Five Smash Bros. Basics That You Should Master

So you want to be a Smash Bros. expert. Great! But becoming a better player isn’t just a matter of fast reflexes. It’s also a matter of knowing what to do. You know what they say about knowledge and power, right? Earlier this month we covered Super Smash Academy‘s first “basics” video, which covered things…

Not Even Cinema Sins Can Resist The Power Of Groot

In the midst of tearing apart Guardians of the Galaxy for its regular “Everything Wrong With” series, Cinema Sins discovers why none of the movies’ obvious issues really mattered. He is Groot. I’ve watched the movie a dozen times since it came out on Blu-ray, and while it’s mainly become a pleasant way to put…

A Team Fortress 2 Fan Film Nearly As Good As Valve’s

I always figured heists and car chases were more the domain of games like Grand Theft Auto, but this slick video makes a pretty convincing argument that they’d be unfathomably rad in Team Fortress 2, er, too. “Red Zone” is a machinima film by Dunkle, an extremely talented wielder of the Source Filmmaker’s arcane magicks.…

New Pokémon Hacked, So You Can Play As The Bad Guy

Pokémon hackers have been busy lately. Not only have they spilled the beans on unreleased legendaries in the last few months, they’ve also figured out how to tinker with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire—and the results are hilarious. Here’s one hack, uploaded by Huntereb and created by @Reisyukaku, that involves replacing the main character’s model…

Far Cry Could Be A Great Horror Game

Far Cry 4 can be a very silly game. It’s hard to keep a straight face when playing anything with exploding animals launching every which way. But that’s not all Far Cry is. Placed in the right hands, the shooter can be downright terrifying. Thanks to the latest game’s robust new level editor (particularly on…

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Goes Primal In February

The more I study the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the more I realize I might never catch up. Hot on the heels of the recent Phantom Forces expansion comes Primal Clash, a new set featuring Pokémon that have undergone Primal Reversion, including Primal Kyogre-EX and Primal Groudon-EX. Now that I’ve almost finished building my own…

The Cockiest Way To End A Smash Bros. Match

Last weekend, a Smash Bros. event called Shockwave 11 went down. And during a Grand Final match with two impressive players, we saw what is probably a master class in swagger. The showdown was intense. A Ness, controlled by a player with the handle “Awestin,” faced off against a Captain Falcon player with the handle…

How Westwood Made The Lion King, One Of Gaming’s Finest Platformers

In the first episode of Double Fine’s new “Devs Play” series, Westwood Studios co-founder Louis Castle explores the challenges of turning one of Disney’s most beloved animated films into a 16-bit platformer. I’ve learned so much. I’m a huge fan of The Lion King for the Sega Genesis. I still remember buying a Genesis bundle…

A Cute Little Holiday Present From the Makers of Device 6

The Sensational December Machine is like a snow globe that you can go inside of. What’s in there? A beautifully drawn, vertiginously presented holiday fable that’s a great little meditation on what it means to give and get something. Totally free and made in three weeks, the latest release from Simogo is the indie developer’s…

Steam Sale Continues, $8 Temple of Osiris, and More Deals

Another day of Steam discounts is here. We’ll be highlighting noteworthy deals and price undercuts from competing retailers as always. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Collector’s Edition ($150) | Walmart | In-Stock for Preorder Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ($2) | Green Man Gaming | Use code WINTER-SALE20-GROGRE The Walking Dead Season 2 ($6)…

It looks like Dark Souls‘ PC version may not be getting worse after all. The takedown action aimed at eliminating the dissemination of DSFix—the modder-made patch that makes the PC version of Dark Souls actually playable—appears to have been the result of a big misunderstanding, according to a new update on NeoGAF.

King of the endless runners Temple Run has entered the age of virtual reality. Imangi Studios has officially released Temple Run VR, a new chapter in the running from creepy monkeys saga, for play on the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition. Since I don’t have a means to strap a phone to my face, I…

Sunset Overdrive’s New Expansion Is Short But Sweet

Sunset Overdrive, the silly new shooter from the creators of Ratchet & Clank, got its first story-based expansion today, The Mystery Of The Mooil Rig. The DLC adds a lot of great stuff to the game, and also brings some welcome improvements. Because it’s so great, however, I wish there was more to it. As…

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku‘s reader-run community: Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-: The TAY Review • Next Stop: New Hyrule • Pre-Cult: GTA San Andreas HD • TAY Explores Comics: The Voynich Hotel • topgearFTW’s Top 5 Anime of 2014 • Zeus, The Almighty’s Top Ten [Games] of 2014 • Psycho-Pass 2: the Ani-TAY Review…

It’s The Fan-Made Animated Shovel Knight Holiday Special

Sometimes you love a game so much you’ve just gotta create a short animated holiday special based on it, and so we have Wind-up Dog Animation‘s short but sweet Shovel Knight Animated Holiday Special. I love that we live in a time when folks with a little spare time on their hands and some love…