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CulturePopeyes Wins The Fast Food Wars With Chicken Waffle Tenders
They’re trying to keep it a secret, and it’s much more fun and childish to imagine every beeped word in this video is “penis”, but thecat is out of the bag — Popeyes Chicken Waffle Tenders arrive July 29. AdvertisingAge has the skinny (probably the wrong choice of words) on Popeyes’ latest creation, chicken tenders…
By Mike Fahey Published July 25, 2013 -
Culture
Watch Top Speed-Runners Take on Tough Games for Charity
You want to help a worthy cause like Doctors Without Borders, don’t you? And you love seeing great games like Okami HD, Metal Gear Solid and Dark Souls being finished in record-beating time, right? Then you should watch the Summer Games Done Quick streaming marathon from Speed Demos Archive in the stream above. Some of…
By Evan Narcisse Published July 25, 2013 -
Culture
Tali’s “Official” Face, A Cyborg Shepard And Other BioWare Sketches
OK. This is awesome. Matt Rhodes, one of the best concept artists in the business, has opened up the vaults and shared some of his work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series from before you’d seen a screenshot. Suffice to say, things are different When I say the images are from the earliest…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 24, 2013 -
Culture
Guys, Shut Up, The Giant Robot Is Sleeping
Mikhail Rakhmatullin is a concept artist who works at Russian indie developers Nival. He does good sci-fi. And fantasy. And sharp-dressed robots. You can see more of his work at his personal site and CGHub page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 24, 2013 -
CultureA Tribute To One Of The Greatest Cars Ever Made
The Ford GT40. So fast. So gorgeous. Even decades later, it still turns heads, and it still stops hearts. So if a guy who draws cars in video games for a living wants to pay tribute to a vehicle, there aren’t many better options. The work you’re seeing here is that of Luis Nieves, who’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 23, 2013 -
Culture
The Week in Games: The Smurfs? The Smurfs.
Well alright then. The Smurfs 2 it is this week, a movie adaptation doing every single platform like it’s still 2008 or something. Not much else to discuss. Monday • RuneScape 3 (Online) Tuesday • The Smurfs 2 (360, PS3, Wii U, Wii, DS) • The Raven – Legacy of a Master Thief Deluxe Edition…
By Dealzon Published July 21, 2013 -
CultureSunday Comics: Barter Economy
Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 15. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published July…
By Owen Good Published July 21, 2013 -
Culture
This Week in the Business: Staring Into the Uncanny Valley
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “If improved graphics aren’t combined with better animation, all these games are going to dive into the uncanny valley.”—Julien Merceron, worldwide tech director for Square Enix, talking about escaping from the uncanny valley with next-gen games QUOTE | “It takes women…
By Steve Peterson Published July 20, 2013 -
Culture
Jar Jar Binks Finally Gets What’s Coming To Him
Gunship Revolution is not, as you may suspect, the name of an old SNK shooter on the Neo Geo. It’s the name of an art team with its HQ in the Philipines, but with members spread all over the world. They specialize in stuff like concept art and illustration, but can also branch out and…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 19, 2013 -
Culture
Times Square Is Less Of A Hassle After Aliens Blow It Up
Dan Ghiordanescu is a concept artist who works at Travian Games, but who has previously lent his talents to projects like Crysis 2. In the gallery below, then, you’ll see a few shots from Crytek’s game, but also a lot more other works that are a little less focused on the alien destruction of New…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 18, 2013 -
Culture
I Don’t Know What The Hell’s Going On Here, But I Like It
If I didn’t have kids, I would have my walls covered with prints by Philippines-based artist Reynan Sanchez. Every one of his original illustrations is like the cover to a comic I wish I could read, if only it actually existed. And his fan art, like the God of War piece below, makes you wish…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 17, 2013 -
CultureHey Guys, I Found Our New Review Format
Hot Pepper Game Reviews? Brilliant. Jared Rosen is a fearless pioneer of video game criticism. We should all learn by his example. Mostly I’m glad he’s done this first, so if someone suggest I do this I can point to Jared’s video and shake my head with faux sadness.
By Mike Fahey Published July 16, 2013 -
CultureTotal Recall
Nintendo’s First Proper Console Was So 80s It Had A Cassette Deck
So, the Famicom turned 30 today. In honour of that, let’s look at one of the coolest accessories ever made for the console, one that sadly never made it out of Japan. In 1984, Nintendo released the Famicom Data Recorder, a tape deck peripheral for the console. Yes, cassette tape. The Data Recorder was a…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 16, 2013 -
Culture
Zelda Fans, Drop What You’re Doing And Check Out This Art Collection
This. Is. Incredible Fan site History of Hyrule have done an amazing job tracking down all old art from The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past from all kinds of old magazines, manuals, products and publications, and have scanned and uploaded the images online. To say it’s a treasure trove of old Nintendo…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2013 -
CultureTotal RecallWhen Losing A Game Actually Means Something
Death or defeat in a video game is normally something to be glossed over, brushed aside as you continue (or repeat) a stage on your way to inevitable victory. A quick “GAME OVER” screen, maybe a prompt or two, then you’re back into the action. Where’s the realism in that? The sense of consequence? Life…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2013 -
Culture
The Week in Games: Western Dynasty
What can we say, it’s the middle of summer. This is the slow season for new releases. The week’s big highlights include Dynasty Warriors 8 and Shin Megami Tensei IV arriving in North America on Tuesday, Monday • Need For Speed Most Wanted All DLC Bundle (PC) Tuesday • Turbo: Super Stunt Squad (360, PS3,…
By Dealzon Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Critical Miss
Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published July 10. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published July…
By Owen Good Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
Rest Easy, America. Your Twinkies Have Returned
As promised last month, the relaunched Hostess Brands has brought Twinkies, Cup Cakes and other magical snacks back to America’s store shelves after disappearing last November. I have sampled one of each of these, and the only difference is the sweet taste of relief and an incredibly unnatural freshness. Our national nightmare is over.
By Mike Fahey Published July 14, 2013 -
Culture
This Week in the Business:‘The Wii U Feels Like an Offline Experience’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “The Wii U feels like an offline experience right now.”—Peter Moore, COO of Electronic Arts, talking about why the publisher isn’t working on Wii U titles QUOTE | “We’re always so tongue-in-cheek and irreverent about it, that I think people get…
By Steve Peterson Published July 13, 2013 -
Culture
Let’s Imagine Mos Eisley Was A Little Bit Prettier
Neil Maccormack is one of the most talented artists out there. He’s a constant feature and award-winner on digital art websites, has been published several times in Ballistic’s awesome EXPOSÉ series of art books and has also done work in games, movies and advertising. His most recent work in games was for Japanese dev Applibot…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2013