Running with Madden’s ‘Anti-Turbo’ Button is an Imprecise Task

Everyone sits on the turbo button in a sports video game. Its use was so ubiquitous, Madden‘s makers even removed turbo, before bringing it back. If the Madden NFL 25 demo is any indication, players will now clamp on two triggers: good old turbo, or a “precision modifier” that didn’t exactly win me over when…

There were tons of personnel changes at Zynga, announced today by ex-Xbox boss and new Zynga boss Don Mattrick. The CTO, COO and Chief People Officer are out. Read through the changes and your head may spin. Big changes continue at the house of FarmVille

Now You Can Paint Your Chivalry Character Pretty, Pretty Colors

When I hear the phrase “Medieval Warfare,” I mostly think of dark colors, grey armor, and black blood spraying upon ramparts. I don’t really think of pretty colors. But to celebrate their game’s runaway success (it sold a not-too-shabby 1.2 million copies since its launch 9 months ago), the people who make Chivalry: Medieval Warfare…

Kickstarter’s got some great words of caution about stretch goals, and the takeaway for gamers is clear: think before you donate to a project with too many of them.

The Cast of Final Fantasy VII, 3D-Printed. It’s Fantastic.

We’vefeatured the work of Joaquin Baldwin before, but now he’s back with a full set of Final Fantasy VII low-poly figures—and they’re up for sale, too. Recognize everyone? Here are a couple more shots to help you out: If the figurines are of interest, you can purchase them here.Otherwise, kind of amazing how well the…

The Unceasing Beauty Of Portal 2

Aperture Science, man. The only abandoned, robot-infested lab I’d ever want to visit more than once. This video is part of “Other Places,” a series from Ultrabrilliant detailing the unattended motion and stillness of unattended video game backdrops. It’s super cool. As it happens, I’ve been returning to Portal 2 a bit lately, and remain…

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches: The Kotaku Review

Dunwall is a hard city full of hard people—a plague-rotted concrete prison inhabited by exhausted souls who regularly seem shocked that they’re still alive. It’s easy to forget, while stalking rooftops and slashing your way through Dishonored‘s starring city, that Dunwall only exists when you’re in it. No people reside here; there are no homes…

There’s A Lot To Like In This Assassin’s Creed IV Stealth Demo

Stealth. Long has it been the bugbear of the Assassin’s Creed series. The more swashbuckling, pirate-ship helm-ing and tree-climbing Ubisoft adds, the less they seem to mind that the stealth in their stealth game just isn’t that fun. Might that change this time around? Maybe? Hmm. IGN has posted a new walkthrough video in which…

A Novel About the Time All the Space Invaders Machines Went Away

If you remember the heyday of giant arcade halls filled with stand-up coin-op machines, then you’ll also remember that one day they seemingly all disappeared. What was it like to live through that bygone era? The Final Day at Westfield Arcade—a new novel by Andy Hunt—explores what it felt like to have a digital childhood…

Spartan Assault May Be Different, But It Tastes Like Halo To Me

Running across alien terrain in sexy armor, firing machine guns, tossing sticky grenades, mounting turrets, jacking vehicles and slaughtering grunts and elites by the dozens? This is Halo, only now we’re up above it instead of down in it. Halo: Spartan Assaultis a twin-stick shooter crafted by Microsoft’s 343 Studios and Vanguard Entertainment, the developers…

This Is How You Cosplay Metal Gear Rising Characters

Baltimore hosted the 20th Otakon convention last weekend, full of pop culture celebration and cosplayers. One particular group of four people—Pro Voltage—did a hell of a job showing off their Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance cosplay, dressing up as Raiden, Monsoon, Mistral and—in this case, transforming to—Bladewolf. Check the gallery below for more Bladewolf (that thing…

PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will be getting demos for Rayman Legends on August 20th. You can check out Kotaku’s preview of the 360 version right here

Moneysaver: Brigmore Witches, 5 GTA’s For $10, Breaking Bad

Now I ain’t sayin’ she a gold digger, But she ain’t messin’ with anyone who doesn’t read the Moneysaver. Deal Leaderboard Grand Theft Auto III + San Andreas + Vice City + IV Complete [Steam] ($10) | Green Man Gaming | Use code GMG20-4B9NY-L4FEN Today’s Release DLC Dishonored Brigmore Witches [Steam] ($8) | Green Man…

Watch An Hour Of Arma 3‘s Massive Military Simulation

The people making the upcoming sandbox military sim Arma 3 recently did a big livestream in which they demoed a number of the game’s features. Give it a watch, and see what’s got Luke so excited (h/t PC Gamer)

A Smash Bros. Mod That Makes Captain Falcon’s Final Smash Glorious

Not to say Captain Falcon’s final smash isn’t already neat, but it pales to the absurdity and awesomeness of what this mod by Nudolf can make it into. We’re talkin’ like, smash sans car, smash using Wario’s motorcycle and more. It’s great. You can see what I mean in this video compilation by versat13,where the…

GameStop: $90 Xenoblade Is ‘Based On Current Market Value’

Why is GameStop charging $90 for Xenoblade? Because that’s in line with the marketplace, they say. Yesterday, we reported that GameStop had restocked copies of the critically-acclaimed Wii RPG and was selling them pre-owned for $90 a pop. We reached out to GameStop for comment, and they got back to us this afternoon with the…

What It’s Like to Have an Xbox One At Home Now (If You Work For Xbox)

If you’re a powerful person at Microsoft, you may already have an Xbox One in your home. Such are the perks. What’s that like? Two of them talk about it. Of course they’re only saying nice things, but this is the best we have for now… These new (first?) impressions of home Xbox One ownership…

On one hand, yes, the whole “point-n-click adventure Kickstarter” thing is getting kind of cliche. On the other hand, Alum looks pretty neat, poor English aside. Check it out here.

In Saints Row, Everyone’s Beautiful in Their Own Way—Except ‘Big Bob’

Saints Row IV is rather proud of the fact that its character creation options are 100 percent sex-unrestricted. You want to give a dude the Karlie? Go for it. Lady with a chinstrap beard? All in a day’s work. The price of such freedom, however, are some hideous creations taking place in the “Inauguration Station.”…

GTA V‘s Los Santos Travelogue Is Almost As Fun As Being There

Our collective trip to beautiful (and incredibly dangerous) Los Santos isn’t for another month, but we can explore the sights and sounds of the city and its surrounding areas early through the official interactive travelogue. It’s filled with so much greatness. What sort of greatness, you ask? How about 360 degree views of some of…