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  $400 Version of Borderlands New-Gen Port Will Get You Your Own Claptrap

  Just announced today, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection will come with many fine things, graphically improved versions of Borderlands 2 and last year’s The Pre-Sequel among them. But, if you don’t mind missing out on a few bill payments, you can get a talking, remote-controlled Claptrap in a collector’s edition. The Handsome Collection bundles together new-gen…

  By Evan Narcisse Published January 20, 2015
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  Redesigned Darth Vader Looks Just As Menacing

  But not more menacing. That would be just silly. Still, alternate universe Darth Vader makes a good effort. The redesigned Vader was drawn by 1oshuart of DeviantArt (AKA artist Joshua Cairós) for a Star Wars-themed challenge organized by the Brainstorm Facebook group. The group got a lot of entries, but 1oshuart’s is just something else—and…

  By András Neltz Published January 20, 2015
• Kotaku East

  Shirobako Is an Anime about Making Anime

  Ever wonder how an anime is made? Good – Dreams Versus Reality Shirobako is the story of five girls who, after making a short anime while members of their high school animation club, promise to come back together as adults and make their own full anime. Aoi, the main lead of Shirobako, dreams of being…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 20, 2015
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  Elite Dangerous Isn’t Sure How to Punish Space Murder

  Elite’s lead designer, Sandro Sammarco, has discussed possible changes to bounties and exposed an interesting issue with video game punishments: what if they’re too effective? This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK In a post discussing an interdiction issue (this is the ability for a ship to pull another out of supercruise to rob or…

  Leon Hurley Published January 20, 2015
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  Kotaku East

  Sony Makes a College Class You Wouldn’t Skip

  I dunno. Maybe you would skip it. But if you like video games, chances are this PlayStation university course is something you’d attend. Last fall, Kotaku reported that Sony was teaming up with Sangmyung University in Seoul, South Korea to offer a PlayStation college course. The class featured guest speakers and students, who sat at…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2015
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  Kotaku East

  How Final Fantasy XV Is Influenced by Back to the Future: Part II

  Don’t expect DeLoreans, hoverboards and sports almanacs. But according to Wan Hazmer, Final Fantasy XV lead game designer, the title has found inspiration in an unlikely source: Robert Zemeckis’ 1989 sci-fi flick. In an interview with Travel Garage TV, Hazmer talks about how the game’s developers are striving to create believable environments. “A concept of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2015
• Kotaku East

  My, My Cid, How You Have Changed

  While each Final Fantasy tends to be set in a different world, there are a few staples you can expect in each one—most prominently, a character named Cid. And the newest game in the franchise, Final Fantasy Explorers, is no exception. Over the years Cid has gone through some changes since his first appearance back…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 20, 2015
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  Kotaku East

  Shaolin Monk “Runs on Water” for Almost 400 Feet

  This week in Quanzhou, China, a Shaolin monk showed it was possible to do more than walk on water. The Shaolin monastery is famous for its kung-fu monks that undergo rigorous training to pull off amazing acrobatic and physical feats. Last October, Shi Liliang from Quanzhou Shaolin Temple ran on thin plywood planks floating in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2015
• Kotaku East

  The Left 4 Dead Arcade is Basically Left 4 Dead 2, But Worse

  This past weekend, needing a bit of zombie killing in my life, I joined some friends at a local arcade to spend some time with Left 4 Dead Survivors. Honestly, I wish I’d just stayed home and played Left 4 Dead 2 Left 4 Dead Survivors is largely a port of Left 4 Dead 2…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 20, 2015
• Kotaku East

  Nintendo Closing Club Nintendo (But Don’t Panic)

  For years now, Club Nintendo has been offering special goodies to fans. But as of today, it’s going away. But don’t fret. Not yet. Nintendo is planning a new loyalty program with new rewards. Official notices have been posted by Nintendo in Japan, Europe, and Australia. The U.S. site is currently closed for maintenance. Kotaku…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2015
• Culture

  War Is (Beautiful) Hell

  Ivan Pozdnyakov is a Russian artist who works for ZeptoLab, the developers of Cut The Rope. Don’t let that put you off, though, his portfolio is pretty fantastic. You can see more of Ivan’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  PlayStation Making Up For Downtime With A 10% Off Sale This Weekend

  As first detailedearlier in the month, Sony is making up for some Christmas-related downtime with a sale on pretty much everything on the PlayStation Store. That sale has a catch: you’ll get 10% off almost anything on the store, provided you lump it all into the one purchase and buy it all at once. The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  Pro Teams Implicated In Huge Counter-Strike Match Fixing Scandal

  It has not exactly been smooth sailing (or terrorist blasting, given the lack of boats) in Counter-Strike land lately. First there was the big pro cheat tool bust right before Dream Hack 2014, then there was foul play at Dream Hack 2014, and now we can add a team purposefully losing a match to the…

  By Nathan Grayson Published January 19, 2015
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  Uncategorized

  GTA V’s San Andreas vs 2004’s San Andreas

  We’ve seen charts, and galleriesfrom the street, but it’s only when you see the size of the game world in both GTA titles laid bare that you start to appreciate a few things you might have otherwise missed. Like how small the modern Los Santos, which feels like an endless metropolis, really is. Or how…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  The Bests

  The Best Far Cry Game

  Don’t look now, but the Far Cry series is almost twelve years old. With four main games and a collection of expansions and spin-offs, there’s a lot to look at when surveying the series, but only one of those games is the best And the best Far Cry game is Far Cry 2 Let’s get…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  Fan Cuts The Hobbit Into A Single, 4-Hour Movie

  The first thing I thought after watching The Battle of Five Armies was “boy, that’s a movie that didn’t need to be made”. Now, thanks to the power of fans and the internet, we can pretend around half of Peter Jackson’s entire Hobbit trilogy never happened. A guy by the name of tolkieneditor (via Daily…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  Uncategorized

  Winning Hearthstone Play Had A 0.00041% Chance Of Happening

  Over the weekend, during a Hearthstone tournament, one player lucked into a killer combination not once, not twice, but three damn times in a row, beating the odds in extraordinary fashion This happened during week 8 of the ESL Hearthstone Legendary Series. Video here: Some context: The player who starts on top, Kitkatz, has a…

  By Jason Schreier Published January 19, 2015
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  Culture

  GTA Monster Truck Pulls Off Sweet Judo Move

  Today on Highlight Reel we have a load of H1Z1 clips, a monster truck pulling off a harai goshi in GTA V, new animations for Battlefield 4 and more. Watch the video above, then link any of your favorite highlights in the comments, and be sure to check out, like and subscribe the original videos…

  By Chris Person Published January 19, 2015
• CultureCosplay

  No, Zelda Is The Girl, Link Is The…Oh

  Cosplay by Talia Mira, photo by Beethy

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 19, 2015
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  Uncategorized

  Destiny Player Builds Robot To Grind For Him

  Playing Destiny can be time consuming, especially if you want to level multiple characters. Naturally, players are finding low-effort ways to get the job done, some of which don’t require physically playing the game at all. A player that goes by the handle yavin427 recently shared a method with Reddit, and it involves using a…

  By Patricia Hernandez Published January 19, 2015