This Week in the Business: Smells Like No Team Spirit

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “At almost all game companies, there’s almost no appreciation at all for the team dynamic. ‘They’re just replaceable meat puppets,’ and that’s never, ever true.”—Gordon Walton, veteran game company executive, talking about the way most game companies view developers and why…

The Best of Kotaku, The Week Of April 15th

Man, what a week! Stephen was out this week so things were a little busier than usual. We also introduced a new review sidebar that we’re considering tweaking still (suggestions are always welcome!). All of our best content from this week, and the one previous, can be found at our new Kotaku Selects home. But…

The Final Season of Dexter Sure Looks Intense

This is it, guys and girls. Dexter, the show about a blood spatter analyst who is secretly a serial killer, is on its final season. Last season left off on a hell of a cliffhanger. Season eight starts on June 30th, and Showtime released this two minute sneak peek. Things are getting tense. I’m glad…

Spellirium is an Amazing Game, But The Goggles, They Do Nothing

Untold Entertainment’s Spellirium, described by the legendary Tim Schafer as “if Loom and Boggle had a baby”, is a ridiculously nifty word adventure that I’m proud to say I preordered. It’s also completely wasted on the Oculus Rift VR headset. While I’ve heard it’s pretty cool for games like Team Fortress 2, with a game…

Pokémon With Mustaches Are Classy, Adorable

Everyone has opinions about how Pokémon should be designed, but clearly, the thing that future Pokémon designs must adopt is mustaches. No question. Nicholas Poulos, who created a bunch of ‘stached Pokémon and then posted them on Behance, therefore has the right idea. Here’s some more. He calls them “Gentlemon.” Gentlemon apparently have no eyes!…

Terrible Video Game Gets A “Sequel”, And Not Everyone’s Happy About It

Orion: Dino Beatdown was, according to almost every critic who played it, one of the worst video games of 2012. What sounded great on paper – using fancy weapons to fight waves of giant dinosaurs with your friends – collapsed into a broken mess of a thing that left a lot of paying customers very…

Okay, Phoenix Wright looks amazing in 3D. Check out this new trailer for Ace Attorney 5, which will be out in Japan this July (and in the U.S. at some point in the future). Neat, eh?

‘Suspicious Package’ Found In Arizona Today Looks Really Familiar

I don’t blame police in Tempe, Arizona for calling in the bomb squad to examine this “suspicious package” they found on the street today, as reported by news network KTVK. And, yeah, I guess it’s for the best that they sent in a robot to try to detonate it. After the events in Boston this…

The Most Atmospheric Steampunk Video Games

Steampunk games that feature steam-powered machines and settings in an alternate history of the Wild West or the industrialized British era of the 19th century are rare. Maybe even rarer than cyberpunk titles. Although some games have steampunk elements—just think about the retro-futuristic enemies of Torchlight or the atmosphere of Professor Layton—we focused on steampunk-specific…

Not content to simply create a fake 16-bit game to base their real3D Guild Wars 2 April Fools’ surprise on, ArenaNet has created a full playable version of Rytlock’s Critter Rampage, and it’s gleefully brutal. Play it here.

It’s Better Down Where It’s Wetter, Take It From a Week of Gaming Apps

Thanks to games like Fish Out of Water! and Reef Run, I’ve spent more hours underwater this week than the two months following the theatrical release of The Little Mermaid, which my then-girlfriend made me watch at least a dozen times. That music, it never goes away. They come flocking to my cauldron crying, “Spells,…

According to the BioShock Wiki, April 19th, 1874 is Booker DeWitt’s birthday. Today is April 19th. So, let’s celebrate! This obviously calls for tiaras and sparkles, if you ask me.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – Jetstream Sam DLC: The Kotaku Review

It’s time to talk about cherry blossoms. And how they relate to downloadable content. Cherry blossoms are just starting to bloom here in New York. Coincidentally, the Jetstream Sam DLC for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was recently released, too, and it lets you play as one of the game’s villains in a standalone campaign. There’s…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Run Across NYC Rooftops to Score Speed

Pursued by a relentless robot across the rooftops of New York City, our young heroes must maintain a continuous supply of speed or they’ll be abducted by aliens. Nickelodeon presets Paranoid Reptilian Methamphetamine Junkies. Or the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for iOS. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run is, as one would imagine,…

Disabled Gamer Gets A Rare League of Legends Kill Without Using Hands

According to Riot, the odds of getting a pentakill in League of Legends is one in every 1,500 matches. A pentakill is when you manage to kill the entire enemy team in a short period of time—no easy feat! Twitch user Aieron accomplished a pentakill though, and he did it without using his hands: he…

Ode To The JRPG Mini-Game

During the two-and-a-half decades I’ve been playing JRPGs, I’ve learned three important lessons: 1) If an NPC tells you a rumor, it’s true; 2) All valuables are hidden in bookshelves; and 3) Mini-games are almost always better than real games. It’s a strange phenomenon, don’t you think? We play role-playing games because we want to…

Here’s Another Look at The Pluto, Sega’s Rare Console Prototype

Sega doesn’t make hardware any more. But they used to. And recently a prototype for the Pluto—an online-enabled variant of Sega’s Saturn machine—surfaced in the hands of a former Sega employee. Now, the only other prototype has popped up, too, with proof that it still works. Over at Destructoid, a member of the site’s community…

The Moneysaver: Great Headphones On The Cheap

Great audio frequently takes a back seat to eye-meltingly gorgeous TV’s and monitors, but not today. We’ve got bargain basement prices on review-tested headphones and earbuds. And of course a ton of game sales. Whether you want a stereo gaming headset or dirt cheap quality, we’ve got your ears covered today. We’re fondest of the…

The Most Exhausting Way To Play Team Fortress 2

Remember Omni, the virtual reality/treadmill hybrid that allows you to walk and look around naturally in a game—like Skyrim? This time, Virtuix, the folks behind the tech, are back with footage of the Omni, Team Fortress 2 and the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset running all at once. This is as immersive as you can…

Six Reviewers Praise the Turbulent Brawls of Injustice: Gods Among Us

Superman goes rogue and all hell breaks loose in Netherrealm Studios’ fighting title, Injustice: Gods Among Us. It’s an all-out brawl between the heroes and villains of the DC Universe—who will come out victorious? That would be the critics, who are having a hell of a good time. Injustice takes Netherrealm’s experience with Mortal Kombat…