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Brothers Ondrej and Marek Spanel—who spent their childhood in communist Czechoslovakia playing Atari games "bought on the black market"—are the surprising originators behind a military-training game employed by the governments of at least five major nations. Among the brothers' sources of inspiration: heavy metal music. More »
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In today's installment of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Nameloi craves a game that realistically depicts getting brained with a morningstar. We've got modern combat covered, why not medieval combat? She's even made her own box art. More »
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Postseason sports means time for sports game developers to predict champions. Going against two heavy favorites in Philadelphia and the New York Yankees, MLB 2K10 says the Giants will win their first World Series since moving to San Francisco in 1958. More »
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The entire country may be captivated by underdog Butler's Hoosiers-esque tournament run, tipping off now on CBS, but not NCAA Basketball 10. The video game spit back a simulation saying Duke will romp to its fourth national championship. More »
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PC gamers can return to the islands this fall, as Kalypso Media announces Tropico 3 for North American release this September. More »
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Virtual residents of the last version of EA's popular life simulation get a stay of execution today, as the company officially pushes the release of The Sims 3 to June. More »
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Virtual Heroes - the developers behind the America's Army military simulator - have turned their hand to more socially useful, less killing-y areas with humanitarian aid simulator Virtual Peace. More »
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You know who likes the smell of victory in the morning? The British Army, that's who - and now the Ministry Of Defence is pumping research pounds into creating a Virtual Battlefield complete with Virtual Smells so soldiers can sample that smell - alongside the bouquet of bullets, the whiff of weaponry and the perfume of the paramilitary - without having to step into harm's way. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5079874&view=rss&microfeed=true Got $10,000 handy? Love horse-riding? Hate horses? Well is this the deal for you. This is the Ridemaster, perhaps the most overblown horse-riding adventure we've seen this side of Barbie Horse Adventures. For your 10gs you get a fake horse (which is full of sensors, so you can kick it for being stubborn) and a TV display, but sadly, no jodpers. You'll have to get those on your own. Vid's after the link, for anyone who enjoyed watching Flynn ride a witch's broomstick and wants to see it taken to the next level. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=388324&view=rss&microfeed=true Wagner James Au points out that a Second Lifer has programmed some ants to seek out and find food and in turn to recruit other ants to help out. The clip above, courtesy of New World Notes, shows the ants leaving pheromone trails as they wander to aid in their recruitment. More »
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A military sim trainer without weapons? Tactical Iraqi focuses not on body counts, but body language. Soldiers learn things that might be offensive in the US are not necessarily in Iraq and vice versa. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=166612&view=rss&microfeed=true The BBC reports that the U.S. is funding a computer game that will aid soldiers in the deciphering of Iraqi body language to ease tense situations. From the piece: "The program teaches military personnel some key gestures such as an up-down movement with the right hand to ask someone to slow down and gives them tips such as removing mirror sunglasses when approaching local people." This doesn't actually sound like a very fun "game." "Right-click 'Remove Sunglasses.'" "Click 'Extend Hand.'" More »
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The red phone in the Kotaku office just lit up and EA let us know that their insanely popular Sims 2 was shipping a week ahead of schedule for Sony's handheld. Now instead of Dec. 13, the realish-life simulator ships Dec. 7 (omg next week!). It is a little disheartening that one of the biggest PSP titles of the holiday season is one of the biggest PC games - from last year. More »
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EA Sports is readying a thinking man's football game in NFL Head Coach, a new strategy football title slated for release this spring. The game puts players in charge of building a football team from ground level, and involves creating a successful franchise from the sidelines. In their quest for realism, hopefully EA includes a "sleep at the office" function, along with a "getting nagged by your wife to spend more time at home" feature and a "you've missed out on your children's childhood" mini-game. EA Sports, it's in the game, right? More »
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