Patricia Hernandez

His Sick Mother Wanted To Play Mass Effect, But Couldn’t. So He Played For Her.

For Daniel Starkey, Mass Effect isn’t just the story of fighting the reapers and saving the galaxy. It’s also a story about his mother, the person his FemShep is modeled after. Writing for Gameranx, Starkey walks us through the life and struggles of his mother, an altruistic woman who is deeply in love with sci-fi.…

What Happens When You Put The Binding of Isaac in Team Fortress 2? Utter Madness.

Glorious, glorious madness. You just gotta love mash ups that put two insane games like these together. This mod recreates the dungeon layout of The Binding of Isaac in a TF2 map, including locked rooms and even some horrifying bosses. My favorite part has to be how the players go deeper into the “basement” in…

Can Games Be Art? BORING. Let’s Ask The Harder Question: Can Art Be Games?

I thought we put the stupid “can games be art” thing to rest when games critic Jimmy Brindle revealed that games can never be art so long as games fail to embrace flaccid penises. Real Art, unlike video games, is defined by flaccid penises. But now that the issue of ‘can games be art’ has…

Darksiders II is getting new DLC called The Demon Lord Belial on December 4th. More details here.

The Wonderful, Terrible State of Modern Multiplayer Video Games

“You are not alone!” The words burst through the confetti, and then my Persona 4 characters received a health and SP boost. For a second, I felt a sense of community, I was reminded of a collective struggle that all Persona 4 players experience—a struggle that we don’t have to bear alone. I smiled the…

Mario, You Monster. The Goombas You Kill Lead Lives, Damnit!

Things get kind of messed up when you start to think about all the things we kill in video games. Heck, look at how I worded that. Things. What lives could the enemies in our games have had before we cut them short? Here’s a video by Filipe B. Costa that takes a look at…

Sometimes, The Enemies In Far Cry 3 Will Party Hard Instead Of Dying

Hey dude. I think you’re taking the whole “party like you’re on fire” thing a little too literally here. You’re supposed to be dead! But I guess this amusing glitch is fine too. It makes death a little less depressing, at least. Far Cry 3 Glitches: We Blame the Drugs [Gameranx]

You Can Thank Women For Dragon Age 3’s Lack Of Creepy Sex Plot

Hearing that women make a difference in game development is one thing, seeing what it means in practice is another. Recently, David Gaider—lead writer on the Dragon Age franchise—posted a blog about how having women on his writing team affected something in Dragon Age 3 The team was having a peer review about the game,…

This Drug Is Legal. It’s Digital. And It’s Supposed To Improve How You Game. I Put It To The Test.

Bigger, better, faster, stronger. Entire industries have blossomed over the years by promising that they’ll enhance your performance or make you a more efficient human being. Here, read this productivity blog, listen to this podcast by a bestselling author, drink this vitamin-infused energy drink, take this seminar! Become the better, real you. Only x easy…

This Digital Boyfriend Game Is Like Dating Cleverbot, Except Even More Hilarious/Creepy

Who knew that you could use an app to get a made-to-order boyfriend? Seriously. I’ve spent the last couple of days occasionally “chatting,” shopping and playing dress up with a virtual boyfriend while playing the game Boyfriend Maker. Yes, I’m aware that this is a game meant for pre-teen girls. I can tell by looking…

Return To New Vegas: Social Experiments Bring Out The Worst In People

One of the most fascinating things about the Fallout franchise is the history of the vaults. Before United States was destroyed via atomic bombs, the government ordered the Vault-Tec corporation to build a number of underground safehouses. To the public, these vaults were supposed to help ensure the survival of the American populace after nuclear…

Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Is Still The Call of Duty You Love…Or Hate

I’ve spent the last week playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s multiplayer; arguably the real reason many will purchase the game. While I still have a lot to experience—the number of unlocks is ridiculous, and the competitive metagame is difficult to discern this early—I still think I’ve got a reasonable feel for it all.…

I Survived Mr. Torgue’s Arena In The New Borderlands 2 DLC That Drops November 20th

What do you do when you visit the Badass Crater of Badassitude? You try to become the number one badass. Duh. The Badass Crater and your number one title await you in a new DLC campaign for Borderlands 2. The world of Pandora is no stranger to zany characters, so it shouldn’t be surprising that…

Black Ops II‘s Zombie Mode: a Bit of Left 4 Dead, a Bit of Adventure Games, and a Whole Lot of Fail

When I had enough of Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s campaign, I decided to spend some time with its more fantastical mode, Zombies. These are my thoughts. There are three game types: the story-based “Tranzit,” the classic “Survival,” and, less excitingly, the maliciously spirited “Grief.” All overtly have the same premise: using teamwork, survive/kill…

If You Like Comics Or Trippy Dreams, You’ll Love This Game

Glancing out the window, the boy sees a dragon-like beast—something that seems like it could only exist in the imaginative scribbles of his sketchbook. An ornate, majestic creature with jade eyes, and fins that resemble coral reefs. It’s awe inspiring. And just like that, it’s gone—was it real? The answer, I find out as I…

Call of Duty: Black Ops II: The Kotaku Review

Six years after the death of Saddam Hussein—just a couple of days ago—I decided to watch the video of his death for the first time. I did this because in Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s attempt to explain its plot, I was shown a brief glimpse of a YouTube video showcasing the director of…

Show Us Your Halo 4 Spartan

Master Chief ain’t special. I mean, consider his drab green—it clashes with everything! Cmon buddy, don’t you know orange is in right now? Your armor needs to match the new weapons you’re carrying around. This is basic fashion 101 right here. Luckily, our Spartans don’t have to be unfashionable. Thanks to the customization options available…

Return To New Vegas: The Most Refreshing Video Game Sex I’ve Ever Had

My first brush with homosexuality was at age ten—and it happened thanks to Fallout 2. Imagine my surprise—being a girl with ultra religious parents—when I saw that given high enough charisma, my female character could flirt and then sleep with a woman named Miria in an early town. Before that I hadn’t even considered the…

The Real Reason We Hate Easy Achievements

You know the ones. Sometimes you start a new game, and a few minutes in—before you even do anything—and ping! Achievement Unlocked. Congrats, you earned that achievement by, um, existing? It’s achievements like that, the gamer community at large seems to have decided, that give achievements a bad name. Developers give them out willy-nilly, and…

I Don’t Want My OKCupid Dates To Know I Like Video Games

I probably can’t expect much from a person with a username including the words “Pussy” and “Monster” in it, but even so, a message that I got last month from an OKCupid user was worse than the usual fare. Difficulty in forming complete sentences with logical thoughts and proper grammar? Check. Random sex solicitation before…