Recent years have seen fewer games include multiplayer, according to the Penny Arcade Report Did you notice?

The First Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Gameplay Trailer Is Equal Parts Exciting and Terrifying

Temples hidden deep within uncharted jungles, dramatic pirate ship battles, 20 seconds of GameStop pimping at the end — the first gameplay trailer for Black Flag shows everything I look for in a blockbuster action-adventure, and one thing I do not. It’s not the sharks so much as the container they come in. While I…

Ready, set, annotate! Here’s a view of the PAX East show floor. I shot this on Saturday and figured it’d be a good image for all of you to tinker with as you explore the wonderful world of Kotaku image annotation. This is possible thanks to our new layout. Click on the image and add…

Super Metroid Screenshot, Remastered Into HD In Photoshop Looks Stunning

DeviantArt user Elemental79 did a crazy job converting a screenshot from the classic SNES game Super Metroid into HD using only Photoshop. He recorded the whole procedure in this speed up video to show us how much work something like this needs. He already did the same treatment with Doom, with similar, awesome results and…

Three Colors Combine to Form the Finest Sheep Shooter Ever

Red, green and blue — these are the primary colors, which can be mixed together in varying amounts to create every color of the visible spectrum. I learned this in my grade school art program. At the time I was convinced the teacher made it up to cover for the fact that they only had…

Introducing PixelJunk Inc., the Newest PixelJunk Game

Since 2007, Kyoto based Q-Games has been churning out innovative downloadable titles. These include games like PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, and PixelJunk 4am The latest PixelJunk entry was titled PixelJunk 1-6—until now, that is. Say hello to PixelJunk Inc. Hello! Launching with four player co-op and slated for a Steam PC release later this year,…

RuneScape 3, sequel to the super-popular browser-based fantasy MMOs RuneScape (which used to be called RuneScape 2, naturally), will be coming out this summer. Here’s the PR hype about the free-to-play game: ” RuneScape 3 will see a massive leap forward in technology, with a new fully HTML5 engine, improved graphics, longer draw distances, new…

I Can’t Tell if Doctor Who Makes PlayStation Home More Creepy or Less Creepy

One of the problems I have with PlayStation Home is the avatars — they’re too uncanny; too department store mannequin for my tastes. Does dressing them up as the Doctor and giving them a TARDIS to play in help? Half of that question is rhetorical — everything is better with a TARDIS. Take any significant…

You’ve Seen Games That Let You Play With Shadows Before, But Probably Not Like This

One of the best surprises at PAX East this past weekend was Contrast, a game from the upstart Canadian studio Compulsion. It’s a platformer that lets you become your shadow and climb on other shadows. You might have seen games like Lost in Shadow do something similar, but that game was not this dynamic and…

Infinite Crisis Turns the DC Comics Multiverse into a MOBA Battleground This Fall

You’ll get to have multiple versions of the Dark Knight fighting against each other later this year when the just announced Infinite Crisis comes to PCs. The MOBA title is being developed by Turbine. Here’s what the press release says: Infinite Crisis is a new entrant into the wildly popular MOBA genre that delivers a…

Bastion‘s Writer Talks About Their Next Game, Transistor

There were a lot of big games at PAX East last weekend—Watch Dogs, Assassin’s Creed IV, The Last of Us—but the biggest lines were for Transistor, the newest action-RPG from the makers of Bastion We’ll have impressions from the show later today, but for now, check out this short video I shot while chatting with…

BioShock Infinite: The Kotaku Review

Depending on where in the country you live, you might have the nagging feeling that portions of the United States have broken clean off. Just up and decided to veer into their own orbits, consequences be damned. And, because any notion that these States aren’t United is a really uncomfortable one, a cacophony of voices…

Chinese Teen Pretends Life Is League Of Legends, Jumps Out of Bush Screaming “For Demacia”

Video games are great for relieving tension and stress; sometimes playing is like an escape from reality. However, for some people, it’s hard to return to reality after a long gaming session. One young man in China took his love for League of Legends a little too far. It’s unknown when this story was first…

Behold, a Human Spambot

Spam sucks! So does junk mail. But this human spambot is totally amazing. Just look how she fills those mailboxes with advertisements. Human Spambot [Arul Prasad M L@YouTube via ITMedia] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning…

Chinese Audience Unimpressed By Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Retribution was released in the US late last year. The movie, shot completely in 3D and in 4K resolution had some pretty awesome special effects. It made a decent amount of money in most of its release markets but despite all the money it made, Chinese moviegoers seem to be unhappy with the…

Shocker: Counter-Strike Map Based on Local School Causes Outrage

Last month, one Counter-Strike fan got in trouble for putting a Montreal metro station in multiplayer map form. Recently, something quite similar has happened. Last week, CBC News reported on locals’ reactions to a Counter-Strike map featuring Port Moody Secondary School of Port Moody, B. C. People first became aware of the map when a…

Welcome To The New Kotaku: Better Graphics, More Interactive, Same Low Price.

In less time than it takes to make a new BioShock, but in more time than it takes to crank out a new PlayStation firmware update—most people can actually hold their breath long enough for that—we’ve got a new Kotaku layout for you. Welcome to our first big makeover since 2011. We call it Kinja.…

Hong Kong Resident Uses Social Media To Catch iPhone Thief

Having been the victim of cellphone theft I’ve dreamed of catching the thief. Unfortunately, when I lost my phone, technology wasn’t as impressive as it is today. Over the weekend a Hong Kong resident had his iPhone 5 stolen, but with the help of social media and the Internet, he was able to get his…

Akira-Meets-The-Simpsons Gets a Full Cast. It Might Surprise You.

When I look at iconic manga and anime Akira, I don’t immediately think of Bart Simpson and Milhouse. Cartoonist James Harvey does. Harvey is spearheading the “Bartkira” project. It’s a group project that consists of over three hundred artists, all working in their own styles. Below you can see the cast of characters: As noted…

Tecmo Koei Just Sliced Up Team Ninja

In Japan, everything changes in the spring. And this April 1, Tecmo Koei, from the sound of it, is making some big changes. At least, on paper. According to a new press release, Tecmo Koei is reorganizing its corporate structure. Meh, right? That sounds rather boring and insidery, but the relevant info is how it…