The Year In JRPGs – 2013

From Ni no Kuni to Pokémon, we’re talking all things JRPG on today’s Very Special Edition of Random Encounters slash Burning Questions slash Kirk And Jason Talk About JRPGs For A While. That’s right—today’s column is a podcast. Listen right here: Download the podcast right here Random Encounters is a weekly column dedicated to all…

Hey, North America, This Weekend Is ‘National StreetPass Weekend’

Move over, Christmas. Step aside, Hanukkah. There’s a new holiday to celebrate this December: Nintendo’s National StreetPass Weekend that—hmm—spreads across two nations. Details in the video here: Text explanation, if you prefer: If you use a Nintendo 3DS to check into a Nintendo Zone location in the U.S. or Canada (sorry, Mexico) on December 14…

Turn 10 Studios’ first wave of tweaks to the controversial in-game economy of Xbox One launch game Forza Motorsport 5 go live today. Details here. Things sound better, as it seems much easier now to earn things without paying extra real dollars for them.

​No, People, Bitcoin is NOT an Xbox Game or a New iPhone

Bitcoin has fascinated people for a little bit now. It’s got that futuristic sounding name that sounds cool. Seems like something you should get into, right? But don’t be like the six percent of surveyed Americans who thought that Bitcoin was an Xbox game. Because it’s not. The Atlantic has a write-up of a Bloomberg…

Next Gen Preorders, GTA V Under $40, Great Mobile Games [Deals]

Toys-R-Us is offering up a buy one, get one 40% off deal on a ton of video games, and Thames was kind enough to point out that this includes next-gen preorders. That means you can get two upcoming games like Watch Dogs, Titanfall, or Destiny locked in for about $96. That’s tough to beat. Tons…

​Cut the Rope 2 Comes Out on December 19th. Get Your Candy Ready.

We already got word that it’d be coming during the holidays but now we know an exact date: the sequel to the mega-popular Cut the Rope comes out next Thursday and will be hitting iOS devices first. Based on what’s seen in the trailer above, CTR2 will introduce a bunch of new mechanics and characters…

Gotta store ’em all: check out this overview video which details some of the things you’ll be able to do with Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter—both of which are quite useful for those of you who like to collect pocket monsters.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Amongst Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Morie offers up some thoughts about how Assassin’s Creed IV crafts its female characters well. Peter Tieryas shares some art and some process for a comics project he’s been working on. And Meldy does a thoughtful Half-Remembered Video games Essay on Morrowind Don’t forget that…

Adult Swim Shows Us What To Do With The PS4’s Share Button

No one wants to look bad in front of Kratos. According to this Robot Chicken animated spot for Killzone: Shadow Fall, God of War‘s heroic brute is very active on Facebook, so think before you hit that share button. This 60-second spot, airing Monday night on Adult Swim before the Robot Chicken Born Again Virgin…

The Big Games Are Out, So Now It’s DLC Season.

Don’t trade your games in (yet?). We’re moving into DLC season, what with yesterday’s confirmation of next week’s release of Assassin’s Creed IV‘sfirst big expansion, the recent news of bold DLC plans for GTA V—and now info about the first one for Xbox One launch game Dead Rising 3 Here’s the official blurb: Today, Capcom…

Want six minutes of intelligent discussion and reflection on the recent discovery of the government spying on your World of Warcraft raids? Oh, ok. Here you go. It’s our own Kirk Hamilton on WNYC’s “Studio 360” hosted by Kurt Andersen. Yes, Kirk and Kurt sit down to chat about the implications and potential discomfort of…

The First 15 Minutes Of WildStar Make A Compelling Case For More

Signing up for a new subscription-based MMORPG is a big decision, especially when it’s an untested brand like Carbine’s colorful WildStar. MMORPG.com helpfully recorded the first 15 minutes of beta play, which just might help your decision along. I’m glad they did, not because I am too lazy to record the first fifteen minutes of…

Attack on Titan on the 3DS Makes Me Feel Like a Titan-Killing Badass

A few months back, we looked at all the games coming out based on this year’s hit anime Attack on Titan. Last week, the most anticipated of these, Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind for the 3DS, hit store shelves in Japan. The Last Wings of Mankind has two game modes. The first…

Do You Love The PS4 Enough To Eat It?

No, stop eating your PS4. I said stop it. Stop! Instead, have a look at these lovely PS4 cupcakes. They’re the creation of Stephen Rushbrook of UK developer Stainless Games, where it is office tradition to bring in treats on one’s birthday. Back when the PS4 was announced, there was lots of speculation surrounding its…

Rumored Alien: Isolation Screens Leak Online

This fall, a Kotaku source revealed that the next Aliens game was Alien: Isolation. And last night, screenshots rumored to be of the game appeared online. Four images popped up on Twitter account @Lifelower (via Eurogamer). You can see the other three below: As Kotaku previously reported, the source said the star of Alien Isolation…

NouCome Is This Past Season’s Funniest Anime

When this fall anime season hit its midway point last month, I knew My Mental Choices are Completely Interfering with my School Romantic Comedy deserved a place on the list of five anime you should be watching. This is because it is easily the funniest anime I watched this past season. Good – Great Comedic…