Facebook Lines Up Ten Titles to Court the Hardcore Gamer

An arcade beat-em up with a Diablo pedigree; a fast-paced multiplayer first-person shooter; a complex competitive strategy kingdom builder—these are the first shots fired in Facebook’s battle to expand its gaming player-base beyond farmers and puzzle-players, with another seven in the chamber for 2013. After years of steady growth, Facebook’s gaming revenue has gone flat—fourth…

Skulls of the Shogun: The Kotaku Review [UPDATE]

I want to tell you that Skulls of the Shogun is excellent. I want to tell you the game is fantastic, and that it has some of the best writing this year so far. I want to tell you about how lovingly crafted it is, about the small details it includes. I want to tell…

The Last Of Us‘ Infected Enemies Are Fast, Fungal and Damn Frightening to Look at

Before diving into an extended hands-on session with Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, creative director Neil Druckmann describes what he hopes I’ll take away from the demo: “We want to demonstrate through gameplay, through action what people have had to deal with.” By “people,” he’s referring to the survivors of a population-wiping plague that…

The Curious Case Of Ni no Kuni‘s Unpleasant Battle Music

The first time I heard the battle music in Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, I thought, “Ugh.” That’s never a good sign. In a Japanese role-playing game like Ni no Kuni, the battle music is arguably the most important music in the game. Sure, the world-map music is crucial, but it’s the…

Worms in Your Social Network? It’s More Likely Than You Think.

The beta is over and battle lines have been drawn. They’re sort of squiggly. Team17’s classic team-based trajectory shooter is now open to everyone on Facebook. Release the sheep! The spineless competition is fierce in the Facebook version of Worms. Along with the four-on-four battles that have been endearing these slimy little bastards to gamers…

Hey New Yorkers, Kotaku will be at the NY Game Critics award show tomorrow, and you can be too. Tickets are free!

Playing Grand Theft Auto As An Angry Bird Looks Like A Blast

Oh, Grand Theft Auto mods, you never cease to amaze me. Here’s footage by taltigolt of someone playing as Red Bird… in Grand Theft Auto IV. Naturally, knocking stuff over happens. And, eventually, guns. Hey, man. They’re angry birds and the citizens of Liberty City sure don’t help by being rude! Grand Theft Auto IV…

Fox News Host’s Guns Vs. Video Games Argument Doesn’t Make Sense

In the Fox News segment excerpted above, Judge Jeanine Pirro argues that banning guns won’t stop crime. She should certainly feel free to argue that position. But when she invokes video games in a preposterous culture-war argument, it’s hard to take any of her comments seriously. Here’s a partial transcript of what she says at…

In College? Make Video Games? You Could Win A Spot At This Year’s E3

If you go to school for game design, you might be stoked to hear that the Entertainment Software Association, also known as the ESA, also known as the shadowy masterminds that secretly control the video game industry the people who run E3, just announced a contest for college students in the United States. Around 400…

ChefVille ‘Guten Appetit’ Quests: Everything You Need to Know

While we’ve already seen one new German-themed quest released in ChefVille this week with it an upgrade to the Hofbrau Skillet, there’s an additional timed series available to tackle. The thing is, it’s probably buried among the many Chinese New Year event quests that have also been rolled out this week, so its timer has…

Crusader Kings II‘s Newest Expansion Will Make You A Viking

Hyper-complex medieval strategy game and one of our 2012 GOTY nominees Crusader Kings II has a new expansion on the way, and the announcement trailer just hit the web. Old Gods will place you back in good ol’ 867 AD, when Vikings ruled the land and seas. This pagan-themed jaunt will offer “hundreds of new…

Tips for Playing Fire Emblem: Awakening

If you have a 3DS, you should play Fire Emblem: Awakening. If you don’t have a 3DS, you should get one to play this game. It’s that good But once you have the game, how can you make the most of it? I’ve had to impart some Fire Emblem tips to some friends and colleagues…

How To Increase Your Odds of Winning The Ol’ Dating Game

Ahh, first dates. You wash your armpits in the sink, bring extra breath freshener, and study up on the day’s trending Twitter topics, and yet you still feel hopelessly unprepared. Well, if you take the one-question survey below, you could be entered to win a $150 Ticketmaster gift card—the perfect cheapskate way to get 2…

If This is What a Free-to-Play Pokemon Game Would Be Like, Then No Thanks.

Zuko Monsters has several advantages over Pokemon, the long-lived monster collecting role-playing game series that clearly serves as its inspiration. It’s got sharp and colorful graphics filled with personality, with nary a pixel to be seen. Timed finger taps during battles add a simple element of interactivity that Pokemon‘s battles lack. Zuko Monsters is also…

Half-Life 2 Has An Awesome, New Virtual Reality Head- And Gun-Tracking Mod

What you see above is Nathan Andrews’ full head- and weapon tracking mod for Half-Life 2, which he created in preparation for the release of the Oculus Rift virtual reality gaming headset. It looks insane The Oculus Rift, which raised millions of dollars on Kickstarter in 2012, is hopefully coming out later this year Half-Life…

Talk Amongst Yourselves is where games and life get discussed. Where were all the Super Bowl video game commercials?

id co-founder Tom Hall just launched a $400K Kickstarter for Worlds of Wander, which would let anyone make a platformer

I Sure Hope The Dragon Quest VII Remake Comes To America

Via GoNintendo, here are two new commercials for the Nintendo 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII, out in Japan this week. As expected, it looks great. GoNintendo’s also got a nice summary of the changes brought to this remake of the PlayStation 1 role-playing game—from the sounds of it, DQVII 3DS will be easier, less…

Sky Pirates of Neo Terra Races Gracefully Across Three Platforms

Fresh from a test run in the wilds of Canada and an Image comics mini-series, Sky Pirates of Neo Terra tells the story of a world where disparate tribes maintain peace through glidewing racing, which is as good an excuse for a cross-platform online multiplayer racing game as I’ve ever heard. It’s a little Skies…

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