Culture

Counter-Strike Player Pulls Off Incredible Ace

Damn. Just… damn. The Counter-Strike community’s been freaking out about an economy round ace pulled off by EnvyUS player Happy—and with good reason. It’s completely ridiculous. First, just watch. It will make your eyeballs explode out of your head no matter how familiar you are with the game: Happy downed the entire opposing team in…

Track: I’m Back | Artist: Eminem | Album: The Marshall Mathers LP Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Super-Rare Sonic The Hedgehog Game, Once Lost, Now Playable

One of the rarest Sonic games of all time is Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car, an arcade game for kids that was released in 1991. If you weren’t in Japan that year (so…pretty much all of us), you’ve probably never played it, as it has never been released again, ever, in any format. Until now!…

Next Week In Games: Dancing All Night

Can’t type, dancing. Don’t bother waiting, will be doing this all night. And yes, I skipped a week. To avoid LEGO Dimensions. Because. Tuesday, September 22 FIFA 16 — PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC Blood Bowl II — PC, PS4, Xbox One The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 — PS4, Xbox One Retail…

The Skylanders Superchargers Toys Are Mostly Great

The new Skylanders video game is pretty great, but what about the toys? Toy Time takes a quick look at the good and not-so-good with the new Superchargers toys, starting with Donkey Kong’s shirt. Seriously, what’s with that shirt? As those of you who’ve been following along with the Skylanders Superchargers saga, care about Amiibo…

Sunday Comics: Horn Dog

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your pretty much weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published September 16. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published September 14. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry…

This Week In The Business: No Designers, No Dancing Unicorns, No Problem

QUOTE | “I think one of the things that we won’t be looking to do very soon is World of Dancing Unicorns.” – Wargaming’s head of EU marketing Keith Anderson, talking about what new games Wargaming will and will not be working on Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… QUOTE | “Halfbrick remains…

Fallout And XCOM Had A Baby, And It’s Tough As Nails

Its name is Bedlam, and it will probably kick your ass. In a good way, mostly. I love Fallout, but the recent games have been lacking in one major area. I wish there was more for me to be authentically, tangibly afraid of. Bethesda’s Fallout games (Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas) told me I was…

Track: Puzzle Swap 3DS Guitar Cover | Album: N/A | Artist: FamilyJules7X Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

In The Future, There Will Be Street Meat

Dimitar Marinski is a concept artist at IO Interactive, the team behind the Hitman series. You can see more of Dimitar’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button…

Star Wars KOTOR II Getting New, Player-Created Achievements

Against all odds, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, a decade-old game, keeps getting official updates. After a big out-of-nowhere update a couple months ago that added snazzy modern features like Steam Workshop support, ultra-high resolutions, and cloud saves, the (best) Star Wars role-playing game is getting even more achievements. There’s a twist,…

The Backlash Against Counter-Strike‘s New Bomb Defusal

The bomb. Counter-Strike matches revolve around it. Suddenly, it’s different, and that changes a lot of things. As part of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s latest big update, Valve added a bunch of new animations to the more-popular-than-several-million-high-school-jocks-assembled-into-one-mega-jock multiplayer shooter. Some just make the game look nicer (or worse, depending on who you talk to), but the…

The GameStop Hero Who Drove A Customer To A Police Station, And Other Game Retail Stories

I’ve raked through miserable game store story after even more miserable game store story. So it warms my heart and restores my faith in humanity to learn just how many employees go out of their way for customers, too. The Stolen Car (via Tim) Shortly after I moved to Minnesota, I located my local Gamestop…

Fantastic New RPG Lets You Talk Your Way Out Of Every Battle

Undertale made me grin until my face hurt. Then it broke my heart. And that was just the prologue. Undertale is a new RPG that just landed on Steam. It’s cut from the same cloth as stuff like Earthbound; that is to say, it’s charming, weird, wacky, and subversive, but not without substance. It might…

Track: Earthbound – Eight Melodies Orchestral Remix | Album: N/A | Artist: Pascal Michael Stiefel/Plasma3Music Remixes & Rob Platt/Pl511 Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Cosplayers, Let’s Hear Your Stories

I’ve covered a lot of cosplay over the years, both on Kotaku and beyond. That’s a big reason this subsite dedicated 100% to the craft exists.Thing is, I’m not a cosplayer, so my stories and accounts have always been those of a fascinated outsider looking in. While it’s fantastic that cosplayers, photographers, videographers, props builders…

Pick Up That Can

Put it in the trashcan. Something something compliance. *whack*. Cop is TimmCosplay, photo by Yukibun. Nice job finding a trashcan that looks just like the City 17 ones!

Comic Book Terraforms Mars

Michal Lisowski is an artist from Poland who has worked for companies like Arkane (Dishonored) and Privateer Press (Warmachine). You can see more of Michal’s work at his personal site and ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click…

Valve Fixed Counter-Strike‘s Biggest Problem

Thank fucking goodness. As part of a huge update released late yesterday, Valve took aim at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s most egregious problem: awkward, unreliable hitboxes. Hitboxes are what they sound like: they dictate where players can be hit when you shoot at them. For years, players complained that they could, for instance, unload clips into…

Racist Troll Doesn’t Understand Racism, And Other Trolling Stories

When I asked for your worst (but really best) stories about trolls, I didn’t expect so many stories from trolls. But here we have it: 23 hand-picked stories from your amusing trolling and being-trolled experiences. Suffice it to say that I’ve decided to unplug from the Internet now. Submissions have been edited lightly for clarity.…