A Tale of Two Wii U Games

Forget Mario. Don’t worry about Donkey Kong. There are two Wii U games that will shape the console’s future, and neither stars one of Nintendo’s big mascots. One is designed for hardcore gamers; the other is designed for everyone. One is about superheroes; the other is about partying. One uses the GamePad as an accessory;…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: GiantBoyDetective want to know all about your game collecting finds. E1Salvador explains what he’s using his old GameCubes for. And, hey, there’s GIF Club! And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY:…

Trickle Of Grand Theft Auto V News Reveals Mandatory 8 GB Install

“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Rockstar Games just dropped some information on Grand Theft Auto V over on its official site—maybe they ARE watching us—and from the sounds of, some folks will need to be clearing space on their consoles’ storage devices. The next GTA installment will require 8 GB of space for both…

Rise of the Triad Gets A Metal-Heavy, Explosive Pre-Order Trailer

Rise of the Triad, the insanely fast-paced remake of the classic ’94 Apogee first-person shooter, will be released on the PC in just a month, on July 31. Pre-ordering also gets youfour more classic Apogee titles, including the original Rise of the Triad with its expansion pack, and the two Blake Stone games. Not bad.

This Is What We Do To Minecraft When They Give Us Horses

Minecraft added horses—among other things—in its big 1.6 update. As an alternative to reading boring patch notes, The Farlanders community created an awesome, Western-themed short clip to showcase all the updates. Minecraft 1.6 Trailer [YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected]

You Can Play the New Walking Dead Starting Today

Just in case you forgot, the 400 Days DLC for season one of Telltale Games’ hit The Walking Dead comes out today. As previously detailed, PSN users get it first, with a staggered rollout onto other platforms. That new trailer up above makes it seem like the queasy decision-making we all love is back in…

I only just noticed this sticker—literally, steps away from Kotaku‘s front door—the other day as I came to work. Savvy Kotaku readers know that Rockstar Games headquarters are just a few blocks away from where we pound away at our keyboards. It almost seems like a bit of subliminal messaging to make sure we’re still…

Attack on Titan is Good So Far, But Doesn’t Live Up to Its Potential

Thanks to an amazing title sequence and an imagination-capturing low fantasy world, Attack on Titan has been one of this season’s most popular anime. Five weeks ago, I even proclaimed it one of the five anime you should be watching Unfortunately, despite all it has going for it—and it certainly has some amazing aspects, no…

Want Your Drink with a Slice of Triforce?

Well, you can get it at a 10th anniversary event in Kyoto for Japanese t-shirt maker King of Games. More here. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea,…

This Is How You Craft Guns in Guncraft

Following the news of their game getting greenlit, the developers of Guncraft, the heavily customizable voxel-based multiplayer shooter, released a video of the game’s much-touted build-your-own-gun feature. Hopefully, dubstep is not an integral part of the crafting process. Guncraft is set to hit PCs on July 11.

This Funny English Book Will Never Help You at School. Never.

For many in Japan, English is a hard language. Most textbooks are dull. Not this one. Titled English Words That Don’t Appear on Tests (試験に出ない英単語), the book is packed with ridiculous words, phrases, sentences, and photos that will never help you on any examination. But they might make you giggle. For example? These are even…

When a Game’s Credits Are a Love Letter to Retro Music Games

The newest game in the Neptunia series, God Dimension Idol Neptunia PP, came out on the Vita a little over a week ago. Today I finished it, only to discover the ending credits were better than the entire game preceding it. Unlike the other games in the Neptunia series, Neptunia PP isn’t an RPG. Rather,…

Just Cause 2’s Ambitious Multiplayer Mod Might Actually Come Out Soon

Following last week’s test (footage of the test above), Philpax, one of the developers of the popular multiplayer mod for Avalance Studios’ action sandbox, Just Cause 2, submitted a lengthy post to the mod’s forums discussing the project’s past, present, and future. “We are hoping to release JC2-MP within the next few months, client and…

Parents Dress Child as a Nightclub Host

This is Ryuchalo. He’s four years old. And he appears in grown-up men’s fashion magazines. Heck, his Facebook page lists him as “Ryuchalo, the four year old host”. Let me explain: “Four years old” as in pre-school and “host” as in a paid male drinking companion. In Japan, host fashion is…different. Little Ryuchalo sports “host…

An Indie Mars-Based Survival Game Inspired by… Pokémon Snap?

A bit over a month ago, we showed you Lacuna Passage, an amazing-looking and quite mysterious indie Mars exploration game. Now, developer Random Seed Games is taking to Kickstarter to raise some money so they can work full-time on their first commercially released game. So yes, Lacuna Passage is a survival game set on Mars,…

Lightning as Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII for Pre-Order Bonus

Lightning returns alright. This time, she can dress up in Cloud Strife’s Soldier 1st Class Uniform and swing his Buster Sword. But there’s a catch! According to the PlayStation Blog, those who pre-order Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 get the costume DLC. Um. Okay. Neat? Eds note: The press release also says…

Want to Play Princess Crown in English? Here’s How

Last week I looked at classic import title Princess Crown—the spiritual predecessor to the upcoming PS3 and Vita title Dragon’s Crown. However, I kept getting one question again and again. “How do I play it in English?” While there isn’t an English version of the game (or even a homebrew patch for that matter), there…

Why Xbox Fans Are Called “Gropers” in Japan

The Xbox consoles are not popular in Japan. That doesn’t mean those game machines lack hardcore fans. They certainly exist in the region. And online in Japan, there’s a disparaging nickname for them: “gropers”. The Japanese word is “chikan” (痴漢), which translates as “groper” or “molester”. “Chikan” is certainly not something anyone wants to be…

Oh, Nothing, It’s Just A Girl Building A Prosthetic Leg Out Of LEGO

Somebody in Christina Stephens’ research lab joked that she – an amputee – should build a fake leg out of LEGO. Challenge. Accepted. This awesome video shows Christina rummaging around like a kid for the right pieces, before taking the legfor a test drive AmputeeOT: My Legoleg [YouTube, via ALBOTAS]

Pokémon Evolve. So What’s Up With Crocodiles?

It’s a good question! I mean, Darwinism holds that species evolve over time. Yet some creatures – sharks, crocodiles, cockroaches – have gone unchanged for millions of years. There must be an explanation for this. And whaddya know, here it is. MiniMation No.1 – “Hold B Button” [YouTube]