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CultureTotal Recall
Now You Too Can Play the Terrible Akira Video Game!
In 1988, Taito released Akira, cash-in on the hugely-popular animated film of the same name. Just in case you were wondering if Japanese developers somehow made better movie adaptations in the 1980s, no, they did not. The game was terrible. Still, that’s mostly second-hand information, as most Westerners have never actually played the game, since…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Activision’s 1984 Catalogue Did Not Feature Call of Duty
Before the internet, before people even really cottoned onto the idea of games magazines, publishers had to sell things the old-fashioned way: with TV ads and catalogues. Most catalogues were simple affairs, all bright lights, screenshots and slogans, but sometimes publishers went a little left field. Like Activision did in 1984 when it basically commissioned…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012 -
CultureCelery with Peanut Butter: The Snacktaku Review
In the comments section of my most recent Snacktaku review, a reader accused me of (and I am paraphrasing here) “eating nothing but crap”. Perhaps this review of the healthy, wholesome combination of a vegetable no one likes and chocolate’s pale understudy will convince him otherwise. Sometimes I eat things that only look like crap…
By Mike Fahey Published May 21, 2012 -
Culture
A Force to Recon With
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier arrives this week, giving Dragon’s Dogma a tough act to follow. PlayStation Move title Sorcery also finally arrives on shelves. Today • Mario Tennis Open (3DS) Tuesday • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (PS3, 360) • Dragon’s Dogma (360, PS3) • Sorcery (PS3) • Men in Black: Alien Crisis (360,…
By Owen Good Published May 20, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: A Hell of an Error
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Virtual Shackles by Jeremy Vinar and Mike Fahmie published May 18.—Read more of Virtual Shackles Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published May 14.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…
By Owen Good Published May 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHere’s How To Make The Professor Layton Soundtrack Much Better
The Professor Layton games have long demanded a soundtrack a bit more sophisticated than the one they have—the plinky, “ooh boy, we have a mystery!” music is fine at first, but eventually I’ve found that it begins to grate. This is especially true of the first game that I played in the series, 2008’s Professor…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 19, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallIt Takes A Lot Of Focus To Play Pong… WITH YOUR MIND
Psychic/possessed children are creepy. They do creeeepy things, like stare blankly at you and speak in a monotone and maybe set your hair on fire with their minds. But sometimes, they do something even creepier. They play video games… without using the controllers This scene, from the apparently terrible 1981 horror film Kiss Daddy Goodbye,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 18, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Weird Art of the Video Game Massacre
We’ve all done it. Anyone who’s played an open-world game, from Grand Theft Auto III to Fallout 3 to Red Dead Redemption, has gone on a murderous rampage. Those civilians. They’re all just… sitting there. You know what else is sitting there? Your dark, murderous id. Time to go to town. The number of video…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 18, 2012 -
Culture
Star Wars is no Match for Some Good Concept Art by Your Side
Paul Adam is a concept artist at BioWare. No, not the Mass Effect BioWare. Or the Dragon Age BioWare. The Star Wars one. So yeah, you’re about to see some lightsabers. This art was all done for Star Wars: Old Republic, some of it as promotional stuff for the game’s website, other pieces as concept…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 18, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallVideo Games Kickstarted the Careers of Some of Hollywood’s (and TV’s) Greats
You may have seen one or two of these clips before, maybe even here on Kotaku, but boy, seeing them all laid out in a single video like this is something else. Witness stars like Christian Bale, Jack Black and…30 Rock’s Jenna Maroney and…Paul Rudd get a big break on crappy old video game commercials.…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallA Very Sexy Introduction to an Ancient Tabletop Game
Sure, I could bang on about Caveman, a tabletop electronic game released by Tomy, and how it had a rad soundtrack and some terrific box art. But my Australian accent is, while occasionally loud, not exactly sexy. And I’ve never actually played this thing. So let’s kick back and watch the Belgians at Bleeping Relics…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2012 -
Culture
Only Art Can Bring Halo, Uncharted & Assassin’s Creed Together
Evan Shipard is an Australian artist who has worked on some big movies and movie franchises, such as Wolverine, Narnia and even House of Flying Daggers He’s also worked on a number of prominent video game commercials, including Halo’s Deliver Hope spot and trailers for Battlefield 3, Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed and God of War Shipard…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Welcome to Atari, Sir, Here’s Your 1973 ID badge
Ronald Jardine was one of the very first employees at Atari. We’re talking the early 1970s here. Employee #159. Wonderfully, Jardine recently took photos of his old ID badge from his time there and uploaded them, giving us an insight into the cutting-edge security methods employed at the blossoming tech company. It was…a card with…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
You Won’t Sleep After Seeing Soft & Cuddly
Soft & Cuddly was a 1987 game for the ZX Spectrum. It was neither soft, nor cuddly. It was horrifying Strange and mildly disgusting in a way only British-developed game for personal computers in the 1980s could be – and I say that as a good thing – it tasks the player with collecting the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThere’s Live-Action Diablo Footage…From Suburban America
This old Diablo II commercial, from around the time of the game’s launch in June 2000, is notable for two things. The first is that it’s a rare example of official live-action Diablo The second is the use of the word Macintosh in the closing splash. For all the credit companies like Valve get these…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Creator of Mario and Zelda Reveals his Secrets (in 1999)
In 1999, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto gave a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference. An address you can watch here in its entirety. Remember, this isn’t the quasi-executive, Wii Music Shigeru Miyamoto we know today. This is the designer at perhaps the height of his powers, with games like Super Mario 64 still fresh…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Fresh New Images of Tired Old Hardware
If you’re short on ideas for new wallpaper, and have a bit of a thing for old video game hardware, check out French artist Alan Cloiseau’s collection of vintage Sega, Sony and Nintendo systems and controllers. His personal site has plenty more great art.
By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2012 -
CultureMaple Bacon Fudge: The Homemade Snacktaku Review
Give a man a snack, you keep him sated until dinner; teach a man to create a snack, and he’ll make it once, tell everyone about it, and then never make it again, no matter how excellent it is. This weekend I made maple bacon fudge. I may never make it again, but I am…
By Mike Fahey Published May 14, 2012 -
Culture
The Worlds of Batman and Lord of the Rings, Brought Together by Art
Stacey Clark is a senior concept artist at Warner Bros.’ Monolith Productions. In this gallery, you’ll find some of her work for games such as Lord of the Rings: War in the North and Gotham City Imposters. You’ll also find some personal pieces. Check out Stacey’s blog and sketchbook for more of her stuff! Fine…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2012