- Culture
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for picking up that clean laundry on the floor because you can’t step over it forever, or at least that’s what your mom would say. Also, video games. Last night, after a shamefully long time away, I hopped back into The Witcher 3. I have forgotten all the buttons. When I left…
By Riley MacLeod Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
Revisiting Radiata Stories, My Favorite Video Game As A Kid
When I was about ten years old, my brother Mike introduced me to my favorite game, a JRPG for the PS2 called Radiata Stories. It was a fantasy love story about a young man, Jack Russell (yes, you read that right) whose dreams of becoming a knight are shattered after his teammate, Ridley, is nearly…
By Chloe Spencer Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
Destiny 2‘s Struggle To Please Both Casual And Hardcore Players
I’m playing a lot less Destiny 2 than I was a week ago. I sense I’m not alone in that. That’s because despite—and occasionally because of—all the ways Destiny 2 has improved upon its predecessor, the game is struggling to balance between people who wish they could play it forever and those who worry they…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 29, 2017 -
ReviewsMultiplatformHob: The Kotaku Review
Torn asunder by unknown forces and ravaged by corruption, the world of Hob is in desperate need of repair and rescue. Its nameless, silent hero’s quest to set things right is one of the most captivating and spectacular adventures of the year. Having established its mastery of the Diablo-style isometric action RPG with the Torchlight…
By Mike Fahey Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
Injustice 2 Gets New Patch After Previous One Deleted Players’ Items
Injustice 2‘s latest patch has caused problems for a lot of players, including deleting their items. The development studio has since released another patch that prevents item deletion, but issues still abound. The 1.10 patch for Injustice 2, released September 26th, led to many players reporting that updating their game caused them to lose shaders,…
By Gita Jackson Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Creators Program Will No Longer Let YouTubers Live-Stream
Nintendo has a longstanding poor reputation with the YouTube community, and the latest change to their Nintendo Creators Program may harm that relationship even more. The Nintendo Creators Program, which was launched in 2015, allows YouTubers to receive a portion of advertising proceeds from any videos containing Nintendo-copyrighted content. Prior to the establishment of this…
By Chloe Spencer Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
The SNES Classic Launch Seems To Be Going OK
One might expect, after the Great SNES Classic Pre-Order Debacle of 2017, that launch day would be a disaster. But it actually seems to have gone pretty well. You might not be able to just stroll into a store and snag one of the slick, limited-edition retro consoles, but it seems like people who put…
By Jason Schreier Published September 29, 2017 -
UncategorizedThe New Puzzle Fighter Plays Better Than It Looks
While the plastic-looking 3D characters can never replace the charming big-headed sprites of the original, Capcom’s new free-to-play mobile Puzzle Fighter gets the puzzle fighting bit done well enough. I won’t make too much of a fuss over the art direction of Puzzle Fighter, as it’s little more than set dressing to the main event.…
By Mike Fahey Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
SNES Classic Games, Ranked
It’s Super Nintendo Classic day, which means it is time for us to crack open the console, take a long hard look at the list of games that comes with it, and RANK THEM ALL. Here, separated by tiers, are the 21 SNES Classic games, ranked from worst to best. GAMES THAT HAVE NOT AGED…
By Jason Schreier Published September 29, 2017 - ReviewsHardwareGame Systems
SNES Classic: The Kotaku Review
The Super Nintendo Classic is a miniature blast of nostalgia, a sleekly packaged piece of hardware that will transport you back to the days of Dunkaroos and denim jackets. Although one could certainly complain about some of the choices Nintendo has made here, this is a mostly great package that highlights how well the 16-bit…
By Jason Schreier Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
In Japan, Nintendo has announced that it’s shuttering the Wii Shop Channel. Wii Points can be added until March 27, 2018, while games can be bought on the Wii Shop Channel until January 31, 2019. No word on how this impacts regions outside Japan.
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Team Spun Off Into A New Company
Now that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a smash hit, its developer Bluehole Inc. is worth $4.6 billion. No wonder the team at Bluehole that handled the game is being turned into a subsidiary called PUBG Corporation. Via Gametoc (and tipster Sang) is the company’s new corporate logo: Gametoc (via Sang) reports that PUBG producer Chang-han Kim…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2017 - Uncategorized
NFL Players Buy Xbox For Kid Wearing A Kaepernick Jersey
Washington running backs Keith Marshall and Rob Kelley were in the Gamestop store at the Dulles 28 Centre in Virginia on Tuesday. When they saw a kid wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey then asking how much Xbox One consoles were, the pair got together and bought one for him. The duo were in the store…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2017 -
CultureDivinity: Original Sin 2 Players Are Finding All Kinds Of Ways To Break The Game
In games as in life, you can’t solve all your problems with violence. In Divinity: Original Sin 2, however, you can always teleport a boss from across the map to fight a different boss, thereby solving your problems with somebody else’s violence. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that Divinity: Original Sin 2…
By Nathan Grayson Published September 28, 2017 -
EsportsShaq, Marshawn Lynch, And J.Lo Are On A Computer To Tell You About The Overwatch League
My fellow San Franciscans, the time has come to celebrate, for Shaquille O’Neal—Overwatch guru and the guy from that bad genie movie—has officially announced the roster for San Francisco’s Overwatch League squad. “The squad is stacked! These boys are ready,” screamed Michael Strahan, a man with deep ties to the Overwatch community and also the…
By Patrick Redford Published September 28, 2017 - Uncategorized
Here Are Some Isometric Ocarina Of Time Maps
I have a thing for isometric video games, so big thanks to Mark Mayers for linking this gallery of Ocarina of Time areas cut open and laid out. They’re from the site VGMaps, “the largest source of screenshot maps on the Internet”, which incidentally is now where I’ll be spending the rest of my week.
By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2017
