Kirk Hamilton

The Galvanizing Glory Of The Baldur’s Gate Theme Music

Just listen to it. Listen to that puppy. That groove in five, that sinister melody. The way it pushes you, onward. Onward to the character creation screen! In just a couple short months, we’ll get to play the enhanced edition of Baldur’s Gate. That’s extra good news for me, because I played more Baldur’s Gate…

Blonde Twins Playing A Metallica Cover On Harps While Standing In The Desert

Sometimes the headline does all the talking. Sometimes things are exactly what they seem.

Dead Space Series Composer Will Return For Dead Space 3

In light of the news that Hitman and Assassin’s Creed composer Jesper Kyd is leaving both series, it’s good to hear confirmation that Dead Space composer Jason Graves will be back for the third game. Graves’ creepy strings and dirge-like orchestrations lend a huge amount of atmosphere to Visceral’s first two outer-space creepshows. Good news!

Geeky Musicians Unite For The Humble Indie Music Bundle

We’ve had humble indie game bundles, and humble indie game soundtrack bundles… so I guess it only makes sense that we’d get a Humble Indie Music bundle by people who people who like games might like. That was a mouthful. Anyway! Now, you can pay what you want for six albums by OK Go, They…

A Visual Instrument That Turns Colors Into Music

Music may be something that you hear, but it does have a visual element. That visual aspect is different for everyone—I see melodies and harmonies as shapes, with a chord laid out as a fragment of its parent-scale. It’s asily moved around and re-arranged, but it’s always a part of a larger thing. Other people…

The Time MTV Turned Video Games Into Music Videos

MTV has always been at least a bit more in touch with the video game scene than most major cable TV stations. I mean heck, our EIC Stephen wrote for their video gaming site for a time! One of the most enjoyable/bizarre things the network ever did was Video Mods, an EA-sponsored series devoted to…

There’s A Multiplayer Source-Engine ‘Slenderman’ Game In The Works

Are you a fan of the creepy ‘Slenderman’ game Slender, but maybe you wish it looked a bit better? Perhaps the game would be better in Valve’s Source Engine, no? Some folks over at ModDB agree, and they’re working on a source-engine game/mod inspired by Parsec’s Slender. Slender: Source is a work-in-progress now, with only…

The Walking Dead Game Comes To iOS in Fine Form [Update]

Many of us here at Kotaku are fans of Telltale’s episodic Walking Dead game. It’s been one of the most welcome surprises of the year—a zombie game that’s less about killing zombies and more about dealing with living in a world without laws or hope. Though the game was announced for Apple devices as well…

At Least This $20,000 Banjo-Kazooie Toy Comes With Free Shipping

I like video game toys as much as the next guy. There are even a few toys out there that I’d be willing to pay money for. But twenty thousand dollars seems a bit high. And yet that’s the price that this one-of-a-kind Banjo-Kazooie prototype figure is selling for on eBay right now. According to…

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Is All About Fresh Power-Ups, Spiteful Multiplayer And Coins, Coins, Coins

Some things in this universe are constant. Death, taxes. Slow buses when you’re late. And the fact that Mario is into coins. He’s still into coins in the upcoming 3DS game New Super Mario Bros. 2. And it’s a good thing, because the game has lots of coins. So many coins. Pretty much all of…

The Heavy-Metal Art Of Darksiders II

Every corner of the Darksiders world is laced with art. There’s art on art, more art than you can shake a stick at. That makes sense, given the fact that Vigil, the studio behind Darksiders and this August’s Darksiders II, is headed up by well-known comic artist Joe Madureira. I spoke with Madureira last week…

Darksiders II Environmental Concept Art

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Darksiders II Screenshots

Building The Art Of Darksiders II

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Covering The Westminster Dog Show While On Acid

“That dog is crazy.” Oh, man. Sometimes, as a reporter, you have these ideas to do something crazy. It isn’t that often that we get to follow through on those ideas. But every now and then, it pays off—as it does when Vice photographer Braydon Olsen covers the famous Westminster Dog Show while tripping his…

One Of The Designers Of Guild Wars 2 Is Answering Your Questions Right Now

Last weekend’s Guild Wars 2 beta just concluded, and the folks at ArenaNet are getting the game touched up for its August 28 launch. You’ve seen the game at cons, you’ve read our coverage, and if you’re lucky, you’ve even played for yourself. Guild Wars 2 is almost here. Surely you’ve got some questions. Mike…

PC Gaming Lives, Now And Forever

Wait, PC Gaming Lives? Hell, it’s doing better than living! PC gaming is kicking ass Oh, I get it. That’s the point; it’s a funny name. Our coverage of all things PC begins now with a very special reader Q&A. Grab your super complicated gaming mouses and let’s begin.

An Early Look At Combat In The Banner Saga

If you’re like me, you’ve had a curious eye on The Banner Saga since it was announced earlier this year. Three former BioWare developers went to Kickstarter before Kickstarter became “Kickstarter” (if that makes sense?) to fund a DRM-free PC/Mac RPG called The Banner Saga Art director Arnie Jorgensen has posted this update to the…

This Game Lets You Slap A Nazi Officer Around With A Broomstick

I don’t even know anymore. I don’t know where to begin. Sometimes I have to wonder why we spend so much time writing about polished, big-budget games where there are games like BRUCEfilm’s Stay Dead out there. Here we have an iPad fighting game that uses real actors to stage ploddingly choreographed, cheesy fight sequences…

Who Knew Shakespearian Theatre Would Make For Such Great TV?

I’m just saying, I wouldn’t have thought that the trials and tribulations of a Shakespearian acting troupe could make for an entertaining modern TV show. That is, until I saw Slings and Arrows, an amazing 2003 Canadian TV show that I mainlined last weekend. Co-written and -created by Kids in the Hall‘s Mark McKinney, Sings…