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  I Think He Can Hear You, Ray

  Greetings, Kotaku-eers, and welcome to the mid-week open-thread. I hope you survived your hump-day and are ready to begin to ease into the weekend. Here are some fun things to check out before you get to the gabbing. How to dance at an outdoor Drum & Bass Rave – In case you were wondering. Awesome…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 15, 2012
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  Midweek Moneysaver: Ninja-Style

  This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. Software • Mar. 20 release Ninja Gaiden 3 (360, PS3) is $47.99, free ship from NewEgg (ends today). Next best is $57. [Dealzon] • Feb. 21…

  dealzon Published February 15, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  A Salute to Dani Berry, a Transgender Video Gaming Pioneer

  There are plenty of legends in the world of video games whose names will fly off the tongues of casual fans. Nolan Bushnell. Trip Hawkins. Shigeru Miyamoto. Will Wright. Sid Meier. It’s a shame, then, that so few can name another of the all-time greats, Danielle Bunten Berry. The designer, born in 1949, is important…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012
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  Brainiac Falls and a Shocking New Threat Rises in DC Universe Online‘s Battle for Earth

  Heroes and villains alike have been dealing with the vile machinations of that vile machine Brainiac since the launch of DC Universe Online. With the game’s third major downloadable content pack his chapter finally ends and a new evil rises. It’s all coming to a giant mechanical head in DC Universe Online on the PlayStation…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 15, 2012
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  Mass Effect 3 Demo and Tons of Vita Games New This Week on the PlayStation Store

  This week, we’ve got an extra-juicy PlayStation Store update for those who survived the lean times of the last couple of weeks. There is, of course, the Mass Effect 3 demo, as well as Grand Theft Auto IV available for a full game. But of course, the biggest addition is what looks like almost the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 15, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Rick Santorum Has Scored More Than A Million Points On Temple Run, According to His Kids

  Red-hot Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum used to play Angry Birds, since that’s what they put on his iPad for him. Then they put Temple Run on there for him. “I’m addicted to it,” he said. Addiction’s bad, former Senator, Santorum! Temple Run is a free iOS game in which you just keep running and…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 15, 2012
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  The Next Xbox is Code-Named…Durango

  Kotaku has heard from multiple sources close to the project that the code-name for Microsoft’s next console is Durango. Yup. Durango Note this is a code-name. Like the Katana (Dreamcast), Dolphin (GameCube) and Revolution (Wii) before it, it’s not the name that will appear on the finished product when you finally get your hands on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012
• 

  Reviews

  Rhythm Heaven Fever: The Kotaku Review

  The door closes behind you with an ominous click. It’s bright in here—too bright. Before you can get your wits about you, your host begins to speak. “We hope you’ll enjoy finding your own rhythm,” she says, all smiles. “So have fun and enjoy all the game has to offer.” With that, she leaves the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 15, 2012
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  Ni No Kuni Comes West This Winter, Includes Japanese Vocals

  Namco Bandai will be releasing Level-5/Studio Ghibli collaboration Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch in North America sometime during “Winter 2012”. For Europe, it’s early 2013. That’s the bad news. The good news? The delay is down to an extensive localisation push: it’ll include an English dub (along with major European languages for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012
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  Bankrolling Psychonauts 2 was Just a “Semi-Joke,” Says Notch

  A Tweeted offer to back a sequel to Tim Schafer’s cult favorite Psychonauts was “a semi-joke,” said Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of Minecraft and a guy who’s not hard up for cash in light of that game’s success. Notch rattled off a host of reasons why we shouldn’t get our hopes up, especially the…

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Double Fine’s Adventure Game Will be DRM-Free, Available on PC, Mac & Mobile

  Because you all gave Tim Schafer and his Double Fine studio so much damn money, their upcoming old-school adventure is going to be a little bigger than first planned. It’s going to be available on Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s also shooting for iPhone and (certain compatible) Android devices. It’s going to have voice. It’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 15, 2012
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  Show ‘Em How It’s Done, Lin

  Lin-finite Potential | Jeremy Lin’s so good they’ll need two roster updates this week for NBA 2K12. He takes his act back to New York tonight, where the Knicks greet the woeful Kings at 7:30 p.m. Sony Hopes Vita Will Stymie Pirates, Please Fans and Last Eight Years The PlayStation Vita is built to last…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 15, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  You Can Vote on the Cover of the Next … Lacrosse Game?

  News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • EA Sports has gone cover-vote crazy of late, but Madden NFL 13‘s all-star 64-man scrum for cover honors isn’t the only contest taking place this spring. College Lacrosse 2012, the third edition of the Xbox Live Indie Game sports simulation, will hold a…

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Celebrities

  Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic NHL great Jeremy Roenick NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk Boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Cover Girl Shows MLB 2K12 How to Push Her Buttons

  Kate Upton’s boobs made the front of yesterday’s annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, fairly bursting from that smedium-size top. She took time out of her supermodeling to show all-star pitchers David Price and Justin Verlander just what kind of twirling motion she wants them to do with their thumbs. Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce looks like he…

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  The Video Game Version of Jeremy Lin Is Unrealistically Bad at Basketball

  A re-rated update to the NBA 2K12 roster failed to appease America’s feverish Linsanity—the phenomenon surrounding the New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin—and so a second update, giving the point guard even more of a boost, is due by the end of the week. Lin, who went from the end of the bench to leading a…

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  Sportaku Starts Here

  From the Worldwide Leader in Sports … Video Games, your 6 p.m. Sportaku begins now.

  By Owen Good Published February 15, 2012
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  This RPG Is Topping Charts In Japan, But Americans May Never See It

  The PlayStation Vita has been out for two months in Japan. So how is a PSP game topping the charts? Andriasang reports that Konami’s Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki, released last week for the Vita’s predecessor, was the number one game sold in Japan between February 6 and February 12, at 61,784 copies. The…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 15, 2012
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  From the Makers of the Wikileaks Video Game, Here’s One About Killing People With Unmanned Drones

  No modern-day military practice comes under more fire than unmanned aerial vehicle attacks. Bombing by UAV gets called out as cowardly or as a morally indefensible method of waging combat. It’s derisively been called video game warfare, a way of distancing the American public from the acts of violence done in their name. Fittingly, then,…

  By Evan Narcisse Published February 15, 2012
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  Typographic Prints Make Art From Gamers Favorite Quips

  Via NerdWire, we have today a set of typographic prints and t-shirts representing some of gaming’s most famous icons, old and new. These aren’t quite the “standard” typographic style where the words themselves form the entirety of the art, but I enjoyed how the minimalistic icons and colors worked together with the words to evoke…

  By Kate Cox Published February 15, 2012