Should a Lapsed World of Warcraft Gamer Return to Azeroth?

A reader named Ryan writes: “I’ve got a question that I hoped could be posed to the readers of Kotaku. I’m curious if World of Warcraft is a series to even bother getting back involved with, after I’d spent some time on it (this is prior to the Lich King and Cataclysm releases/updates/mandatory you-must-buy releases).…

Cyberpunk 2077 Will Run On A Shiny New Engine, Just In Time For The Next Generation

Less than a day after Sony teases a reveal of the PS4, CD Projekt Red—makers of the popular Witcher series—have unveiled the engine that will be powering their next-generation games. The timing of the announcement is probably a coincidence, but maybe not! Called RedEngine 3, the tech will be powering the company’s upcoming Cyberpunk 2077.…

Ni no Kuni: The Kotaku Review

It would be easy, while reviewing Ni no Kuni, to sit at my desk and fling adjectives on the page like a fantasy novelist. I’d call the game whimsical, charming, beautiful, fascinating, smart, pleasant, challenging, slow-paced, grand, surreal, and aggressively colorful. And yes, those are all fitting words for the new RPG, which came out…

This Week’s iPad Charts: Little Inferno Sets the Charts (and Everything Else) on Fire

The game that single-handedly justified the $350 I spent on Nintendo’s Wii U console back in November came to iPad this week, spreading joy and laughter to Apple tablet gamers everywhere. And flames — can’t forget the flames. Little Inferno is a magical experience. One moment you’re gleefully dropping items into your Little Inferno Entertainment…

Iron Fett? Boba Man? Yeah, Boba Man.

So special effects wizard Stan Winston has a school named after him, aimed at instructing whole new generations in the art of practical movie magic. This image was posted on their Facebook page yesterday. As loathe as I am to entertain the prospect of fanfiction, a sexy drunk playboy bounty hunter is something that could…

Indie strategy title Frozen Synapse is heading to PS Vita and PS3 via the PSN store in 2013, as Frozen Synapse: Tactics

Japanese Superheroes Getting Really, Really Effeminate

Whether it’s the Power Rangers, Ultraman, or Kamen Rider, male Japanese superheroes have one thing in common: they are tough and masculine. These poses aren’t. Blogger BakAnki snapped pictures of the superhero figurines doing poses that are, as he explained, “girly” or “photomodel-ish”. “In all seriousness,” explained BakAnki on Figure.Fm, “it’s actually harder to do…

You Got Your Castlevania in my Katawa Shoujo!

Last January saw the release of Katawa Shoujo, a fan-made visual novel based around the idea of dating girls with physical disabilities. When I first heard the concept of the game and then heard it was being made by a group who met on 4chan, I was sure it would be a horribly insensitive, offensive…

When Cosplay Makes You Want To Diet

Ajo is a regular at Taiwanese game events, decked in dangerously skimpy garb. She’s one of Taiwan’s most famous cosplayers. For Ajo, cosplay has been more than a hobby, but a way to strive to drop 40 pounds and look like the idealized characters she adores. On her Facebook page (via Rocket News), Ajo recently…

Joysound Dive Turns Your PS3 into a 90,000 Song Karaoke Machine

There are more than a few Karaoke video games out there, from Karaoke Revolution to SingStar to Lips. Each of these games come with dozens of songs per disk—and some allow for more songs to be purchased as DLC. But Joysound Dive goes a step beyond these and quite literally takes the Japanese Karaoke experience…

I Was Not Expecting the Third Ace Attorney Musical to be a Time Travel Story

Ace Attorney 3: Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth is the third official Ace Attorney musical performed by the all female Takarazuka Revue. When I reviewed the first musical last year, I said it was a better telling of the story than the source material. When I reviewed the second musical, I lauded it for being a darker…

Fumito Ueda Surfaces, But Not for The Last Guardian

Wondering what Fumito Ueda is up to these days? Even after leaving Sony, Ueda has apparently continued to work on the eagerly awaited The Last Guardian, which is years in development. Sony promised the game still lives. Promised! Ueda recently surfaced in an official Sony video. But he isn’t talking about The Last Guardian. Oh,…

Space Pirate Captain Harlock Looks Fantastic in Movie Trailer Form

Wowzers! Space Pirate Captain Harlock is getting a movie, and hot dog, it looks great The sci-fi space pirate series debuted first as a manga in 1977. According to Oricon, the upcoming CG flick is due out this fall. Space Pirate Captain Harlock [MarkBartle@YouTube] You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at…

Report: Sony Will Indeed Announce The Next PlayStation On February 20

Mere hours ago, Sony took the hype train straight out of the station with their tease of a big announcement coming on February 20. It seemed likely that the event, which will be live-streamed, would be a reveal of the next PlayStation console, code-named Orbis. The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that “people familiar…

In Space, Everyone Can See your Ship Explode Into Rainbows

GoD Factory: Wingmen is, according to developers nine dots, “a competitive multiplayer game in which the goal for your team is to destroy the enemy carrier while protecting your own.” I know, these space games are making a very welcome comeback, but look at those colours. You’ll be able to design and build your own…

Thirsty Call of Duty Fans Have Made Their Own Range Of Perk-a-Cola

Perk-a-Cola—soda that grants you a much-needed perk—is a life-saver in zombie rounds of Call of Duty multiplayer. It’s also not a real drink, so a pair of fans set about changing that. Redditor Kjkemme and their zombie-handed sister have recreated all the sodas found in the game, right down to the nutrition labels. Call of…

The Girl With The Dragon…Well, Dragon

Oleg Saakyan is a freelance concept artist who has worked for clients like social game developer Distant Orbit and board game (and increasingly video game) powerhouse Fantasy Flight Games. Expect to see him a lot more in the future, because this guy is good You can see more of Oleg’s work at his personal site…

The Greatest Video Game Stealth Stars, Together At Last

Metal Gear, Hitman, Splinter Cell, Deus Ex… so many great stealth games to pay homage to, but what do you do if you want to pay homage to all of them in a single video? Why, you get clever like the guys behind this terrific fan video have, jumping from series to series in a…

The Vikings Are Coming. Hide Your Wife, Hide Your Kids.

Niche PC publishers Paradox held a big event earlier today, unveiling a range of new titles and DLC for existing ones. The one I’m most excited for is The Old Gods, a Viking expansion for my 2012 GOTY nominee Crusader Kings II In the game, until now, the Pagan and Zoroastrianism religions had been denied…

This Must Be What A “Flock” Of Jetliners Would Look Like

Have you ever watched a plane fly overhead and wondered what it would look like if there were dozens more of them flying at the same time? You have? Well, photographer Cy Kuckenbaker has got you covered, with this awesome montage film he made of six hours’ worth of San Diego International Airport departures condensed…