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  Young Nier Appears In The World Of Recycled Vessel

  The younger model of Nier that appeared in Japan’s PlayStation 3 exclusive Nier Replicant makes a special Western appearance in The World of Recycled Vessel, downloadable content for Square Enix’s action-RPG which explores the past of the grizzled protagonist. In Japan, Nier came in two flavors: Nier Gestalt, the game I recently played and loved,…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 10, 2010
• Reviews

  Iron Man 2 Review: A Rusted Development

  Sega’s movie tie-in for Iron Man 2 can’t possibly be worse than its movie tie-in for the first Iron Man film, can it? After the Iron Man video game that accompanied the first entry in Marvel’s film franchise failed to impress, Sega went back to the drawing board. Bringing in award-winning Marvel scribe Matt Fraction…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 10, 2010
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  LittleBigPlanet 2’s New Pod, Sack Invaders and Flying Pets

  LittleBigPlanet 2, officially unveiled this morning by Media Molecule, seems to have a lot new going for it, including a new central hub. Judging by the 20 screen shots developer Media Molecule released this morning, the player’s pod seems much more earth bound then the pod of the original LittleBigPlanet. The screens also give us…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 10, 2010
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  Heavy Rain Always Needed More Grand Theft Auto (And Ass-Grabbing)

  Heavy Rain can be a drag sometimes. It’s so bleak! And serious! What we need to lighten the mood is an unofficial spin-off title. Something with a little more Niko Bellic. And ass-grabbing. These clips take Grand Theft Auto IV and make them all Heavy Rain, complete with agonisingly slow camera pans, pianos and quick-time…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010
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  iTunes Chart Toppers: Edge!!!

  Good morning Edge, we’ve been waiting for you. Here’s the full list of games for both platforms: Which do you think should be the top game? Check out all of our iPhone game reviews iPhone Position Title Price Weeks Last Week 1 Iron Man 2 (Gameloft) $6.99 1 — 2 Angry Birds (Clickgamer.com) $0.99 3…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 10, 2010
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  Pokemon World Championships Coming To A Metropolis Near You

  The 2010 Pokemon Video Game Championships launched in Seattle on Saturday. Regional competitions continue each Saturday through June. The world championships will be in Hawaii this August. An enticing tournament, to be sure, but there are strict rule, you know. You need a copy of Pokemon Heart Gold or SoulSilver to compete. There are many…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 10, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Before you do a loop de loop, please comment here about video games. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 10, 2010
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  Halo: Reach, Laser Tag and the Law of Convenience

  Last week more than a million people logged in to their Xbox 360s, plopped down and got a taste of upcoming first-person shooter Halo: Reach. And that was just on the first day. I spent a bit of time checking out the beta for the upcoming shooter from developer Bungie. But later that week I…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 10, 2010
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  Yes, I Forgot Mother’s Day

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Mother’s Day was this past Sunday. I honestly thought it was supposed to be today. No, really. (T_T) I got a call from my mother, thanking me for the flowers she got — flowers that Mrs. Bashcraft had sent her without telling me. I then told my mother she should thanks…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  LittleBigPlanet 2 Unveiled with This Snazzy Trailer

  Digital puppetry? Intelligent design? Homespun tales? Whole games? It looks like LittleBigPlanet 2 isn’t just official, it’s going to be amazing. Not only is the official trailer live, there’s a whole page dedicated to the upcoming game up over on LittleBigPlanet.com. LittleBigPlanet 2 will feature a revamped Popit that will let you “bring your characters…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 10, 2010
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  Report: Chinese Superstar Zhang Ziyi Loses Fiance To The Internet?

  One of China’s most successful actresses Zhang Ziyi (Rush Hour 2, 2046) is engaged to Vivi Nevo, a venture capitalist and a hardcore online gamer. Make that was engaged, rumors say. According to XINMSN, Nevo also occasionally enjoys online dating — which can be problematic if, you know, one is already engaged. “Now, it seems…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  Sony’s Game Division Is Doing Pretty Good

  2009 was a rough year for many companies. Sony’s video game business is doing pretty good, apparently. While Sony has not yet disclosed its financial results, the company does expect a slight dip in its forecast and has issued a revision for the financial year ending on March 31, 2010. Sales and operating revenue for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  Watch Mario Galaxy 2’s Video Instruction Manual

  New Super Mario Bros. Wii is easy to understand. Mario Galaxy 2, a little less so. To help get fans of the former to purchase the latter, Nintendo will be bundling a DVD instruction manual with the galactic sequel. You can see a preview of the DVD, which is for the European and Japanese markets,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010
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  The Activision vs Infinity Ward Of The Racing Game World

  Codemasters, the studio behind racing games like Dirt and the upcoming F1 2010, is taking another developer to court, accusing it of “poaching staff”. Late last year, Trevor Williams and Nick Wheelwright – former Codemasters executives – broke away from the British studio and formed their own new team, called Playground Games. Codemasters now alleges,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010
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  It’s Kinda Like Project Natal, But With Virtual Skirt Lifting

  The words “kinda like” are being used loosely. The words “skirt lifting” are not. Japanese adult game developer Teatime, known for its first-person “shooter” adult game, has already brought face tracking “T-Cam” tech to its games, allowing players to look at in-game heroines from various angles, including, well, up female characters’ skirts. The developer went…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  A Black Widow Of Your Very Own

  Collectible company Hot Toys wasn’t going to let an Iron Man 2 license go by without at least one figure based on the film’s aesthetic highlight: Scarlett Johansson in a tight, tight jumpsuit. Sure, they’ve done one for Iron Man, and one for War Machine too, but those are dude’s in robot suits. That’s easy.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010
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  Apple And Nintendo, A Short History of Rivals

  In March 2006, Nintendo released the DS Lite. The portable kicked off a wave of Apple comparisons. Here’s why: The DS Lite was first released in white – iPod white. The DS Lite’s color scheme mirrored the iPod of the day, and even Nintendo’s simple, modern packaging seemed Apple-esque. The DS Lite was not, however,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  New FIFA Game Coming (But It’s For Facebook)

  When EA bought casual games developer Playfish, people thought it would mean EA games based on fluffy animals. Nope. Turns out the “well-known brand” the studio has been working on is a Facebook version of football series FIFA. The game will be called FIFA Superstars. Details are thin on the ground, but from the way…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010
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  What’s It Like Going On Sale In Akihabara?

  Pretty darn great, that’s what. For someone who covers Japanese pop culture, seeing one’s own work absorbed and digested by said culture is quite thrilling. Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential, my tome to the impact Japanese schoolgirls have made on the country’s society and popular culture, has gone on sale in Japan. I never intended the book…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010
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  America, You Spend A LOT Of Money On Video Games

  When it comes to spending money on video games, nobody does it quite like the US of A, with research finding that Americans spent over $25 billion on the things in 2009. The exact figures is $25,300,000,000, a tally made all the more frightening considering it doesn’t include new hardware or new accessory sales. Factor…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010