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The PC Franchises Some Gamers Think are Improving, and Others Think are Getting Worse
Which PC franchises are getting better with age, and which are getting worse? Before we go any further, know that this is not science. It’s just the results of a survey a single website specialising in PC gaming ran a little while ago. Like our own grand census from a few years back, that makes…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
A Tribute to Old Games (and Life!)
Swedish artist KJ Andersson pays a strangely powerful tribute to Ernest Kline’s “When I was a Kid“. I say strange because, you know. For all the cheery retro graphics on display, cutting just those two lines out and sticking them front and centre reminds me a little too much of my own mortality. Embroidery [kjandersson,…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
Here’s How to Play Crytek’s New Online Shooter (That You’re Not Really Supposed to be Playing Yet)
Crysis developers Crytek (or, at least, their Kiev satellite studio) have been working on Warface, a multiplayer shooter for the PC that while looking entirely unremarkable also boasts visuals that look bloody amazing The game’s actually playable right now, and what’s more it’s free! But there’s a catch: it’s only live in Russia, and the…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
Culture
Concept Art From Guild Wars, Halo and Beyond
Meet Thomas Scholes. Well, meet his art. An illustrator and concept artist who has worked at 343 Studios, ArenaNet and Disney, he’s now a freelancer who can draw some of the nicest pieces of environment art around. In the gallery below you’ll see examples of his work on games like Halo 4 and Guild Wars…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
GameStop’s Trade-In Program, the 1993 Edition
Here’s a flyer for Electronics Boutique’s (now part of GameStop) fledgling trade-in scheme, which not only warns you that the program could end at any time (oh no!), but demands you bring the instructions in. No manual, no trade-in. Compared to the “sure we’ll take any old piece of shit” policy the company has now,…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Only Game Where You’ll Find James Bond, Capcom and Rob Lowe in the One Place
You don’t need me to tell you how awful most FMV games from the 1990s were. But amidst the wreckage of bad racing games and even worse adventure games, I have a soft spot for Fox Hunt. Mostly because, over 15 years later, I can only now appreciate how batshit crazy the whole thing was.…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
Return of the Jedi LEGO Has a Freakin’ Sarlacc Pit
There’s been a lot of great Star Wars LEGO over the years, but these two new sets, both based on the opening of Return of the Jedi, are my new favourites. The first set is Jabba’s Palace ($120). It not only has a moving throne platform, for trapping Luke beneath while he sticks bones in…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
Online Game Suspected of Causing Teen to Shoot at, Stab a “Friend”
An unspecified online game is suspected of leading to a stabbing and attempted shooting in Oakley, California, with a 17 year-old boy now in police custody following the incident. On Monday afternoon the arrested teen and a 20 year-old man – reportedly a “family friend” – had been playing the mystery game together online when…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 1, 2012 -
DSi Coming in Two New, Rather Fetching Colour Schemes
While the 3DS is the flagship handheld at the moment, Nintendo hasn’t forgotten about the DSi, with plans to release two new colours for the device “as early as this week”. The two colours are “Matte Red” and “Matte Blue”. A sneaky Olympic-themed marketing move? They’ve only been announced for the North American market at…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Air Force Dad Surprises Son by Coming Home as a Jedi Knight
Col. Rob Kiebler spent 14 months away from his family serving with the US Air Force, both training and on a tour of Afghanistan. He recently returned home, and having not seen his son for over a year, wanted to really surprise him. Adorable. What just about brought the tears down for me, though, was…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Batman’s Morgan Freeman & Catwoman Look Almost as Good as 3D Models as They do in Real Life
Say what you will about the in-game graphics (which look pretty good for a phone game!), this 3D character art for the Dark Knight Rises game is incredible The work of artists Uri So and Shenggang Dong, both from Redsteam (another of whose artists we’ve looked at Kotaku previously), they’re nestled right at the depths…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Now Valve is Trying to Stop People Suing Them, Too
Joining the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Electronic Arts, developers and online retailers Valve have announced changes to Steam’s subscriber agreement that seek to prohibit users from filing lawsuits against the company. Saying that they “considered this change very carefully”, a Valve statement explains that “It’s clear to us that in some situations, class actions…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Meet Gary, The King of Nintendo 64
Gary went to Otakon 2012 in this costume. A costume made almost entirely out of Nintendo 64 consoles, controllers and cartridges. He called himself King Nintendo 64, but just for today, he is also King of the Internet. Memes in meatspace: Costumes inspired by the Internet [The Daily Dot, thanks everyone!]
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
44 Great (Multiplayer) Indie Games You Can Play Right Now, For Free
The wonderful website Pixel Prospector turned three yesterday. To celebrate, they cooked up this very useful little video called 44 Free Indie Games In 4 Minutes (Multiplayer Edition). Which pretty much sums it up. These games are all on PC and all available right now to not only play, but play and enjoy with/against another…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
A Game Based on a Tiny Conan the Barbarian Story
I somehow missed indie platformer Tiny Barbarian, an adorable little package that was based on Conan the Barbarian tale The Frost-Giant’s Daughter. For that, I am very upset, because its follow-up looks lovely. It’s called Tiny Barbarian DX, and if you asked me to imagine the lovechild of Gauntlet and Cave Story, is probably what…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Culture
The Art Of Jaime Jones
I’m in love. This is the art of Jaime Jones, an illustrator and concept artist who has worked for clients like Bungie, Blizzard, Wizards of the Coast and Warner Bros. It’s pretty damn special. Lovers of Fine Art may have already caught a glimpse of his work previously, in these Guild Wars 2 clips, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
How Video Game Development Has Changed Over the Past Twenty Years
The video game business isn’t what it used to be. You know that as a gamer, but what you my find even more interesting is the way it’s changed for those actually involved in making the games. Cory Bloyd is a veteran programmer who works at Munkyfun, and who had previously done stuff like helping…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Konami’s Cheat to Get Around a Silly Nintendo Rule
Did you know that, before 1993, Nintendo of America had a rule that limited the number of games a publisher could release on one of it systems? Yup. In a calendar year a publisher, or “licensee”, could only release five games. No more. It was a rule with its heart in the right place: the…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012 -
Diablo III’s Demon Hunters Come to Life in These Stunning Photos
BGZ Studios is a small outfit based in Atlanta that, aside from regular photography work, also does a ton of cosplay stuff. Like these Diablo III Demon Hunter pics, which are just great. I love the costumes, sure, and the images themselves, but what I actually like most is the “behind the scenes” look at…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 31, 2012
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