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  Need for Speed: The Run Crashes Into a Wall of Criticism

  In their constant quest to turn the Need for Speed franchise into something more than just a racing game, EA tapped it’s Black Box studio to create The Run, a game driven by equal parts speed and narrative. How’d that turn out? See for yourself. Remember the Cannonball Run movies? Burt Reynolds at his cheesy…

  By Mike Fahey Published November 16, 2011
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  Nintendo’s Iconic Plumber Goes Apeshit in This Super Mario vs. PETA Video

  That bizarre Mario vs. PETA kerfuffle‘s fading into the rear view but that’s not stopping Taiwanese media outfit Next Media Animation from giving us their askew take on the dust-up. Looking at their oddly-shaped version of Mario is enough to give a person nightmares. Those long legs—brrrr!—-and giant feet are bad enough but the crazy…

  By Evan Narcisse Published November 16, 2011
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  Maybe the Secret to Making Your Games Last Longer is Not Playing Them So Damn Much

  Why do we burn through our video games so fast? Because we play them too fast. Commenter Urfe suggests the key to enjoying video games more is pacing your play in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Let’s prolong some magic! I realized another aspect of recreating the magic of childhood wonderment in video games. Actually,…

  By Mike Fahey Published November 16, 2011
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  Remember: Kotaku Game Club Meets Again Tomorrow at 4pm EST

  Guess what? We’ll finally be discussing the finale of Uncharted 3 during tomorrow Kotaku Game Club. Check it out at 4pm Eastern.

  By Mike Epstein Published November 16, 2011
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  Skyrim Lands 50 Perfect Reviews, Will Likely Earn More than $450M at Launch

  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim garnered more than 50 perfect reviews and it looks like it also sold a lot of copies, but it’s a little hard to pinpoint exactly how much money the massive fantasy role-playing game has brought in so far. The press release says that they expect that the game will generate…

  By Brian Crecente Published November 16, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Hello Kotaku! Gaming your hearts out this week I hope, because there’s plenty to play. I’m immersed in Skyrim and enjoying it thoroughly, what about you? Tell us what you’ve been playing and use this space to talk amongst yourselves! Thanks once again to Pan1da7 for today’s TAYpic! Good work, wouldn’t you say? Continue to…

  By Matthew Buzzi Published November 16, 2011
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  Call of Duty Thief Escapes in Waiting Getaway Car

  Is it just me or are Call of Duty thefts starting to sound more and more like missions from the game? The latest snatch and grab of the Activision shooter happened last week when a man swiped ten copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 from a display stand at a Tesco in the…

  By Brian Crecente Published November 16, 2011
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  Reading The DOTA Webcomic Could Get You Into the DOTA 2 Beta

  Most gamers know him as the guy who helped create the soulful vibe of Gordon Freeman’s world in the Half-Life games. However, way before he came to Valve, Marc Laidlaw was an author with a number of published works to his name. He’s kept on writing outside of video games, too, but his most recent…

  By Evan Narcisse Published November 16, 2011
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  Modern Square Enix

  Warfare | TOKYO, JAPAN: Square Enix showed off the CoD Jeep at a recent press event. (Photo: Game Watch Impress) The Xbox Was As Close As We Got To A Dreamcast 2 The Xbox is ten years old this week. For those who have enjoyed playing games on either the original console or its successor…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011
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  Forget Cocaine, This Rocker Splurged on Game Consoles

  Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher (above, cardboard) spent much of the 1990s under a blizzard of cocaine. Now, he’s older. And apparently buying toys. According to the Daily Star (yes, I know), the 39-year-old Gallagher spent £3,000 (US$4,700) on toy helicopters, remote control cars, and game consoles. Which sounds like an awesome way to blow…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011
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  Walk Softly. Carry a Big Sword. Look Badass

  You are looking at a cosplay that was 8 months in the making. Eight months that were totally worth it. You are looking at cosplayer NealBomBad’s Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV. You are looking at greatness. NealBomBad created Cecil Harvey’s Dark Knight version using 3D modeling software and then printed the armor on his…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011
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  The Next Final Fantasy Might Not Be the Same Old RPG

  No, according to Final Fantasy XIII-2 producer Yoshinori Kitase, it could be an action-RPG Calling a surge in the popularity of action-RPGs “a trend…you ignore at your peril”, Kitase told Edge, “I think the nature of the franchise is to present something new each time. In the global market we see many players moving away…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  Research: Young Gamers Have Brains Like Gamblers

  You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold then and know when to press X. According to new research, teenage players who game a considerable amount have an enlarged area of the brain’s “reward hub”, the area with a high concentration of dopamine. According to the research, this means that heavy gamers…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011
• Culture

  Sadly, This LEGO Game Looked Better On Paper

  There was a lot of hype for the ill-fated LEGO Universe. Mostly because it was an MMO using LEGO, but also because the early stuff people saw of the game looked amazing. The final product rarely met those expectations, and will be shuttered on January 31, 2012. While the game will soon be gone, though,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  This John Marston Doll Makes Dolls Looks Mean

  Custom figure maker toylion, with some help on the face, has crafted this impressive 1:6 scale doll based on Red Dead Redemption’s John Marston. While I could live without the denim jacket, which gives him a slight NKOTB-wth-spurs vibe, everything else is awesome, especially the finer details like his bandolier. Sure, most of the stuff…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  Japanese Wii RPGs Get Fancy Reversible Covers

  As if to Lord it over American Wii owners, Europe is not only getting Japanese role-playing games The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower, they’re getting them with fancy reversible covers. The images you see here aren’t final. They’re just the artwork, so stuff like titles need to be added. Still, choice is always nice, especially…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  Call of Duty Elite Is Coming to PC. One Day.

  The stat-tracking, community-driven Call of Duty: Elite is still missing in action. Problems have continued to plague the free and premium versions. It’s still broken Previously, Elite‘s developers stated in a now-erased tweet that it “cannot guarantee if or when a version will be available for the PC.” Now, it looks like there will be…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011
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  It’s Always Snowing In Skyrim

  The delightful Zac Gorman shows us the contradiction inherent in playing Skyrim during a Northern Winter. I say Northern because, you know, it’s nearly Summer down here in Australia. Which makes playing Skyrim, with its snow and its snow and its blizzards on snowy mountains, even weirder Though not weird enough to wish for an…

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  Me Gusta: A Tribute

  Artist Aeron Bondoc pays a very detailed homage to the mascot of perverse pleasure on the internet. Aeron Bondoc [CGHUB] You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

  By Luke Plunkett Published November 16, 2011
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  The Carmen Sandiego Movie Won’t Be This Good

  That is, if they make the damn thing. Education game Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? was turned into a TV show during the 1990s, and Hollywood once planned to have Sandra Bullock as thief Carmen. That project fell apart, but now Jennifer Lopez has signed on to a produce a film version of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published November 16, 2011