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Remember the first time you booted up Square’s PlayStation strategy RPGFinal Fantasy Tactics? If you’re like me, one of the most memorable things was the opening song. Hell, all the music was fantastic, wasn’t it? If you ask me, THEFinal Fantasy Tacticsgames have some of the best music in the business. I’d kill to see this upcomingJapanese concert,kicking off on November 22nd. It’s not an official Square Enix event, but that does not mean that it won’t be good....

Artist Joe Madureira is talking aboutDarksidersin this brand new promotional video for THQ’s promising looking action game. In an age where we constantly talk about moral choices and complex meaning in videogames, it’s somewhat fun to see a man talk about simply being a badass in a plain “Good vs. Evil” scenario. What I’m most curious about withDarksidersis seeing how the adventure elements play out. The game has looked like nothing but a straight-up hack n’ slash in which you smash buttons to kill everything, butZeldahas been referenced as an influence and Joe Mad mentions in this video how the game is an adventure title more than anything else....

Kagura: Portrait of Girlsis an upcoming3DS gamein the “Flying out enormous breasts hyper drama” genre. I guess it should come as no surprise that it’s already selling well. Even though they’re pretty much everywhere (and on the internet, usually for free), people always seem eager to spend their hard earned cash on some digital boobs. The game is currently#1 on Amazon of Japan’s videogame pre-order chart. Way to be a slave to those reproductive urges, human race....

Beyond the grit and the shaky cam, the latest trailer forKane & Lynch 2: Dog Dayskicks off where the game itself begins. Kane has been called to Shanghai by Lynch, who has made the massive, bustling Chinese city his home. Three years have passed since the events of the original game, and though the two have since been apart, something has brought them back together — money. Lynch contacts Kane to help him on a job, a massive-but-straightforward arms deal that should have been a breeze....

Much has been made ofKillzone 3‘s controls and the removal of the notorious lag. Many gamers, myself included, were worried that the heavy, weighty feeling of the game were in danger by the removal of what some call “lag”, but senior producer Steven Ter Heide says that we’ve got it wrong — the lag and the weight are two separate issues, and while the former is eradicated, the latter remains....

With some games you get a single music CD as a bonus, and it usually has only a few tracks. With King of Fighters XIIIyou can get a 4-CD set! Atlus sends word today that those that reserveKOF XIIIwill receive a 4-CD soundtrack compilation with music spanning the 15+ year history of the fighting game series. They say that you should reserve your copy as soon as possible to make sure you get one of these CD sets....

There’s no denying that Koei Tecmo’sFist of the North Star/Dynasty Warriorsmash uphas already turned heads. The popular Manga is known to millions of people, far more than the ancient Chinese history upon whichDynasty Warriorsis based. Armed with this supremely huge license, the Japanese publisher believes that the game will generate mad bank. “Only in Japan, the game should sell a million copies,”boasts company bossKenji Matsubara. So far, the game has not been confirmed for an international release, and Koei isn’t telling me anything yet, but given the worldwide popularity of the Manga, there’sno waythis game is staying in Japan....

It’s very rare to seeMetal Gear Solidcreator Hideo Kojima in low spirits, but the Japanese director has been taking the cancellation of a mystery project pretty damn badly. Apparently, he’s spent a year on an unannounced title, a year that’s now become “meaningless.” “I can’t take it anymore; this is unbearable, I can’t stay positive,”Tweeted the developer. “The thing that I spent one year delicately preparing became meaningless.” We don’t often see a developer candidly expressing his thoughts on a cancellation, but it goes without saying that it must be pretty horrible to go through after such a long time spent in development....

Frustrated with the political situation in Lebanon, native Z.F found an outlet for his anger by creating a flash-based game calledDouma(Puppet) where Lebanese politicians duke it out in one-on-one combat. Sadly, Lebonese politicians are no fans of satire and the gamehas been taken downfrom the Internet following “legality problems.” “We tried, with a medium we know [games], to give the people their given rights as citizens, to control the attitude and decisions of the politicians they elect,” the man known only as Z....

Time was short at Activision on the day I popped over for a look at the newQuake II-themedEnemy Territorygame, so I unfortunately didn’t get as long as I’d hoped for with what was one of my most looked-forward-to games of the GC. What I did get though, was a very enjoyable twenty minutes in the company of some justifiablyveryenthusiastic members of the Splash Damage development team, as I was given a beginner’s crash course inQuake Wars....

Eek! That cat is in serious mode. Anyway, today on Mash Tactics we will be playingHunted: The Demon’s Forge. I first got my hands on this dark fantasy co-op game during PAX 2010. Jim Sterling and I share the fond memory of me completely failing as he carried the whole demo. At least that’s the way I remember it. I honestly hope he has no recollection… [Join us for Mash Tactics every weekday at 4PM PST onJustin....

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find drug abuse hilarious, but there are some out there who take it very seriously indeed. Drug addicts, mainly, but university professors as well (who may or may not be heroin fiends themselves). One such professor is Zach Rosenthal of Duke University, whosevirtual crackhouseis intended to simmer down those who are peckish for a bit of the ol’ sniff. The simulation, which I have titled theLovely Drugs Nom Nom Programis designed to place addicts in make-believe situations where temptations arise, placing them in so-called “crack-related settings” where cravings are experienced....

During an opening presentation at this year’s Midway Gamers’ Day, interim President and CEO Matt Booty talked a bit about the company’s future with new intellectual properties, as well as announcing sequels to existing titles. Booty outlined plans for getting Midway back on the path of profitability, detailing the company’s core strategy in investing, over the past three years, $100 million to develop a centralized technology engine. He believes this is what sets Midway apart in the industry, and they see it beginning to pay off in the quality of titles, given the ability to reuse assets and code....