One Tap Philosophy, The Driving Force Behind Coconut Islands

You’ve all seen it, Chinese game studios copying and stealing from Western studios and profiting from the act. While this may seem to be norm, there is a single blade of hope growing out from heaps of fertilizer. Small Chinese indies such as Coconut Island Studios are looking to create something that is their own,…

Capcom doesn’t want you to get your hopes up for a new Mega Man game announcement this December.

The Console War Is Not Over. It Lives on in This Anime.

Remember when Nintendo and Sega duked it out to the death in the console wars? Japanese manga Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de is a fantasy take on that gaming fight, with the Segua Kingdom waging war against the Ninterudo Empire for control of the territory known as Consume. Segua is knocked back on its heels,…

The Most Disgusting Bowl of Ramen on Earth

At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, game company D3 Publisher is apparently offering Dream Club curry ramen with soymilk and other stuff. Dream Club is D3P’s hostess simulator, and this colorful ramen is a real world way to prove yourself to the in-game hostess Amane. There are two versions: both are barftastic. The deluxe version…

OK, Tensions Between China and Japan Are Getting Serious

Anti-Japan tempers continue to flare in China. Japanese stores are being vandalized and looted, and Japanese factories are being destroyed. The images emerging from China can be described as unreal—shocking, even. Last month, the anti-Japan protests started brewing in China over disputed islands (called “Senkaku” in Japan and “Diaoyu” in China). There are supposedly oil…

Battlefield 3’s Best Map is Now Also Minecraft’s

Perhaps wary of our weariness with “stuff built out of Minecraft blocks”, reader MOZONE sent this video in almost apologetically. Which, it turns out, was an entirely unwarranted emotion. Because MOZONE, this is amazing He’s gone and rebuilt Battlefield 3’s famous Caspain Border map, brick for brick, then gone and made a sexy trailer for…

The Greatest Calculus Test of All Time

So Sahara gets her calculus test, opens it up and finds…oh, well, look at that. Pokémon. Right there, officially, as part of the test. If you’re going to try and make calculus more fun, that’s a pretty good way to get started. Best. Quiz. Ever. [My Asian Genes Are Recessive]

Maybe Nintendo Needs a New Mascot

Mario may be identifiable as the sun to the wider population, but there’s a generation of gamers coming of age who grew up playing more Pokémon than Paper Mario. To better appeal to their sensibilities, then, perhaps Nintendo could take a look at its choice of mascot. I’m not saying get rid of Mario. Maybe…

Jet Set Radio’s a Little Slower in Real Life, But Just as Colourful

It’s not as fast as the game, and not quite as Japanese, but for a bunch of Westerners playing dress-ups with some movie-making software this Jet Set Radio tribute is pretty good. Real Life Jet Set Radio [YouTube]

League of Legends Cosplay That’s so Good it Doesn’t Look Human

Britthebadger is one of the best cosplayers going around. But even by her lofty standards, this League of Legends Orianna costume is a special piece of work. The amount of detailing and engineering required to build something this at all, let alone get it in a state where you can wear it (while still looking…

Let’s Talk About The Video Games We Played, Loved And Hated Last Week

A busy seven days chasing around after my kid then jetting off to Sydney meant I didn’t get to play as many games as usual. Still, I got to play some, and turns out this week was a case of quality over quantity. BLACK MESA – It’s almost everything I wanted it to be. And,…

These Brave Men And Women Are Making a TON of Adventure Time Games

There’s an official Adventure Time game coming, yeah, but series creator Pendleton Ward really loves video games. And video games really love Adventure Time. So just one game isn’t anywhere near enough. Which is why Ward was one of the hosts this weekend of the Adventure Time Game Jam, an indie get-together where teams were…

How Two Guys Built a Mod That Lets 1800 People Kill Each Other On The Same Map

The Just Cause 2 multiplayer project is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my 28 years playing video games. Here is a massive sandbox game that shipped without multiplayer of any kind, and which now has some that is redefining the very term “massively multiplayer” with up to 1800 people…

Black Ops II Has a Zombies Campaign?

Call of Duty’s zombie game modes have always been a multiplayer-only kind of deal, entirely divorced from the game’s singleplayer campaigns. A product listing on Amazon, however, suggests that might be about to change. As you can see above, the game’s description includes the line “The inclusion of a Zombies in gameplay, both in as…

The Week In Games: Run for the Border

The overwhelming top release this week is the highly anticipated Borderlands 2, on all three core platforms. Torchlight II at week’s end also is not to be missed. Tuesday • Borderlands 2 (360. PS3, PC) • F1 2012 (PS3, 360, PC) • Kinect Sports: Ultimate Collection (360) • Jet Set Radio (PSN) • Street Fighter…

In Search of the World of SportsCraft

Brian wanted to go to Boise State. I remember that much. Eight years ago, captivated by NCAA Football 2004, I asked my closest friends from grad school to give me their preferred position and college. I was going to create all of us as blue-chip prospects in the game’s recruiting engine and see where we…

This Cereal’s Font—and Its Namesake—Seem to Scream ‘Mario’

This is a box of “Marios,” a novelty product pitched by Mario Williams, a new member of the Buffalo Bills’ defensive line, and currently on sale in Buffalo-area grocery stores such as Top’s. Proceeds from the sale of this cereal benefit patients and families of children being treated at an area cancer institute. The nameplate…

The list of achievements in Assassin’s Creed III is out in public, not that it might contain spoilers or anything.

ChrisWarcraft’s Weekly NFL Quest, Level Two: Break the Horses of Middle Earth [Update]

Last week Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter and noted World of Warcraft and RPG fan, cast his team’s season opener in terms of an MMO quest. He’s done the same thing this week so we’ll hold him to it and chart his progress. Although, I do wonder who the quest-giver is: Is it head…

Frank Ocean Just Up and Leaves His Saturday Night Live Performance to Play Some Galaga

As promised, the R&B singer/songwriter Frank Ocean brought John Mayer to last night’s performance on Saturday Night Live. The two performed on a stage surrounded by some arcade cabinets with nondescript glass and cabinet art, but they were running ROMs of real games in attract mode. It appears to be a big coup for Namco…