Make Other Players Kill Any Character in Hitman: Absolution With the Game’s Contracts Mode

This sizable chunk of gameplay footage highlights Hitman: Absolution’s user-generated content feature. In the new Contracts Mode, players can craft and distribute specific missions for each other within the single-player levels. The walkthrough shows off a Contract mission and how to create one. With the ability to have nearly any character in the game, Contracts…

College Gaming 101: How I Kept Gaming While Getting A Degree

College was good for debauchery, “experimenting,” and surprisingly, video games. I guess I learned some things too, but, eh. Academics was the least interesting part of college for me. I graduated from a small liberal arts college this spring, where video games made regular appearances—but so did things like alcohol, drugs, and parties. This was…

The Ultimate Mobile Drift Racing Experience Skids Into the Sequel Lane

Drifting is the art of making cars do things cars should not do and spending a lot of money on tires. Ratrod Studios’ Drift Mania Championship 2 for iOS, Android and soon Windows 8 devices is a much cheaper alternative. The sequel to the wildly popular Drift Mania Championship is now available for play on…

Good Morning, Samus

The internet is drowning in Samus fan art, but this beautiful image, complete with subtle redesign, might just be my new favourite. It’s like a cross between a Nintendo game, a rock poster and early 80s anime. In other words, the perfect picture. Samus [Muju @ DeviantArt, via Copiously Geeky]

iOS hit Jetpack Joyride is now available on Android for the low, low price of free. Big fans of free.

Hyperdimension Neptunia‘s Creator Dreams of a Fighting Game

This year at the Tokyo Game Show, Kotaku had the pleasure of sitting down with Mizuno Naoko, the creator of Hyperdimension Neptunia (and both of its sequels), to talk about the past, present, and future of the series. As we sat 47 floors above the game show proper, she told me about the origins of…

This Is the Most Disgusting Japanese Snack I’ve Ever Eaten

Some call Japanese snacks “weird”. That’s not fair—the vast majority is rather pedestrian. There are some Japanese snacks that are, how should I say, peculiar? Many of them actually end up tasing great, first repelling you and then pulling you in with unique flavor sensations—or as I like to say, flavorsations. Chocolat de Tomato is…

In This Gundam Game, You Are Models

Here’s the trailer for Gundam Breaker, the upcoming Gundam game that uses Gundam models of various scale (both large and small). It’ll be out on the PS3 and PS Vita next year. Gundam Breaker Crashing onto PS3 and PS Vita [Siliconera] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking…

Jesus and Buddha Living in Tokyo, Sharing an Apartment and Heading to the Big Screen

In the manga Saint Young Men, Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha are on vacation in Japan, doing their best to understand modern society—as well as hide their own identities. Sometimes they just hang out at home, eat noodles and blog, while other days they do things like going to amusement parks. The hugely popular manga…

Sword Art Online Is the Smartest Anime I’ve Seen in Years (And It’s Only Half-Done)

Sword Art Online is an anime based on a series of light novels which has just hit the midway point of its TV run. Twelve episodes in, it is the smartest anime I have seen in years—even including the recent Lupin III. But before we get into why this is the case, let’s take a…

Android’s Big in North Korea? First Look at the Country’s New Tablet.

North Korea doesn’t exactly scream cutting edge or progress or freedom or delicious burgers or a whole bunch of things. However, it does have an Android powered tablet. Earlier this week in Pyongyang, Chosun Computer showed off its new tablet, which seems to be running Android. It’s not clear, however, where the tablet is actually…

How’d That Black Burger King Hamburger Taste? Let’s Find Out.

Well, I guess there technically are words, but man. Just. Look. At. That. Previously, Kotaku posted how Burger King Japan was unleashing a “Kuro Burger” (“kuro” means “black” in Japanese) with black ketchup, made from squid ink and garlic. Japanese website Gigazine took one for the team and ordered the meal. How did it taste?…

What People Came to See at the Tokyo Game Show

We at Kotaku have already reported at some length how long the line was to get into the Tokyo Game Show this year. And with about over 95,000 attendees on the first public day, it’s easy to see why. And since literally thousands of people were standing in line with nothing to do, I decided…

For $300, You Get Amazing Evangelion Poses

Japanese toy maker Medicom is releasing a new Neon Genesis Evangelion figure. It’s Unit 02 from Rebuild of Evangelion, and boy oh boy can it ever strike cool poses. As website Tomopop points out, the Unit 02 is about 12 inches tall and comes with blades, two rifles, an umbilical cable, a core to target,…

Don’t Be Afraid of This PS3 Super Slim Commercial

Sony’s new commercial for its new PS3 iteration shows off the new hardware. It seems like just any other commercial. Until… 【TVCM】新型PlayStation®３　「出る。」篇 [PlayStationjp@YouTube] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Behold, the Awesome Queen of Gundam Cosplay

Gundam mecha aren’t exactly easy to dress up as. It’s tricky to reproduce that mecha armor—even tougher if you want to give it an original spin. For a while now, Taiwanese cosplayer Ran has been doing both. Whether it’s Gundam RX79 or MSΖ-006 ΖGundam, she puts her own spin on the giant mecha, with heavy…

The New Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Fighting Game Looks as Mental as Ever

Here’s the latest Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle trailer. It’s magical! Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle is headed to the PS3 sometime next year. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Japan Gets Its First “Snoozing with Women” Specialty Business

Akihabara is ground zero for Japanese manga, anime, and video games. No wonder the place caters to every nerd fantasy imaginable, such as maid cafes for guys (butler cafes for gals) as well as more adult services. The latest business to make a splash in Japan’s nerdom is always patrons to sleep with ladies. That’s…

Metal Gear Rising‘s special edition comes with a High Frequency Blade plasma lamp, among other goodies.

Pokémon Jack-o’-Lanterns, Gotta Carve ‘Em All!

October is right around the corner—and so is Halloween. While I haven’t picked out my costume (must remember to!), I have been thinking about what I’d like to carve into an orange gourd. These Pocket Monster carvings provide plenty of inspiration. These photos popped up on Tumblr site Think Like No One Else, and I’m…