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And the “Best Smash Bros Facial Expression” award goes to: Donkey Kong! Masahiro Sakurai showed us the redesigned Home-run Bat in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Wii U, and a Donkey Kong with googly eyes, scared to death. Hopefully the bat will have similar eye-popping effects on every Smash Bros character. Aaaand he’s out: Dayshot…
By Gergo Vas Published February 12, 2014 - Kotaku East
Fake Eyelashes on Pets Might Be a Thing
Right now, it’s not a huge thing by any stretch… yet. But, for better or worse, this does exist! Earlier this month, Japanese Twitter user Miomio3030 uploaded images of a Pomeranian with unused faux lashes. The image, which you can see below, was retweeted over ten thousand times. The lashes were placed above the critter’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2014 - Uncategorized
Guess which game has the most BAFTA award nominations! You get no brownie points for guessing The Last of Us. Naughty Dog’s zombie survival game was nominated for ten awards (in nine categories) by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts—a curiously familiar number. Check out the full list of nominees here
By András Neltz Published February 12, 2014 - Kotaku East
China’s “Cabinet Tribe” Lives in Shipping Containers
For around $30 a month, you too can live in a Chinese shipping container. The monthly 180 yuan ($29.68) rent gets Pan Wei (below) a box… and not much else. There’s no toilet and no bathtub; however, he was able to get electricity. Winters are cold, and summers get hot. The containers are small (18…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2014 - Uncategorized
Rust Bans Over 4,000 Cheaters [UPDATE: Developer Addresses Concerns]
Over the weekend, the developers of open-world ex-zombie survival game Rust have deployed their newly-created anti-cheat software on the official game servers. The result? 4,621 banned players. The software, called CheatPunch, is similar to Valve’s VAC system in that its bans are permanent and incontestable—if you’re banned, you’re banned. Period. No second chances. As studio…
By András Neltz Published February 12, 2014 - Kotaku East
A Hotel Room Where Train Nerds Can Get Action. Train Action.
In most Japanese hotel rooms, you just sleep. In some, you might do other things. But in this Tokyo hotel you can play with toy trains. At the Washington Hotel in Tokyo’s geek district of Akihabara, room 1304 is quite different from the rest. It’s outfitted with a diorama that has Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2014 -
UncategorizedStrider’s 25-Year History In Just Five Minutes
In 1989, marking the start of the blue-clad ninja’s two-and-a-half decade career, the first Strider game was released in arcades throughout Japan and North America. From then on, it was a road filled with cameos, curious localization decisions, and slashed-up baddies. To celebrate the upcoming reboot of the platformer series, Capcom lovingly crafted a short…
By András Neltz Published February 12, 2014 - Kotaku East
Well, Here’s Disgusting Looking Valentine’s Day Sweets
That might look like a grub. That might look like dirt. But all of it is handmade Valentine’s Day sweets for a very important person. Twitter user Shun_Lock created the dirt by smashing Oreos (sans cream) and chocolate bars with a hammer. Which resulted in realistic, yet delicious dirt. The stag beetle larva was made…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2014 - Kotaku East
Lovers in the Snow Spawn Anime Art Meme
This weekend, when Tokyo was covered in a blanket of snow, news reporters interviewed folks on the street. One awkward interview ended up not only spawning an internet meme, but raising questions of infidelity. A couple was interviewed in front of Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, with the guy in glasses saying, “I like the special feeling…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 12, 2014 -
Uncategorized16-bit gaming lives: Here’s the latest trailer for Chasm, the Diablolike Metroidlike Castlevanialike Zeldalike retro-ish indie platformer for PC. It shows off the Catacombs level and is basically thirty seconds of pure awesome. Go watch it. And maybe check out the new website for more info.
By András Neltz Published February 12, 2014 - Culture
Halo, Destiny Artist Sure Knows How To Draw Cool Stuff
So, Isaac Hannaford is an artist who was featuredhere before this concept art feature even had a name. So we’re about overdue for a second, proper look at his work. As Lead Concept Artist at Destiny and former Halo developers Bungie, Hanneford is the man in charge of shaping the studio’s output. Which is one…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 -
UncategorizedMore Videos Need To Be Like Akira And Video Games
This is the video for In The Middle Of The Nite, by DJ and producer RipTide. It’s a catchy track, in that 80s flashback kinda way, but we’re here for the clip. A collaboration between illustrator Stefan Glerum and animation studio Crooked Line, it’s taking inspiration from Akira, video games and even a touch of…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 - Uncategorized
Toys Are Dying, And It’s All Video Games’ Fault
That’s the gist of a great piece in The New Yorker, which looks at falling profits at both Mattel and Hasbro and knows exactly where to point the finger. Rather than angling this as some kind of terrible omen, however, writer Ted Trautman takes the sensible approach, outlining just why kids are leaving dolls and…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 - Uncategorized
Official Game Of Thrones Action Figures…Could Have Been Worse
It’s taken years, but we’ve finally got a range of bonafide Game of Thrones action figures. And while they’re not the world’s greatest figures, given the size of the license they also could have been much worse. They’re $20, have decent detail, and the likeness on some of the faces – the Hound and Tyrion…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 -
UncategorizedDescent Is Now On Steam. Go, Go, Go.
In 1995, a video game was released that was unlike anything else that had ever come before it. And really, anything released since. That game was Descent, which took the vehicle and controls of a space shooter/flight sim and dropped them into the level design of a first-person shooter. But where most first-person shooters only…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 - Uncategorized
Underground Farm Is Ready For Apocalyptic Salads
There’s a company in London that, deep underground in old abandoned tunnels, is growing fresh food. Imagine Metro 2033, then, only with fresh lettuce. Fast Company saythat the company, Zero Carbon Food, has 2.5 acres of space 100 feet underneath the Underground’s Northern Line, where they grow pea shoots, rocket, broccoli, mustard leaf and basil.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2014 -
ReviewsDanganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: The Kotaku Review
Sometimes the best way to recommend a game is to break it down to its component parts. Take Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, out today for the PlayStation Vita. I started playing late last week with no real plans to review it, and wound up sinking 20 hours into it, finishing up yesterday afternoon. That doesn’t…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 11, 2014