JRPG Combat Is The Best Kind Of Combat

“Oh, I don’t really like battles. I just play JRPGs for the story.” You’ve probably heard something like that before, or wrote it, or thought it. There seems to be a general consensus, for better or for worse, that a Japanese RPG’s merits, if they exist at all, lie in its story and characters and…

These Are the Official Kotaku T-Shirts You’re Looking For

Our good friends at t-shirt company Meatbun are selling two official Kotaku shirts. The first, pictured above and dubbed “Kotaku-Tan II,” is the work of the amazing Dan Dussault. He was inspired by the just-a-wee-bit-more-amazing Frank Frazetta. Our warrior lady is surrounded by trolls from Dragon Quest, EverQuest, Skyrim and World of Warcraft. Yours for…

Seriously, why hasn't a video game been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards?

Of all the landmarks in science fiction history that we predicted would happen in your lifetime, there’s one that I really can’t believe hasn’t happened yet. Why hasn’t a video game been nominated for a Hugo or Nebula Award? With games like Dead Space, Bioshock, Mass Effect and Portal featuring complex world-building and multi-layered storytelling,…

Dave Fennoy Answers More of Your Questions About The Walking Dead, His Awesome Hair and Other Stuff

Since our live Q&A with Dave Fennoy went up *just* as we were having some technical difficulties on the site, the incredibly talented voice actor who voiced Lee in The Walking Dead wasn’t able to answer all of your questions right then and there. I was, as I’m sure many of you were, disappointed. But…

King’s Bounty: Legions Makes a Strategic Move to Android

Russian developer Nival has done an amazing job bringing an updated free-to-play take on New World Computing’s 1990 classic PC turn-based strategy game King’s Bounty to Facebook and the iPad. Now they complete the cross-platform circle with King’s Bounty: Legions for Android, harnessing the power of Tegra 3 to make for the best mobile version…

This Is What Far Cry 3‘s Vaas Was Originally Going To Look Like

The Vaas above? He didn’t always exist. Months ago, we learned that Far Cry 3’s Vaas wasn’t originally in the game. Vaas, with his memorable ‘did I ever tell you the definition of insanity’ came as an inspiration from the actor Michael Mando. When Mando came in for an audition, he did almost the exact…

6 GIFs from that Striking Cyberpunk 2077 Trailer

Here’s a not very complicated idea. A new trailer comes out. It’s cool. Someone makes some GIFs out of it. The newest member of our team, Gergő Vas, figured he’d start us off with yesterday’s trailer for Cyberpunk 2077, the new game from CD Projekt, makers of The Witcher Enjoy this look at our possible…

FarmVille 2 ‘Dairy Delicacies’ Quests: Everything You Need to Know

Zynga has turned its focus to the Yogurt Creamery in FarmVille 2, seeing players build this new milk-themed structure on their farms and complete a series of eight new quests in a “Dairy Delicacies” line. This quest line deals with the construction of the Yogurt Creamery, so if you’ve already built one on your own…

Keep up with mobile and social game happenings, run by our own Mike Fahey.

Gabe Newell Has A Theory About Doctor Who. It’s Fascinating. And Confusing.

Careful, spoilers! Nerdist’s recently released two-part podcast deals, for the most part, with Gabe Newell and his company Valve. As a Doctor Who fan, I found one bit particularly interesting. At the beginning of part two, Gabe shares that he’s also a Doctor Who fan, and that he’s got a theory about the Doctor’s newly…

Massachusetts Orders Light Gun Video Games Pulled From State-Operated Rest Stops

Massachusetts’ Department of Transportation pulled a Time Crisis cabinet and seven other light-gun video games from rest-stop arcades along the Massachusetts Turnpike, after the parents of a 12-year-old complained they were inappropriate, reports The Boston Globe. The removal was attributed to the Dec. 14 gun massacre in Newtown, Conn. The move will strike most gamers…

Watch Video Games Get Beaten In Record Time for a Good Cause

SpeedDemosArchive—home to, amazingly, high-speed video game playthroughs by talented players—is entering the last day of its Awesome Games Played Quick marathon, where viewers can donate money to help fund cancer prevention research. Players will be picking up gamepads to try and beat old and new classics faster than anyone else has ever done. So far,…

The PA Report has an incredible account of a circus shooting mistake and its influence on the making of a video game.

What’s In a Name? A Racing Game With a Nutty Finish

It’s been a silly week for mobile games with suggestive names. First there was this. Then Fahey handed me something called “Noble Nutlings” for the iOS. Its icon was a beetle-browed, bucktoothed squirrel. I had no idea what to expect. Turns out this is a racing game (iOS, free download), from Boomlagoon, some ex-Rovio guys…

There I Was, Beating Down the Zombie Hordes Wearing Nothing But Cutoffs and a Chest Bandage

As far as first impressions go, Progrestar’s Facebook zombie survival game The Last One isn’t doing itself any favors. I show up in the game world wholly unprepared for the task ahead of me—torn pants, a chest wrap and a metal pipe against legions of flesh-hungry walking dead. One would assume that shoes would be…

Are You OK With Nintendo’s Fire Emblem DLC?

The gaming world is not yet in agreement about all of the right ways and all of the wrong ways for game companies to do downloadable content. Should a company charge several dollars for horse armor? Probably not. For costumes in a fighting game? Hmm. Should the DLC never be on the disc even if…

Channel Boogie Nights as “Jessie’s Girl” hits Rock Band Tuesday. (“Sister Christian” and “The Touch” are already there.)

Comic Books’ Disastrous Self-Censorship Offers a Lesson for Games Publishers, Too

“Censoring violent comic books did not reduce juvenile delinquency or increase literacy,” reasons the International Game Developers Association. “It decimated the production of one of the few kinds of literature that at-risk youths read for pleasure.” The IGDA, the foremost group representing video games developers, wrote that to Vice President Joe Biden in a letter…

Giant-Sized Hulk Will Smash Galactus in Lego Marvel Super Heroes

News broke this week that Warner Bros.’ game division has been working on a new game based on Marvel Comics character. This Game Informer video offers a first look at the game and mentions that the game’s big bad will be Galactus. According to coverage in Game Informer‘s print magazine, you’ll be doing all your…

Cosplayers Are Passionate, Talented Folks. But There’s A Darker Side To This Community, Too.

What most of us get to see, cosplay-wise, is the part where a costumed fan stands before the flash of the camera, posing as their favorite characters from movies, comic books and games. What most of us experience is the ‘product.’ The end result. But there is a person underneath that costume. That person has…