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EsportsAll These Ultimates Aren’t Enough To Stop South Korea’s Overwatch Team
An onslaught of ultimates, rebuffed by a lineup featuring some of South Korea’s best. This weekend’s Overwatch World Cup qualifiers hosts some strong international talent, but South Korea has been dominating their group stage matches so far. It’s little surprise, after last year’s South Korean squad took first in the World Cup in an undefeated…
By Eric Van Allen Published August 5, 2017 - Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Dota 2 Bloodbath
The International, one of pro gaming’s biggest events of the year, started in earnest this week as an around-the-clock group stage has left teams scrambling to lock down top seeding for next week’s Main Event. Fnatic and HellRaisers already sit at the bottoms of Groups A and B respectively with elimination from the tournament potentially…
By Ethan Gach Published August 5, 2017 - Culture
This Week In The Business: Bungie Vs. Crunch
QUOTE | “The Halo 2 crunch almost killed Bungie as a company. It is the most I’ve ever seen humans work in a year and a half. It was brutal. It almost killed us, and those of us that were left basically vowed, ‘never again.’ Never again can we put ourselves through that.” – Bungie…
Brendan Sinclair Published August 5, 2017 -
CultureI Ate My Parents In A ‘Scientifically Accurate’ Dinosaur Survival Game
I opened my “eyes.” I was a baby dakotaraptor striding behind my parents with my siblings, like a flock of ducks. My parents would hunt and provide for me, I thought. Nurture me until I was strong enough to fend for myself. Maybe even love me, in their own simplistic dinosaur way. About a minute…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 4, 2017 - Culture
Battlegrounds Skirt Going For Nearly $500 On The Steam Marketplace
In the year 2017, games either die in obscurity, or they live long enough to see players spending $486.93 on a purple mini-skirt. This week, the wildly popular online shooter PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds added a handful of paid cosmetic items as a “test” of a key and crate system that’ll be added to the game when…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
Playing Nicely With Transformers’ Biggest Decepticon Ever
Back in 2015, Hasbro asked Transformers fans to choose between Autobot Omega Supreme and Decepticons Scorponok and Trypticon as the next massive titan-class toy. City-sized T-rex Trypticon won, and now he’s on my desk, with a friend ready to help open him up. Honestly I was pulling for Scorponok, the Decepticon scorpion/base/robot who served as…
By Mike Fahey Published August 4, 2017 - Culture
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
The weekend is for a second try at meal prep, since your first try last week wasn’t so hot. Also, video games. I finished the first episode of The Long Dark’s story mode last night, so this weekend I’m on to the second episode and to check out more of the changes to the sandbox…
By Riley MacLeod Published August 4, 2017 - Culture
Stick A Jet Engine In A Train, What Could Go Wrong
Miloš Belanec is a 3D artist from Slovakia. You can see more of Miloš’ work at his ArtStation page To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2017 - Esports
GameCube-Only Controller Rule In Smash Melee Competition Raises Eyebrows
Five prominent Super Smash Brothers: Melee tournament organizers and players have formed a competition committee and released a recommended ruleset for tournament play, including a lengthy section imposing a “tentative ban” on the use of non-Gamecube controllers. The ruleset writers explained that the 16-year-old classic Gamecube controller is “somewhat intrinsic to what we consider ‘playing…
By Maddy Myers Published August 4, 2017 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy VII Retrospective: Great Because It’s Weird
Before I played Final Fantasy VII, I didn’t think it was going to be very good. I don’t remember how I was introduced to the game—maybe it was a store ad, or a magazine, or that wild 1997 TV commercial—but I do remember hating it. This is part seven of Kotaku’s Final Fantasy Retrospective, in…
By Jason Schreier Published August 4, 2017 - Culture
Dream Daddy’s Mini Games Are Awful
Dream Daddy is a cute game about cute dads that’s marred by some really uncute mini games. Gita Jackson: I’m here with Chloe Spencer, Kotaku’s summer intern, to talk about Dream Daddy—more specifically, the horrible, awful, no good mini games. Chloe, you’re a big fan of the game, right? Chloe Spencer: Big fan, yeah! Damien…
By Gita Jackson Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
Fortnite Developers Apologize For Surprise Change That Wiped Out Several Players’ Bases
Developer Epic Games issued anapology this morning after several fans of Fortnite, a surprisingly cute player vs. environment game about surviving the apocalypse, were caught off guard when their labored-after bases disappeared. The unannounced change was a part of an early morningpatch for the Early Access game. Players say they spentseveral dozen hoursconstructing bases on…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
This Is How It Begins
Look, not everyone sets out to have a massive Amiibo collection. A lot of people start out like I just did: with one. At the start of this week, I didn’t own a single Amiibo. Nintendo’s little chip-enabled figures just didn’t appeal to me. Unlike some of my colleagues I’ve never been a big toy…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
He Beat Her Offers A Flawed But Interesting Take On Domestic Violence
With its lush art and lovely music, visual novel He Beat Her sounds like an easy sell. The way it handles its subject matter, however, lacks the nuance it deserves. [Given the subject matter of the game, this article will discuss domestic violence and mental illness. This is your content warning.] He Beat Her is…
By Gita Jackson Published August 4, 2017 - Esports
Korean League Slaps League Player On Wrist For Bragging About Salary
The League Champions Korea Operations Committee has issued a ‘caution’ penalty to SK Telecom T1’s Junsik “Bang” Bae for a reply to one of his viewers during a League of Legends stream in February 2017. The comment came after a viewer of Bae’s stream told the streamer to “work harder,” saying “Faker just got one…
By Eric Van Allen Published August 4, 2017 -
UncategorizedSplatoon 2 Uses Ketchup and Mayo Ink For Splatfest, And It Looks Gross
Splatoon 2’s big event has kicked off in Japan, where players are finding that the game takes the mayo vs ketchup theme all the way. Yes, you will be shooting the warring condiments onto your enemy squids this weekend. Eww. Here’s a whole match, courtesy of Snorth93. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s sort…
By Patricia Hernandez Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
People Are Falling In Love With A Video Game Mouse Who Uses Sign Language
In the upcoming VR game Moss, tiny hero Quill uses squeaks and various non-verbal cues to communicate with the player. On August 2, Polyarc animator Rick Lico tweeted a test clip of the mouse issuing a greeting using American Sign Language (ASL). The response was overwhelming. Lico tweeted out the animation to his couple hundred…
By Mike Fahey Published August 4, 2017 - Uncategorized
Internet Sleuths Think The Last of Us Part II Is Set In Seattle
Is part of the next The Last of Us set in Seattle? Internet detectives believe so, after combing through the game’s concept art and comparing it to real-life Washington. The Last of Us: Part II won’t be out for at least another year or two, but Redditor and artist Voidsby believes they’ve already discovered one of…
By Jason Schreier Published August 4, 2017
