Kid Icarus: Uprising - The Final Showdown

This Saturday saw the grand final of the Kid Icarus: Uprising Battle Events take place in Central London. For the past eight weeks, the series of competitive Nintendo 3DS events have been touring the length and breadth of Great Britain, giving the general public the chance to take on pro-gamer Russki in a tournament to win a trip to IPL 5 in Las Vegas this November.

On Saturday, 24 finalists descended on the Century Club in Soho, (some coming in from Scotland) to duke it out in front of an audience of Nintendo fans. While only one person was going to be walking away with the main prize of the trip to Vegas, five runners up also managed to get their hands on a full deck of Kid Icarus: Uprising AR cards (400 of them!).

A victorious James Rushton

Fighting off fierce competition, James Rushton was the overall winner of the tournament, and he'll be jetting off to Vegas later this year courtesy of IGN and Nintendo. We'd like to thank everyone who took part across the country and those who came down to cheer on the competitors this weekend. Check out the snaps of the event below – a massive thank you to Ace Ashun for supplying!

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League of Legends Finalists Disqualified in Pro Circuit Conspiracy

The first and second place teams in MLG's Summer Championship League of Legends Event have been disqualified. A "collusion" between Team Dignitas and Curse NA has been led to a violation of the Major League Gaming Pro Conduct rules. As such, neither team will be awarded Circuit points, and the third and fourth place teams will earn the first and second place points and prize money, respectively.

Neither team denies the allegations or is fighting against the ruling. In fact, according to MLG's website, "Both teams have agreed that the disqualification was warranted," although the specifics of the pro gaming conspiracy remain unknown.

Developer Riot Games recently created its own league for professional League of Legends play, and is in agreement regarding the collusion decision.

Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor for IGN's Xbox 360 team. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

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X-Men Legacy #272 Review

Technically X-Men Legacy can still be considered a tie-in to Avengers vs. X-Men, if only because it's still taking place concurrently with the events of that series. But Christos Gage has plucked Rogue away from the battle and placed her in a "fish out of water" scenario on an alien world. At this point I'm growing weary of excess AvX tie-in books, so this arc is a breath of fresh air, pointless as it may be in the long run.

Rogue became acquainted with the Thundercats-esque Vray last time, so this issue switches things up by making her a prisoner of the insectoid Hive instead. Basically, this arc is Rogue's chance to play John Carter of Mars and use her great powers save an entire planet from a devastating war. The only snafu is that her borrowed Ms. Marvel abilities have run out.

I'm enjoying the fun, almost pulpy tone of this arc. The John Carter comparison is apt, as Gage is busy merging the X-Men franchise with a more old-school brand of science fiction than the norm. And fortunately, issue #272 is less burned by unnecessary narration than #271 was. While there's a bit too much dialogue at times, this still makes for a smoother reading experience. Gage seems intent on using both factions and their opposing philosophies to comment on Rogue's own troubled psyche. However, the connection is a bit too weak and tenuous to succeed. This is a fun, adventurous conflict that doesn't function on the deeper level it seems to strive for.

Rafa Sandoval returns to the series for this arc, and unfortunately his pencils are mixed once again. His work is more detailed than before, and he delivers some engaging action scenes and general design work. However, Sandoval's chronic problems with female hair remain, and his tendency to reuse facial expressions and poses can be aggravating.

We now know Gage's run will be ending shortly. Unfortunately, that fact may be the biggest flaw with this whole arc. With so little time left, is it really worth ignoring the rest of the Legacy cast for what is ultimately a fun but forgettable field trip?

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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The Expendables 2 Tops the Box Office

The star-studded action sequel The Expendables 2 opened atop the weekend box office, bumping last weekend's champ The Bourne Legacy to second place. The Bourne Legacy fell 55% from its opening last weekend for a current domestic cume of $69.6 million. Newcomers ParaNorman and Sparkle, the latter featuring the final screen performance of the late Whitney Houston, both debuted in the Top 5.

Here are the weekend estimates via Rentrak:

1. The Expendables 2 $28.8 million

2. The Bourne Legacy $17 million

3. ParaNorman $14 million

4. The Campaign $13.4 million

5. Sparkle $12 million

6. The Dark Knight Rises $11.1 million

7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green $10.9 million

8. Hope Springs $9.1 million

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days $3.9 million

10. Total Recall $3.5 million

Listen to Keepin' It Reel to find out how we did with our box office predictions!

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Nintendo's Coin Rush Competition Continues Here

If you're on the hunt for more coin codes to use in Nintendo's Coin Rush competiton, then you've come to the right place.

If you already know all about the competition and the prizes up for grabs then scroll down and watch the video below; it should help you in your search.

For the uninitiated, to celebrate the imminent release of New Super Mario Bros. 2 on 3DS, Nintendo has hidden codes around the internet that can be used to earn coins. Inspired by the Coin Rush mode of the new game, these in turn can be exchanged for prizes.

The top prize on offer is a Nintendo 3DS XL console and every Nintendo 3DS first-party title released between the end of September 2012 and September 2013.

To enter into the competition you need to visit the Nintendo 3DS UK Facebook page, then keep your eyes peeled there and on the company's Twitter for hints about where the codes may lie.

To get started why not check out the video below? You never know, it could be worth your while...

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Gangster Squad Reshoot Details Emerge

The re-filming of a key action set-piece in Warner Bros.' delayed Gangster Squad will take place later this month in Los Angeles. The original film featured a sequence where mob gunmen opened fire inside the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, killing several patrons (a completely fictional crime), but Warners delayed the film and scrapped the scene following July's Aurora theater massacre.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio will film a whole new set-piece in L.A.'s Chinatown starting August 20 and lasting at least 3-7 nights. Cast members Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Troy Garity and Michael Pena will all be back for the reshoots.

Gangster Squad is now slated to open January 11.

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The Incredible Hulk #12 Review

Every issue of Stay Angry has followed a clear pattern. Hulk wakes up in strange place, smashes some truly bizarre foes, and then is whisked away to repeat the process elsewhere. As much fun as the arc was initially, that formula has seriously worn thin in the last couple chapters. Luckily, issue #12 injects just enough new variety into the mix to spice things up again. And the fact that Aaron finally reveals what Banner has been up to all along doesn't hurt either.

This month, Hulk awakes to find himself trapped in a forgotten prison buried deep in the Antarctic. But rather than focus on the other residents of the prison (who barely receive more than a glimpse or two), Aaron pits Hulk against Wolverine and The Thing. It's an extra dose of star power, to be sure, but the real appeal with this match-up is in the hilarious banter. He mines the tumultuous history between the trio for all its worth, and delivers some brutal action scenes in addition. Remember that time Red Hulk punched Wolverine so hard his face ripped off? Something similar but more gross unfolds here. Aaron's talent for wacky, gory combat continues unabated.

Carlos Pacheco's pencils help lend an extra touch of flavor to this finale chapter. Pacheco's work since returning to Marvel has been disappointingly inconsistent, often because he isn't paired with an effective colorist. But in this case, Frank Martin's colors do complement Pacheco's work well, and the result is an impressively detailed and dynamic series of pages that capture all the power and fury of three monsters at war. Even Hulk, who has often been drawn on the shrimpy side in this arc, exudes power and menace.

This arc was beginning to drag, but luckily Aaron sticks the landing as he paves the way for his final showdown between Hulk and Banner. With only a handful of issues remaining in this run, it's doubtful slow pacing will be a recurring complaint now.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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GaymerCon: The First LGBT Gaming Convention

GaymerCon, the first convention focused on LGBT geek culture, will debut on August 3rd, 2013. The event will take place in San Francisco, CA, and will celebrate under-represented groups in the gaming realm while also illuminating the presence of alternative sexualities both inside and outside the digital space.

"The goal of GaymerCon is to create a space where geek identified LGBT people can come together and build community," says GaymerCon Director of PR Benjamin Williams. GaymerCon Director Matt Conn also comments: "Historically, there has been very little content with LGBT themes or options in video games and other geek media. We hope to show the world that this audience not only exists, but is flourishing."

The organizers of GaymerCon are currently seeking funding through a Kickstarter campaign. The current goal, $25,000, will help the organizers secure a venue in San Francisco as well as produce more programming for the convention. At the time this article was written, an impressive $8,695 has already been raised with a full 29 days remaining.

Gamers interested in attending GaymerCon can contribute $30 to the Kickstarter campaign to reserve a two-day pass to the event, which will save attendees 5 to 10 dollars off the presale/door price. And according to the campaign home page, the organizers will "...turn you into a robot or something" with a $700 pledge!

Ryan Clements writes for IGN. He encourages readers to keep it clean and classy in the comments section below, lest he turn into a robot and reign terrible destruction down upon the trolls. Also, follow him on IGN or on Twitter!

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