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Reviews
I Just Spent a Week With a Very, Very Expensive Gaming PC
Alienware has recently launched a new line of its Aurora desktops, a range of very pretty, very expensive gaming PCs. And I just spent a week playing video games on one. The Aurora R4, unlike the mildly surprising X51, sticks firmly to the company’s brief of making high performance hardware at a relatively high cost…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Elder Scrolls Now Has a Nightclub. In Malaysia.
It all seems totally unofficial/copyright infringing, of course, but here it is: a recently-opened club in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, called Black Magic, has as its logo the Imperial Seal from the Elder Scrolls series. The logo was first spotted last month, just after the club had opened. It’s not a homage, it’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
Marilyn Monroe Eats Pizza, Sleeps Alone in The Sims
Sims modder Pixel Pixies brings a touch of wholesome sex appeal to EA’s Sims 3 with her Marilyn Monroe skin, turning a modern family drama into a flick from the 50’s. I’ve never been able to get into the Sims games, but I remember spending a lot of time with earlier iterations importing mods and…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
Culture
The BioShock, Dead Space & InFamous Art of Opus Artz
Opus Artz is a concept studio in London which specialises in production art for the video game industry. Among its artists are guys like Bjorn Hurri and Theo Stylianides, so yeah, we’re about to see some good stuff. The studio has worked with clients such as EA, 2K, Paradox and Square Enix, on games like…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
Pokémon Company Responds to Fake iPhone Pokémon Game
In the wake of a rather high-profile App Store scam involving a Pokémon game (or at least its title screen), the Pokémon Company has issued a statement saying it’s on the hunt for the bad guys. “We continue to combat the unauthorised release of games, applications and merchandise that trick our fans into purchasing something…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
Now This is What a LEGO Game Should Look Like
Putting aside the recent LEGO licensed platformers, nobody has ever really got a LEGO game right. Even Traveller’s Tales’ games don’t really get it; they’re great because they’re simple and funny, not because they use LEGO in a particularly exciting or satisfying way. This 3D clip, from Francisco Prieto, is what a LEGO game should…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallScrew the Vita, Let’s Talk About the Other NGP
The PlayStation Vita is out today in the US. Before it was known as the Vita, you may remember it was called the NGP. Which was a little awkward, since there had already been a handheld gaming system called the NGP. And it sure wasn’t made by Sony. While Sony’s NGP stood for “Next Generation…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Total Recall Starts Now!
Let’s spend an hour looking backwards. It won’t hurt your neck. Promise.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Get Ready for the “Next” Metal Gear Solid
Now that Bayonetta developers Platinum Games are working on Metal Gear Rising, Kojima Productions is free to work on something else. Like…another Metal Gear Solid game. The studio has begun a recruitment drive for “the latest Metal Gear Solid” which will be appearing on “high-end consoles and PC”. It’ll of course be built on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Western Studios are Helping Finish The Last Guardian
Team Ico’s The Last Guardian, the studio’s first game since Shadow of the Colossus, has hit a bit of a rough patch. It’s been delayed a few times, key people have left the company, it’s a mess To help get it done and out the door, Sony has drafted in outside help from some of…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
ARGH, a Half-Life Barnacle for your HOUSE
German artist Daniel Ritthanondh is the man to thank for this Half-Life-inspired lamp, which will simultaneously light up your room and darken your dreams. As big a Half-Life fan as I am, I could not own this. Wherever it went, I couldn’t walk under it. Ever. That or I’d come home one day and creep…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Thug PSP Attacker Facing “Long Time in Prison”
Last August, the shameful attack on Malaysian student Ashraf Haziq—carried out as part of the riots sweeping London at the time—captured the attention of the world and left him with a broken jaw and a stolen PSP. Haziq received small consolation at the time, being given a free PSP and some games by Sony and…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
ReviewsCrusader Kings II: The Kotaku Review
I was playing as the King of England. I ruled for over thirty years, sometimes a tyrant, other times a hero. When I died, I could keep playing, because I was now controlling his son. Who, it turns out, not only had a lisp, but was gay, whose arranged wife hated him and wanted him…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Bored Soldier Recreates Modern Warfare Box Art
Note the “bored” was the words of Reddit user Travissimo, not me. I can’t picture soldiers serving overseas having enough spare time to approach being bored, let alone bored enough to engage in box art cosplay. Of sorts. But hey, he must have had a little spare time, because he does a damn good job…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
Have You Ever Seen This Many Zelda Games at Once?
First Mega Man, then Street Fighter…there’s a video game collection arms race going on, and The Legend of Zelda just joined in. Reader Andy “thought this would be pretty cool to show on the site”. He’s damn right it would be. Note he doesn’t just have every game. For many he’s got multiple editions. Look…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
We’re Off to Find the Seven Cities of Gold
If you thought this would be about the cartoon series The Mysterious Cities of Gold, sorry! It’s about the same basic premise, though: a bunch of European types heading to the New World in search of riches. And carnage. In my Total Recall piece on Dani Bunten last week, Cities of Gold was mentioned as…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 21, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Sunset, Big City
You know, last week, I was so excited to be posting awesome Metal Slug art as part of our first Background Story that I forgot to say it was from Metal Slug. Which, turns out, only made it more fun. So let’s do it again. Guess the city and you’ll be halfway to guessing the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Laziest Box Art in Video Game History
I have a fetish for old Sega Master System box art. If I could have that pattern made into a tablecloth, curtains and bedsheets, I would, and when my wife complained, I would just stare at her, like what is wrong this stuff is perfect. Some of my favourites from the system, though, are also…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 20, 2012
Luke Plunkett
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