Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen: The Kotaku Review

Oh, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. I want to like you. I really, really do. On paper, I should. On paper you and I should be thick as thieves. So why, please tell me why, I don’t like you? Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is an expanded, budget re-release of the original game which, you might recall,…

The New Link to the Past Took Its Sweet Time… But So Did These Games

After twenty-one years, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is getting a direct sequel. That’s quite the gap, twenty-one years. But it’s far from being the only big gap. Game development takes a long time, and during that time, a great number of things can go wrong. Licensing issues get in the…

The Real Problem With That Controversial, Sexy Video Game Sorceress [UPDATE]

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that criticized one of the characters in the upcoming game Dragon’s Crown. Today, the man behind that character has responded to that article. On April 12, I published a post titled “Game Developers Really Need To Stop Letting Teenage Boys Design Their Characters.” It was a snarky, short…

Can Colonel O’Neill and Crew Survive Stargate SG-1 Unleashed?

Seeking to prolong the magic of the popular science fiction television series, Arkalis Interactive gets the original Stargate SG-1 gang together for one last big score. Having a cohesive cast of season actors voicing familar characters is great. Having a cohesive game would have been better. Building upon their experience with Stargate Command, a series…

Man Busted with Pot-Stuffed Pac-Man Machine; Sheriff has Witty Retort

Luis Tyler, a small businessman from Orangeburg, S.C., needed a creative shipping solution for acquiring 55 pounds of a common agricultural product. So he asked that his vendor stuff it inside a Pac-Man arcade cabinet. Which the cops knew all about, of course. Tyler, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, was busted by feds…

The Hero of His Game is NSFW. The Enemies, Too.

E-mail I received last night, referencing this article: Subject line: Dicks in Games Hello, I was in the process of finishing up an Android based game when you wrote the article about dicks in games and whatnot. My ‘hero’ is adick in a Hawaiian shirt. The enemies are pussies. You’ll probably get a chuckle out…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: contributor Zarynx has an important realization about all those treasure chests that you get loot from in RPGs: the stuff in there probably belongs to someone already. Which means that you’re stealing. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and…

Dead Island Special Edition Includes the Headless Bikini Statue Anyway

Just because Deep Silver apologized profusely for Dead Island: Riptide‘s rather tasteless “Zombie Bait Edition” premium—a severed, bloodied, big-boobed bikini-clad torso—doesn’t mean they actually pulled it from distribution. The statuette is still included in special editions sold in Europe and Australia. Back in January, when the offer came to light, Deep Silver all but disowned…

If Only Every Online Game Had The Secret World‘s Fashion Sense

There’s something to be said for giving players a fixed set of armor and equipment upgrades to strive for, that perfect set of stat-enhancing items that let other players know exactly how accomplished they are. That something is “boring.” Any dedicated World of Warcraft player can look at another and suss out exactly what pieces…

Finally… Ratchet & Clank Are Getting a Movie

If you’ve played and loved the Ratchet & Clank games, then you’ve wondered why the series’ slapstick humor and crazy sci-fi action hasn’t been translated into a TV show or a movie yet. I know I have. Well, it’s finally happening A feature film based on Insomniac’s hit video game is scheduled to hit screens…

Mind-Blowingly Perfect Water Simulation Is Now A Reality

Simulating the physics of water has always been tricky, and game engines sometimes still have to use dodgy mechanics to make it feel real. But the above demonstration of this new fluid simulation technique proves that slowly but surely we’re getting there. PhysXInfo has the details on how it works: Position Based Fluids is a…

Muse Uses Japan’s Rising Sun Imagery, Forgets It Pisses People Off

British rockers Muse have a new music video out. It was shot in Tokyo, and it’s lighthearted and fun. Oh, except for the part that pissed people off. On YouTube and 2ch, commenters are pointing out that the video briefly featured Japan’s Rising Sun flag—something that angered people online. For many, it symbolizes the country’s…

The Steins;Gate Movie is an Emotional Ride Through Time

Richard: Today, myself and fellow Kotaku author Toshi Nakamura are here to look at the recently released movie sequel to the 2011 Steins;Gate anime: Steins;Gate: The Burden of Déjà Vu Toshi: Which was in turn based on a very successful visual novel. Richard: I very much enjoyed the anime series, saying it “might be the…

This is Alcapa Games’ upcoming top-down survival horror title, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. As the captain of a ship named Cradle, your task is to “restore the ship AI and exterminate the vindictive, and now homeless mecha-dinosaurs.” Why aren’t there more games with vindictive mecha-dinosaurs? [Thanks, RPS.]

Diet Diet Revolution: How I Lost Weight Playing a Video Game

Growing up, I was a very thin kid. Thanks to an amazingly high metabolism, I could eat anything I wanted, as much as I wanted and never gain weight. Once I did nothing but eat junk food and play games over winter break in high school and lost 5 pounds—dropping me to 119 pounds. My…

Chinese Airline Dressing Up Flight Attendants as…Maids and Butlers

In China, one airline isn’t just flying the friendly skies. It’s cosplaying in them. Spring Airlines, a Shanghai-based budget airline, is dressing up its male cabin attendants as butlers and its female ones as maids. Some in China are pleased with the cosplay promotion, comparing it to Japan’s maid (and butler) cafes. Others are not.…

Here Are the Coolest Starbucks in Asia

Chain establishments can start to blur together. They start to seem the same, because they all look the same. That’s not always true for Starbucks, especially in Asia. Some of its ubiquitous coffee houses are not only unique, but so cool. Yes, most Starbucks in Asia do look like the Starbucks you’d see anywhere in…

The Special Attacks in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 Are Just Insane

Like most shonen anime and manga, One Piece is filled to the brim with crazy attacks and special moves. But what would these attacks be if they weren’t all given names to be shouted at maximum volume whenever said attack is used? With everything from the Gum Gum Elephant Gun to the Mirage Tempo: Fata…

The concluding episode of the Tyranny of King Washington DLC for Assassin’s Creed III, Redemption, is now available for PC and Xbox 360 (with the PS3 getting it tomorrow). Let’s celebrate with a trailer of spirit wolves, collapsing towers, and lots of cannon fire.

How a Bill Gates Handshake Caused Controversy in South Korea

Bill Gates is dedicating his life to helping others. But let’s not judge him on that. Let’s judge him on how he shakes hands. Because that’s important. The above photo is all over the South Korean press. Gates is shaking hands with President Geun Hye Park. He has one hand in his pocket. That’s a…