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Bully is a game most remembered for the controversy it generated before its release. From initial hysterics claiming that Rockstar was developing a "Columbine simulator" to cries that the game was promoting bullying behaviors (it wasn't) or trivializing them (which was maybe a more legitimate criticism), Bully may have received more attention in the media before its release than after. Once people had a chance to experience the game and evaluate it for what it was, they found a competent translation of the Grand Theft Auto formula in a different aesthetic that was maybe a little rough around the edges. In truth, there wasn't a whole lot about the game that was controversial once people had a chance to play it.

Well, except that you could kiss boys. Some people didn't like that.

The fact that so much hot air was expended on the "controversial" aspects of Bully means that not much attention was paid to some of the game's more subtle touches. Like anything Rockstar puts out, the it is as deep as it is broad, and there are a lot of little gems in the design that are worth taking the magnifying glass to. In particular, Rockstar included a number of systems designed to make the world of the game compelling, immersive, and real, some of which I've not seen included anywhere else.

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Note: This article may contain minor spoilers for the Metal Gear Solid series.

Metal ... Gear? The movie?

Really?

At the 25th anniversary of Metal Gear in Tokyo, Konami announced the real deal: Metal Gear Solid is officially getting its own film.

I was pretty psyched. After all, the Metal Gear Solid mythology is damn near close to a movie. 

It has everything -- a deep story, in-depth characters, twists, detailed dialogue, and of course, tons of action.

But why am I sitting here writing this article? I’ll try to explain, dear reader.

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It feels like just yesterday that I was sat in my living room watching my brother play Sonic 3 and Knuckles on the Mega Drive as a wide-eyed child. The tropical colors of Angel Island and mood-lifting music were simply mesmerizing. What made Sega's console truly amazing to me, though, was that this machine had been created in a place that was literally on the other side of the world; it was mysterious. That sense of wonder obviously diminished as I got older -- not just because the enigma of foreign technology had been lifted but also because in the 18 years since that day, the rest of the world has had time to catch up.

Slow changes over time are always less noticeable and more acceptable than sudden ones. Perhaps it's for this reason that gamers and the industry as a whole have only recently started to publicize the disheartening news that Japan, arguably the spiritual home of interactive entertainment, is losing ground to their Western counterparts. It's a worrying thought, to be sure, but the question on my mind (as I’m sure it is on many others') is, "Why?"

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When looking at Donkey Kong Country, one might assume that such a rich-looking gameplay environment would require a large arsenal of moves to conquer. Legendary developers Rare, however, applied simplicity where it mattered the most: the controls. While many developers tried to make the most out of the Super Nintendo's six-button controller, Rare utilized only two -- one button for rolling, running and picking up barrels and one for jumping. Sound familiar?

Super Mario World is considered by many to be the pinnacle of 16-bit platforming. Nintendo took everything that guaranteed Super Mario Bros. 3's spot as 8-bit king and added to those classic mechanics -- new moves, power-ups, and, of course, Yoshi. While no one would dare suggest that Super Mario World took the series one step too far in terms of its controls, one can't help but wonder if Rare's king of the jungle cleverly took the crown from the athletic plumber's head without anyone noticing.

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Ignore the cumbersome title and all of the dudes in leotards. As offbeat as it seems, The Denpa Men: They Came By Wave is actually not that weird. This downloadable adventure for the 3DS handheld system is actually pretty traditional, sharing a lot in common with some classic Nintendo role-playing games (RPG). In fact, developer Genius Sonority appears to have played up this theme by filling its game with allusions to some popular RPGs such as The Legend of Zelda, Find Mii, Pokémon, and Earthbound.

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Ukiyo-e is a Japanese art style focusing on entertainment, pleasure, and landscape scenes. The brilliant artists at Ukiyo-e Heroes mixed their love of this beautiful style with iconic video game protagonists, creating action-packed sequences with a whimsical, floating feel. 

Prints start at $40 and go all the way up to $135 depending on the size you want. That might sound steep, but these images are actually made in the traditional way, meaning they are laboriously carved into wooden blocks before transferred to paper. 

Jed Henry and David Bull, the founders of Ukiyo-e Heroes, hope that these gaming-inspired works will inspire younger artists to pick up woodblock printing. The pair have already hired several traditional artists to help train apprentices in this style.

So, the high price seems fair when you consider that buying one helps keep a beautiful art form alive. I love the Metroid-inspired image above, but Ukiyo-e Heroes have also done prints of Star Fox, Pokémon, and Donkey Kong. You can find the full collection here. 

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The Community Spotlight features some of the best unedited articles that didn't quite make the front page.This week, we refuse to stay with our video-game tour group, reject the imbibing of our in-game characters, review what we know about the Unreal Engine 4, and more. Join us!

Stop making tour guides in video games
By Alexander Kraus

Alexander is sick of being told what to do. He acknowledges that gamers need motivation, but that it must be carefully crafted to appeal to the player. His favorite method? Stealing your stuff, a la Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

How being a teetotaler inspired my first immersive gaming moment
By Justin Davis

Lots of video games feature illicit substances, and some even allow players to partake (via their characters, of course). But Justin chose, in real life as well as in-game, not to do so...until a mission in Borderlands 2 took the decision out of his hands. Interesting take, no matter what your poison is.

Unreal Engine 4 might be bested by Square Enix engine
By Edward Varnell

Based on their appearances at this year's E3 convention, Edward examines the status of two of the biggest upcoming graphical engines. "I hate to admit this," he writes, "but (SE's engine) looks so much better though, half of developers would use UE4 or their own."What do you think?

Gaming's greatest 'epic misquotes'
By Nick Pino

Ever seen those Internet mash-up images that basically exist to piss off nerds and fanboys? (Like this one, for example.) Nick has made a few aimed at gamers. See if they get your hackles up.

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Here are some things I think about video games:

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I never thought about how terrible koopas must have it before I saw this video. I mean, just walking back and forth all day, running into pipes and peers, ultimately just waiting for Mario to come along and use you as a weapon to kill your friends.

Dark stuff, man.

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So there I was, playing the newly downloadable Jet Set Radio -- the classic cell-shaded skatepunk adventure -- on my PlayStation 3 and  absolutely hating it. That's quite an unfamiliar sensation to me. When the original disc-bound version released on the Dreamcast back in 2000, I loved every last morsel of it. The design, the popping colors, the sound, the challenges ... all awesomeness defined.
 
Now? The controls respond like I've submerged in extra-chunky mud. The camera feels deliberately designed to make me hate all life on Earth. A lot of the avatars look like somebody recycled code from an 8-bit version of Boom Blox. And I really want to destroy the guy who thought this thing was ready for prime time, because I've played pre-alpha indie games with zero budgets that handled better than this trash.
 
But here's the thing: Minus some anti-aliasing, it's the exact same game I played 12 years ago.
 
My new experience with Jet Set Radio makes me question my original experience back in 2000. I'm even a bit wary about pulling out other cherished favorites like 2005's surreal and superlative platformer Psychonauts for fear a new reality might crush my fond memories. I have to wonder ... do all those classic video games truly deserve such reverence? Were we wearing rose-tinted glasses for the last few decades? Or have we just grown too much as gamers?

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The Nintendo 64 is a pretty bulky console considering what it actually does. You need expanders and attachments for this and that, and when Nintendo redesigned it for Hey You Pikachu, they actually made it bigger.

Expert console modder Slipstream managed to do what Nintendo clearly wasn't going to and made a miniaturized Nintendo 64, while maintaining the aesthetic in the original design.

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