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  Team Fortress 2 Scout Update Sends Us To Egypt

  There’s no dearth of content coming to the Team Fortress 2 Scout update. Expect new weapons, new maps, the game’s first energy drink, and, oh yeah, new maps! That includes one Egyptian-themed “Capture” gameplay addition. The newest revealed addition to TF2 is “cp_egypt,” a visually striking community made map designed by Sean ‘Heyo’ Cutino, creator…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Mario & Luigi, Street Fighter Help Turn Japanese Hardware Sales Around

  Sales of consoles and portable hardware in Japan saw healthier sales this week, most likely due to strong sales of games like Street Fighter IV and Mario & Luigi RPG3!!!. It wasn’t exactly the kind of boost that will see console manufacturers and game publishers popping bottles of Cristal, but it was enough to turn…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Kotaku Signs Syndication Deal

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Alright, Tea Or Coffee? As you may recall, back in November I started talking about creating a weekly column on Kotaku that could service multiple purposes. I wanted it to be something that touched on the big news of the week and expounded upon it to look at the bigger…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 20, 2009
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  Can the DSi Become the Portable Wii?

  Millions of people picked up a video game controller for the first time because of Nintendo’s Wii. Can the Japanese game developer now conquer the pockets of those same freshly minted gamers with its latest portable console? The Nintendo DSi, which hits North America on April 5 for $170, comes with a touch screen, two…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 20, 2009
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  GameStop COO: Used Game Sales Don’t Hurt New Ones

  J. Paul Raines bravely faced a roomful of video game developers at this year’s DICE Summit, letting them know that the used game sales that butter the retailers bread do not hurt new game sales. Raines, GameStop’s Chief Operating Officer, told DICE attendees that the company’s used game sales account for only 4% of sales…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Your First (Brief) Look At Mass Effect 2

  EA has released the first video teaser for the multi-platform Mass Effect 2 from BioWare. No need to grab some popcorn, you’ll be in and out of the Mass Effect hype machine shortly. We shan’t spoil anything for you, should you choose to pick apart the Mass Effect 2 teaser for clues about the sequel…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  God Of War III, MAG Coming This Year, Says Sony

  When we got our first look at God Of War III last week, Sony said it would wait until E3 to announce the game’s release date, which now appears could be sometime in 2009. According to a recently issued press release designed to remind us that Killzone 2 ships next week(!), God of War III…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Tour Aion’s Lovely Altgard Zone

  NCsoft West takes us on a video tour of the expansive Altgard zone from their upcoming massively multiplayer online game Aion: The Tower of Eternity. Watching the video I can begin to see why fans have latched onto the game with such utter devotion. The damn game looks absolutely gorgeous…definitely a step or two above…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009
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  GTA-Style iPhone Game Gets Price Drop

  Payback, the top-down, open-world crime sprawler on the iPhone, just got an “experimental” price drop to $5. The GTA-esque game’s creator emailed me to say that the whole App Store thing is quite new and he wanted to test how what sort of impact a price drop would have on sales. So if you’re interested…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 20, 2009
• Reviews

  Afro Samurai Review: Hip Hop Hack and Slash

  Hip-hop sensibilities and anime style clash in Afro Samurai, a hack and slash brawler based on the cult-hit animated television series. Afro Samurai follows the story of Afro, a samurai on a life-long quest to avenge his father’s death, set against the backdrop of a futuristic feudal Japan, where traditional Japanese sensibilities mingle with hip-hop…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009
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  Rock Band Adds A Lil’ Bit Of Alt Country

  Next week’s batch of fine downloadables for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 go a little bit country. Don’t worry, this is the good kind of country, largely free of thickheaded wordplay and grating twangery. What does that even mean? I don’t know to be honest, but this is country of the “alt” variety, featuring…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  FUEL Looking Awfully Confined

  For a game with no boundaries and 5,000-square miles to play in, this trailer sure does show a lot of traditional looking race courses. I hope multiplatform, off-road racer FUEL hasn’t lost its way. Last we heard, you to 16 players could race through places like the Grand Canyon. The game also sports full day…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 20, 2009
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  Mario & Luigi Knock Out Ken & Ryu In Japanese Sales

  The newest entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, excitedly titled Mario & Luigi RPG3!!!, beat out Capcom’s Street Fighter IV by an impressive margin, with the DS title securing this week’s top spot. Of course, some may contend that Street Fighter IV sales would have benefited from more readily available stock, but that’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Dragon Rising Screens Rise To The Occasion

  Codemasters has released the box art and news screens for their upcoming sandbox shooter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, due out this summer for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Codemasters seems to have stripped out the number 2 from the follow-up the 2001’s Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis from developer Bohemia Interactive, perhaps in…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009
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  Live Action Legendary Cars Plug

  Criterion had way too much fun making this video, but that’s OK it’s pretty fun to watch too. Certainly makes me want to buy one or two of those Legendary cars.

  By Brian Crecente Published February 20, 2009
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  Original DSi Design Had Two DS Slots, Was Disliked By Nintendo Dev Team

  The Nintendo DSi, recently announced for a North American release in April, was almost a very different, very curious beast. According to a new “Iwata Asks” interview, it originally featured two DS game slots. The original design for the digital camera-enabled Nintendo DSi, according to one of its designers, wasn’t well received by the software…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  Frankenreview: Street Fighter IV

  Twenty-two years after the first installment of the game hit arcades, Capcom releases the latest and possibly greatest version of the fighting game that kick-started the genre with Street Fighter IV. Capcom isn’t one to pull out a new number without meaning it, and they definitely mean it with Street Fighter IV. The game is…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009
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  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  Oh, my God! February is insane! Not only do I have to try to finish Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for an upcoming review, but try to play through 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. That doesn’t even include my personal interest in playing Street Fighter IV and Noby Noby Boy, both of which hit this…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009
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  New Riddick Trailer Part Of This Complete Space Epic

  The latest trailer for Starbreeze’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena contains everything anyone could ever want in a Vin Diesel-fueled space epic, including mech suits! And yes, the mech suits look lovely, but they aren’t really Riddick, now are they? Riddick is about skulking, stabbing, and interacting with little children, each of…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009
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  Quake Live Open Beta Next Week

  ID Software‘s browser-based competitive version of the classic first-person shooter Quake is nearly ready for the public, with the Quake Live open beta kicking off next week. Statistics are being wiped and inactive players from the closed beta culled as Id prepares for the launch of open beta testing on Tuesday, February 24th. Announced in…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 20, 2009