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  First XCOM Screens: Mad Men vs Gray Men

  Though we’ve seen OXM’s coverage of the upcoming XCOM reboot, PC Gamer also have a piece on the game, and it’s now online. There’s not much new in the way of info, but there’s now some screenshots for you to…enjoy? As you can see, this isn’t a 50’s-inspired America, it is 50’s America. And while…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2010
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  StarCraft II Does Bullet Hell Shooters Too

  Blizzard’s Galaxy Editor for StarCraft II does more than custom maps and Mario Kart-style mods, it does screen-filling bullet hell shooters too! Want proof? See how hellishly this Touhou-style shoot ’em up mod performs. [via GameSetWatch]

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: *Unintelligible Warbling*

  Oh wow. Is it Friday already? You know what that means? It’s time to party, and whether you’re a boozehound like old Chewie or a teetotaler, get your bad self into this Kotaku Off Topic so we can hang. I’ll be in and around, out and about, heading to my local Mexican themed watering hole…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  British Steel Cuts Into Rock Band Next Week, Live

  Judas Priest’s sixth album, 1980’s British Steel, is coming to Rock Band next week in its live incarnation. Yes, that does include “Breaking the Law.” Nine live versions of tracks from British Steel will arrive on the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 starting May 11, playable in Rock Band and Rock Band 2. All…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  The Ultra Realistic Metroid Is Anatomically Correct (And Maybe NSFW)

  Jaime “Kalapusa” Margary, maker of ultra realistic Piranha Plants, Goombas and other Mushroom Kingdom fungus, gorgeously explores the physiology of the Metroid. Perhaps a little too revealing. As seen (larger) at Kalapusa’s deviantArt page.

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  New Left 4 Dead 2 Mutation Explained, ‘Realism Vs.’ Made Permanent

  Valve’s weekly update to Left 4 Dead 2’s gameplay altering Mutations brings us “Follow the Liter,” a new spin on the gas guzzling Scavenge mode. The better news? The game’s debut Mutation is going to be a permanent fixture. Voting for the regular institution of Realism Versus mode was an resounding “Yes!” according to the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Judge Judy & The Case of the $2400 PlayStation 3

  I’m still coming to grips with my $600 PlayStation 3 purchase, but to rent-to-own one for a sum total of $2400 is mind boggling. Like magnets. How do they work? Lessons are learned in this Judge Judy clip. [via KokuGamer]

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Review Round Up: No Love Lost

  What a week for Kotaku reviews! There were nine of them—ten if you count Owen Good’s impromptu review of the KFC Double Down “sandwich.” Read on for our scoreless reviews of Nier, Alan Wake and much, much more. Tecmo Bowl Throwback Micro-Review: Retro-Rockin’ Football In which Owen Good’s NFL team bias is laid out in…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Nintendo Still Figuring Out This Online Subscription Fee Thing

  Some out loud thinking from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto could be telling of Nintendo’s plans to dedicate more energy to and demand more money for online gaming through the Wii and Nintendo DS. Miyamoto tells Edge that the Wii maker is “desperate to realize” the core part of its online gaming biz. Should it follow…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Half a Move

  To: Crecente From: Crecente Tomorrow I move, but you know that, since you will be there. Actually, it’s not a full move, it’s a partial move. We’re having people come in to move a bunch of our furniture and packed boxed to a storage facility nearby. That way it will be a bit less cluttered…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 7, 2010
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  Get Your World War II On With Call of Duty: The War Collection

  Stop! Do not buy that copy of Call of Duty: World At War! If you really need a fix of World War II era shoot ‘em up action, cool your jets for this summer’s Call of Duty: The War Collection. Activision appears to be exploiting three of the Call of Duty franchise’s WWII-iest first-person shooters,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
• Reviews

  Real Racing HD Micro-Review: Relief For The Driving Impaired

  After watching Firemint’s Real Racing HD idle at the top end of the iPad gaming charts every week since the device’s early April release, we put the racer through its paces to see why it’s getting so much love. I hate racing games. It’s not because I hate driving, or a racing video game killed…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  First LittleBigPlanet 2 Details: It’s A Whole New Game

  PlayStation 3 do-it-yourself platformer LittleBigPlanet is getting a sequel, a fact confirmed by the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, which spills a sackful of new and fascinating details on developer Media Molecule’s next game. According to early details from the magazine from a NeoGAF forum member, LittleBigPlanet 2 is much more than just a…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  It’s Not The Size Of The Game World, But How You Use It

  Does size matter? Compare the size of these seven video game words to the amount of enjoyment you got out of playing the game. Found via Digg

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  This Week In Comics

  I don’t read many Wolverine comics. My leeriness of Marvel’s most famous X-Man is equal to my apprehension for video game’s Tony Hawk: Great in the past, but so over-exposed that maybe there’s no new greatness to come? Wolverine’s done it all, hasn’t he? He’s fought everyone. He’s healed from every kind of wound inflicted…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 7, 2010
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  Metal Gear Solid Helps PSP Score A Big ‘Peace’ Of The Pie

  Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker may not have been the bestselling game in Japan this week, but its strong debut sales helped propel the PSP to the top of the charts (once again), doubling the portable’s sales. Consider the console war stalemate in Japan broken, thanks to Peace Walker’s debut. And, if you’re Microsoft, thank…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Another Aerialbot Joins The War For Cybertron Cast

  Activision reveals two new playable characters for Transformers: War for Cybertron, with weasely Combaticon Brawl joined by Aerialbot leader Silverbolt, the second playable Aerialbot in the game. That’s two of five pieces of Superion! Activision hasn’t said anything about Autobot or Decepticon combiners being included in War for Cybertron, but now that two Aerialbots, one…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  The Lag and Fun of Halo Reach’s Invasion

  Gameplay mode Invasion went live today for Bungie’s Halo Reach beta bringing with it multi-objective team gameplay with a few interesting twists and lots of lag. I spent about an hour messing around with Invasion’s new gamemodes and while they’re quickly becoming my favorites the experience as a whole was marred by some absurdly bad…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 7, 2010
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  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  Happy Iron Man 2 opening weekend, Kotakus. While my own gaming plans may be up in the air for the weekend, I have at least one pop culture appointment already on the calendar. I won’t be playing Iron Man 2: The Video Game—Fahey will!—but I’ll be at the theater at some point this weekend to…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  Experience Tron’s Legacy With Space Paranoids Online

  If Tron lead character Kevin Flynn were around today, surely he’d be proud of the fact that you can now play his arcade classic Space Paranoids directly in your browser window. Ah, how times have changed since the first Tron movie came out. Back then you’d have to pay a quarter to play Space Paranoids,…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010