Yannick LeJacq

Accurate Zelda Map Means You’ll Never Get Lost In The Woods Again

Hyrule is one of the most iconic settings in the history of video games. The Legend of Zelda players have been poring over it in one way or another for almost 30 years now. So when a serious fan sets out to make a faithful rendition of its map, you know he means business. Artist…

Track: New God Flow | Artist: Kanye West, Pusha T, Ghostface Killah | Album: Cruel Summer Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

14 Things You Might Not Know About The Legend Of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda series is so steeped in lore at this point that just figuring out which version of Link you’re playing as can be tricky. Heck, I’m still not sure that’s even his real name The trivia-themed YouTube series “Did You Know Gaming?” took another stab at Zelda’s rich history recently, and the…

Mario Kart 8 Has Millions Of Peaches, Peaches For Me

Gamers took their sweet time making the inevitable “Peaches” joke for Mario Kart 8. But this video by YouTuber Linkums is clever enough that it’s fair to say it was worth the wait: So now that Princess Peach and Luigi both have their own theme music for Mario Kart 8, who’s next? My money’s on…

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby

Talking with Stephen and Jason about Wolfenstein led me down an internet rabbit hole where I discovered this gem. It’s footage of the very first Castle Wolfenstein game, which was released way back in 1981. Something about the giant pixellated swastikas plastered across the bad guys’ chests makes me giggle: I can just imagine the…

A reader sent this Reddit thread my way on Twitter. Looks like it struck a nerve with some gamers. I’m not sure how well the implicit criticism applies to Kotaku since we disclose this info in the review boxes, but it is something to think about as more non-gaming outlets begin to cover/criticize games. Judging…

LittleBigPlanet 3 is coming to the PS3 and PS4 on November 18th, Sony just announced. I am so excited to finally see Sackboy on the PlayStation 4. Check out the game’s predictably adorable pre-order bonuses here if you’re into that sort of thing.

Someone’s Figured Out Where One Million Internet Cats Live

This goes without saying, but people love posting pictures of their cats online. They love it so much, in fact, that they’re often willing to forego little things like “privacy” and “self-respect” in favor of bringing their furry friends to the widest possible audience. A new data-driven project throws the gratuity of all this feline-flaunting…

EA Announces Netflix-Like Subscription Plan On Xbox One

Today EA announced a new subscription service for the Xbox One that will give customers unlimited access to a handful of the company’s games for $4.99 a month. It’s called “EA Access,” and sounds like a sort of Netflix-style program for the company’s games. For a $4.99 monthly fee, subscribers will get access to a…

Love Child, HBO’s new documentary about a notorious case of video game addiction, first aired last night. Now that the film is out in the open for all to see, let’s talk about it! If you had the chance to see the movie, I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can read my take here

Doom II Mod Reimagines Maps Based On Their Names

A group of Doom II modders have reimagined id’s classic shooter in a clever and often silly way: by drawing inspiration from the names of the game’s original 32 maps. The project is known as “Doom II In Name Only.” Ella Guro, its founder, said that it took 666 days to complete. Something tells me…

that’s dedication

aha!

I was just listening to NPR and this story came up about some new very scientific study about how people who say “like” and “um” and generally take a long time to say things do so because they’re actually just SMARTER than everyone else. And then it occurred to me: hey, I take a long…

Hercules Was A Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson-Sized Disappointment

You have to steel yourself before going to see a new movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It’s an intense feat of mental conditioning, on par with the way Mr. Johnson hyped himself up before stepping into the ring during his glory days as a professional wrestler. You must do this because while The Rock…

McDonald’s Happy Meal Customer Gives Bowser A New Paint Job

Modding Mario Kart 8 proper is hard work. Tricking out Mario Kart 8 toys, on the other hand, is an easy way for the seasoned Warhammer fans out there to to turn the fruits of their McDonald’s Happy Meals into a custom set. Reddit user ablarga put a new coat of paint (or several) on…

This is some intense Mario Kart bullet time. Shell time?

There’s nothing like that moment after someone has thrown a shell and you just have to sit there, waiting to see if it’s actually going to connect with the target.

The Story Of A Couple Who Played Video Games While Their Child Died

One day in March 2010, news began to surface that police in South Korea had arrested a couple for the death of their daughter Sarang, the Korean word for “love.” She was only three months old. By the time her parents called local authorities to report her death, she was severely underweight—dropping from her birth…

We’re in the Financial Times! Sort of!

From today’s story Hollywood transformed: How China is changing the DNA of America’s Blockbuster movies: There have been notable missteps. Last year, the producers of Iron Man 3 aimed for coveted co-production status but ended up cutting two different versions of the film. In one, a doctor in China named Dr Wu (played by Chinese…

A Salute To The Rock, The Most Wonderfully Absurd Actor In Hollywood

Dwayne Johnson. Better known as The Rock. Dwayne, “The Rock,” Johnson. Need I say more? I know: I don’t. The Rock speaks for himself, often in the third person. But I’m going to anyway. Because Hercules is finally upon us. I don’t even need to see the whole movie to tell you it’s going to…

Gaming archives online?

Friend just emailed me this: Hey man — I was wondering: is there a repository somewhere online that contains game features (in interactive or design document form) that were ultimately removed from the final shipped game? Figured you might know about something like this. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but it sounds like…