The dulcet, Brokaw-esque baritone of Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) introduces you to Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, due to arrive sometime this year. In science fiction—whether video game or film—nothing says “mailed-in sequel” like a title with a colon followed by “Rise of the Something–Something.” [IGN] The game will launch on everything: PS4 and…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Cup Noodles

Like it was going to be anything else this week. Here it is, all big and official, Cup Noodles shoveling snow outside the !!! CUPNOODLES MUSEUM in Yokohama, Japan. Everyone knew this would be the ‘Shop Contest this week as soon as Bash posted it on Monday, but I didn’t say so until now because I…

Make a Short Trailer Longer With a Very Detailed Look at Mario Kart 8

Yesterday GameXplain found eight minutes of stuff to discuss in the two-minute trailer introducing Punch-Out!!‘s Little Mac to Super Smash Bros. Today, they offer this fine-toothed combing of the Mario Kart 8 trailer, and after a whopping 26 minutes, there is nary a nit left to pick. GameXplain goes further than any reasonable person could…

Sunday Comics: Seems Legit

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published Feb. 13. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Feb. 10. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

Titanfall Beta Open to All on Xbox One, with PC to Open ‘Maybe’ Today

The Titanfall beta opened up to players on Xbox One yesterday evening, allowing anyone to join without using a beta key. The PC beta will become open soon, added Respawn Entertainment’s Vincent Zampella, “maybe” even today. Major Nelson made the announcement at 9 p.m. EST yesterday, and the beta opened up sometime thereafter. It is…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Sonic Bust: The Winners

There was no shortage of drama to be found in the reaction to Sonic the Hedgehog’s return, in the upcoming Sonic Boom. Here, we’re going for comedy. Inside, we’ve got 20 superb ‘Shops of the Blue Blur’s grand return, plus an Oscar-winning performance by sillstaw! Thanks to everyone who entered! There will be another contest…

DayZ Delivers the Visceral Realism of Opening a Can of Baked Beans

DayZ is a challenging game, for sure. Is it “hard” though? Well, it doesn’t make things easy on you in the simple tasks, that’s for sure. This look at DayZ‘s most commonplace interactions, if they took place in real life, comes from Viva La Dirt League (aka “the closest thing the Internet has to a…

Kickstarter Says It Was Hacked; Change Your Passwords

Kickstarter this afternoon sent out an email telling users that hackers have compromised and accessed their data. While credit card information was not involved in the breach, Kickstarter is advising that users change their passwords here, and for any account where the same password is used. “Accessed information included usernames, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone…

League of Legends is adding a sixth champion to each side, in the six-on six “Hexakill” mode coming Feb. 20. That means at least 20 percent more yelling and swearing in your match, until the mode ends on March 2, that is.

Assassin’s Creed Has a Board Game; It Comes Out in Two Weeks

The next Assassin’s Creed game releases on Feb. 26. Wait, what? Yeah, it’s a board game; something called Assassin’s Creed: Arena. The game is made by Cryptozoic Entertainment, who have handled board games for the Adventure Time and The Walking Dead licenses. It’s billed as “a strategic game of cat-and-mouse that pits 2-4 players against…

Here’s a start-to-finish look at the first mission in Thief, 10 days away from its Feb. 25 launch. Garrett’s trying to make his way back to his hideout during “Lockdown,” when, well, opportunities arise, as they usually do.

Tale of the Tape: How Punch-Out!!‘s Pugilist Performs in Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros.‘ inclusion of the Slight White Hope—aka Little Mac of Punch-Out!!—raises several interesting questions, from how his natural brawling skills will help him in the game to how his short stature might hinder him. Here to answer it all is GameXplain, with a detailed breakdown of the latest trailer. Seriously, there’s a lot…

This Week in the Business: Steam’s Importance to Independents

QUOTE | “I think Steam is … probably the most important thing that’s happened to indie games in the last 10 years.”—Fullbright Company co-founder Steve Gaynor on reactions to his game Gone Home and how indies must think about sales platforms Elsewhere in the business of video games this week … QUOTE | “We expect…

The Best Gaming Headset

Almost six thousand votes later, you’ve chosen the Astro A50 as the best gaming headset. The Astro, a name synonymous with gaming headsets, took 31% of your votes, which only strengthens the brand’s previous recommendations by Kotaku Editorial and Lifehacker readers. [Amazon] Astro’s win may not surprise a lot of people, but the deep run…

Titanfall Server Problems Keeping Many From Playing, Microsoft Fixing [UPDATE 2]

Some Microsoft-run beta servers for the multiplayer-only, always-online game Titanfall have been down (or not working in some way) for at least three hours and counting on this, the first day of widespread access to the beta for the much-anticipated marquee next-gen first-person shooter. This, perhaps, is what betas are for! We don’t know how…

​’A Game You Can Play Forever’

Threes immediately captivated the people who started playing it, with folks bemoaning the lost hours and tired eyes they got in pursuit of ever-higher scores. But, over the last few days, any buzz surrounding Asher Vollmer’s second mobile game has been but a whisper compared to the roaring whirlwind surrounding Flappy Bird, which doesn’t exist…

Rockstar keeps adding content to Grand Theft Auto Online. Today, fittingly, they’ve added a slew of Valentine’s Day content with a criminal twist. Players are getting a chance to grab new guns, cars, clothes…a lot of it themed to fit the 1929’s notorious Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Details about the update are on Rockstar’s site.…

Want to buy Bravely Default, but embarrassed about the “sexy teenage butterfly” cover art? Check out these (hilarious) tips from Dorkly. My favorite: the ol’ Cool Game sandwich.