-
CultureCounter-Strike Is Now Old Enough To Drink
On June 19, 1999, Minh Le and Jess Cliffe released a humble little mod for the original Half-Life called “Counter-Strike”. In 2020, 21 years later, it is still one of the most popular video games on the planet. I remember playing the mod at the time—not right at launch, but sometime early in 2000—and finding…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 21, 2020 -
Uncategorized10 Questions I Have About This Weird Crash Bandicoot Mascot Photo
As today was wrapping up, video game hype man Geoff Keighley posted a photo of him and a giant Crash Bandicoot mascot in front of a large house. Both are wearing masks. I have some questions. Where did they get that mask? I can’t imagine you can just go to a local Walmart or even…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureThe Week In Games: That’s So Wizard!
After a few delays, Star Wars Episode I: Racer releases for PS4 and Switch. Between this, Star Wars: Demolition and Super Bombad Racing, there was a period of time there where we were getting a lot of games based on the vehicles and ships from Star Wars. I miss that era. Star Wars games used…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureGTA Online Offers Players Triple Rewards On Parachute Races, Confusing The Community
Parachute races aren’t a thing most players care about in Grand Theft Auto Online, but Rockstar decided to run an event this week featuring these races and the community has reacted with a giant “Huh?” There are many things to do in Grand Theft Auto Online. One thing that most players never do anymore in…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: Summer 2020
This weekend marks the official start of summer. Most folks will be stuck inside and most pools are closed, but still, it’s summertime! Your challenge this week: Let’s have some summer fun with video games! In the picture above Leon is not wearing a mask, but he is practicing social distancing. So, better than nothing.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureHow’s It Going?: Masks Edition
I waited for you. Get in here, quick! The open thread is already live and everyone is talking without you. Please wear a mask when you go outside. Please. My GF and I had to head out to the furniture store to look at getting a new couch for our new place. We had been…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureSunday Comics: Worth It!
Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published June 18. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 15. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 21, 2020 -
CultureShop Contest‘Shop Contest: The PS5 Cat, Winners!
One cute and futuristic cat caught my attention during the PS5 reveal. So I asked you folks to add this furball to more games, movies and TV shows. Everyone deserves a good, future cat. Our winning image this week comes from sciteach who pulls off the rare back-to-back wins! Can they be stopped next week?…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
OpinionThe Last of Us Part 2’s Metacritic Page Shows How Broken Numerical Scores Are
Despite The Last of Us Part 2’s mixed critical reception, review score aggregator Metacritic shows it with a critical score of 95 out of 100, with a plethora of 10/10s developer Naughty Dog has been happy to tout. The user scores, meanwhile, sit at an abysmal 3.5 out of 10, based on over 31,000 reviews…
By Riley MacLeod Published June 20, 2020 -
CultureFolks Are Already Taking Great Photos In The Last Of Us Part II
This week on Snapshots: A bunch of Last of Us 2 photos, some creepy Star Wars ruins, a tiny squirrel, and one cool looking Spider-Man. (I don’t believe any of the photos featured here contain spoilers as they all seem to be taken early on in the game. But if you don’t want to be…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
CultureDepixelizing Video Game Characters Creates Monsters
A new digital tool built to depixelize photos sounds scary and bad. Another way to remove privacy from the world. But this tool is also being used for a sillier and not terrible purpose: Depixelizng old game characters. The results are…nevermind, this is also a terrible use of this tool. “Face Depixelizer” is a tool…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
CulturePokemonHonchkrow Is A Shitty Boss
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Honchkrow! Honchkrow Details Type: Dark/Flying Average Height: 2′ 11″ Average Weight: 60.2 lbs First Added In Generation IV Have…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
CultureHow’s It Going?: Backlog Edition
The rumors are true! Kotaku’s daily open thread has once again returned. Come on in and chat with us! We all have backlogs. A list of games we always wanted to get around to playing or finishing, but for various reasons haven’t. I have a large backlog. And I’ve been making more time to knock…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
CultureMorning CheckpointAnimal Crossing Player Has Too Many Fans
This week we celebrate Juneteenth, clean up an apartment in Deus Ex, meet the snake who swallowed an AK-47, find out when Horizon Zero Dawn 2 is releasing on PS5 and find out how many fans in Animal Crossing is too many. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Ashely Parrish’s latest big piece is…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 20, 2020 -
CultureKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, announced earlier this week for Japan, is officially getting a Western release this fall. The rhythm game features more than 140 songs spanning the series’ history, and features an all-new Kingdom Hearts story. Look for more info soon on KingdomHearts.com.
By Mike Fahey Published June 19, 2020 -
CultureCrash Bandicoot 4 Is Coming
Between Gematsu discovering listings for the Xbox One and PS4 game on Taiwan’s Digital Game Rating website, a mailing I received from Activision containing a Crash-themed puzzle, and developer Toys for Bob teasing a Monday game reveal, the bandicoot is out of the bag. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is in the works. I…
By Mike Fahey Published June 19, 2020 -
OpinionNaughty Dog Showed A Fake Last Of Us 2 Scene To Preserve One Of The Game’s Surprises
To be crystal clear, this video covers major spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2. If you’d prefer to go into this game totally cold, turn back now. Seriously. We mean it. All right, then. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! Spoilers follow for The Last of Us Part 2—specifically, for events that occur…
Ari Notis & Chris Person & Riley MacLeod Published June 19, 2020 -
UncategorizedPlayers Wonder Where Fortnite‘s Cop Cars Went
Fortnite’s Chapter 2, Season 3 brought a lot of changes to the map, notably dunking most of it underwater. Developer Epic has hinted that the water will recede, and the season trailer showed characters driving vehicles, which hopefully means we’ll be able to ride more than just boats and sharks in the future. While many…
By Riley MacLeod Published June 19, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsCan You Identify These Badly Described Classic Games?
Atari collectors all know about the so-called “Taiwan Cooper” line of bootleg cartridges that were sold around the world back in the ‘80s. They were knock-off copies of Atari 2600 games both popular (Space Invaders) and obscure (Bobby Is Going Home), with weird cover art and bizarre descriptions on the backs of the boxes. Nobody…
By Chris Kohler Published June 19, 2020 -
OpinionLet’s Talk About Crypto’s Mustache
During last night’s EA Play, Apex Legends developer Respawn announced the game’s next collection event, Lost Treasures, alongside upcoming crossplay and a Switch version of the battle royale game. Lost Treasures will feature everything you’d expect—new gameplay, new cosmetics—as well as technophile character Crypto with a mustache. I’m here for it. Crypto’s mustache appears to…
By Riley MacLeod Published June 19, 2020