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  Four Out Of Five Stars: How User Ratings Will Boost Your Xbox Experience

  The new Xbox rating feature, one of many Microsoft released today, won’t win any sexy points. Games on Demand has the sizzle. Netflix “party watch” draws the “oohs and awes.” And the Avatar Marketplace better enables self-expression. But no other update is more important in helping you play more games than the easy-to-overlook user ratings,…

  Blake Snow Published August 11, 2009
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  New Team Fortress 2 Update Features 18 Hats, Zero Class

  There’s a new Team Fortress 2 update coming down the pike, full of fancy hats and new maps. Not coming? A new class update. The game’s latest changes feature absolutely no class. Hats? Those they got in spades up there at Valve, with 18 new pieces of headwear coming to the class of your choice,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  Borderlands Box Art Might Blow Your Mind

  Gearbox Software let loose final box art for Borderlands today, certainly one of the more unique game covers we’ve seen this year. Really, how often do you see what appear to be in-game assets on the front of the box? With the exception of game compilations like Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection the odd Nintendo Touch…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  Flashlights in the Night: Shattered Memories Screens

  Due out this fall, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories has you exploring the streets of Silent Hill for Harry Mason’s missing daughter Cheryl. The screens give you a glimpse of the PSP and Wii game’s flashlight controls, which give the game a bit of extra creep.

  By Brian Crecente Published August 11, 2009
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  Batman Studio Rocksteady Named In Hitman 5 Development

  Are Batman: Arkham Asylum developers Rocksteady Studios working on the next Hitman game? British voice actor and motion capture suit wearer Mark Sloan says they are. But in what capacity? Probably not as much as Hitman series developer IO Interactive—developers of the first four games in the Eidos published series—probably are. While Sloan may list…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  Bushnell’s Battleswarm Enters Betaswarm

  Battleswarm, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell‘s online PC game that pits real-time strategy players against first-person shooter fans, is now allowing players to sign up for beta in advance of next month’s release. Battleswarm seems to be coming along well for a game we only heard about just last month. That’s probably because the title, being…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 11, 2009
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  Prepare For Kotaku Talk Radio: QuakeCon

  We were so happy with how well our pilot episode of Kotaku Talk Radio turned out that we’ve decided to shoot for a weekly live, call-in podcast. This week on Kotaku Talk Radio we’ll be talking about QuakeCon, playing easy in Red Faction: Guerrilla, buying your way to victory in Madden, the posh office settings…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 11, 2009
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  Darkest of Days Demo is Live

  Ever wonder what it would be like to zap a Confederate soldier with a laser gun? Travel back in time with Darkest of Days, the new first-person shooter from Phantom EFX, and find out. Check out the demo here!

  By Chrissie Lamond Published August 11, 2009
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  Sega Says Let’s Party! In New Trademark

  Sega of Japan is apparently bringing the party, registering a trademark and logo for Let’s Party. It could represent the latest in a line of software from developer Prope, responsible for Wii games Let’s Tap and Let’s Catch. Sega’s trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t tell us much, other than Let’s Party…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  More Capcom Classics To PS3 Soon

  Following up on a story from this morning, Capcom has released a list of classic games coming “soon” to the PlayStation Network, with just about every major Capcom property represented. It’s a much smaller list than the one we got at the end of 2008, but it’s a fine collection of Capcom Classics nonetheless. The…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 11, 2009
• Reviews

  Art Style: Precipice Micro-Review: But What If It’s Art?

  Skipping past dull debates about whether games are art, consider this new DSiWare puzzle game that is labeled as art. Okay. So it’s art. What to make of that fact? Hammers, hula hoops and other things you use with your hands or hips are not often described as art — at least not as frequently…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 11, 2009
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  Don’t Forget To Redeem Your Club Nintendo Rewards!

  Don’t squander your Club Nintendo elite status like I almost did! If you reached Gold or Platinum with Nintendo of America’s version of Club Nintendo, today is your last day to score that sweet Mario hat! Me? I’m going for Doc Louis’s Punch-Out!!, somewhat reluctantly. I dig physical goods, but what am I going to…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  Blizzard Taps Razer For Official StarCraft II Gear

  Blizzard has teamed up with PC peripheral manufacturer Razer to create a line of tournament-grade accessories for next year’s hottest real-time strategy title. It’s interesting that Blizzard is going to Razer to create official peripherals for StarCraft II, seeing as they’ve maintained and still maintain a strong relationship with the Steel Series folks. I suppose…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 11, 2009
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  Capcom Brings Dark Void to Gamescom, Shoots Gamers Into the Air

  We are a week away from Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment’s press conferences unofficially kicking off the massive Gamecom convention in Cologne and I’m downright giddy. Capcom is too, it sounds like, shooting off an email about all of the games that they’ll have on hand for European gamers to check out. Lost Planet…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 11, 2009
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  Activision Practically Giving Away Guitar Hero Van Halen

  Wait, scratch that. Activision is giving away Guitar Hero Van Halen. For free. Sorry, “free,” as you’ll need to buy a copy of Guitar Hero 5 to get the Van Halen-themed edition of the guitar game at no additional cost. In what is either an early shot at MTV Games’ upcoming Rock Band offerings or…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 11, 2009
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  The Story Of Section 8

  Timegate has just released this stylish developer diary explaining the setting and story of Section 8, the upcoming shooter for the Xbox 360 and PC. Section 8 is all about guys in power armor shooting at each other, and that’s a story concept I can really get behind, but Timegate apparently thinks you need a…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 11, 2009
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  Muramasa: The Demon Official Website

  Ignition Entertainment ramps up the hype on Wii exclusive Muramasa: The Demon Blade, launching a brand new website complete with wallpapers, character bios, and everything a shiny new website needs to thrive and flourish. Ignition sure does up a nice video game website. I loved what they did for The King of Fighters XII, and…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 11, 2009
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  Why Depression-Era Clothes Became Xbox 360 Fashions

  Xbox gamers can dress as a BioShock Big Daddy or a Halo trooper if they sample the new virtual world fashions launching today. Or they could dress like they’re from the Great Depression. The line’s designer explains why. We dress in mere costumes when we control characters in our Xbox 360s. Michael Connell believes it’s…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 11, 2009
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  Tim Langdell Defends Self in Open Letter to Mobigame

  Tim Langdell’s released a lengthy statement – including e-mails between himself and Mobigame – presenting his version of events in his efforts to protect the trademark “Edge,” and defending himself against the portrayal of his actions by the gaming press. We’ve written four stories on Langdell, and sought comment without luck multiple times. The man…

  By Owen Good Published August 11, 2009
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  The Only Wii Charger You’ll Ever Need

  The Ultimate Power Station by CTA looks pretty impressive, with charging, a dock, fan, alarm clock and lights all built into a single device. The main cradle connects to the AC, AV inputs and Sensor Bar connection on the back of the Wii console. The center slot houses a built-in fan that is aligned with…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 11, 2009