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  It’s Not A Real Adventuring Party Until The Cover Bard Shows Up

  In Dorkly’s latest Final Fantasy-inspired short, the oft-maligned bard is oft-maligned once again, and Sugar Ray is sung with great gusto. When I first started playing Dungeons & Dragons way back in the day, bards were the laughingstock of our adventuring group. Back then, being a bard took a tremendous amount of hard work and…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Resistance And Ratchet Creators Focusing On PS3 & Xbox 360, Not NGP

  Insomniac Games, creators of PlayStation staples Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, say they’ll continue to stick to console games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but not the next PlayStation Portable, Sony’s NGP At the developer’s community day in Hollywood, California today, Insomniac senior community manager James Stevenson told fans that the game maker…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  Gamer Bride Summons A Final Fantasy-Inspired Wedding Dress

  Offbeat Bride tribe member Kouhotaru wanted to be a video game princess at her renaissance fair wedding, but Peach and Zelda just wouldn’t do. Instead, she turned to Final Fantasy IV. Princess peach was too pink, and Zelda’s more recent outfit would require armor. What character could Kouhotaru possibly represent that would provide the perfect…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Uncategorized

  Watch An Xbox 360 Get Shot, Shotgunned and Then Exploded

  FPS Russia had his fifth Xbox 360 die on him and he’s not going to take it anymore. To vent, he decided to vent the 360 with an assortment of firearms including two handguns, a shotgun and one fairly large explosion.

  By Brian Crecente Published March 29, 2011
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  PlayStation Store Update: Mass Effect 2‘s Arrival, Moon Diver and Rush’N Attack

  There’s plenty of nostalgia on tap in this week’s North American PlayStation Store update with Moon Diver, the new game from the designer of Strider, plus a new Rush’N Attack game, a fresh Back to the Future episode and one very old Sonic the Hedgehog game. Other new old things include a demo for MAG,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  Project P2

  Prototype 2 | Project P2 mailing from Blackwatch. (Photo by Me) Bedtime Stories Disney and Angry Birds Explain Three Arab League Revolts in One Amazing Cartoon Based on two true stories and a bit of forward thinking, Three Big Pigs combines Angry Birds animation with Disney melodies to walk us through the fate of three…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 29, 2011
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  Team Fortress 2 Players Buy $300,000 Worth Of Hats For Japan

  Last week, game developer and virtual hatter Valve put three new hats up for sale in Team Fortress 2, with the proceeds going to Japan disaster relief. Days later, more than $300,000 has been raised by charitable/fashion-conscious TF2ers. Damn. They should do this more often.

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  NYC’s Freedom Tower Stands Unscathed In New Video Game

  Almost 10 years since terrorists destroyed New York City’s World Trade Center towers, the building that was supposed to proudly replace it still isn’t complete. In the 2023 of the new video game Crysis 2, it is. This is the Freedom Tower, One World Trade Center — whatever you want to call it — a…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 29, 2011
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  Video Game Shopping Gets EXTREME On Xbox Live This Week

  Now’s the time to strike on select Xbox Live games and add-ons, as Microsoft is offering deals through its “Extreme Shopping” promotion. You could get a copy of After Burner Climax, Costume Quest or Red Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare cheap! The following deals run until April 4, with Xbox.com warning that “special one day only…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  It’s Xbox Live Arcade Plushie Season

  Not one but two plushies based on upcoming Xbox Live Arcade titles have shown up on my doorstep today. Which is more huggable? March 30’s Islands of Wakfu platypus, or the incredibly violent Dishwasher from April 6’s Vampire Smile?

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Why Free Realms PS3 Took So Long, And Why MineCraft Fans Might Want To Play It

  Family-friendly casual MMO Free Realms makes its PlayStation 3 debut today, two years after the launch of its PC predecessor. Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley tells us what took so long, and says his game might be better for builders than indie sensation MineCraft. When I first saw Free Realms way back at E3…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Damn, Agent 47, You Are Good

  This may be the best whack job from IO Interactive’s Hitman: Blood Money, as played by TheAuZZieGamer. For those unfamiliar with this particular Hitman mission, it involves the assassination of Vinnie “Slugger” Sinistra, an FBI informant in the Witness Protection Program. There’s some salty, Australian accented language in here, so perhaps watch with headphones. Seen…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  In Two Days, iTunes Will Take This Star Wars Game Away

  My nephew’s favorite iPhone game will be pulled from iTunes later this week because the people who released the game are losing the Star Wars license. This is what happens when video games are sold only as official downloads and not on discs. On any given day, they can disappear, and you may never be…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 29, 2011
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  Resistance 3 And Ratchet & Clank All 4 One Playable Today In Hollywood

  Are you in the greater Los Angeles area today? Then you might be able to get your hands on Resistance 3 and Ratchet & Clank All 4 One early at Insomniac Games’ Community Day. (If not, we’ll be there and tell you how it all goes.) Full details at Insomniac

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2011
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  Microsoft Tests A New Xbox 360 Disc Format In The Latest Update Preview

  Microsoft is seeking U.S.-based Xbox 360 owners to test out the next Xbox 360 system update, paving the way for an “updated Xbox 360 disc format”, whatever the hell that means. There’s a new Xbox 360 system update in the works, and as always, Microsoft is looking for stateside Xbox owners in the thousands to…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Reviews

  Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is an Experience Unlike Any Other

  My first visit to Augusta National broke the club’s dress code with almost criminal negligence: I was wearing basketball shorts, a T-shirt, and was unshaven to boot. Sure, I was on my couch, but I told myself I was stepping to the tee box on the first hole of the world’s most prestigious golf course.…

  By Owen Good Published March 29, 2011
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  Radiant Silvergun and an Argument for Games as Art That Ebert Appreciates

  While famed film critic Roger Ebert says he still hasn’t changed his mind about video games, and his view that they can’t be art, he recently pointed his nearly 400,000-strong Twitter followomg to what he called a “well-written defense of video games” by musician Blake Williams. Here is the article, with permission, in its entirety.…

  Blake William Published March 29, 2011
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  The Weird And Wonderfully-Named Video Games Of Jakub Dvorský (And Friends)

  Machinarium creator Jakub Dvorský was at this weekend’s GameCityNights event, announcing not one, not five, but three new games to come from Amanita Design. We (read: Kotaku’s favorite Englishmen at Rock Paper Shotgun) dispatched monocled investigator Brendan Caldwell to track him down and find out everything possible. Dvorský tells us how he plans to rescue…

  Brendan Caldwell Published March 29, 2011
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  A River Of Souls Runs Through Rift‘s First Post-Launch Update

  Trion Worlds’ fantast MMO Rift has gathered quite an audience since its launch last month, and those loyal fans are now being rewarded with a full-scale invasion from the plane of death. Just their way of saying thanks, now die. The world of Telara is no stranger to invasions from different planes through extra-dimensional rifts.…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011
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  Console And Retailer Exclusive Downloadable Content Hasn’t Gotten This Bad. . .Yet

  How much would you pay to add the mighty Rook to your chess arsenal? Is there a collector’s edition that comes with everything included? How long will the PS3 exclusive remain exclusive? A glimpse of things to come? The Future Of Console Gaming? Via Reddit

  By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2011