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  My Favorite Aspect of Mass Effect 3 is the Hideous Plastic Party People

  There is such a thing as too much pretty. One can only stare into the face of Commander Shepard and friends so long before becoming overwhelmed. Perhaps that’s why BioWare left us this tiny slice of ugly—to keep us grounded. I love the little shortcuts that go into developing a game on the scale of…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Cutest Little Final Fantasy Characters

  The characters of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy—both ally and enemy—come from across all thirteen Final Fantasies. Yet instead of mixing and matching art styles, Square Enix Japanese graphic designer Monster Octopus to re-create all these Final Fantasy characters in their own cute, doll-like style. This is far from the only time Monster Octopus’ art style has…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 30, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Check Out Dust, a Stunning Flick from a Special Effects House

  Dust is from the folks at Ember Lab, who worked on the very cool student film Turbo. The trailer looks quite nice, and the filmmakers are looking for some extra scratch to help finish their project. Dust [Official Site]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Game Square Enix Was Counting Down To Is…

  Crystal Conquest! Just as was foreshadowed. And it’s a browser game. It’s a large scale action battle game—-up to 20 players can face off against 20 other players. Social games are big money makers for Square Enix of late, so don’t expect this to be a one-off thing. Crystal Conquest [Official Site]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Teenage Girl Beaten to Death for Not Practicing a Video Game

  This week in Osaka, 23 year-old Eriko Tashiro and her boyfriend Daigorou Umezaki, 31, were sentenced to prison for 13 and 14 years respectively. In Sept. 2010, both savagely beat Eriko’s younger sister, Yuriko, to death. The two regularly bullied and abused Yuriko. Both Eriko and her boyfriend were on welfare; but, teenage Yuriko had…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Cherry Blossoms Are Coming!

  Soon where I live in Osaka, Japan will be bathed in cherry blossoms. The plum blossoms are blooming, but the cherry blossoms haven’t quite started yet. The cherry blossoms bloom at differnet times in different parts of the country. I was talking to a fellow ex-pat the other day who said this is his favorite…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Is Theatrhythm a Miserable Medley or a Musical Masterpiece?

  The Final Fantasy series as a whole has the best original soundtrack in gaming. While many series have a standout song or two, Final Fantasy has thirteen games—and many spin-off titles—brimming with instantly recognizable tunes. Whether written by Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, or other composers, these memorable scores have captured the souls of gamers for…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Sega Canning Games, Losing Money

  Sega Sammy revealed that its expecting lower than predicted revenue, leading to some in-development games getting cancelled and a corporate reorganization. [Edge]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  Namco Bandai Is Ripping Off a Japanese Clothing Store?

  Namco Bandai’s idol simulator The Idolmaster seems to be getting more than inspiration from an online retailer. The “rare” Idolmaster card for character Megumi Ijuin looks exactly like a photo spotted on Japanese internet retail site Sunflower. Just look at the above comparison. The card is featured in the new social Idolmaster game called Cinderella…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Cruel Costumes or Not, Tokyo Jungle Looks Great, Features Panda Sex

  In Tokyo Jungle, animals try to survive and procreate in Japan’s capital. The game has an array of animals (from dogs to dinosaurs), funny outfits, decaying urban sprawl, and apparently panda sex—or rather, panda mounting each other to have panda sex. Tokyo Jungle will be out this June in Japan. Tokyo Jungle [PlayStation]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  The Animation for this Disney Commercial Doesn’t Look Very Disney

  Above is a quick commercial for Tokyo Disney Resort. It doesn’t look very Disney! There’s a reason for that: Disney roped in Japanese anime studio Madhouse to create this spot. Madhouse is known for Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust It’s interest to see Disney greenlight something that diverges stylistically from its own animation…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  Final Fantasy Creator Hard at Work on a Surfing Game. For iOS.

  Kotaku previously reported that Hironobu Sakaguchi was working on three iOS games. He’s revealed one of them: a surfing game with the temp title Party Wave. Sakaguchi, who lives in Hawaii, is a huge surfer himself. Above is the first concept art for the game. See that expression on the surfer girl’s face? That’s kind…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  The Colorful, Crazy, and Curvy World of the Sexy All Sisters

  There’s a set iconography. Costumes or accessories that immediately evoke imagery and associations. For countless idol groups, the go-to iconography is the Japanese schoolgirl and all the youthful associations she entails. Not the Sexy All Sisters. They largely eschew schoolgirls in favor of superheroes, juvenile delinquents, and waitresses. The group was born out of low…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now!

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012
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  This Incredible Battlestar LEGO Model is Ten Feet Long

  The Battlestar Valkyrie, Bill Adama’s last command before taking control of the Galactica, isn’t exactly as famous as the show’s namesake, or even the Pegasus. But it looks magnificent in this LEGO recreation. LEGO builder Garry King has, by getting hold of images of the old ship, done a fine job of bringing the dead…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012
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  Failed Rap Game Might Owe Record Company Millions

  Remember Def Jam Rapstar? The SingStar for…rap? It had promise, but ultimately fizzled on the vine and died without making much of a splash. Now, making things worse, a record company is trying to squeeze the game’s creators for millions EMI is suing both 4mm Games and Terminal Reality, claiming that they used songs in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012
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  A Star Wars: Old Republic Figure That Stands Seven Feet Tall, Costs $6000

  First announced last year, Sideshow Collectibles has finally unveiled product images and details about its upcoming Darth Malgus statue from Star Wars: Old Republic Just in case you never saw the guy at a gaming show last year, he stands 88″/2.2m high, and weighs 159lbs/72kg. So, yes, when they say he’s “life size”, they’re not…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012
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  This Portal Movie May not be Official, but it Still Looks Awesome

  Aperture: Lab Ratt is a fan film based on the Portal universe. And, as you’ll see five seconds into this trailer, it’s looking very professional. Proper music, proper outfits, an expensive camera, good lighting…yes, it’s looking lovely. If it helps sell you on the quality behind this flick, it’s being made by the same crew…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012
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  Cerberus Wants YOU!

  French artist Rémy Pontzeele has done these super Mass Effect posters, one each for two of humanity’s less…savoury organisations. There’s one for science villains Cerberus and another for cut-throat mercenaries the Blue Suns. Norzeele [DeviantArt, via Nerdwire]

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012
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  EA is a “Worst Company in America” Semi-Finalist!

  Consumerist’s always-entertaining “Worst Company in America” showdown is on right now, and a video game company is making a rare appearance alongside the likes of Bank of America and AT&T That company is Electronic Arts, which while being a rookie in the comp has stormed into the semi-finals, blowing past more fancied opponents like Comcast,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012