Peanut Butter & Jelly and Bacon Soda: The Snacktaku Review

Imagine it’s a hot, sweaty summer’s day. You’ve been running jet fighter drills all morning long, heat rising in shimmering waves from the tarmac. Maybe you took a break to play a game of volleyball with the guys, pushing your well-muscled, shirtless, perspiration-slick body to its very limit. Afterwards you slip on your aviator glasses,…

Here’s A Crazy Looking Game You’ll Want To Get Lost In

I’m not one for eerie games, but it’s difficult to watch this trailer for NaissanceE and not become immediately entranced by the architecture. It’s a minimalistic world, yet atmospheric—the type of place you’ll want to explore (even though that’s likely a bad idea!) According to the developers, the game is a “short first person adventure”…

Call of Duty Rep Stole from Activision to Pay for Engagement Party

An Activision PR manager who stole nearly $30,000 from the launch budget for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2‘s UK release and used it to finance her engagement party avoided active jail time in a sentencing hearing today, reports The Daily Mail. Kathryn Kirton, 35, stayed out of prison because a judge noted her prosecution…

Turns Out Gearbox Is The Highest Bidder On Homeworld

Gearbox today announced that the mysterious highest bidder on Homeworld was actually them. Luke gave us a rundown on the runners up last night, but the winners of the RTS series once owned by THQ wouldn’t reveal themselves at the time. The only other details Gearbox mentioned in today’s announcement included their dedication to preserving…

Game Developers Famous for Getting Ripped Off Get Ripped Off Again [UPDATE]

First, look at the two videos below: See any similarities? In case it’s not clear: the game on the bottom appears to be a pretty blatant clone of the game on the top. The old-timey washed-out filters, retro graphics and bombastic language of the one lift heavily from the feel of the other. That first…

Yet Another Metal Gear Solid Collection Is Coming To PS3

As rumored a few days ago, a new pack of Metal Gear Solid games is coming to PS3 this June. Not to be confused with the one that came out a year and a half ago. Here’s Konami: Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the METAL GEAR SOLID franchise, this PlayStation®3 exclusive package will include METAL…

The Moneysaver: Bioshock, Tomb Raider, Crysis, Gears, more on sale.

Basically every major release of the past several months is on sale today, and for every platform. Jump in to save on whatever you missed. On the PC, you can grab Bioshock: Infinite or SimCity each for $10 off, or save 10% by pre-ordering FEZ, which is finally breaking free of LIVE exclusivity. Don’t miss…

Here’s violinist Taylor Davis performing a two-parter of “Elizabeth’s Theme” and “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” from BioShock Infinite. You may remember Davis from such performances as Epically Playing Epic Journey Music While Wearing Gloves on the Beach and Super Emotional Music from Naruto

We Don’t Just Need Better Game Publishers. We Need Better Everything.

Following the publication of last week’s “We Need Better Video Game Publishers,” written by an anonymous developer, we asked our buddy Anonymous Publisher to write a rebuttal. Here it is. You would probably expect that, as someone who has provided Kotaku with an inside look at the publisher perspective in the past, I would be…

Grand Theft Auto V’s New Viral Video Says “Sperm Does Not Exist”

Way back in August of last year, Rockstar Games started putting out weird tweets into a feed for the Epsilon Program, a religious cult that appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and GTA IV. Now, the NYC-based developer is featuring an Epsilonism promo video on their official page. A thread on NeoGAF alleges that…

This NPR segment discusses how jobs in high-tech industries—including video games—can be a good fit for people on the autism spectrum.

Watch a Game of Pong Played on the Side of a 29-Story Building

Frank Lee, a professor at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media and Design, brought a five-year obsession to a successful conclusion on Friday: play the world’s largest game of Pong, using the side of a building in Philadelphia. Lee pulled it off on Friday, using the north wall of the Cira Centre, which over looks…

Jetpack Joyride Creators Make Another Damn Game I Can’t Stop Playing

While I can understand the appeal of Jetpack Joyride, one of the best mobile games ever made, I could never figure out why Halfbrick Studio’s other huge seller, Fruit Ninja, drove so many gamers crazy. Now, days after the release of the developer’s latest game, I’ve finally figured out the secret: Halfbrick Studios is staffed…

Moneysaver PSA: $20 Bonus Amazon Credit On Your Unwanted Games

If you’ve got games, consoles, and peripherals gathering dust and cluttering up your minimalist entertainment center, today is the day to convert them to credit Gamestop has been the de facto black hole for trade-ins for longer than any of us can remember, but in recent years other retailers have jumped in to the fray.…

Game of Thrones: Ascent is More Up-to-Date With the Show Than You Are

Well before the first episode aired on HBO late last month, members of Boston-based developer Disruptor Beam had already seen a little over half of season three of Game of Thrones. They flew down to New York City and sat within a well-guarded theater, taking in the aftermath of the Battle of Blackwater and catching…

The Coming Death of the Television

I used to think it would take maybe 50 years until we reached the day people would laugh when reminded that human beings of the year 2013 had television sets. Lately, I’ve been expecting that laughter to come even sooner. Maybe in a decade. Maybe not even that long from now. Do you see it,…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: contributor AzureGuy talks about a boss fight that he took on before he was supposed to. Nothing like a little discouragement to make you love-hate a game, right? And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic…

Are you unemployed or under-employed, yet still buying and playing video games? We want to hear your stories. How do you clear space in your budget for an expensive hobby? Have you ever spent money on a video game that you really shouldn’t have? What have you done to help pay for your gaming habits?…

Dead Island: Riptide: The Kotaku Review

There are so many things so wrong with Dead Island: Riptide that I’m not even sure where to begin. Sometimes you have to dig and climb your way through a game before the payoff hits. If you’ve ever played a lengthy RPG, this might be a familiar feeling to you. In the end, you won’t…

No, sports fans are not thoroughly fatigued by social media-driven cover votes. What gives you that crazy idea? So after Madden gives us either Barry Sanders or Adrian Peterson on Wednesday, you can enjoy another monthlong tournament as NHL 14 selects its star.