<![CDATA[Kotaku: extend]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: extend]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/extend http://kotaku.com/tag/extend <![CDATA[The Official Vault Dweller's Survival Guide In Pictures]]> I know I've been going on and on and on about the Fallout 3 presence at Penny Arcade Expo, but seriously, they really deserve it. Take, for instance, this handy-dandy Vault Dweller's Survival Guide they've been handing out to everyone who stops by. Not only does the 47-page book explain how to adapt to the outside world and warn you about radiation: the silent killer, it also explains "The Unappetizing Truth", aka the reality of cannibalism.

Check out the entire book on the jump... in blurry spy-cam photos.















]]>
http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5043825&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[The 25 Reasons Gamers Annoy Non-Gamers]]> Justin over at Game With a Brain wrote up a list of 25 reasons gamers annoy non-gamers. Not sure if he's a non-gamer, as the knowledge is pretty specific. But I agree a lot of these are pretty palpable reasons I get hacked off at my own people. He should have thrown something in about inscrutable Asian MMOs. I get that it's an acquired taste but, really, blowing your own head off to activate your powers? Ummm ...

Here's the first 10. The other 15 are on the jump. The comments on Game With a Brain absolutely crucify the guy. I don't know if they get the point of the satire, but they take it way too seriously, and that could be reason No. 26

1. Halo is not a sport.
2. The controllers are indeed too complicated.
3. No, I have no clue what happened in Mega Man 4.
4. I don’t need 502 ways to decapitate my opponent.
5. No, I do not need to read a FAQ to find all 502 ways.
6. Zelda games do not need to be hard edged.
7. Resident Evil 2 is not the best in the series.
8. Final Fantasy VII is the best Final Fantasy.
9. I find Wii Sports to be incredibly fun.
10. I own a PSP and have not installed custom firmware.

11. I really like Guitar Hero.
12. I don’t really like drawing maps to play video games.
13. Madden Football is good enough.
14. Portal was a fun game and not a religion.
15. I need help playing games sometimes.
16. You are not persecuted.
17. Sorry, but dressing up as Cloud makes you a nerd.
18. $600 is a lot to play video games.
19. I will ask if you have Pac-Man or Donkey Kong.
20. I don’t want to join a clan.
21. I like licensed games.
22. Game stories bore me.
23. I will not read a book or watch a film based on a video game.
24. I have no idea what a PokeMAN is.
25. I enjoy Bejeweled.

25 Reasons Gamers Annoy Non-Gamers [Game With a Brain]

]]>
http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5038043&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Flock: Sheep Death In A Toy World]]> Among Capcom's E3 titles was a somewhat mysterious downloadable title called Flock, erroneously pegged early on as a "sheep herding simulator." I got to have the title demoed for me by Proper Games design lead Geoff Gunning, a cheerful Scotsman, and had the mystery cleared up.

It's not a sheep-herding sim, but there is sheep herding. There is herding of adorable cotton ball sheep who live in a fluffy, stuffed-toy looking world, grazing peacefully in a patchwork meadow. The stitch-edged, pastoral aesthetic is sweet, gentle, and just a little offbeat, in the context of the quirky and sometimes hilariously grim gameplay.

The player controls an orange UFO with a tractor beam, and an individual level's objective generally revolves around getting a certain number of sheep to the mother ship. The tractor beam must nudge the sheep carefully around pitfalls and use strategy to navigate obstacles — for example, when confronted with a fence, lead the cotton wool sheep to a water fountain and they'll shrink enough to pass under the fence.

Sometimes, sheep can die, leaving the player with fewer than is needed to complete the level. What happens in nature when populations get thin? Well, many levels have pink lady sheep standing plaintively alone — lead her and a male sheep together to a heart-shaped patch on the meadow. Hearts surround them to give them privacy, and then voila! Baby sheep!

The male sheep get attached to the ladies, though. Should she be led astray and allowed to accidentally tumble into a pit, the entire flock bursts into lovelorn tears.

My favorite aspect of Flock was the playland aesthetic — something almost warm-milk adorable about the fluffy stuffed toy world, and I thought it was quite a creative move on the developers' part, not only to imagine the meadow levels in such an unexpected way, but to have it stand in contrast to gameplay where sheep mate on heart-shaped patches and tumble easily to their death while being chased by aliens.

]]>
http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5026514&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Dead Space: Glimpses of Outer Space Carnage]]> Gametrailers put up this, the second teaser of Dead Space which releases October for the PS3 and 360. It's a backstory trailer, which justifies your reasons for hanging out in outer space with a bunch of rejects from the casting call to "The Mist," while dressed like Boba Fett stuffed into a radiator. I mock it because I doubt I'd play this more than 30 minutes without getting up to pace the room. Creepy games make me edgy as hell.

Dead Space - Exclusive Story Trailer

]]>
http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5009508&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Do You Believe That MGS4 Will Be On Xbox 360]]> Rumors that Metal Gear Solid 4 will make its way to the Xbox 360 have been repeatedly denied by a variety of sources whenever they surface. But, with all the back and forth between speculation and PR rumor control, you have to wonder—has the damage already been done? Does the public really believe that MGS4 will forever be PS3 exclusive? Or will a collective inkling of doubt keep those PS3s from flying off shelves when the game hits?

]]>
http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=340718&view=rss&microfeed=true