Stephen Colbert’s ‘Government Shutdown Game’ Is Appropriately Unfair

Usually, comparisons to games are kind of flippant—which is probably why both Republicans and Democrats alike say the government shutdown is not a game. But if it was? According to Stephen Colbert, it would be called Not A Game: The Government Shutdown Home Game. The rules would be… interesting. As you might’ve guessed, boy howdy,…

BioShock Infinite Jokes Are Still Pretty Funny

Sure, the game came out several months ago. Most of the good jokes have already been made. And yet some of the goofier aspects of BioShock Infinite are still pretty funny. This video from Nerdist features Chris Hardwick and Chloe Dykstra as Booker and Elizabeth—the last time we saw them in these getups, they were…

The Dangers Of Kickstarter, Explained With A Sandwich

Kickstarter has been around for a fair old while now, and we’ve seen some great projects come to life thanks to the crowd funding service. It’s also brought us its fair share of disappointment. In my video above I explore a world filled with the promise of a kickstarted sandwich. Will the sandwich deliver everything…

Schools Give Kids Free iPads, Immediately Regret It

The Los Angeles schools’ billion-dollar big idea to give every kid an iPad has skidded to an embarrassing stop after the first recipients—including a valedictorian candidate—figured out a way to crack the security imposed on the devices to play games like Temple Run. L.A. Unified School District is now demanding the $678 gadgets back as…

Somebody, Call Wedge! Star Wars MMO Finally Adds PvP Space Battles

Sure, running around with a lightsaber or blaster pistol is a cool and integral part of the Star Wars experience. But, for the longest time, Star Wars: The Old Republic has been lacking one of the best things from the mythology: big honking space battles. Yes, yes, there have been crappy on-rails single-player dogfights in…

Xi3 Piston: Why You Should Stay Away From The Not-Steam-Box

It’s not a Steam Box, but they want us to believe it is: Xi3’s Piston might be the most confusing product in gaming this year, thanks to some muddled messaging and a deal with Valve that never went anywhere. So at this point you might be wondering: what is this thing? Why do people keep…

Loved Those Walking Dead Games? Creators’ Next Series Debuts Friday.

The first new video game from the creators of the acclaimed Walking Dead games, the five-part download-only A Wolf Among Us, will be out on Xbox 360 and PC on October 11.It’ll hit PS3 a few days later, according to a rep for its studio, Telltale. The first episode is called Faith. The new series…

Shadow of the Colossus is free to PlayStation Plus subscribers tomorrow Just in case there’s someone out there who hasn’t bought it already.

Obama Puts Shutdown In Terms Home-Owning Xbox Gamers Can Understand

In case you were confused about the Democrats’ position re: the ongoing U.S. government shutdown—namely that they think it’s dirty for Republicans to demand the defunding of Obamacare in order to pass a budget to keep the government open—Barack Obama dumbed it down a little in a press conference today. “You don’t get a chance…

Wrecked GTA Car Still Runs Pretty Well

I’m not entirely sure how this pile of junk is still functioning, but I’m also not sure I want to know. Because it’s magical and magical things deserve to be preserved in their mystery. YouTuber MetalDevils hows us how to get a fancy sports car in GTA Online all banged up while still working. Basically…

There’s Far Too Much Eminem In The Call Of Duty Dog Music Video

I just want to listen to some music and look at dogs, but no — here’s Eminem droning on and on about shitting on his microphone and making stupid G-Unit puns. Oh wait, I guess this is supposed to be a video for Eminem’s “Survival”, the song that debuted in part during a Call of…

Commuter’s Murder Prompts Warning About Being Transfixed By Your Phone

Picture this: A bunch of people are riding the train. Like most commuters these days, they’re staring at their phones: Skimming Twitter, reading books, playing games. A man takes out a .45 pistol. Puts it away. Takes it out again. No one notices. Then, he shoots and kills someone. Sound like a made-up cautionary tale?…

Deals: Next-Gen Battlefield 4 And Ghosts, Black Flag, Two Souls

Better late than never, I blame the DMV. Ready for next-gen? Because the deals are. Come in and pre-order Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts for current and future console at a reduced dollar-to-lens flare ratio. PS4 Battlefield 4 ($49) | Use code EMCWXXM77 PS3 Battlefield 4 ($49) | Use code EMCWXXM76 Xbox One…

Kate Upton and Snoop Dogg Made an Amazing Hot Pockets Ad

Take Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.” Change the song so that it’s about Hot Pockets, and then get Snoop Dogg and Kate Upton to perform it. Add lots of pot and Minecraft references, and throw in some other cameos in there for good measure. What do you get? Why, you get this nonsensical yet glorious…

Square Enix Gets Into Crowd-Funded Gaming, With a Tantalizing Twist

Square Enix, international conglomerate behind everything from Final Fantasy to Tomb Raider would like to help your best game ideas get some crowd-funding. Oh, and they might let your game star some of their characters. Whoa. Slow down there. Eidos characters. You ain’t going to be remaking Final Fantasy VII Consider this today’s least and…

Saints Row Does Relationships Better Than Most Video Games

If you find yourself discussing the merits of relationships represented in video games, you’ll probably find a lot of people bringing up BioWare games as examples to follow. The Saints Row series doesn’t seem like a serious suggestion considering, well, how unserious those games are. And yet if you look beyond the dick jokes and…

Gabriel Knight is coming back: Jane Jensen’s classic point-n-click adventure game is getting an HD remake on PC, Mac, and iPad next year, journalist Geoff Keighley reports. First bit of concept art is right here.

You’re An Escaped Slave In Assassin’s Creed IV’s Freedom’s Cry DLC

A while back, Ubisoft said that Assassin’s Creed IV would have an add-on campaign focused on Adewale, the former slave who serves as first mate on Edward Kenway’s the Jackdaw. The trailer above offers the first glimpse at the Freedom’s Cry expansion and, as you can see, it’s going to be markedly different than the…

Curt Schilling is Selling His Nintendogs DSes in Bankruptcy Auction

Curt Schilling’s ill-fated games studio took down the state of Rhode Island with it, so it’s not much of a surprise he’s in personal bankruptcy, too, selling off all sorts of crap. Discerning video gamers will be interested in items No. 8 and No. 9 in this auction guide, but don’t overlook that pink Christmas…

Beyond: Two Souls: The Kotaku Review

In Beyond: Two Souls, you‘ll do some things you rarely get to do in video games. You’ll control a young, frightened girl as she hugs a stuffed animal and tries to fend off nightmares. You’ll decide whether to accept beer at an awkward high-school party, and you’ll try to pick music that’ll impress a group…