Rovio is teasing a new Angry Birds game announcement for Monday with a somewhat telling image. Looks like Angry Birds: Star Wars is taking on the prequels. I dread the coming of Jar Jar Bird.

Why You Should Play Bad Video Games

I still remember the first bad game that really burned me. The year was 2002. I was wearing out my copy of Dead or Alive 3 on the Xbox, and Jann Lee was my combatant of choice. I was a huge martial arts movie fan, and Lee’s silky-smooth combinations, flowing mannerisms and high-pitched shouts were…

Graphic artist Olly Moss visualized what hunting season would look like with Red Dead Redemption‘s John Marston and Trevor, the psycho character from Grand Theft Auto V. They’re both smiling, but deep inside it would probably be a tough ride for Marston. Update: As the man himself points out in the comments, this is not…

The Evangelion Manga Is Finally Over, and What a Ride It Was

After nineteen years and fourteen volumes, the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga finally came to an end this past week. During that time there have been an Evangelion anime series, five films, tons of games, and even numerous other manga. Yet, after all that, it remains entertaining enough to stand on its own. Good – Changes…

The Smelliest, Stickiest Pokémon Food Money Can Buy

In Japanese supermarkets, it’s not uncommon to see Pokémon branded food. Usually, it’s regular food, but with a Pocket Monster label slapped on it. There’s one Pokémon food, however, that currently stands out. And boy, it stinks. This is Pokémon branded nattou. Nattou (納豆) is made from fermented beans. It’s a slimy food that, if…

Korean TV Commercials To Delight, Amaze, and Baffle

Japan doesn’t have a monopoly on interesting and unusual commercials. Neighbouring South Korea has its fair share of peculiar ads. Some of them, like the RoboCop one, are classics. Others, you might not have seen. Have a look. (And yes, the last ad is Japanese.) CrusaderCast [YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write…

God of War: Ascension just received a new 1v1 PvP game mode called “Bout of Honor” via the free 1.09 update. Also included are four new multiplayer maps designed specifically for Bout of Honor, and one extra four-player map, Whirlpool of Alecto. [Via Polygon.]

Japan’s Prime Minister is Its Newest Platforming Hero

Back in early June, the Japanese LDP political party released a small, free iPhone game called Abe-Pyon (あべぴょん). In this game you play as Shinzo Abe, the current Prime Minister of Japan, and your job is to jump from platform to platform and climb as high as you can. It’s as fun as it is…

Namco Bandai is counting down to “New Title”. Whatever could this mean?

What Sets Apart Wildstar’s Combat? Aiming. And Exploding Space Goats.

Carbine Studios’ latest DevSpeak details what combat will look like in their upcoming animated movie-esque MMORPG, Wildstar—specifically, how its Free Form Targeting system works, which lets you take precise control of all attacks, ranged or otherwise. Also included: the fiery death of dozens of innocent animals.

Non-Anime Fan Reviews Madoka Magica in “Just” Two Hours

As a critic, I always believe that a work should be able to stand on its own, that you don’t need to be a fan of something in order to comment on an artistic work—be it a painting, play, game, or anime. But as someone who is very much immersed in the culture of anime,…

11 Minutes of Lord British’s New RPG, Narrated by the Man Himself

Shroud of the Avatar, Richard Garriott’s recently Kickstarted spiritual sequel to his Ultima RPG series, looks pretty damn good considering it’s currently just an early prototype. Here, Garriott narrates a short 11-minute walkthrough of some of the game’s features they’ve been working on in the past few months.

Why Nintendo Fans Are Called “Pigs” (and Other Things) in Japan

Not everyone in Japan loves Nintendo. Some people hate Nintendo. Like, really, really hate Nintendo. And online, those folks have nicknames for Nintendo diehards. Online in Japan, mean nicknames aren’t unique to Nintendo fans! Previously, Kotaku covered the mocking monikers given to Sony and Xbox fans on Japanese gaming forums and in blog comment sections.…

Captain Olimar, possibly the most inscrutable Smash character, is now confirmed to return in the upcoming Super Smash Bros for the Wii U and 3DS. You can see more screenshots of the Pikmin hero here. And now to await the rest of the Smash Bros dripfeed—if the last game is any indication, Nintendo has a…

This Teaser Goes From Beautiful to Terrifying In The Space Of Seconds

When they posted it, Random Seed, creators of upcoming Mars-based survival-exploration title Lacuna Passage, called this video a “soundtrack spotlight.” And that’s what it is: a demonstration of the game’s somber and beautiful soundtrack—accompanied by a deeply unsettling sneak-peek at… something

Bow Before Your Japanese Boy Band Overlords!

Have you ever heard of Arashi? It’s a Japanese boy band that’s so popular, that a poster of the group is drawing crowds, cameras, and grovelling. You might not know Arashi, but perhaps you’ve seen Letters from Iwo Jima? One of the stars, Kazunari Ninomiya, is a member of Arashi. The group has also appeared…

Only Total War Could Make A Hill Look This Exciting

Rather than let the unwashed masses make “Let’s Play” videos of the upcoming Total War: Rome II, Creative Assembly and Sega have cut out the middle man and made one themselves. The chit-chat must be tolerated, because every chance to see this game in action is a chance you’ve got to take. I was initially…

Epic has officially cancelled Infinity Blade: Dungeons, though most had already kinda figured it was done when its developers were closed in February

Let’s Put This “Mobile Gaming Is Killing Consoles” Argument To Bed

Epic’s Tim Sweeney gets to the point, and shows the inherent problem in giving two shits about “market share”. Epic’s Sweeney: Studios need to react to the changing industry to survive [Gamasutra]

Let’s Imagine Mos Eisley Was A Little Bit Prettier

Neil Maccormack is one of the most talented artists out there. He’s a constant feature and award-winner on digital art websites, has been published several times in Ballistic’s awesome EXPOSÉ series of art books and has also done work in games, movies and advertising. His most recent work in games was for Japanese dev Applibot…