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  Ten Great Gangster Movies

  Next week, gangster game Mafia II goes on sale. You might be looking for a primer — something to get you into the mood. You might want to revisit some old favorites. Here are ten classic gangster flicks. These are not the ten best gangster flicks, but they are ten great ones. (Note: The list…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 20, 2010
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  It’s Transport Tycoon For The 21st Century

  One of the dorkiest genres in all of PC gaming has got to be transport infrastructure management. Transport Tycoon and Sid Meier’s Railroads are the giants of the genre, and they’re soon to be joined by Cities In Motion. Developed by Colossal Order and published by Paradox, masters of the hardcore strategy field, Cities In…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2010
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  The Next Best Thing To Playing Portal 2

  Portal 2 is playable at GamesCom, and while some people are playing it, others are filming it being played, so everyone else can enjoy it! In case you’re wondering, no, that is not the voice of an over-eager booth assistant. It’s Wheatley, your AI companion in the game, who is voiced by British radio man,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2010
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  From Voting Machine To Pac-Man Machine

  Let’s say you have a direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machine. And it’s been shown that it is insecure — you can’t use it for voting anymore. What should you do with it? You’d turn it into a Pac-Man machine. Yes? A group of researchers from Princeton and the University of Michigan did just that. They…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 20, 2010
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  $500 Bayonetta Figure, Now In Living Colour

  It takes a certain person to prepare themselves to spend half a grand on a Bayonetta figure That person, then, demands a certain quality. They demand attention detail, something this Volks piece has. They demand an impressive scale, something its 1/4 scale has. And they demand exclusivity, something that $500 price tag more than takes…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2010
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  NSFW: Catherine Gets Debut Trailer

  Catherine, the upcoming hi-def role-playing game from Persona developer Atlus, features scary sheep dreams, animation from Studio 4C and, from the looks of this trailer, lots of bumping and grinding. The trailer kicks off with the male protagonist (Vincent) asking a woman if she’s heard that when people die in a dream, they die in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 20, 2010
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  Farmville Makers Attacked Over Real-World “Vandalism”

  Zynga, the company behind Facebook titles like Farmville and Mafia Wars, is in trouble with the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office over reports of vandalism linked to the developer’s advertisements. San Fran Deputy City Attorney Alex Tse accuses the social game devs of several “documented acts of sidewalk vandalism” in relation to ads for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2010
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  Nintendo’s Live-Action Metroid Ad Is A Slow, Sexy Treat

  Looks like somebody at Nintendo HQ has been looking at the way Halo is marketed and thought, yes, that’ll work for Metroid, too. Hence we have this live-action Metroid commercial for upcoming Metroid: Other M, heavy on moody music and even heavier on the moody slow-motion. It’s unusually striking for a contemporary Nintendo ad, and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2010
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  The Wild West is a Minigamitis Hot Zone

  Rockstar’s latest masterpiece suffers from a disease a lot of current games have contracted. Minigamitis. Essential parts of the game are handled via elaborate subsystems that exist outside of the gameplay structure of the main game. These subsystems bring various problems to the table, especially the dueling mini-game. Red Dead Dueling – The dueling mini-game…

  Sebastian Wüpper Published August 19, 2010
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  Portal Song Slowed Down 800%, Bieber-Style

  We now know how to make a Justin Bieber song sound good: slow it down 800%. But what happens when Portal’s Still Alive, that great video game song from Jonathan Coulton, gets the same treatment? Listen. ‘Still Alive’ from Portal, slowed down 800%. [Soundcloud.com]

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 19, 2010
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  Inside The Artistry Of NBA Jam

  Wonder where they got the crazy faces for the superstars of the upcoming NBA Jam? EA Sports didn’t bring everyone in to mug for the camera; they used a vast library of NBA photos to add emotion to the game’s zaniness. As much as NBA Jam has to honor the over-the-top gameplay of its arcade…

  By Owen Good Published August 19, 2010
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  I Don’t Speak Swedish, But This Seems Bad

  Kotaku tipster says the image here, which tops a Swedish story about a Wii charger gone ablaze, mistakenly thinks Nintendo makes bum recharge stations. Not so, but that’s no consolation for this lady. Louises laddare började brinna [Aftonbladet. Thanks, Forcen!]

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 19, 2010
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  EA’s Gun Clubbers Get To Cut In Line At PAX

  Sorry this is late. Had to show A Jawa how to use the comments. Anyway (reads from paper) Members of Electronic Arts’ “Gun Club” promotion have received emails saying they can skip the line for Dead Space 2 at PAX. As you can see above, Gun Club members may print out the latest email to…

  By Owen Good Published August 19, 2010
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  Ooo Tee Dee!

  Tandi kwa! Yanna kuzu peekay. Ikee nyeta go cona. Ookwass dok pundwa keena, go mob un loo, etee uwanna waa! Ny shootogawa! Ushabia namba kee koolee? Ikee go cona. Rubac nufuzu nyeta utinni vapoosza wass sooga. Chikua dikwass bom’loo? Keeza! Nekkel juuvar obwegadada. Ko lop jar k’oso jubinloo lopima. Okka. Shumeneez un toyneepa “hbrrrrrrrrrrrrhhrrbawwwrr?” Mombay…

  a jawa Published August 19, 2010
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  Gender-Bending Game Characters: The Revenge

  In his last role-reversal gallery, artist David Stonecipher largely interpreted female video game roles as if they were portrayed by male characters. He’s followed that up with a gallery of famous male characters, as portrayed by the fairer sex. Stonecipher prefixed all of these with “Lady” so, that’s not Mega Woman, Earthworm Jane or Samantha…

  By Owen Good Published August 19, 2010
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  Brink Is The Breakthrough That Makes 2011 Feel So Far Away

  The game I most wish I was playing right now is Brink. I played it a week ago. It delivered on an unusual promise. Brink is a first-person team shooter set on an advanced seaborne city of the future. You can play it solo or with up to eight players against either others. It’s one…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 19, 2010
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  Wii Party Keeps The Festivities Going In Japan

  Nintendo’s latest Wii hit shows its impressive legs once again this week, with mini-game collection Wii Party returning to its first place spot on the Japanese video game sales charts. Almost zero competition certainly helped. Really. There wasn’t much in the way of competition for Wii Party—or anything else for that matter. New PSP game…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010
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  EA Predicted Poor Reviews For APB

  Electronic Arts provided distribution support for APB, whose bankrupt studio is being sold off; today a senior EA executive said the game’s poor reviews were somewhat predicted internally and suggested to Realtime Worlds. “We did suggest that where it landed from a review score standpoint was where we thought it was going to land from…

  By Owen Good Published August 19, 2010
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  Today We Dined In Gardens of Beer

  To: Ash From: Crecente Sorry I keep talking about food while we’re here in Germany, I just can’t help myself. And not just because the food is so great, but because we have such a small amount of time to eat it. Today, for instance I missed lunch again, but did manage to snag a…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 19, 2010
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  Castle Crashers Dated for PS3

  Almost two years to the day after it arrived on the Xbox 360, Castle Crashers will hit the PlayStation 3. The game’s developer today said it will release on the PlayStation Store on Aug. 31. The price is $15.

  By Owen Good Published August 19, 2010