How I Feel About Ni No Kuni in 14 Words

Sometimes the simplest, gut reactions are the truest expressions of how we feel about something. Having played a bunch of Level-5’s Ni No Kuni, here are my impressions of the game in 14 words.

Talk Amongst Yourselves is for discussing the games you’ll play this weekend, even if today is Wednesday for some of us.

The 5 (Or So) Board Games To Get Excited About In 2013

Right. For my first ever board game column for Kotaku, the editor-in-chief here suggested I cover the top games coming in 2013. This created an anime-sized bead of sweat on my forehead. You see, board games aren’t like video games. You want to know if a video game’s coming out, you call a guy who…

Zynga Elite Slots is Now Ready to Foster Your Obsession With Colorful Spinning Reels

Mixing the addictive nature of the slot machine with the community spirit of a massively multiplayer fantasy game, Zynga Elite Slots is now live on Facebook. Does it live up to design director Josh Gause’s vision of a collaborative community gaming experience? I don’t know. Not really understanding how today’s advanced slot machines work, I…

Tomb Raider Isn’t Getting a Demo Because ‘We Don’t Want to Spoil the Story’

No demo version is planned for Tomb Raider, said Karl Stewart of the game’s studio, Crystal Dynamics, because doing so would reveal too much of the story before the game’s release. “We’ve weaved such an personal story we don’t believe spoiling it by having you wait a week or so to play on, delivers on…

GameStop Pulls Metro: Last Light From Its Downloadable Service, Citing THQ’s Uncertain Future

GameStop pulled Metro: Last Light from its Impulse digital download service, telling GameSpot that the uncertain fate of its publisher, THQ, is the reason. “Due to THQ’s current financial situation and uncertainty of delivery, in order to protect our consumers we removed the ability to pre-purchase that specific game,” GameStop’s top spokesman told GameSpot THQ…

This Week’s iPad Charts: Temple Run 2 and the NRA Practice Range

On one side we have the sequel to one of the most beloved mobile games in the world. On the other, an app mainly being downloaded due to controversy, morbid curiosity and irony. There’s room for everyone in the weekly free iPad app charts! Thanks to our new streamlined table format for these weekly chart…

SimCity‘s Four-Day Beta is Jan. 25; Here’s the Tutorial Level

The SimCity beta will be from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28, and registration is underway now on the game’s official page, the SimCity Twitter feed said this morning. Perhaps not coincidentally, that video above showed up on YouTube around the same time. It showcases the game’s opening tutorial. The Tweet said that beta users will…

The Yakuza TV Show is Action Packed From Beginning to End

The Yakuza franchise has definitely been one of the most popular video game properties in Japan for the last few years. Not only has there been at least one main series game every other year, but there have been several spin-off titles as well (not to mention a live-action movie). One of these titles is…

Rumor: Monster Hunter 4 Is Headed to the PS Vita [Update]

Oh boy. If this is true (big if!), the PS Vita could be poised for, ahem, a monster comeback. According to Japanese game magazine Game Lab, Nintendo 3DS exclusive Monster Hunter 4 was delayed to summer for a reason other than “improving quality”. That reason is apparently that the game is also being developed for…

Why PC Gaming Is Still Niche in Japan

Cold rain drizzles outside. Inside, everything is pink, round, and frilly. The first floor of this otaku (geek) retailer is plastered with release info for new PC games—adult PC games. A young clerk in glasses near the 18-and-up section taps away on a computer, probably checking inventory. I approach, excusing myself for asking a sudden,…

C’mon, Let’s Not Blame One Piece for This Divorce

Tsubasa Masuwaka is one of Japan’s top gyaru models. Besides appearing in fashion mags, the 27 year-old also designs clothes and cosmetics as well as appears on TV. Even after she gave birth to her son, Masuwaka made motherhood fashionable, too, as a “charisma mom”. Part of that appeal was her ideal family life. All…

I Think I Need to Join Trophy Whores Anonymous

My name is Richard and I have a problem. When it comes to games, I am a completionist. If there is a nook left unexplored or some random item that needs to be collected, I feel compelled to spend hours getting the job done. What’s odd is I don’t find it fun to do these…

Optimus Prime Totally Could’ve Commanded Armies in Ancient China

This is the work of Chinese artist Nkzhangwang, who did a masterful job of weaving a Chinese visual sense into the famed Japanese mecha. Just look at it! Stunning. This “Chinese military commander style Optimus Prime” is Nkzhangwang’s first uploaded work this year. The illustration mixes the vibe of the Three Kingdoms era with Transformers.…

Five Reasons Yakuza 5 is Not For Me

Until I sat down and played Yakuza 5, my knowledge of the Yakuza series was limited, to say the least. I knew the characters and some of the story (from wikis, friends, and the movie), but when it came down to playing the series, the most time I had spent with it was in playing…

In Japan, This McDonald’s Is Serving Breakfast 24 Hours a Day

Face it. The best meal you can get at McDonald’s is breakfast. And for a limited time, you can get just that at a McDonald’s in Tokyo. That’s all you can get. Wahoo! The McDonald’s in Tokyo’s Shinjuku (the Meiji-dori Sutepa-ten, to be exact!) has put its regular menu on hold and is serving round…

Google Removes Offensive Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian Apps

Last year, a pair of apps, Make Me Asian and Make Me Indian, raised eyebrows after they appeared in the Google Play Store. The original description (via Reappropriate) for Make Me Asian read: Have you ever wondered to present himself as a person of another nationality? You can imagine, for example, Chinese or Japanese? No?…

The Horrors/Delights Of A Multiplayer Game About Doodling

Doodle or Die is sort of like all those other drawing games you’ve seen and played, with one difference: it tends to be a lot funnier, because it’s built around the idea of multiplayer “chains”, whereby people write something, someone else draws it, then someone else bases the next inspiring line on the image that’s…

Hitting The Streets To See If A New Action Figure Really “Makes a Mockery Of Slavery”

Django Unchained has action figures. Hardly unsurprising, given nearly everything gets an action figure these days, but what’s topical about Django’s are that Al Sharpton’s “National Action Network” has called for a nationwide boycott of the toys Why? Because “The movie is for adults, but these are action figures that appeal to children. We don’t…

These Star Wars Cosplayers Don’t Give A F**K

Not all cosplay needs to be about “realism”. Sometimes humour can carry the day, sometimes bravado can do the job, and sometimes you can combine the two for something really special. I’m having a hard time picking my favourite. Fred Durstwalker is great, yeah, but the “classic dame” C-3PO seems to be channelling the inner…