Well, Of Course Germans Would Make A Cool Vietnam Game

You’d think with all the vintage rock and classic films and iconic imagery that Vietnam would be the easiest war to if not make a decent video game out of, then at least capture the essence of the conflict. But nope. We’ve had the God-awful pastiche that was Black Ops’ attempt. Battlefield tried, but Vietnam…

Time For Some Art Of The Swarm

Anthony Eftekhari works at Blizzard as a digital matte painter, environment designer and concept artist. You probably saw some of his most recent work in the amazing Heart of the Swarm trailer for StarCraft II In this gallery you’ll see his work for that trailer, as well as similar pieces (most of them matte paintings)…

So The Wii U’s Touchscreen Can Do Amazing Zelda Sketches

As you’ve seen in our regular Miiverse Moments feature, Nintendo’s online community is a place where people don’t just chat, but doodle. Like their lives depended on it. I’ve seen some good sketches over the weeks turning up on various game pages, but nothing like this epic Zelda image, which spans four panels and has…

Sega, Where The Hell Is Yakuza 5?

I know it has flaws. Some of them completely alienating for most people. But damn it, I don’t care. The Yakuza series is just about my favourite thing on the PS3. They just do so many things that other games aren’t doing. They are (sorry Sleeping Dogs) the single best way to indulge in virtual…

A Blurry Tease For What Might Be Just Cause 3

Avalanche, the Swedish team behind the Just Cause series, are currently working on three games. Two are licensed properties, while the other, code-named “Project Mamba”, is likely to be a new Just Cause game Especially when you look at this blurry screenshot posted by studio founder Christofer Sundberg. While the outfit and setting could be…

Nothing Like Getting Friendzoned By Crysis

Love is complicated enough on its own, but the internet tends to make it even trickier. It can be hard to tell when someone is tweeting @ you out of kindness and friendship, or our of an interest in something more. It’s true of people, and it’s true of video games. Writer/romantic/roustabout (and erstwhile Kotaku…

Slenderman’s Take On The Harlem Shake Doesn’t Go Like You’d Expect

Yeah, yeah, the whole Harlem Shake thing is out of hand. And this video is kind of one meme colliding with another meme, to create a memesplosion. Still, I got a chuckle out of ol’ Slendy’s take things. Everyone having a good week so far? What are you playing, what’s new? Sound off here or…

These Video Game Towns And Villages Were Doomed From The Start

Oh those lovely hometowns, starting villages… Their peaceful and harmonious atmosphere ensures that there’s nothing to worry about; our journey is yet to begin. And then suddenly, it’s all gone, leaving behind nothing but dust. And sometimes a bit of fire. The settlements listed below are not necessarily just starting areas, but they have one…

I Helped Create The Xbox, But Now It’s Painful To Watch

I was a founder of the original Xbox project at Microsoft and gave it its name. Almost 14 years after the painful, pointless, and idiotic internal cage-match to get it started and funded, the hard selling of a compelling and lucrative living-room product to Bill (and then Steve as he began to take over), a…

Depression Quest drops tomorrow. It’s an interactive fiction about living with depression; some proceeds go to charity.

This Tribute To Windows’ Greatest MIDI Hit Is Like A Tiny Time Machine

You like Canyon.Mid, right? Of course you do. Everyone does! Well, get ready for a serious trip down memory lane with Canyonmid.com, a site that recreates the experience of listening to Canyon.mid on a 90s PC with uncanny precision. Excellent.

It’s Official: 2K Will Make WWE Video Games From Now On

As was rumored during the breakup and selloff of THQ, Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of 2K Sports, will take over the license to make WWE video games. Documents filed today in court say Take-Two, THQ and Yuke’s, the Japanese company which developed the wrestling games for THQ, have come to an agreement settling all…

Midweek Moneysaver: Half-Price Hitman

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 Amazon • Hitman: Absolution (360, PS3) is $29.99, free ship (next best $40) • Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition (PS3) is $49.99, free ship (list…

The Last Guardian Isn’t Dead, “Official Announcement” Coming Soon?

The Last Guardian, from the same team that brought us Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has sadly been MIA for months now following repeated delays and the departure from Sony of some of its key developers. The most important man to have left, former Team Ico boss Fumito Ueda, is still working as a…

The Power Rangers Take On NYC

Sure, the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers have saved countless cities from countless huge, hilarious monsters. But how do they fare without their Megazord, when they’re reduced to mere tourists? This goofy video from BaderTV takes a look, in honor of Power Rangers‘ 20th anniversary. Man, there’s really not much to the Power Rangers theme song…

Doctor Krieger Would Not Be Happy With This Hyperdimensional Virtual Girl

The virtual wife of Archer‘s resident scientist (and potential genetic clone of Hitler) Dr. Krieger is much more animated than the pair of anime girls in NIS America’s Hyperdimension Neptunia the App for iOS, and likely not as expensive either. Hyperdimension Neptunia the App is a virtual companion app featuring two characters from the odd…

Crysis 3 Makes The End Of The World Look Fantastic

Damn, Crysis 3. You lookin’ gooood. No but seriously though: while the point of the game is to have the protagonist—Prophet—prevent the ‘end of days,’ when the end of the world looks as great as it does in this trailer, would you even want to, really? Can’t we just… marvel at the scenery? No? Well,…

How Scott Pilgrim Blended Comics, Film and Video Games

“Transmedia” has become something of an annoying buzzword lately, or at least, a loaded one. It calls to mind corporate boardrooms where phrases like “maximum brand impact” and “synergy” are bandied about. But transmedia—the act of taking a story or fictional world outside its original medium and into others (books into movies, comics into video…

How Aliens: Colonial Marines Fell Apart

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a bad game, by most accounts. Reviewers have almost all trashed it, fans don’t seem to like it, and the final product looks nothing like the impressive demo that developer Gearbox showed last year So how did it happen? Although the full picture isn’t quite clear yet, over the past few…

Forget The Most Powerful Characters. Use The Ones You Like.

Don’t let the wallpaper fool you. Underneath every game is an endless matrix of numbers that rule each and every possible action. These numbers dictate everything from how well you can swing your sword to how effectively you can shoot a gun. Numbers don’t lie: some actions are better than others. Some characters are better…