This upcoming remake of Rise of the Triad will get a “Ludicrous Development Kit” stocked with classic assets, letting users make levels that look like they came from 1995. The mod kit will be available after the game’s launch on July 31. This video explains what to do with it.

Martian Manhunter and John Stewart Are Coming to Injustice

Long anticipated—practically since the game’s release—Martian Manhunter was at last confirmed for Injustice: Gods Among Us as a downloadable addition to the fighting game’s roster, along with a John Stewart Green Lantern skin. NetherRealm Studios announced the new fighters at EVO 2013 today. When Injustice polled fans for their preferences for additional fighters back in…

Smash Bros. Survives Ban, Becomes Biggest Fighting Stream In History

It’s a good thing Nintendodidn’t follow through with its reported attempts to ban streams of Smash Bros. Melee from this year’s Evo fighting game tournament. Because it just became, for the time being at least, the biggest fighting game stream of all time. At its peak during the game’s finals held earlier today, over 130,000…

Custom Difficulty Gives an Honest Challenge—and Leaves Time to Rally

I move through the stages of difficulty in a sports video game like the stages of grief. Expert, Pro, Hard, Medium and Easy might as well be named Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. In the past, I’ve started somewhere between anger and depression before moving on to acceptance. A couple weeks ago, Forza Horizon‘s…

The Week in Games: Western Dynasty

What can we say, it’s the middle of summer. This is the slow season for new releases. The week’s big highlights include Dynasty Warriors 8 and Shin Megami Tensei IV arriving in North America on Tuesday, Monday • Need For Speed Most Wanted All DLC Bundle (PC) Tuesday • Turbo: Super Stunt Squad (360, PS3,…

Happy 30th Birthday to Video Gaming’s Most Famous Brother

Today, according to Nintendo, is Luigi’s 30th birthday. The company says Mario Bros.—which introduced Mario’s taller sibling—was released July 14, 1983—a day before the Famicom console launched in Japan. Strangely enough, I have a vivid memory of this game’s debut. My family was on vacation in August 1983, going up the Eastern Seaboard. I actually…

Valve Opens ‘Pipeline’ to High Schoolers Interested in Making Games

Valve, makers of 2007’s Half Life 2: Episode 2, is reaching out to teenagers interested in games development through “Pipeline,” a program being administered by the company’s own interns. “[W]e are frequently asked questions by teenagers about the videogame industry,” Valve wrote on the project’s Web site. “‘What is it like to work on videogames?…

Moneysaver: Steam Summer Sale Day 4 Breakdown [Updated Monday 10:30am]

Dealvalanche. Steam Sale Day One | Steam Sale Day Two | Steam Sale Day Three | Current Moneysaver | GTAV PS3 Bundle | Vote for Monaco, and FEZ would be a repeat anyway, not that I don’t love me some FEZ. • Community Sale Left 4 Dead 2 ($5) | Repeat • Flash Sale PES…

The Life. Love. Game Design Challenge to increase awareness of teen dating violence has named its winners. The contest is run by Jennifer Ann’s Group, founded in memory of Jennifer Crecente, the niece of former Kotaku editor-in-chief Brian Crecente. She was murdered by a classmate the day after Valentine’s Day in 2006.

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Grand Theft A-Hole

We had a thin week for timely exploitables, but this piece of art from Grand Theft Auto V caught my eye. It’s like it was made for the ‘Shop Contest, and it’s your challenge this week. The sister is almost totally unobstructed, as is our surly gamer up front, and his head is easily swappable…

Bohemia Interactive, makers of ArmA II, has reset all of its user’s passwords in light of a security breach that exposed their login details. Bohemia assures that no credit card information was involved in the breach, and that the passwords themselves were encrypted. Still, users must request a new one here.

Watch EVO 2013 Streamed Live, Right Here

The Road to EVO—a series of tournaments leading up to the biggest fighting game tournament of the year—is coming to a decisive close. It’s time for the Evolution 2013 tournament, which starts today in Las Vegas, and we’re here to serve you all of the livestreams available to make you feel like you’re sitting right…

Sunday Comics: Critical Miss

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published July 10. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published July…

Rest Easy, America. Your Twinkies Have Returned

As promised last month, the relaunched Hostess Brands has brought Twinkies, Cup Cakes and other magical snacks back to America’s store shelves after disappearing last November. I have sampled one of each of these, and the only difference is the sweet taste of relief and an incredibly unnatural freshness. Our national nightmare is over.

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Let’s Make a Deal: The Winners

Who knew at the time, really? The business was so new, the fame so fleeting, no one could possible anticipate that Don Mattrick (above, right) would go from teenage video game whiz kid to, someday, the subject of the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. At last that honor has arrived, courtesy of overall winner arniejolt! To recap,…

The PlayStation 4 will be hands-on for the public for the first time this coming week at Comic-Con 2013. Good, those lines shouldn’t be soul-crushingly long or anything. If you’re lucky enough to play the thing, Drive Club, Knack and Octodad: Dadliest Catch will be the demo titles.

Street Fighter IV Getting Five More Characters, One Never Seen Before

From EVO 2013 comes news that Street Fighter IV‘s next update will deliver four new characters—and a fifth never before seen in the series. Rolento, Elena, Hugo and Poison will join the roster, plus an unnanounced fifth fighter. The characters, plus six stages and the usual complement of adjustments and balances, will come to PS3,…

Sony Won’t Appeal Fine Related to 2011 PSN Hack

Sony has abandoned its appeal of the fine assessed by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office for negligence in the infamous 2011 breach of users’ information that brought down all of PlayStation Network for more than a month. In January, the ICO assessed Sony a £250,000 penalty which … subtract 32 … multiply by 5 ……

What in God’s Name is Tekken Revolution Doing With Its Roster?

Tekken 3, way back in 1997, had plans to include a new animal character in the fighter roster—a salmon. It was quickly judged too ridiculous to justify a $1-per-play cost in an arcade. Well, Tekken Revolution is taking suggestions for new characters, and the fish is one of them. And the others are even weirder.…

Moneysaver: Steam Summer Sale Day 3 Breakdown [Updated Sunday 9:45am]

Steaming pile of deals. Steam Sale Day One | Steam Sale Day Two | Current Moneysaver | GTAV PS3 Bundle • Update 2 Tomb Raider ($12.50) | Amazon has Tomb Raider for $10.60, but is currently sold out of keys All of the current community vote options have been cheaper or cheaper in bundles. I…