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Surprise: Adventures of Mana Appears On Vita
Here’s a nice little surprise for RPG fans who don’t like touch controls: Adventures of Mana, the Final Fantasy Adventure remake that came out earlier this year for smartphones, is now on Vita. Square Enix decided to surprise-release the port this morning with no fanfare or advance warning. It’ll cost you $14. I haven’t played…
By Jason Schreier Published June 28, 2016 -
Star Ocean V‘s Camera Is So Bad, I Can’t Play It Without Getting Sick
The fifth Star Ocean comes out today, and if you get motion sickness easily, you probably shouldn’t play it. Here’s a video I shot walking around a field in Star Ocean V: Integrity and Faithlessness without touching the right joystick. I didn’t manually move the camera at all. Just for kicks, I also set all…
By Jason Schreier Published June 28, 2016 -
Reviews
Zero Time Dilemma: The Kotaku Review
There are no video games like Zero Escape. No other series plays with the interactive form to tell stories in such an elaborate, satisfying way. No other game can fuck with your head quite this much. Nothing else even comes close. Zero Time Dilemma, the third game in the series, is no exception. Longtime fans…
By Jason Schreier Published June 27, 2016 -
Sony Locks Guy’s PSN Account For Using ‘Jihad,’ His Real Name
A 26-year-old Saudi gamer says his PlayStation Network account was locked for using the word Jihad—which also happens to be his first name. Jihad Al Mofadda, whose story shot tothe front page of Reddit yesterday, said that Sony banned his account on June 7. At first, PlayStation customer support offered to switch his PSN name…
By Jason Schreier Published June 27, 2016 -
For Book Readers, Season Six Of Game of Thrones Was Worth It
The season six finale of Game of Thrones was one of the strongest hours in television history, a relentless episode that burnt up loose ends and set the stage for the show’s future. It capped off an excellent season and spent as little time as possible in Dorne. I’m glad I watched it. SPOILERS FOR…
By Jason Schreier Published June 27, 2016 -
Let’s Talk About That Stellar Game of Thrones Finale
In the wake of that BATSHIT season finale of Game of Thrones, join me and Kirk for a bonus episode of Kotaku Splitscreen to talk about what just happened. Spoilers, obviously. You can listen to the episode on iTunes, or on Simplecast right here. (Download the MP3 directly here.) Also, consider this a good place…
By Jason Schreier Published June 26, 2016 -
CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Overwatch Is Crazy Fun
As you probably already know, Overwatch is an excellent game—unless you play Torbjorn. Fuck Torbjorn. Originally published 6/23/16 Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, join me and Kirk to talk about the merits of Overwatch and how Mei is awful but Widowmaker owns. We’ve also got an E3 postmortem, some hands-on Zelda impressions, thoughts on Hitman and…
By Jason Schreier Published June 26, 2016 -
Thimbleweed Park Looks Like A Worthy Successor To Old Adventure Games
Did you grow up with games like Monkey Island? Does the name Fred Edison conjure fond memories? Do you often wonder whether Zak McKracken was underrated or just not very good? Thimbleweed Park is probably the video game for you. Designed by Maniac Mansion creators and OG LucasArts employees Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, Thimbleweed…
By Jason Schreier Published June 24, 2016 -
Civilization VI‘s Cities Are Like Nothing Civ Has Done Before
Say goodbye to one-tile cities. The newest Civilization game is totally overhauling the city system from previous games, transforming cities into sprawling horizontal territories that take up multiple hexes on the map. It’s a totally new approach that should drastically change how Civ is played. The developers at Firaxis are calling this new mechanic the…
By Jason Schreier Published June 23, 2016 -
Why You Need To Play The Zero Escape Series
On Tuesday, publisher Aksys Games will release Zero Time Dilemma, the third and perhaps final entry in the Zero Escape series. You probably fall into one of two camps: Either you’re breathlessly counting down the days until then, or you’ve never played Zero Escape If you’re in the former group, know this: I beat Zero…
By Jason Schreier Published June 23, 2016 -
Teenager Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison For Killing Man Over PS4
A Georgia judge sentenced 18-year-old Kayla Dixon to 40 years jailtime this week after she pled guilty to shooting a man over his PlayStation 4. In September of 2014, 28-year-old Daniel Zeitz had put up a Craigslist post in hopes of selling his PS4. According to the police, Dixon and her boyfriend, Nathaniel Vivian, responded…
By Jason Schreier Published June 23, 2016 -
Shovel Knight Is Still Getting Tons Of Free Stuff
Two years after blowing everyone away with the buttery retro platformer Shovel Knight, the developers at Yacht Club Games just won’t stop releasing free new stuff. First there was the Plague Knight campaign, and now they’re showing offthe playable version of Specter Knight, a shadowy villain who can climb and dash in mid-air. (Both Plague…
By Jason Schreier Published June 22, 2016 -
How To Deal With Dragon Quest VII And Final Fantasy XV Coming Out In The Same Month
You have probably noticed, being the lovely JRPG connoisseur you are, that September is going to be busy. In just that one month we’re going to see new entries from two RPG titans: the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, on September 16, and the boy band simulator Final Fantasy XV, on September 30. So…
By Jason Schreier Published June 22, 2016 -
The Best Games Jason Played At E3 2016
I played a lot of games at E3, an annual whirlwind of demos and announcements that can be as exhausting as it is exciting. Let’s talk about some of them, shall we? Here are brief impressions of the best games I played—not just saw, but actually played—on the show floor in Los Angeles last week.…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2016 -
Bungie Answers (And Dodges) Our Destiny: Rise of Iron Questions
As has become annual tradition, I sat down with Bungie at E3 last week for a frank discussion about the state of Destiny, a video game in which players travel through space trying to convince internet commenters that yes, people still play Destiny As has also become annual tradition, the folks behind Destiny didn’t want…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2016 -
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Will Let You Play As A Girl
One of my E3 highlights was when Ubisoft showed more of South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the ridiculously titled sequel to Stick of Truth. Everything they’ve said since then has been just as exciting. For example, South Park maestros Trey Parker and Matt Stone confirmed later last week that unlike the first game, you…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2016 -
A List Of Times Ubisoft Has Said Beyond Good & Evil 2 Is Still Happening
Last week at E3, Beyond Good & Evil 2 once again made headlines thanks to a comment by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. “Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still happening,” gaming sites declared As Guillemot explained to Geoff Keighley on YouTube’s E3 show: “It’s still on the way. It’s something at one point you will…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2016 -
An In-Depth Q&A With The Director of Final Fantasy XV
We’re nearly three months away from the launch of Final Fantasy XV, which means there’s a whole lot of pressure on director Hajime Tabata. This summer, Tabata and his large crew at Square Enix will spend their waking hours optimizing and polishing the fifteenth Final Fantasy in hopes of getting everything as stable as possible…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2016 -
Final Fantasy XV‘s Director Says He Found Out About Scorpio At Microsoft’s Conference
The director of Final Fantasy XV says they haven’t worked with the new consoles from Microsoft or Sony yet. In fact, he says he found out about the upcoming Project Scorpio while sitting in Microsoft’s green room. During an interview at E3 earlier this week, FFXV director Hajime Tabata told me he got to find…
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2016 -
Why Dragon Quest VII 3DS Took So Long To Come West
Dragon Quest VII was one of the biggest games of its time, a significant leap over its predecessors in terms of raw size. So when the developers at Square decided to remake it for 3DS, they ran into some issues. For example, as Dragon Quest VII 3DS producer Noriyoshi Fujimoto explained to me during an…
By Jason Schreier Published June 17, 2016
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