My New Favorite Tablet Stand Gently Cups My Thigh

Since taking up duties as Kotaku’s official mobile gaming guy, I’ve started spending a large amount of time sitting outside on my patio, trying to look busy while playing games on my iPad or my Transformer Prime. The PadPivot is my constant companion, resting reassuringly upon my thigh andkeeping my tablet safe and secure. The…

Soak In The Lovely World Map Of New Super Mario Bros. U

Ahh, world maps. I love world maps. And I love world maps in Mario games. This particular map comes from New Super Mario Bros. U, the Wii U Mario game that will launch alongside Nintendo’s new console on November 18. It’s sort of reminiscent of Super Mario World—check out that ghost ship!—and it’s really interesting.…

People Magazine Thinks This Is Christina Aguilera Dressed Up As Zelda

Uhhhhhh. Oh, boy. Either People magazine got some really bad information on Christina Aguilera’s Halloween costume this year, or Christina Aguilera herself doesn’t know who or what Zelda is. Either way, according to this issue of People—and caught by Gamervescent—depicted above (and in full below) is “game heroine Princess Zelda, and beau Matt Rutler suited…

Barack Obama Would Probably Beat Mitt Romney in Letterpress, Too

The thing I like about Letterpress is how it makes a field of letters turn into a vicious battleground, with two players vying to control more territory than the other via clever word-forming. Sounds a lot like something important that happened this week, no? (Image by Dave Wiskus, via Twitter)

Rockstar Says Grand Theft Auto V Is Bigger Than Red Dead Redemption, San Andreas, and GTAIV Combined

The digital issue of December’s Game Informer is out now, and with it comes a boatload of new information on Grand Theft Auto V, including the fact that its world will be bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption, San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV combined (at least according to Rockstar). Holy crap.…

Stormfall: Age of War Makes Me Wish I Were a Better Empire Builder

Launched earlier this week on Facebook by Plarium, Stormfall: Age of War is an incredibly polished social empire builder with tons of depth, sharp production values (voice overs!) and plenty of opportunities to interact with your Facebook friends both positively and negatively. If only I had the patience. Empire building is one of my gaming…

Father Hacks Zelda For His Daughter, Makes Link A Girl

Maybe Link doesn’t need to be a young boy. The father of one little girl decided he’d change the gender of one of Nintendo’s most iconic characters so he hacked The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. While playing the 2003 Gamecube title with his daughter Maya, Mike Hoye had been reading the game’s text to…

There’s a My Little Pony Party in My Pocket and You’re All Invited

Hot and cold running My Little Pony hit iTunes today (with Android coming soon). Hot because the obvious love for fans of the show, and cold for the city-building gameplay that I likely wouldn’t bother with if not for the prevailing ponitude of it all. I’ve been excited about the My Little Pony mobile game…

Go Tell The Guy Who Runs Mass Effect What You Want To See In The Next One

Hey Casey Hudson, executive producer of Mass Effect, what are you up to nowadays? Ooh, cool. Thanks, Casey. So what do you guys want to see in the next Mass Effect? And when do you think they should start changing the ending?

The Real Reason We Hate Easy Achievements

You know the ones. Sometimes you start a new game, and a few minutes in—before you even do anything—and ping! Achievement Unlocked. Congrats, you earned that achievement by, um, existing? It’s achievements like that, the gamer community at large seems to have decided, that give achievements a bad name. Developers give them out willy-nilly, and…

The delightful perspective puzzles of Pixel Twist (aka Coign of Vantage) are now on Android. For free. Get them

My Wii U Is In the Living Room, But I Can Play Its Games In My Bedroom

I’ve had the Wii U for one day, and the way I play console games at home has already been forever transformed. I think you should know how. It’s the only rational reason I have for sharing half of the floor plan of my apartment with you. (Please don’t turn it into a Counter-Strike map!)…

ChefVille The Sandwich Situation Quests: Everything You Need to Know

Looking for a way to earn more Mastery Stars in ChefVille without cooking some of the more difficult dishes? You can now earn stars via the brand new Sandwich Station that Bello has delivered to your restaurant for free. This comes via a three-part quest series called “Sandwich Situation,” which sees you building the Sandwich…

Here’s The Spoiler-Filled Surprise Ending You’ll See If You Beat Halo 4 On ‘Legendary’ Difficulty

Warning: MAJOR spoilers in this post, video, everywhere, just leave. If you’re not up for the task of completing Halo 4‘s campaign on the hardest—aka Legendary—difficulty, or are just too antsy to wait for it, feel free to watch GameFront’s spoilery video above. You get the tiniest, briefest glimpse at the man under the helmet…

Grand Theft Auto V Has Three Protagonists

Grand Theft Auto V will star three protagonists. All male. Here they are. This comes courtesy the December cover of Game Informer, which you can see in its entirety here: This news confirms what Kotaku reported last year: both that it will be set in Los Santos, Rockstar’s take on Los Angeles, and that it…

Star Wars: The Old Republic Officially Going Free-to-Play November 15

MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic is officially going free to play on November 15, EA confirmed today. The game launched late last year, to positive reviews, but had trouble holding onto a subscriber base. EA announced in July that SW:TOR would transition to a free-to-play game this fall, but didn’t provide a specific date.…

Looks like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale‘s final boss will be Polygon Man, the short-lived mascot for the PS1

Star Wars Brings Out the Very Best in Angry Birds

Everything is better with Star Wars. Anyone that’s ever cut a graceful arc through the air with a vaguely saber-shaped object while making whooshing noises knows this. Dogs know this. Pizza lovers know this. Even Disney know this. Anyone can toss a tan robe on their pet or Photoshop a lightsaber into their prom photo,…

Watch Me Kill A Bunch Of People In Halo 4 Multiplayer

Is Halo 4‘s multiplayer different from what you remember? In some respects—new weapons and armor, call-in ordnance drops, map markers that show where special weapons are located (and when they disappear)—yes, it is different. But it’s also still a really polished game, with fun maps and an enormous amount of customization options for both your…

Movie Posters Recreated Using Team Fortress 2, Because Why Not

Photoshop artist Valentin Baguirov used a combination of Photoshop and Valve’s Source Filmmaker to create these movie poster beauties. Drag the slider over to compare and contrast. You can view the full-sized versions—both original poster and Team Fortress 2 poster—below. TF2 Movie posters [Behance via Dotcore]