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  Puchi Puchi Virus Screens Make Outbreaks Adorable

  Nippon Ichi’s Puchi Puchi Virus just keeps getting cuter and cuter. Sadly, the game’s U.S. release was delayed by a whole year, putting us two years behind all the fun they’ve been having in Japan. Guess I’ll just have to play it twice as long to make up for it. I totally dig puzzle games…

  By AJ Glasser Published May 8, 2009
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  The Japanese Hardware Contest Evens Out

  It was a good week for Japanese video game hardware makers, as sales were up across the board, with the Nintendo DSi and Wii seeing the biggest boosts from the previous week. Nintendo’s portable platform likely has Made in Ore, the newest do-it-yourself WarioWare game, and Dragon Ball Z to thank for its weekly uptick…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 8, 2009
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  Street Fighter IV PC Gets Control Pad Bundle

  Street Fighter IV is coming to the PC. PCs use a mouse and keyboard. For Street Fighter IV, that’s, uh, not exactly ideal. So smartly, Capcom will be releasing a control pad bundle. Of course, for those already planning on using their own controller (or who are happy using a keyboard), you can just pick…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2009
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  Ubisoft Teases Rabbids Go Home With Wii Jokes

  Ubisoft’s giving the hideously adorable rabbids from the Rayman spin-off series their own adventure, one that’s not a collection of Wii mini-games. Rabbids Go Home offers heavy-handed zaniness, Ubisoft style. The game’s first teaser doesn’t give one a great sense of how the Wii title will play, instead taking a few jabs at console-proprietary controllers.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 8, 2009
• Reviews

  Fallout 3 Broken Steel Review: An Epic Postscript

  Broken Steel is the last of three announced Xbox 360 and PC-exclusive expansions to Fallout 3, and the one that was most clearly built to be a crowd-pleaser. Broken Steel adds about five hours of new quests to what used to be the end of Fallout 3. It raises Fallout 3’s level cap from 20…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 8, 2009
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  Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days Coming Stateside

  Nippon Ichi Software’s Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories will be making its way to PSP with a subtitle change, new characters, new content and a new character class this Fall. I’m not sure what the “peta” character class is, or even if I spelled it right, but it it should spice up the replay value even…

  By AJ Glasser Published May 8, 2009
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  Persona, Portables Do Big Business In Japan

  This week’s (slightly delayed) Japanese software sales chart is packed with new games populating the top ten, with Atlus’ redux remake of Persona for the PSP outselling all new competitors. The PlayStation Portable title, with its updated presentation and various refinements, bested new Nintendo DS games like Dragon Ball Z: Story Saiyajin Raishuu and Nintendo’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 8, 2009
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  Cross Edge Crosses The Sexy Line

  Cross Edge is the ultimate fan service game where characters from Capcom, Gust, Namco Bandai, Idea Factory and Nippon Ichi all collide in an epic turn-based role-playing game. This means we get all kinds of characters from the cute to the scary and the fugly to the sexy. Pictured here is Morrigan from Capcom’s Darkstalkers…

  By AJ Glasser Published May 8, 2009
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  LA EX

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Play Me Off, Keyboard Cat I’m sitting in a little diner inside LAX as I write this, waiting to catch a flight back home from LA. The week’s been packed to the gills with hands on, meetings and interviews, much of which is embargoed until E3 or at least closer…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 8, 2009
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  Grand Slam Tennis Preview: Tennis With a Twist

  The Wii ships with a free tennis game bundled in with a clutch of other sports titles, so how can you convince Nintendo gamers they should spend more money on a stand alone tennis title? What Is It? Based on the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the Wii version of the game will give players…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 8, 2009
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  Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! Preview: Badman Does Good Things

  Aside from having the wackiest titles ever, Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman does interesting things with the strategy game genre on the PlayStation Portable. The plot of the game is about you – the disembodied God of Destruction – protecting an evil overlord character from marauding hero characters by digging him a vast underground dungeon.…

  By AJ Glasser Published May 8, 2009
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  Is This New Beyond Good & Evil 2 Footage?

  We’ve gotten our hands on some footage that appears to be for Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil 2, the sequel to the underappreciated 2003 title. The footage shows a woman dressed very much like Jade was dressed in the 2008 announcement teaser for Beyond Good & Evil 2, running through a rundown looking town, avoiding…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2009
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  Toy Story Mania! In Action

  We reported on the Wii game based on a Disney amusement park ride earlier this week and previewed it yesterday . Now take a look at the game in-action and judge for yourself. We’re having embed issues with Blip, so you’ll have to hop over there to watch the video in action. Toy Story Mania!…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 8, 2009
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  Duke Nukem Forever Screen Shots, Artwork Rise From 3D Realms’ Grave

  Now that Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms appears to have become little more than vapor itself, the unreleased fruits of the game’s art staff have been posted online, ready to be picked over. In-game screen shots from Duke Nukem Forever art director Tramell Isaac and artwork from concept artist Layne Johnson have been uploaded…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 8, 2009
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  Microsoft: Pay-Per-“P” Video Marketplace Prices Were Correct

  The $9 price for one-hour episodes of some Xbox 360 Video Marketplace content was correct, the company said, following our post from yesterday. Yesterday we reported that some content on the Xbox 360 Video Marketplace was priced in a way that seemed like it could have been a typo. High-def videos for some HD Net…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 8, 2009
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  Red Faction: Guerrilla Demo Available Now

  THQ’s long anticipated third installment of the Red Faction series will be released June 2nd, but you can check out the demo for both platforms (Xbox 360 and PS3) starting today! Click here for more information and to download the demo, then be sure to buy Red Faction: Guerrilla on June 2nd.

  By Chrissie Lamond Published May 8, 2009
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  The ESA Is Out For Blood At E3

  The Entertainment Software Association has big plans to give back to the community at E3 2009, and it’s not afraid to spill a little blood to do it. Well, draw a little blood. The Red Cross blood drive taking place on Thursday, June 4th is only the tip of the crimson iceberg as far as…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2009
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  Engagement Ring Is This Game’s Deadliest Thrusting Weapon

  Some elements hidden near the end of the Wii’s Mushroom Men game might make you think the developers are trying to say something about marriage. Kris Taylor, co-founder of Texas game development studio Red Fly, admits that there are little innuendos in his team’s 2008 Wii game about mushroom-sized, mushroom-shaped warriors. That could include the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 8, 2009
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  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  If today counts as the weekend, I suppose I’ll be playing some upcoming Ubisoft games, as I’m off to the Palomar Hotel this afternoon for a pre-E3 preview of all things Ubi. Hopefully, that means hours of hands-on time with games like Assassin’s Creed II and Beyond Good And Evil 2. Aw, who am I…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 8, 2009
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  Frankenreview: Velvet Assassin

  Stealthy meets sexy in Velvet Assassin, Replay Studios’ World War II stealth action title based on the true story of female Allied secret agent Violette Szabo. As she lay dying in a military hospital, British MI6 agent Violette Summer lives out a series of espionage missions through a series of flashbacks. Using stealth and disguise…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2009