When I First Saw Mass Effect, It Looked Like This. I Didn’t Love It.

This artifact, which I dug this up out of my basement a few weeks ago, was where I first entered the universe of Mass Effect. It didn’t impress me much in 2007. Six years ago, the Microsoft PR machine sent out hard drives with the code for Mass Effect 1 to press for previews. Mine…

A BioShock Infinite Glitch That Lets You Farm For The Best Gear

This exploit, found by GameFront, seems highly tedious. I’m sure some of you will still do it, because hey, it’s one way of ensuring you get the best gear available. It’s too bad you can’t see what Booker’s gear looks like while playing, though. Bioshock Infinite – How to Farm For Unlimited Gear [gamefrontwalkthrough]

This weekend, dozens of people participated in a dating sim game jam—as of this writing, there are more dating sims available for you to play than you can shake a stick at. 60, to be exact. I haven’t played all of them, but I highly recommend Magical Maiden Madison, Kindness Coins, and Sex With Men.…

Hold on to Your Butts, Here’s the Jurassic Park Island Re-Created in Minecraft

If you’re wondering where the download is for this, you’re out of luck. This re-creation of Jurassic Park, just in time for the film’s 20th anniversary and 3D re-release, was made in Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition Even if there are no dinosaurs (some enormous cutouts will have to do for now) I find that impressive.…

However you feel about the game itself, this hilarious, interactive take on BioShock Infinite by Cryptic Sea will probably make you laugh. (Contains spoilers.)

Why is Luigi green? “…because of memory limitations, the second character had to be identical to the first character in appearance,” says Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. “And so we looked at that and said, ‘Well even if we have the same character, we could potentially change the color of the character.’ But again we were…

The Beautiful Alien Worlds of Mass Effect

Three games and a truckload of books, comics and supporting material supplied the Mass Effect universe with heaps of amazing-looking alien planets, moons and space stations. Over the course of the trilogy, we visited planet-sized cities, tropical beaches, and space-stations the size of moons. Some visits were short, others lengthy, but each place we visited…

Here’s the newest trailer for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which comes out for 3DS on June 9. It’s… relaxing.

When I Step Out The Door, My 3DS Is As Essential As My Phone

The plan was simple: we would meet on the hotel’s party floor and have a good time. Simple, and yet not quite what happened. My friends got to the hotel and found out the party floor was convention pass-only, and there was no way to buy a pass that late at night. We hung out…

One Last Tribute, Before Commander Shepard Is Gone Forever

Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel, last hope of humanity, could well spend the rest of his or her life rotting on a hard drive. With most games, the characters live on well after people have stopped playing the game, even if the gaming systems on which they first appeared have long since broken or…

Welcome To Mass Effect Week At Kotaku!

The galaxy has been saved; the battle with the Reapers has been won. The last robot zombie has been obliterated, and the final sexy alien has been romanced. The Mass Effect trilogy has ended. What a journey it’s been. With the recent release of the Citadel downloadable add-on, the current era of Mass Effect drew…

Here’s your round-up of Durango rumors for today: Bloomberg says the next Xbox won’t be backwards-compatible, and The Verge‘s Microsoft expert Tom Warren confirms a Paul Thurrott report that Microsoft plans to announce their new console on May 21

Those Addicted to Video Games Should Visit a Slaughterhouse on Kill Day, Says Unhinged Caller

I enjoy public broadcasting and I value public affairs programming, but I reach for the knob as soon as a political show brings in callers. Rarely are they interested in continuing a discussion or offering a point that starts a new one. They’re more likely to disguise an opinion as a question, show off in…

Boneless Vs. Bone-In Chicken Wings: The Snacktaku Showdown

Late last week the Twitterverse exploded with what might be the most important snacking argument of the year — boneless or bone-in chicken wings? Lines were drawn. Sauces were chosen. Wet naps were made ready. Lots of people made themselves sick, all in the name of fighting for the cause they felt was the justiest…

It’s just been announced that Blizzard—makers of Diablo III and Starcraft 2—just bought the technology and assets for the IGN Pro League eSports promotion

The Moneysaver: Raid The Tombs, Not Your Wallet

Lara Croft has gone back to her beginnings and you can join her for a discounted fee on both consoles and PC. Hit the jump to take the plunge. In the New York Times, Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo called Tomb Raider “…stunning to look at and satisfying to play.” Lara’s vulnerability may be short-lived, but her…

Months after fan voting ended, you can finally download and print the alternate covers for BioShock Infinite over at Irrational Games’ website

These Cosplayers Are Sick Of Being Treated Like Pieces Of Meat

A huge problem in the cosplay community is harassment: some people see cosplayers and assume that because they’re dressed up, they no longer get a say in what happens to their body. Hence, some cosplayers have horror stories about being inappropriately touched or verbally abused, particularly those that dress “provocatively.” In response, the folks at…

Life After Xbox

Over the weekend, I donated my Xbox 360 Elite to Goodwill. It represented a time in my life as a developer that I’m not overly proud about living. I worked for a couple years designing games at Microsoft. It is honestly difficult to say the exact group I was in since the organization was hit…

Director Shane Carruth—the man behind cult favorite indie films Primer and Upstream Color—names Portal and Grand Theft Auto IV as influences on his work in a profile on Vulture. As video game players become creators in other mediums, this kind of thing becomes less surprising. But it’s still cool to see.