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  Free Gears of War 2 Flashback Map Pack Now For Sale

  That’s Gears of War 2 Flashback Map Pack is now available on Xbox LIVE Markeplace. Remember that? The five maps are 400 Microsoft Points (US$5). Not a bad deal. These maps were supposed to be available for free only to those who purchased the game new at GameStop game retailers. Well, there the formerly free…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2009
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  Believe, There Will Be New Ghost Recon & Rainbow Six

  According to sources speaking to CVG, Ubisoft are planning to release new versions of both Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six this year. Try and regain your composure from the shock of it all to read on. Yes, after lacklustre, lazy previous outings for both brands, new games in the series are to be shown off…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2009
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  No Men Allowed (For A Long Time Now…)

  Girls only. Japan’s Asahi Shimbun has an article about how Japanese arcades are banning men from sticker picture machines. Why’d they do that? According to the piece, “A growing number of arcade operators are banning men from areas around these machines—popularly known as purikura—to protect customers, such as high school students, from men trying to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2009
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  Final Fantasy XIII’s Battle System Detailed

  Final Fantasy XIII is due out this year in Japan. For those who are unfamiliar with its battle system, let’s learn about it. Everyday you should learn about something, you know. • Command Stock: Players selection which action they’d like to from a cluster of five “Action” slots. • Cost: Each of these five actions…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2009
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  Some Call Of Duty 4 Stats To Boggle The Mind

  Over on his blog, Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling has posted some user statistics they’ve gleaned from the 360 version of Call of Duty 4. Stuff like how there’s now been, oh, over 10,000,000 unique users. Yeah. More than ten million. And that’s just those who got a copy and have played at least once over…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2009
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  Sony Expects Metal Gear Solid 4 Type Sales From Killzone 2

  Worldwide, Metal Gear Solid 4 racked up big sales numbers — 4.3 million copies, actually. Sony, apparently, expects the same or better from Killzone 2. What about you? An unnamed and unconfirmed Sony employee reportedly told game site V For Video Games, ““It would be a lie to say Sony has not invested heavily in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2009
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  The Final Copy Of EGM That (Almost) Never Was

  1UP is a husk. EGM is dead. Sad news, especially for subscribers, especially for those anticipating what would have been the magazine’s 20th anniversary issue. But hey, chin up, here’s your silver lining. Former EIC James Mielke has posted the cover of the ill-fated February 2009 issue of the magazine, an issue that should have…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2009
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  Yes, Yes, White Knight Chronicles Is Getting A North American Release

  In an announcement that should surprise no one, developer Level 5 has confirmed its PS3 exclusive White Knight Chronicles is getting a North American release. When asked if this was in the cards, Level 5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino replied, “Yes, it should be, but the launch date has not been determined yet.” What’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2009
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  Microsoft Inch Further Up The LittleBigPlanet Bandwagon With Kodu

  Remember last year, we brought word of “Buko”, an XNA title that Microsoft were quietly showing off which sounded suspiciously like LittleBigPlanet? Well it’s not quiet anymore, they just showed it during the CES keynote. Renamed “Kodu”, the game admittedly looks nothing like LittleBigPlanet. In fact, it’s not even really as much a game as…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 7, 2009
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  Sony Pictures Dates Ghostbusters Game

  The release date for the Ghostbusters game has been announced by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in a Ghostbusters Blu-ray movie release — accidently announced, maybe! Doh. A Sony Pictures press release for the Blu-ray release of the Ghostbusters movie reads: “America’s favorite paranormal psychologists are back to save the world, this time with unsurpassed picture…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 7, 2009
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  [Update] Halo Wars Demo Dated, Release Brought Forward

  Microsoft’s Robbie Bach just announced during the company’s CES keynote that a demo for Ensemble’s swansong title, Halo Wars on the 360, will be made available for download on Xbox Live on February 5. What’s more, he announced that Halo Wars would be out on February 28, instead of the previously-announced March 3, bringing the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 7, 2009
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  Nintendo Does Not See Decline In Sight For DS Sales (World Domination)

  After selling millions and millions of DS units, you’d think Nintendo president Satoru Iwata would be bracing himself for a decline in sales. Heck, no! Iwata sees DS sales as something that will continue to grow. His logic: Some say the market for the DS is saturated, but I disagree. In Japan, a country with…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 7, 2009
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  CES 09: Liveblogging Microsoft’s CES Keynote: Just The Games

  Keynotes have changed. Microsoft’s 2009 CES keynote is being helmed by CEO Steve Ballmer, the first not to be delivered by founder Bill Gates. It’s also going to be light on video game content. That’s why we’re taking it easy this year. We’re expecting little more than some Halo-related announcements and word to drop on…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 7, 2009
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  Serious Games Competition Is Serious Business

  Whosegame is right in the middle of their first annual Serious Games competition which runs from Dec. 8, 2008 to Mar 31, 2009. To enter, you have to be a student or someone who really, really wants to make a Serious Game. The jury prizes are 5000, 2500 or 1000 euros worth of gift checks…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 7, 2009
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  Dead Rising Wii Costumes Are 50% nothankyou.jpg

  Dead Rising Wii has more costumes. But what kind of costumes? The latest issue of Famitsu has pictures revealing two of them, one familiar, one…unwanted. As you can see, one costume follows the lead set by the Mega Man gear in the 360 version, and is there to shill the upcoming launch of Grin’s take…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 7, 2009
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  Three Things I Liked About X-Blades

  The last game in the world I expected to like anything about is X-Blades – it’s a blatantly sexist, shallow anime rip-off with a paper-thin plot. But it turns out that this blatantly sexist, shallow anime rip-off game does a few things so well that I can almost overlook the sexism, the shallowness and even…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 7, 2009
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  Microsoft Dates PlayStation 3 Price Drop For Springtime

  The PlayStation 3 will get a price drop in 2009. It just has to if Sony wants the console to keep up, install base-wise. Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg agrees and expects a cheaper PS3 within months. He tells Edge Online that Microsoft is planning on its console competition becoming more price competitive in 2009. Not really…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 7, 2009
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  Rickrolling Finally Comes To LittleBigPlanet

  Clearly, this was just a matter of time. But for someone to record an attempted shot-by-shot remake of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” in Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet makes it worth the time. Honestly, if I tried to pretend that I was keeping up with the LittleBigPlanet Rickrolling scene, you’d be right to call…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 7, 2009
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  First Spore Expansion, “Galactic Adventures” Due In Spring

  Super sim Spore will get its first expansion pack in the form of Galactic Adventures this Spring, according to an invite from Electronic Arts. And, no, the Spore Creepy and Cute Parts Pack doesn’t count! While retailers like Amazon, GameStop and Play have had Spore Galactic Adventures listed for a March release for a week…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 7, 2009
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  McGee

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Tough Times Yeah, horrible times. I just found out that a paper I worked at years ago had massive lay-offs, like six months ago. Even though it’s old news to everyone involved it’s still pretty shocking stuff. Print may not be dead, but it’s certainly going into hibernation. I really…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 7, 2009