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  A Sightseeing Tour of Halo: Reach

  Today Bungie lifted the lid on the upcoming Halo: Reach multiplayer beta, which means we’ve got four dozen new images of the game, its maps and new game types that we can now show you. Screenshots of three of the game’s four new maps have already gone public. This gallery leads off with the fourth,…

  By Owen Good Published April 21, 2010
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  Halo: Reach Multiplayer Preview: A New Game, But Not Unfamiliar

  In 10 days, Halo: Reach gets its multiplayer beta – and consider that last word. With four different game types, new abilities and weapons, this isn’t some preview of the rest of a new game. It is a new game. Yes, the Halo: Reach beta will deliver another four maps and the standard game modes,…

  By Owen Good Published April 21, 2010
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  What Time Is Your Bedtime?

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Great Boxie It’s past my bed time! No, really. It is! (Oh, and nice looking mutt!) What you missed last night Oh Man, They Ruined This Awesome Box Art Blizzard Bans 320,000 Cheaters From Warcraft, Diablo Who Wants To Play With Kim Kardashian? Do Not Trust This Magazine’s Review Scores…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
• Reviews

  Does For the Win…Win?

  Groups of massively multiplayer online gamers from around the world band together to form…unions. No, wait, stay with me! For the Win is the latest book from Cory Doctorow, known for his work at website Boing Boing as well as his best selling novel Little Brother. The book is set in the near future in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Oh Man, They Ruined This Awesome Box Art

  Tropico 3 is a decent enough strategy game. One of the best things about it, honestly, is the game’s delightful box art. Box art that sums up the game. Box art that has been changed for Japan. OH NO! This box art makes the game look so damn dull. Screensavers are more exciting than this.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Tokyo’s Virtual Child Porn Bill Returning

  It’s not dead. Not at all. Tokyo’s virtual child porn bill will be back this fall. Last month it was reported that the bill had been delayed. It was assumed that the bill was delayed indefinitely, but politicians have continued pushing it ahead. The bill, which proposes to revise provocative “visual depictions” of characters who…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Star Wars: Attack Of The Pokémon

  Kids love Star Wars. Kids love Pokémon. Shall we throw them together and see what happens? Yes, let’s. tranive has done just that, taking ten famous Pokémon and combining them with ten famous Star Wars characters to create the crossover nobody ever asked for, but now it’s come into this world, we surely cannot be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Next Yakuza Game Is PSP Bound

  Project K is the newest entry in SEGA’s Japanese crime franchise known as Yakuza. Unlike previous titles, it will not be a home console game. It is also getting a new protagonist. According to the latest issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu, the tentatively titled Project K does not star series regular Kazuma Kiryu, but…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Xbox Live Getting A TV Channel?

  According to sources speaking with Bloomberg, Microsoft is in talks with former News Corp. President Peter Chernin (who’s currently got a gig at Fox) over bringing a TV channel to its Xbox 360 console. Beginning earlier this month, the discussions revolve around bringing a full channel of programming to the 360, which would include both…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Now Robots Can Play Tetris Without Us

  That’s it. Pack up the fine china, stock up on tinned soup and start digging a bunker, because this great dance we call humanity is done for. First they play Tetris, then they play Madden, then we all die in a nuclear fire This Tetris-playing robot consists of a camera and a three-fingered robotic hand.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Xbox 360 Fans, This Sports Jersey Is For You

  The Seattle Sounders, the Major League Soccer team of choice for Xbox 360 fans, today released a new shirt, one that brings the team’s strip more in line with the colour scheme of the side’s sponsoring console. It’s called “Electricity” (yes, these things have names), with a “Rave Green” trim. Lovely stuff, marketing team, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Yet Another Study: Brain Training Games Don’t Improve Intelligence

  First it was French scientists who said brain training games like Brain Age do not work. Now, it’s UK scientists. As part of a nationwide study for a BBC television program, over 11,000 individuals used the “brain training” games for six weeks. Those in the study were up to the age of 60 years old…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Blizzard Bans 320,000 Cheaters From Warcraft, Diablo

  Blizzard, the company behind the Warcraft and Diablo franchises, does not screw around when it swings the banhammer, booting 320,000 online accounts tonight from some of its most popular games. “We’ve recently banned over 320,000 Warcraft III and Diablo II accounts that were found to be violating the Battle.net Terms of Use”, a statement on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Years Later, Argentina Bans Rape Video Game

  Argentina has banned controversial adult computer game Rapelay. Rape games have been banned in Japan. So what gives Argentina? According to the country’s justice ministry, the game is a “clear apology for the crimes of sexual abuse, rape, torture, discrimination against women and paedophilia”. “Necessary measures are being taken to prevent the release of the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  Online Gaming, In Pictures!

  The statistics involved in online gaming – whether that be on PC or console – can be overwhelming when presented as raw numbers. Thank heavens for infographics, then. You may have seen some of these before, you may not have, doesn’t matter. They always look better in green, with controllers and ODST troopers pastered all…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Not All Yakuza Girls Are “Just” Hostesses

  One at least is a porn star. But not Sayaka Araki. She’s a fashion model, a DJ and a business tycoon. Japanese crime game Yakuza allows players to visit night clubs and chat with hostesses. Araki, who appeared in Yakuza 3 as a hostess, is the president of her own beauty products company that sells…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  What Is This, Lords Of Ultima, Or Star Wars?

  EA released some screenshots of browser-based Lords Of Ultima overnight. We were quite surprised to find Natalie Portman reprising her role from the Star Wars prequels. Above is a screenshot from Lords Of Ultima showing your advisor at the very outset of the game. Below is Portman in her Padmé Amidala costume from Attack of…

  David Wildgoose Published April 21, 2010
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  Who Wants To Play With Kim Kardashian?

  Kim Kardashian is famous for several reasons, none of which we fully understand. While she has used her ability to hold things for evil in the past (see above), she is now using it for good. Phew. This Kim Kardashian Xbox 360 is part of Microsoft Australia’s drive to auction off one-of-a-kind game consoles for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010
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  The Best Game I Played Today Was Over Ten Years Old

  Today, Outcast was released on retro downloadable games service Good Old Games. It’s only $6, so I’m going to recommend it to almost everyone. And not because it’s a good game. No, the thing that struck me after returning to Adelpha was how ahead of its time it was, something you can only notice having…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2010
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  Do Not Trust This Magazine’s Review Scores

  The biggest Japanese game magazine, Famitsu, has awarded its highest score to stealth game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Deserved or undeserved, in the process of reviewing the game, the publication has shown that, as a source of objective game reviews, it cannot be trusted. Here’s why: Some would say that Famitsu has sold its…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2010