The Week in Gaming Apps, Inaugural App Review Edition

Last week we bid a fond farewell to our regular Gaming App of the Day feature, swapping the aging and uncompromising system for something that gave us the flexibility to be more critical. How’d that work out? See for yourself! Before you get to the six gaming app reviews we posted this week (five of…

Massive Layoffs Crush Gas Powered Games Just Days After Launch Of $1.1 Million Kickstarter [Update]

We’ve heard from two sources that there have been big layoffs at Gas Powered Games, the company that just launched a Kickstarter for $1.1 million to make their next game, Wildman One source said these layoffs may be connected to the Kickstarter’s current performance, which you could argue has been disappointing, based on their goal.…

The Music In Fire Emblem: Awakening Is So. Hot.

I’ve been playing the upcoming 3DS game Fire Emblem: Awakening for the last week, and wanted to share some of the game’s music. We won’t be posting a full review for a little while still, but I can already say that the soundtrack, most of which you can already listen to on YouTube, is something…

The Sequel to a Game Played By Millions Dropped This Week, and No One Knew It Was Coming

Imagine Activision releasing the latest Call of Duty game without telling anyone it was coming. No developer diaries, no screenshot packages, no media events—just a quick heads up that it would be in stores tomorrow. Preposterous, right? Yet on Thursday a sequel to a game played by more people than Call of Duty: Black Ops…

Beautiful Video Game World Maps

World maps in video games are usually pretty great. We love world maps! You can use them to track the results of your progression through some grand adventure as new locations become accesible and your control over the world grows. A well-crafted world map in any game is always a sign of high quality. Plus,…

Love games? Fancy the idea of telling Kotaku readers about bargains? Apply for a job in our company’s Commerce Dept.!

DOTA 2 Introduces a “Least Played” Mode to Get Players Out of Their Comfort Zones

The latest update for DOTA 2‘s beta now delivers a “Least Played” mode, which will match players who are forced to use characters other the 20 that have given them the most wins. It’s meant to get players in the game’s closed beta to explore the game’s full roster, which now runs 96 character deep.…

Sublime browser-based strategy game Highgrounds just updated with 14 new characters and lots more. You should play it

This Is Like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s Catchy Song, Thrift Shop, Only About Used Games Instead

Remember last year’s super catchy tune, Thrift Shop? It was by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and it was about the joys of being a thrifty shopper with a whole lot of swag. Here’s a parody of that music video by IGN, only about used video games instead. For comparison’s sake, the original song: Great, now…

Hey, want to hear me (Kirk) say a thing about the Dreamcast on today’s NPR Morning Edition? You are in luck!

Match-Three Plus Multi-Touch Makes My Brain Hurt (In a Good Way)

Swapping colorful objects to create rows of three or more is about as simple as a puzzle game can get. After years of playing titles like Bejeweled and Candy Crush Saga, seeing the patterns that make the best matches is almost second nature to me. Match-three games have become a mindless relaxing pursuit. Then came…

The Slow, Excruciating Death Of Final Fantasy

Civilization creator Sid Meier once famously said that a game is “a series of interesting decisions.” Final Fantasy All The Bravest, a new game that came out for iOS on Thursday, has one interesting decision: How much money would you like to give Square Enix? All The Bravest, a series of micro-transactions disguised as a…

Glee Egregiously Rips Off Jonathan Coulton

Glee made its name on enthusiastic unoriginality. The hit TV show, in which high school teens sing syrupy-sweet covers of famous pop tunes, has never really relied on new musical material. But the cover arrangements on the show are often very original—smart, interesting reharmonizations and mash-ups that often make even the tiredest pop tunes sound…

Arcane Legends Gets Its First Taste of Player Versus Player Combat

The latest browser/mobile MMO from Spacetime Studios gets a bit more competitive today with the release of the first small taste of player-on-player violence. Who’s ready for a little Capture the Flag? Players from all platforms can queue up for four-on-four Capture the Flag battles, the most popular multiplayer mode in the Legends series. You…

Tech experts Digital Foundry say they know how powerful the PS4 (Orbis) will be. Tons of details, anonymously sourced.

The Bosses In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Look Awesome

I find it difficult not to get excited at the upcoming Metal Gear Rising after watching this video showcase some of the bosses in the game. Particularly Mistral and her million hands, very cool. Everyone seems to be distinct in some way though. Been a while since I looked forward to a boss battle! METAL…

PlayStation Network, down for maintenance Thursday, will be offline today, too. Good thing the Skyrim DLC is next month.

ChefVille ‘Bello’s Burger’ Quests: Everything You Need to Know

Every ChefVille player knows to cook a few kinds of Hamburgers on their Grill. But a brand new Burger Station will turn your restaurant into a real “Burger Joint,” and Bello is here with a pair of quests that introduce his new appliance. Even with just two quests, you still might have a bit of…

Maybe The People Who Criticize Violent Games Should Play Them. Maybe The People Who Make Them Should Say Something.

IGN editor-in-chief Casey Lynch works on weekends and asked me last Saturday to chime in on the topic of violent video games. He hit up some other folks, too. So if you’d like to know what Adam Sessler, Ben Kuchera, Ben Silverman, Brian Crecente, Dan Hsu, Dan Stapleton, Francesca Reyes, Harold Goldberg, Ian Bogost, Jeff…

Lockout Over, NHL GameCenter Takes to the Ice on Xbox Live

The NHL’s debut on Xbox Live, delayed by the league’s 119-day lockout, finally arrived today when NHL GameCenter became available for download. Though the app itself is free, watching live games (broadcasts outside of your local TV market) requires a $49.99 subscription when play resumes tomorrow . The price was cut by more than half…