Leigh Alexander writes about the games we play to feel in control while our messy, ugly lives buzz in the background.

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter has hit its $2 million goal in less than 12 hours. Jason will be so thrilled

This Real-Life GoldenEye Reenactment Is Slappers-Only

Maybe it’s Skyfall, maybe something else, but it seems there’s some Bond in the air these days. A couple weeks ago we had this cool real-life version of GoldenEye, and today, The Warp Zone gives us another, albeit a significantly more tongue-in-cheek one. In particular, this one features some game-appropriate, yet humorous hand-to-hand combat. I…

An Adorable Little Kid Walks Us Through A Minecraft Art Project

Remember Abe? Last time, he showed us how to make Cut The Rope cupcakes. This time, his project is less delicious but no less adorable: he walks us through how to make a Minecraft keychain. I for one am impressed not just with his obvious love and dedication to games, but how creative this little…

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Sure Is A Game About Being A Sniper

Games can be about a lot of different things. They can be about war or romance, politics or zombies, or everyday life. Heck, they can be about all of those things at once. Sniper Ghost Warrior 2, as you might have guessed from the title, is a game about being a sniper. The game came…

The Number One First-Person Shooter on Facebook Takes on Tablets

With more than 10 million monthly players between Facebook and the Mac app store, Cmune’s UberStrike is one of the most popular first-person shooters you may have never heard of. Today’s free-to-play move to iPad and Tegra 3 tablets should make it a little harder to ignore. It’ll be interesting to see how more discerning…

Midweek Moneysaver: Thriftiness Next to Godliness

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. Console Games GameStop • Yesterday’s release God of War: Ascension (PS3) is $54.99, free shipping (everywhere else is list) Microsoft • March 19 release Gears of…

Raise a Glass of Pabst Blue Ribbon to the Savior of the Twinkie

The rain has subsided, the clouds slowly dissipate and the forecast for this summer is golden-yellow sponge cake with creme filling, as private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co confirm a $410 million winning bid for the Hostess brand. After failing to pull clear of bankruptcy in November of last year following…

Federal Jury Rules Nintendo Infringed On Inventor’s Glasses-Free 3D Patent, Awards $30.2 Million [UPDATE]

A New York federal jury has ruled that Nintendo infringed on inventor Seijiro Tomita’s 3D technology with their handheld 3DS, Reuters reports. The jury awarded Mr. Tomita $30.2 million in compensatory damages. Yow. From Reuters: In opening arguments last month, Tomita’s attorney, Joe Diamante, told the jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that Nintendo…

The Castle Doctrine, a burglary and home defense MMO by Jason Rohrer, now has a playable alpha. It’ll cost you, though.

Why SimCity Needs Subways

I live in New York City. Everyday I ride the subway to work; most people here do. I haven’t owned a car in 10 years. I live in the densest large city in America, one full of massive skyscrapers, immense culture and people of every race, culture and creed. Which is why SimCity is so…

Bethesda has launched a new store with all kinds of merchandise tied to their games. Some of the Fallout stuff is hot.

We’ve updated our Tomb Raider review with a verdict on the game’s multiplayer portion.

Starting today, PS3 owners can get the VR Missions DLC for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It’s free until April 3rd.

Surely, This DayZ Squad! Trailer is Joking (It Is. And Don’t Call Me Shirley)

Police Squad! lasted one, glorious, six-episode season 31 years ago. (It’s still famous enough to have this memorable introduction sequence, which swapped gags each week.) The show was the forerunner to The Naked Gun, and this DayZ is a perfect tribute to the ZAZ (that’s the filmmakers Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker) brand of slapstick, absurdist,…

The Opening Cinematic For Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Is Pretty Damn Gorgeous

Capcom just released the introductory cinematic to Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, which comes out March 19 for Wii U and 3DS. Gorgeous, don’t you think? Too bad the real game doesn’t look like this.

Overhaul wants to know which devices to prioritize porting Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition to Android. Tell them here

If You Miss The Old-School Fallout Games, This Might Be For You

Underrail might be in development in 2013, but its roots are decidedly old-school. We’re talking influences like Fallout, Arcanum, Neverwinter Nights and System Shock 2. The Fallout influence is visible at a glance—I’d say, this is probably what a modern isometric Fallout might’ve looked like. But that’s only because Underrail doesn’t feature a huge aesthetic…

Twitter Trends Turn Deadly in This Insane Experimental Shooter

In the screenshot you see here I am being killed by zombies, but they aren’t normal zombies. They are #ReplaceMovieTitlesWithPope zombies, and they are legion. Created by Hamsteria! creator Sean McCracken (with game design support by his five-year-old son, Geoffrey), TweetsOfTheDead is a simple zombie shooter for iOS and Android that spawns enemies based on…

Game of Thrones As A Super Cheesy 1995 Cable Fantasy Series

Earlier this week, we saw Game of Thrones reimagined as a high school comedy. I mentioned that the high school in School of Thrones seemed 90s, and several of you disagreed. It only seemed 90s, but it was really much more modern. I think we can all agree that this latest spoof, posted by Hunter…