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  Peptone, The Game That’s Controlled By Shouting

  Those years of shouting into your headset during online multiplayer games may pay off if you want to win at Peptone, a multiplayer “participative mobile phone game” that requires screaming into one’s cell phone to survive. Peptone was recently on display in Montreal, where an estimated 900 phone calls from 400 unique players—it supports up…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  Dead Island‘s Logo Too Grisly For America’s Ratings Board

  Much hyped zombie game Dead Island has gotten the attention of the ESRB for its logo of all things. Hanging zombies are a no-no, it seems, as the game’s logo has been “censored” to remove that dangling corpse. That change affects the game’s box art in North America only, reports IGN

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  Read The Humble Beginnings of Grand Theft Auto From 16 Years Ago

  Grand Theft Auto, the controversial and violent video game series that has sold in excess of 100 million units, began its life as a simple design document in 1995, back when the game was still known as Race’n’Chase. Reading that design doc isn’t nearly as much fun as playing a Grand Theft Auto game, but…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  The Swag of Kotaku’s Japan Earthquake Fundraiser

  I spent the past week or so going through all of the loot sent me from a variety of video game publishers and developers over the past year. As always, I collect this stuff to give away during a once-a-year fundraiser. This year’s fundraiser kicks off on Thursday here in Denver at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom.…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 21, 2011
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  Mario, From A Goomba’s-Eye View

  The little “Jumpman” Mario looks awesome in this fan art piece by Jeffrey Cruz. Breakin’ blocks, stomping heads and taking names! Related Rampage: Enter the Mushroom Kingdom (More) Jump Jump JUMP by Jeffrey Cruz / lastscionz (deviantART) Need your daily fill of geek eye candy? If so, head over to Justin Page’s Rampaged Reality and…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  Wall of Swag

  Free | I spent the past week going through all of the free things sent Kotaku by game companies. This is about half of that stuff. All destined for Kotaku’s fundraiser later this week. (Photo: Brian Crecente) Bedtime Stories Why 3D Isn’t the 3DS’ Greatest Achievement The window into a world where I am a…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 21, 2011
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  The Perfect Dark That (Thankfully?) Never Was

  There was another Perfect Dark game in development at one point, a follow-up to Xbox 360 launch game Perfect Dark Zero that would have been a “more realistic,” seemingly grittier version of Rare’s first-person shooter. Unseen 64 offers our first look at Perfect Dark Core, a prototype project that never really seemed to take off…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  If Only Gundam Could Always Lend A Helping Hand

  As seen on Jean Snow

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2011
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  The FP Is A Perfectly Bizarre Blend Of The Warriors And Dance Dance Revolution

  One part futuristic gang movie, one part tribute to Konami’s hot-stepping rhythm game Dance Dance Revolution, The FP is a movie that’s goofy and gritty enough to make it a must-see. This is a movie that uses Dance Dance Revolution (renamed Beat-Beat Revolution) as a life or death contest between rival gangs. Everyone in it…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  PC Gamers Get Black Ops First Strike Last On March 25

  PC gamer holdouts get their first Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, “First Strike,” later this week on March 25. If fifteen bucks is a touch too steep, Steam will knock off 10% of that for those who pre-order

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  Lemmings Meets Mario In The Delightfully Puzzling Kami Retro

  Take Mario’s platforming, Lemmings’ life-saving gameplay, add a hint of urgency and colorfully pixelated 3D graphics, and you’re just scratching the surface of Kami Retro, the must-play puzzle platformer for the iPhone and iPod Touch. There are several different ways I could describe Kami Retro. You know those running games, where you have to jump…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 21, 2011
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  Watch A Hockey Arena Evolve Into A Massive Pokémon Party

  Last month, 3000 German Pokémon fans partied in an ice hockey arena in Hamburg. They did this thanks to the efforts of the G-Pro Consult company, who did their part in promoting the new Pokémon Black & White by turning that hockey rink into a party center — and filmed the whole thing so we…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 21, 2011
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  Tomorrow Brings An Amazon Gold Box Full Of Gaming Deals

  Keep an eye out for incoming Amazon.com video game deals, with an all-gaming Gold Box day kicking off tonight at Midnight Pacific time.

  By Mike Fahey Published March 21, 2011
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  From Dust Still Looks Out Of This World

  This is another gorgeous look at From Dust, the next game from Out Of This World (aka Another World) creator Eric Chahi. Bound for Xbox Live Arcade, PC and PlayStation Network sometime this year, From Dust lets you play god, protecting the inhabitants of an island from natural disaster. Chahi once compared the open-world From…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  Madden‘s Cover Competition has 32 Candidates, and the Fans are One

  Here is the 32-player field of candidates for the cover of Madden NFL 12. Well, 31 players and “The 12th Man,” a salute to the diehard fans of the Seattle Seahawks (10th seed, versus Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers). EA Sports is holding this vote-off competition at www.ESPN.com/MaddenVote from now to April 27.…

  By Owen Good Published March 21, 2011
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  Can Serena Williams’ Ass Interest You In Some Top Spin 4?

  Before we go any further, we’re going to wager that, due to the jiggling booty on display, the repeated grunts of satisfaction, the dripping bodily fluids and the attire inappropriate for most tennis courts, this ad for Top Spin 4 could be categorized as NSFW It could also be argued that this commercial, featuring Serena…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 21, 2011
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  A Captain America For Every Console

  When Captain America: Super Soldier hits on July 19, he’s hitting hard, carrying America’s flag to five different game consoles. Here’s a look at four of them. Only the Nintendo 3DS is unrepresented in this gallery of shots of the Captain America movie tie-in, coming in July from Sega and Next Level Games. In each…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 21, 2011
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  Our Favorite Gaming Reads

  It’s been a long time since we’ve pointed you to some of our favorite gaming reads on the Internet, and there are so many deserving sites. Here’s a quick look at twenty of the sites we think are the bee’s knees and worth your time and eyeballs. We contacted each site and asked their grandhooha…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 21, 2011
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  Nintendo Doesn’t Want ‘Garage Developers,’ Drawing A Line That Puts Apple On The Other Side

  Sharpening a divide between the version of the games industry they like and the version in which they don’t want to participate, Nintendo has stated that it doesn’t want to work with “garage” developers. The very people responsible for many of the good and many more of the godawful games on the iPhone and other…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 21, 2011
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  A Game That Will Terrify Your Kids Into Never Going Outside Again

  Spring has returned, a time when children across the country turn off their video game consoles and venture out into the woods, building tree forts and rolling about in the underbrush. That is, until they play Tick Tackler. Then they’re never going outside again. Did you know there are tiny bugs lurking outside, waiting to…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 21, 2011