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This Guy Built a Real Team Fortress 2 Gun
Prop builder Zander Brandt, whose awesome Mass Effect rifle we’ve featured previously, has for his next project done something a little faster, a little more obnoxious. It’s the Force-A-Nature, one of the best weapons available for Team Fortress 2’s Scout. While it may not be one of Team Fortress 2’s more memorable weapons, that doesn’t…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
“Nearly Decapitated” Gamer’s Collection, Consoles Being Investigated by Police
Nearly two weeks after the brutal murder of Oregon man David Grubbs (pictured), in which he was “nearly decapitated”, local police have decided to start going through the victim’s video games to see if there are any clues to help them catch his killer. Despite the fact there are 15 detectives working the case, there…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
Reviews
Minecraft: The Kotaku Review
For all that’s been written about Minecraft over the past few years, you’d think it was one of the greatest video games ever created. A liberating experience that’s showing big-budget game developers what the public really wants and helping revolutionise the way games are developed and sold. In some ways, it totally is. In others?…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
Bungie’s Other Sci-Fi Series Improved, Free
Marathon, the classic FPS series that made Bungie kinda-famous before Halo made them really famous, has been modernised and brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century. You can get ’em on PC, Mac & Linux. For free. [Aleph One]
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
Star Wars’ Famous Trench Run, Recreated as a Minecraft Movie
This isn’t one of those mildly boring “look at an object I recreated in Minecraft” posts. This is hot-blooded machinima, Minecraft’s blocks used to recreate whole sequences from the end of Star Wars It’s the work of reader Grahame, aka Paradise Decay, who is not just a games musician, he’s a dude who has found…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
A Tabletop Version of SimCity is Only a 3D Printer Away
Skimbal, a man who knows his way around a 3D printer (ie a box of magic), has been designing templates letting anyone with access to such sorcery print out tiny replicas of the buildings from SimCity 2000 Which means, yes, you can print off actual SimCity…cities. The templates were built in Google Sketch-Up, and while…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
This Indie Xbox Shooter is Pretty (and Cheap!)
Orbitron: Revolution is, for an Xbox Live Indie game, gorgeous. The shmup, developed by Firebase Industries (and with music by Audio Antics, of Geometry Wars fame), is now out, and costs a ridiculous 240 MSP. Get on it
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
It Might Soon be Cool to Jailbreak Your Consoles
It’s totally cool to “jailbreak” an iPhone to get around its DRM. Apple may not like that, but the courts say otherwise, so it has to abide. Video game consoles? Less cool. But that could soon change. The reason the iPhone is exempt is because a few years back the Electronic Frontier Foundation successfully lobbied…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
These PS3 Ads Built a Real Holodeck. It’s Amazing.
You know Star Trek’s holodeck? If not, here is Star Trek’s holodeck. Anyway, once the property of science fiction, some advertisers have actually built one for a PlayStation 3 commercial. As you’ll see, there is no post-production work being done on the footage. All the effects are being done in the room, using 3D projection…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Best Part of Fighting Games? The Stupid Quotes.
There’s a charm to fighting games that’s irresistible. I mean, aside from all the face-punching, the character rosters are usually insane, and there’s a tongue-in-cheek vibe that runs deep through most titles in the genre. Nowhere is this more evident than in the stupid little quotes you get after a match in most games. To…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 2, 2011 -
You Can’t Un-Launch a Crappy Game…Oh Wait, You Can
Glitch, the casual MMO that’s the work of the creators of Flickr and Katamari Damacy, launched with a ton of promise! It also promptly turned out to be a bit rubbish. So rubbish that its developers are “unlaunching” it. Wonderfully, that’s the term they’re actually using, dragging Glitch back into beta with a promise to…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
Reviews
Reviewing Chun-Li’s Giant Plastic Thighs (and Ryu’s Giant Veiny Feet)
Square Enix’s first two Street Fighter IV figures, based on series “heroes” Ryu and Chun-Li, have just hit shelves. Part of the company’s Play Arts line, they’re big, they’re detailed and they’re a little on the expensive side. But are they any good? They’re certainly heavy, that’s for sure. Standing just over 20cm each, these…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
A Handy Guide for When a Game Is and isn’t Being Sexist
When is a game being sexist? When is a game not being sexist? They’re tricky topics to wade through with words. Like most things in life, it’s easier with a picture. It’s a rough guide, and applies more to fantasy games than, say, a puzzler, but you can make do! When is it sexist? [Reddit]
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
So This Call of Duty Ad is Much Better
OK, so that first Jonah Hill x Sam Worthington Call of Duty ad was…OK. A little cheesy, a little much, but OK. Their newer, second commercial is much better. Less effects, less bombast. Just two dudes from different sides of the tracks hangin’ out, talking tactics. It drags in parts, and Hill’s leaner face is…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
Skyrim Can Mean Only One Thing: Adventure Time
Artist Robert “DoomCMYK” Mangaoang, who we’ve featured here previously, certainly knows the fastest way to the bottom of my heart: by having the crew from Adventure Time engage in some Skyrim cosplay. Once available as a print, this image now sadly only exists on the internet, but that’s OK. We can still enjoy it. Adventure…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
Some Footage From the New Counter-Strike’s Beta
The beta for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive went live yesterday. Know what that means? Yup! People filming themselves playing it then uploading it to the internet so we can all see. The footage is from the tweaked update to classic map “Dust”. It’s…Counter-Strike all right!
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011 -
Wow, a Sonic Toy That Doesn’t Suck?
Sure looks like it! This new Nendoroid figure, from Japan’s Good Smile Company, will be out next year. Pre-orders are already kicking off, though, and you can get one for around USD$35. Looks great, doesn’t he? The accessories are a nice touch.
By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011