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  What A Day To Launch Legends Of Zork

  I suppose April 1st is as good a day as ever to revisit the ruins of the Great Underground Empire, as Jolt Online Gaming launches their free-to-play browser-based adventure game, Legends of Zork. Legends of Zork is basically a graphical, browser based MUD, or multi-user dungeon, with some distinctive Zork flair thrown in for good…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 1, 2009
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  Oblivion Horse Armor On Sale For Twice The Price

  Bethesda has cut the prices of its Xbox 360 downloadable content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion by half for the next week, except the Horse Armor Pack, which is going to cost you. It’s been nearly three years since the April 3rd 2006 release of Oblivion’s Horse Armor Pack, and Bethesda is doing it…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 1, 2009
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  Godfather II to Sell Downloadable Weapons, Character, Maps

  Electronic Arts plans to start selling downloadable packs featuring new weapons, maps and a character for Godfather II two weeks after the game releases. The upgrade packs will go on sell on April 23 on the Playstation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace and will sell for $4 to $10. The Pentangeli Map Pack ( $6.75…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 1, 2009
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  So, Yeah, I Did It, I Bought A Piece Of Japan

  To: Crecente From: Ashcraft RE: April Fools + Internet = Crap After months and months of effort, I’m happy to report, I’m finally buying a home. It hasn’t been easy. It’s certainly not that difficult for foreigners to buy homes here. Working for a Japanese company helps. Having a “normal” job does as well. Since…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  Big Layoffs At Big Huge Games

  Hasn’t been a good couple of weeks for Rise of Nations developers Big Huge Games. First they were threatened with closure. Now, according to Develop, there have been a “huge number of layoffs”. Yes. Huge. Cute. A few weeks back THQ announced that, if a buyer for the studio had not been found within 60…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Red Faction: Guerilla Destructs Itself A Release Date

  Red Faction: Guerilla is an interesting title. Ditching “destructible” FPS corridors in favour of a sandbox world isn’t something a series does every day, so at the least it’s got something new to check out. And you can look out for it in June, as that’s when publishers THQ say the game will be out.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  With This Atari, I Thee Wed

  I’m getting married later this year. Need a wedding ring. Funny, then, that at this precise time in history, I come upon this gold ring, made out of the heart of an Atari. As it’s called a “1981 Atari Ring”, I’m guessing it’s from an Atari 2600. Regardless, it looks great, especially since – if…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Microsoft Announces Alpine Legend For Xbox 360

  Just in time for April 1! If only more games were played in lederhosen. If only this was real. If only. Ditto for the goat add-on pack. Alpine Legend [Xbox.com Thanks Matt!]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  British Sales Charts: We Call ‘Em Twitchers

  So long, Resident Evil 5! You couldn’t hang about feasting on the flesh of the living forever. And, when you finally fell, bullet in the head, of course it was Wii Fit pulling the trigger. And Professor Layton was on clean-up duty, mopping up the blood, careful not to get any in his mouth or…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Book Getting Revision

  Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete isn’t the only FFVII product that is getting a revised release. Book Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega is, too. The new edition is dubbed Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Revised Edition. It includes new FFVII related info from Square Enix, a new interview with Cloud voice actor Takahiro…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  The Video Game Audio Awards

  Games have long preferred visual innovation to audio. I mean, they’re called video games, not video and audio games. But that’s not to say game audio doesn’t deserve recognition! GANG stands for Game Audio Network Guild, a group dedicating themselves to championing the work of music and sound effect teams in the game industry. And…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Donkey Kong Monster Truck Has A New Play Control Scheme

  And it’s called “driving on 2.5 wheels after crashing”, after the Donkey Kong monster truck – and its bow-tied driver – did a few too many big jumps at the Monster Jam World Finals. As a note to the novice drivers out there, it’s generally not a good idea to keep driving after one of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  First Star Trek: DAC Screens

  Top-down, space combat arcade title Star Trek: DAC is coming to Xbox LIVE this May to correspond with JJ Abram’s upcoming Star Trek reboot. It’ll be hitting the PlayStation Network sometime after the May LIVE release. To hopefully hold you over until the game’s out, Paramount has released a couple DAC screens. Well… whaddaya think?

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  Kojima Celebrates April Fool’s Day In Style

  Continuing a tradition of going completely over the top with April 1 gags, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and his team have come up with…this. Metal Gear fans, be warned: you’ll go bananas. First teased at GDC, it’s a long, elaborate video showing an old friend doing…stuff. I won’t spoil any of it. Just hit…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Nothing Says Cute 2D Fighter Like Maid Cafe Food

  Two dimensional PlayStation 2 fighter Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 was released this month in Japan. What better what to mark the occasion than with a maid cafe? Starting April 3, Akihabara’s Cure Maid Cafe will be hosting the “Arcana Heart Cafe @ Cure Maid Cafe”. It’ll feature food with hearts squirted on them or heart-shaped…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  The Cruelest April Fool’s Joke In Japan

  This is going to be hard to top. Japanese website Akiba Blog has run a post saying that Dragon Quest IX went on sale last night. According to Akiba Blog, over two-thousand people lined up at midnight today for DQIX. Midnight. Today. Today is April 1, and Dragon Quest IX is slated for release this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  A Look At How Microsoft Approve A Game For Release

  Introversion – developers of Defcon and Darwinia – have a treat in store for us. Following “unprecedented approval” from Microsoft, they’ve uploaded a paper trail documenting the journey a game takes from pitch to release. And it is fascinating. Provided you find this kind of backroom stuff interesting, anyway. Available for perusal are bug reports,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Koei Tecmo Reveals Its New Company Logo (Looks Familiar)

  Back in January, Tecmo and Koei officially merged. The merger created a joint holding company called Koei Tecmo Holdings as of April 1, when the new financial year starts. In Japan, it’s April 1, and Koei Tecmo Holdings has unveiled its new corporate logo. The logo not only combines the aesthetics of standard Koei logo…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2009
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  So, How Many PS3 Games Are Any Good?

  Picture the scene: your mum walks into GameStop. She walks to the PlayStation 3 section, and picks out a game for your birthday. At random. What are the odds she picks a good one? Let’s find out! Just like they did for Xbox 360 games, market research firm EEDAR have tracked every PS3 game’s Metacritic…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 1, 2009
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  Is tri-Ace Announcing A New, Multi-Plaform RPG?

  Japanese developer tri-Ace (Star Ocean, Infinite Undiscovery) has launched a website with a countdown clock for a “new RPG project”. The only catch? Tri-Ace launched it today on April 1 in Japan — you know, the day when the internet turns to crapola. The countdown website features logos for the PS3 and Xbox 360 —…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 31, 2009