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  How To Knock A Block Out Of A Man’s Head

  Filmmaker Martin Waltz loves Minecraft so much that he decided to pay homage the only way he knew how: by knocking a block out of a dude’s noggin. “I’m a big Minecraft player myself,” he tells Kotaku. “I ran a dedicated 24/7 server for some months before I had to shut it down because it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2011
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  Why Do Pokémon Games Take So Damn Long To Come Out In The West?

  Pokémon games are always released in Japan months before they make their way to Western markets. It’s not conspiracy; instead, it’s because developers GameFreak like to make sure Pokémon names truly mean something, regardless of the language used.

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  Mario vs Sonic? No, It’s Mario AS Sonic

  If the console rivals had come together twenty years earlier, it would surely have looked like this. By Gadget WK

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  This Is How Minority Report Surfs The Web On Its Lunch Break

  Continuing the trend of Kinect doing awesome things in everything but video games, take a look at this web browser that’s been built specifically for Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera. It’s called SwimBrowser. Sounds like a stupid name until you see it in action, because “swimming” is exactly what you’re doing as you gently wave and roll…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  The World’s Stupidest DRM Takes A Well-Deserved Break

  For its last few big PC releases, publisher Ubisoft thought it was a good idea to force users to stay connected to the internet at all times. It wasn’t, people got upset, and the company’s next big release won’t do it. The upcoming PC release of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (which was released on console last…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  Japan’s Most Famous Professor Shamelessly Ripped Off…Again

  Professor Layton is the star of a series of puzzle-solving adventure games. Featuring beautiful animated cutscenes, they feature Layton and his young sidekick, Luke. They are hugely popular in Japan, which means one thing: other game companies are now ripping it off. Shamelessly. First there’s — no, wait. First there was Professor Layton, then, there’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2011
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  She Came, She Saw, She Got Pregnant

  In 2007, Las Vegas-born Leah Dizon conquered Japan, appearing in PS3 ads, releasing best selling photo-books and music albums. But, as of this month, she’s leaving the country that made her famous. After moving to Los Angeles to attend college, Dizon started working as a booth babe to help cover her educational expenses. She tells…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 23, 2011
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  And You Thought Your 3DS Launch Lineup Was Lacking

  When the 3DS launches in the US, there will be sixteen games available. In Europe, there will be thirteen. In Japan, there will be eight. In Australia? Think less Only a single Nintendo title will be available when the handheld launches on March 31, and that is Nintendogs + cats. It will be joined by…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  Before Half-Life, There Was A Submarine Game

  Valve, the developers of series like Half-Life and Team Fortress, were once working on something a little less fantastical: a submarine game. Speaking on Steamcast, boss Gabe Newell says that he and company co-founder Mike Harrington had, in the very first days of Valve’s existence, toyed with the idea of making a submarine title. “Mike…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Zelda Games The Whole World Hates

  Over the past 25 years, not every single Legend of Zelda game has been made by Nintendo. Some were developed by Capcom, and are outstanding in their own right! And some were made by other people, and are supposed abominations At least, that’s what popular opinion will have you believe whenever the topic of the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011
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  If You’re Going To San Francisco

  Tomorrow, Kotaku does some traveling, with one of us heading to San Francisco to look at video games, one of us heading to New York to look at houses. I’m the one heading from LAX to SFO, a trip I’ll do next week too (for GDC 2011). It’s part of the travel associated with the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  A Peek At The Road Rash & Strike Reboots That Never Happened

  Two video game series fondly remembered by fans, but almost completely untapped by Electronic Arts are motorcycle combat contest Road Rash and isometric military shooter Strike. EA hasn’t made a new game in either of those series this generation, but it tried during the last. We’ve seen hints of revivals and pre-release video of failed…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  New Video of Three Nintendo 3DS Launch Games In Action

  The Nintendo Channel has released new video of three of the Nintendo 3DS‘s North American launch games, PilotWings Resort, Steel Diver and Nintendogs + Cats. Will any of them convince you to put in a pre-order? The 3DS will launch later this week in Japan, so we’ll soon have extended hands on coverage of some…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  Report: iPad 2 Unveiling Next Week

  Apple is set to unveil its next-generation iPad on March 2, smack in the middle of next week’s Game Developers Conference, says AllThingsD. Expect the iPad 2 to be lighter, faster, and camera-equipped

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  Bulletstorm Rocks My PC

  I haven’t yet spent a lot of time with Bulletstorm on my new computer. But I can already tell it’s a match made in heaven. Silky-smooth frame-rates, funny dialog, great action. I can’t wait until I have the free time to play through this. Owen is writing up our review (and I’ve played maybe an…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 22, 2011
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  A Collection Of 8-bit Defeats

  Plenty of classic video games have been slammed into this kind message from Dash Coleman. See if you can identify all of the memorable death scenes. Related Rampage: Pac-Man Ghosts Game Over, Loser. by Ryan Coleman (Flickr) (Facebook) (Twitter) Via: it8bit Need your daily fill of geek eye candy? If so, head over to Justin…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  PlayStation Store Update: Space Ace, Alien Breed & Xenogears Are Here

  This week’s North American PlayStation Store update comes with plenty of games you may have already played. Laser disc games like Space Ace, PlayStation games like Xenogears and remakes of Ys I & II are new for PlayStation 3 and PSP owners. If you want to buy stuff for games that you already own, new…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  Red Faction Armageddon Gets Its Ass To Retail On May 31

  THQ’s next big Martian adventure, Red Faction: Armageddon comes to the PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 on May 31 in North America, June 3 worldwide. The SyFy TV movie also airs in May, if you’re that interested.

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  The Fully Playable Angry Birds Birthday Cake Is Amazing

  We’ve posted a few zillion video game themed cakes on Kotaku, but rarely do they impress as much as this Angry Birds-inspired creation. It’s one of the rare birthday cakes that’s actually playable. Mike Cooper from Electricpig is responsible for this interactive confection which he made for his Angry Birds-lovin’ 6-year-old son. Cooper writes on…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 22, 2011
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  Playing The Dragon Age II Demo Like A Girl

  Dragon Age II’s Hawke might be a male for official marketing purposes, but on my Xbox 360 he’s a saucy female rogue with a fiery temper. Check out some highlights of playing the demo as a lady Hawke. It’s a pity the character creation was disabled for demo purposes. Otherwise my Hawke would have been…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 22, 2011