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There is Almost Nothing Entertaining About a Broken Sword
In today’s 88 percent durable edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Deuxhero wonders why game developers continue to include breakable weapons in their adventure games long after the novelty has worn off. So what’s the deal with breakable weapons? Some games do it right, and they generally fall into two camps. One is the…
By Mike Fahey -
International Star Wars Fan Groups Now Accepting The Old Republic as Costume Canon
It may have Lucas’ blessing, but a Star Wars product isn’t a true Star Wars product until the fans accept it into their hearts, or their costuming communities. Both the Light and Dark sides of international Star Wars costuming organizations are now allowing applicants to submit outifts based on BioWare’s massively-multiplayer online role-playing game. While…
By Mike Fahey -
What Guild Wars 2 Questions Do You Want Answered?
Another round of Guild Wars 2 beta testing begins soon, and this time I around am arming myself with your questions before taking the plunge into Tyria once again. What can I do for you? Having already learned much of what I wanted to know during my Guild Wars 2 weekend experience last month, I’m…
By Mike Fahey -
After 13 Years the Original EverQuest Goes Free-to-Play
One of the longest-running subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing games has finally succumbed to the sweet, sweet lure of the microtranscation-based business model, as EverQuest celebrates its 13th anniversary by going free-to-play. I never thought I’d see the day. Over the past few years subscription-based MMOs not called World of Warcraft have doing their best…
By Mike Fahey -
Boldly Going Where No Week in Gaming Apps Has Gone Before
What’s 60 percent space age adventure, 20 percent cuteness, and 20 percent some sort of photo matching game? Why, it’s the Week in Gaming Apps, with graphics enhanced for your brain’s retina display. We had a definite science fiction theme running with this week’s Gaming Apps of the Day. Waking Mars saw us journey into…
By Mike Fahey -
This Dead or Alive 5 Demo Might Be the Best Reason to Buy Ninja Gaiden 3
Ninja Gaiden 3 hits stores on March 20, and while I had no plans on dropping $60 on another round of punishing slice-and-dice, Hitomi and Ayane may have just changed my mind. Dead or Alive 5 wasn’t even on my radar until I saw this video. I knew the sequel was coming, but expected another…
By Mike Fahey -
Stop Dragging Dragon Quest Around, Square Enix
In today’s warrior-dragging (get it?) installment of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Paradox Me ponders the poor treatment Square Enix has given Enix’s major contribution to the role-playing world. Why does it feel like Square isn’t utilizing the Dragon Quest franchise as well as they could be, despite its immense popularity? Don’t get me wrong,…
By Mike Fahey -
Baby-Proofing Tips for Gamers: Turn the Gate Around
Meet Seamus. Seamus wants to eat my delicious PlayStation 3 while strangling himself with the network cables coming out of my internet router. But Seamus has been thwarted by the power of the reverse baby gate. Every day Americans spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on items meant to protect their tiny sex by-products from…
By Mike Fahey -
Pac-Man with David Bowie or Mega Man in His Underwear? Tough Choice!
Some days it’s just not safe to surf one-a-day online t-shirt shops. Between Ript’s brilliant Pac-Man / Labyrinth combo and TeeFury’s Mega Man morning routine… well, I am buying two t-shirts. Technically three t-shirts, as I couldn’t resist picking up one of the Mega Man shirts, designed by artist Michael Myers Jr., for the mother…
By Mike Fahey -
From RPM Racing to Diablo III: A Timeline of Blizzard’s No-Rush Release Schedule
With the long-awaited Diablo III due out in May some 12 years after the release of Diablo II, we decided to take a look back at the release history of the company that puts out a new game “When it’s done.” Aside for the Warcraft franchise, which has seen pretty regular releases since 2002, Blizzard’s…
By Mike Fahey -
Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition Announced, Server Explodes [Update]
The mysterious Baldur’s Gate countdown has ended with the bang of servers exploding, but not before an email arrived announcing something called Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition for release this summer. The servers at BaldursGate.comare down, but I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what the upcoming release entails. Officially licensed by Wizards of…
By Mike Fahey -
A Stunningly Cinematic Reason to Be Excited About Max Payne 3
Not having played a Max Payne game in years, I’d forgotten why I enjoyed the original entries in Rockstar’s third-person shooter series so much. Then this cinematic and special effects trailer for Max Payne 3 reminded me; it’s not about the story, but how the story is told. This unique mixture of Hollywood magic and…
By Mike Fahey -
A Bad (or Possibly Good) Case of Mass Effect 3 Decision Angst
In today’s spoiler-free episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Ducce discusses the anxiety that rises while making game-changing decisions in Mass Effect 3. Is this immersion, or is he slowly going insane? I have for the first time in my gaming life been exposed to pure decision-angst. I have been playing through (what I…
By Mike Fahey -
The Game Gear eShop Invasion Begins
The first handheld gaming device to go head-to-head with the Game Boy (the Atari Lynx barely counts) reaches out its electronic hand in friendship to its one-time enemy, as three Game Gear games become playable on the Nintendo 3DS. How humbling this must be. It’s okay Shinobi, Sonic the Hedgehog and Dragon Crystal; it’s not…
By Mike Fahey -
The Game of Thrones RPG’s Combat Does a Fine Dragon Age Impression
You know what would be awesome? A game that played like Dragon Age but featured locations and characters from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series of books (now a major television series). Watching this combat trailer for Cyanide Studio’s Game of Thrones role-playing game, I’d say that dream might soon be…
By Mike Fahey -
ReviewsNaruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations: The Kotaku Review
It’s been nearly ten years since Naruto made its animated debut in Japan. Over the past decade Studio Pierrot has told countless stories of the young ninja and his friends, introducing dozens of characters into the ever-expanding sage. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations attempts to cram all of that into a single fighting game.…
By Mike Fahey -
ReviewsA 14-Button Motion-Sensing Steering Wheel Only a PC Gamer Could Love (Or Use)
For any PC racing enthusiast that’s ever craved a high-end steering wheel setup but lacked the money / motivation / room to set one up, SteelSeries’ Simraceway SRW-S1 Steering Wheel is the answer to all of your problems, and the cause of a couple new ones. Traditional PC steering wheel setups require, at the very…
By Mike Fahey -
Show Me Your Gaming Rig and I’ll Show You Mine
Every week Kotaku‘s PC Gaming Lives block shows off some of the finest custom-made enclosures in our Case Mod of the Week segment. But not all computers are pretty. There’s mine, for instance. Now show us yours. Don’t let the small size fool you, my Maingear X-Cube is a powerful little machine for what little…
By Mike Fahey -
Tera‘s Reign of MMO-FO Terror Reaches America’s LAN Centers
After a brief pause to terrorize a poor actor in his kitchen set, Tera spokes-maniac Bas Rutten takes the message of action MMO combat on the road. What surprises me most about this latest entry in the MMO-FO series of viral advertisements for En Masse Entertainment’s upcoming MMO release? I didn’t realize people in North…
By Mike Fahey -
World of Warcraft Monopoly Puts a Fresh Face on Fake Currency
Monopoly gets a World of Warcraft makeover this spring, and when the biggest name in board games meets the biggest name in massively multiplayer PC games, no simple reskinning will suffice. Blizzard has worked closely with Hasbro’s USAopoly artists to create a true Azerothian real estate adventure, and it shows in the colorful numbered pieces…
By Mike Fahey
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