating Sony’s PlayStation Network attack is Australia’s Privacy Commissioner, on the same day an Adelaide man lost over $2000 in fraudulent credit card charges this week. Rory Spreckley, from the South Australian capital, has lost over AUD$2000 this week after “carders” booked numerous domestic flights and hotel rooms…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Princess Peach, The 16 Year-Old Fantasy

  Putting aside the fact this was drawn for “a lot of 16 year old geeks”, it’s a cute picture. I think I like the title even better, though. Barely Regal by Bjørnar Frøyse

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Oh Good, We Now Know Something About the Marvel MMO

  Marvel Universe, the upcoming massively-multiplayer role-playing game based on the comics publisher’s roster of heroes and villains, will be free-to-play. That and many more details – the first for the game! – have been provided by PC Gamer. Most important aside from the fact it’ll be free-to-play (meaning it’ll charge you for upgrades and/or perks…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  The New FIFA Sounds A Lot Like The Old FIFA

  In 2009, EA Sports produced the single greatest soccer game – and maybe greatest sports game of all time – in FIFA 10. That kind of act is a tough one to follow, and it seems that, two years on, we’re back to tiny little bullet-point updates. According to translations of the latest issue of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Don’t Worry, Your PS3 Trophies and Friends Lists Are Fine

  The thing most people have been worried about following the PSN attacks, and rightly so, are things like email addresses and credit card details. On a more trivial note, though, people have also been worried about their trophy data and friends lists. Well, don’t! Sony has come out today and said that both your trophy…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  If Only This Star Fox Limited Edition 3DS Were Real

  There’s a fancy, custom PSP for just about every game ever released on the system. It’s a shame Nintendo doesn’t follow suit. Especially when you see this fan mock-up of a tribute to the classic shooter. No crass logos, no ridiculous colour schemes…just a nice silver 3DS with a classy Star Fox graphic on the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Uncategorized

  This Is What A Minecraft Tsunami Looks Like

  In the standard game, Minecraft’s water behaves like everything else in the game: like a block. DJoslin’s “FiniteLiquid” mod, however, turns it into actual water, which can have devastating results. The mod changes the behaviour of water in the game by giving oceans an “infinite” amount of the blue stuff. What this means is that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  There Are 2.2 Million PSN Member’s Credit Card Details up for Sale

  According to Kevin Stevens, an online security expert with TrendMicro, “low-level cybercriminals” are currently shopping around lists supposedly containing the credit card details of 2.2 million PlayStation Network members. While Sony says it has “no evidence credit card numbers were stolen” in the attacks on the PlayStation Network, it has still recommended people make necessary…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  Sony Hasn’t Always Hated Homebrew Development

  Sony’s recent run of legal and now technical issues with hackers can be traced back to a single decision: that of removing the ability to run the Linux operating system on the PlayStation 3. While Sony cut Linux out of piracy fears, fans were upset that it brought to an end over a decade of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011
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  Sony Considering Make-Good for PSN Subscribers, Too

  Sony Online Entertainment has already said it plans a “make-good” for D.C. Universe Online and Free Realms subscribers on the PS3. What about the rest of the 77 million PSN account holders? Sony is “currently evaluating ways to show appreciation for your extraordinary patience as we work to get these services back online,” said Patrick…

  By Owen Good Published April 28, 2011
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  Avoid All Armadillos

  Ladies and gentlemen, let’s celebrate our ability to survive the vast majority of this week with some friendly, off-topic conversation. Talk about video games if you want, but just talk about something with your fellow Kotaku readers. I’m about to finally put this Mortal Kombat review up—a review delayed by my inability to bring the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 28, 2011