Mike Fahey

The Week In Gaming Apps As You’ve Never Seen It! No, Not Naked.

Are you ready for another all-new, all-different Week in Gaming Apps? Well tough, it’s happening. After a couple of years’ worth of putting together a lengthy list packed with images and prices and lengths, we’re going to harness the power of Kinja to make things a little more organized. I’ll drop the links, images and…

I’m Feeling Pretty Bad About Shooting All These Russian People

“Defeat the monstrous mutants and barbaric brutes of Moscow’s underground” begins the description of the game I’ve been playing where I shoot vagrants and bag ladies in the face. Why am I killing all of these people? “Veiled terrors have transformed the inhabitants of Moscow into horrific demons,” the description of Moscow Dash explains. Well,…

The Twist Makes This The Best Kinect Family Trailer Ever

It starts out like any other live-action, family-centric, Kinect-enabled game trailer. Then it gets brilliant. So, Doodle Jump is out on Xbox Live Arcade today. I’m so pleased with this trailer that I might drop 400 Microsoft points on principle.

Demos Are Great For Gamers, Not-So-Great For Game Sales

Giving players a chance to try before they buy is a noble gesture, but it may not be a wise. According to research presented by game designer Jesse Schell at the Gamelab conference in Barcelona today, a demo can cut into a game’s sales by more than 50 percent, CVG reports. The data, gathered by…

Are MOBA Games Too Fast? Go Turn-Based With Arena Of Heroes

The multiplayer online battle arena genre started off as a fast-paced variant of real-time strategy games. This week Sneaky Games dials back the action and ramps up the strategy with Arena of Heroes, a turn-based cross-platform MOBA jam for iPad, PC and Mac. What a difference taking turns makes. It’s MOBA meets chess. Players take…

Garfield Is The Last Character That Needed An Endless Runner

“In Garfield’s dreams, he can fly!” reads the description for the latest mobile game starring everybody’s favorite cartoon cat three decades ago. Okay. Sure, in his dreams Garfield can fly, but would he? Garfield’s Wild Ride, available today on iTunes and Google Play, seems to think so. I’m pretty sure he’d just sit around eating…

Don’t Tell Professor Layton, But I’m Certain This Is Not His Son

The biggest mystery of Level-5’s Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is who exactly is Alfendi Layton’s biological father, because it sure as hell isn’t the good Professor. Professor Layton is a stocky fellow who travels the world with his companions, solving an endless string of mind-bending riddles. Alfendi Layton is a lanky, sharp-featured man with a…

This week’s Nintendo Download is all about Kokuga, the new game from the folks who worked on classic Treasure strategic shooter Ikaruga. I appreciate G-Rev rhyming the names to make it easier for us to rap about them. Also, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Labyrinth, and several games that wish they were Sonic-related.See it all…

A New Look and Game For One Of The Most Successful Women In Gaming

With more than 700 million downloads between PC and mobile, the Diner Dash franchise is one of casual gaming’s biggest success stories. That success is largely due to series’ hero Flo, so I won’t begrudge her a makeover to go with tomorrow’s release of Diner Dash Rush. Flo has come quite a long way since…

A $10,000 Steel And Copper Dream PC

This is not a gaming PC. This is a handcrafted work of art. A work of art and advanced engineering, of course. It’s the Aventum II, and you can purchase one right now, though Digital Storm isn’t really expecting you to. With base configurations starting at $5,000 and running as high as $9,500, it’s more…

One Day Before Launch, Nvidia’s Shield Slips To July

Remember last week, when Nvidia announced their Shield portable Android gaming system was launching tomorrow? Yeah, about that… Citing a mechanical issue discovered during incredibly last-minute QA testing, the PC game-streaming Shield will now be dropping sometime next month. Here’s Nvidia’s official statement: “During our final QA process, we discovered a mechanical issue that relates…

Keep Your Minecraft, I’ll Take Disney Infinity‘s Toy Box

This looks like so much fun, dammit. Only another couple of months away from another children’s game I can’t wait to get my hands on. It’s about the building, you see, and while sure I could spend hours in Minecraft making magnificent creations, I prefer my blocks pre-shaped. I’d say Disney Infinity‘s Toy Box is…

This Restaurant Better Serve Crushed Candy

If there was any doubt how globally pervasive King’s Facebook and mobile puzzler Candy Crush Saga has grown, one need only look to this Malaysian suburb, where it’s being used as the name for what might be the most disappointing restaurant ever. Thanks for sharing, K!

I’ve No Idea What’s Going On In Project X Zone, And I Don’t Care

I’m ten hours into Namco Bandai’s massive tactical RPG cross-over for the 3DS, and Tron Bonne just asked Tekken‘s Jin Kazama who violated his cornflakes this morning. “I don’t eat cornflakes.” With dialogue like this, who needs plot? If you really need a story to justify 60 characters from .hack, Valkyria Chronicles, Mega Man, Street…

The Xbox One Vs. PS4 Headset War Begins

Last week, after Microsoft’s DRM reversal put it on more equal footing with the PlayStation 4, we took a fresh look at the differences between the two, but we missed one incredibly important feature — headsets. The PlayStation 4 comes with a mono headset. The Xbox One comes with none. If I could, there would…

Havok Unleashes Project Anarchy, A Free 3D Mobile Game Engine

Ever wanted to be a mobile game developer and weren’t sure where to start? This. This right here. Project Anarchy is completely free end-to-end game development engine, just waiting to bring your ideas to life. You know that Havok logo you’re used to seeing at the beginning of PC and console games? Project Anarchy provides…

Who’s Your Favorite G.I. Joe Character? Say Shipwreck.

Not that any other choices aren’t valid, but typing in Kotaku into the referral code box on the pre-registration website for G.I. Joe Battleground won’t get you anyone else. DeNA is gearing up to launch the free game on iOS and Android, and folks who pre-register using that super-secret code will score not only Hector…

Why Is This Comic-Con Exclusive Brock Samson Figure Naked?

“To prey on their fear, move like an animal, to feel the kill.” If you knew the answer to that question then congratulations, you’re enough of a Venture Bros. fan to really, really want this Entertainment Earth San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. I am gearing up for San Diego Comic-Con next month, and that gearing up…

Deadpool: The Kotaku Review

My initial foray into the world of High Moon Studios’ Deadpool video game culminated in an intimate moment in the eponymous character’s filthy bathroom. Pants around his hideously-scarred ankles, our hero strains. “It’s burns!” he cries, and it does — but it also feels kind of good. Following a phone call from the game’s developer…

The Sky Pirates Of Tyria Descend Upon Guild Wars 2

Continuing its mad quest to deliver fresh content at a rate faster than any other MMO on the planet, free-to-play or otherwise, ArenaNet rolls out the Sky Pirates of Tyria updates for Guild Wars 2 today. What’s in store for our brave heroes? Why, a new temporary story dungeon with fresh booty to be had,…