Black Mesa Mod Out In Two Weeks (Sort Of)

Infamous Half-Life remake Black Mesa, which has been in development for eight years, will be playable and ready for public download for the first time on September 14. While the mod isn’t quite finished, the team has decided to share what’s been done thus far. Weird that after holding out on us for so long…

The Cosplay Of PAX: Day Two

Saturday is usually when all of the best PAX cosplay comes out, and this year didn’t disappoint. We had steampunk Mario, the entire cast of Phoenix Wright, and a certain hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne. Check out all the best cosplay below (and the best stuff from yesterday here), and if you’ve…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Assassin’s Cross-Breed: The Winners

Mixed messages in Madden‘s marketing copy gave rise to last week’s ‘Shop Contest challenge, which asked everyone to mash up Assassin’s Creed with another video game. We’ve got the weekly winners inside, plus overall No. 1 Johnny Stanley inside! [Correction] An earlier edition of this story misattributed the winning entry. Johnny Stanley is this week’s…

Watch 11 Minutes Of Stunning In-Game Footage From Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes

This is the unreal footage from Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes that director Hideo Kojima showed off at an event today in Seattle. Ground Zeroes is a prologue to Metal Gear Solid 5, Kojima said at the event. As you can see, it looks pretty damn good. Enjoy the video. [Update] Here is another video,…

Do You Want a Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! Coffee Table Book? Of Course You Do.

Lots of Kickstarter video game projects come over the transom here every day, a lot of them wishful thinking. So it’s rare to see one that is both a great idea and eminently attainable, but that’s my gut feeling about a coffee table book celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! If you want…

Watch Mass Effect‘s Geth Dance to Dance Central 3

If you’re at PAX Prime this weekend be sure to head over to Harmonix’s booth, where cosplayers dancing on stage is hilarious. You can also pick up some fancy slap watch bracelets that make me feel like I’m I’m elementary school again. Clarification: This is the character Legion, not a generic Geth.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes Is A Prologue To Metal Gear Solid 5

The next Metal Gear Solid game is considered a prologue to Metal Gear Solid 5, director Hideo Kojima said today at a PAX presentation. He also showed off some stunning gameplay footage from the upcoming open-world game. Snake is back: and he actually looks younger than he did in Metal Gear Solid 4. The original…

Console Gaming’s Oldest, Still-Standing Record Was Set 30 Years Ago Today [Corrected]

Many video game records are thought to be extremely difficult, if not theoretically impossible to beat. There’s one out there that may in fact be physically impossible to surpass. It’s the fastest time in Dragster, an Activision title by Pitfall! creator David Crane, and the mark was set 30 years ago today. [Correction] Video game…

Not In Seattle? Watch PAX’s Best Panels Right Here, Right Now

Are you somewhere other than PAX this year? Then let PAX come to you. The folks at Twitch TV are livestreaming soooo much of the show. Check out a lot of PAX without getting out of your chair, via the livestreams below: PAX 1 This stream is for the events in the Main Theater. Highlights…

Looks Like The Cool Japanese Vita Puzzle-Platformer Dokuro Is Coming To The U.S.

So here’s a fun surprise: Dokuro, a Japanese puzzle-platformer made by Game Arts, the studio behind Lunar and the upcoming Ragnarok Odyssey, made an appearance on the PAX show floor today. As you can see, the game looks really cool. And though it hasn’t officially been announced for a U.S. release yet, its appearance on…

Here’s How to Throw a Hadouken—in Real Life

Babycastles, the video games arts collective, is back in New York, teaming with Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi to deliver interpretations of Mario Bros., Ms. Pac-Man and a Defender-style side-scrolling shooter. Here’s their latest concept, which brings hadoukens to real-life, sort of. Watch this video of “Throw Ball” and you’ll understand.

A First Look at the Characters and Cityscapes of Shadowrun Returns

Back in April a bunch of gamers and role-players got together to give Jordan Weisman and Harebrained Schemes more that $1.8 million to create the definitive Shadowrun game. The development team has been hunkered down in development since the Kickstarter ended, and now we get our first look at what your money has wrought. Gear…

If you’re upset that NCSoft is closing down City of Heroes here’s a petition against it. It has 5,000 signatures so far.

Alleged Domestic Terrorists Said to be Inspired by the Next Rainbow 6 Game

A video game that hasn’t even been released is said to be the inspiration for a group of soldiers charged with murder and accused of plotting terrorist acts, including the assassination of the president. Prosecutors in Long County, Ga., part of the larger community surrounding Fort Stewart, home of the Army’s Third Infantry Division, said…

This Week in the Business: ‘Consumers No Longer Want to Pay $40 for Nintendo Games.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Consumers no longer want to pay $40 for Nintendo games.”—T. Scott Edwards, PlayMG Corp Founding Partner, talking about why their MG Android-based portable is a better gaming value than the Nintendo 3DS STAT | 8—Number of Zynga execs that have left…

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Has Screens and a Video It’d Like to Share, Too

If thought yesterday’s news of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was all you were going to hear out of this series as it celebrates its 25th anniversary this weekend, well, you’re wrong. Square Enix this morning uncrated another 17 images—nine of them screenshots, the rest concept art—plus that new trailer showing gameplay, for its rebooted…

See The International Dota 2 Championships Live Here, or Watch them Via Steam

The livestream for The International Dota 2 Championships is included in our roundup of feeds coming out of (or nearby) PAX 2012, but we’re highlighting it here for you with a reminder that competition resumes at 12:30 p.m. EDT today with the semifinal rounds of the double-elimination tournament. Valve, maker of the game and sponsor…

The Moneysaver: Heed the Call

The Labor Day weekend brings us pre-order savings on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and NHL 13, plus half-off savings on Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes—but only for the DS. If you’re still looking to get in on Guild Wars 2 the standard edition isn’t seeing any discounts currently but the digital deluxe…

Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, Literally

Oh come on, you know you were thinking it “I kept waiting for it to get good, but it never did. I guess I’ll take store credit.”

The Best of Kotaku, This Week

This week ends the summer for most people in school and for those who follow the rules regarding wearing white pants. But it’s not really over for gamers, since PAX is in full swing over in Seattle and the terrific rush of games for the fall hasn’t begun yet. As ever, it was a week…