This Amazing Footage Shows We Probably Need More Bird Of Prey Video Games

We’ve got games that put you inside the eyeballs of men, and inside the cockpit of aircraft, but rarely do we get to venture into hte space in between. Slower, and lower, but because of that often a lot more fun. I’m talking about birds, who aside from some seagulls in Wind Waker I rarely…

Here’s a fascinating story on how the global economy is, at one level, just one giant game of Tetris.

Mortal Kombat Heading to (Japanese) Arcades?

The latest Mortal Kombat may be conspicuous in its absence from arcades in the West, but there are reports surfacing that the game may indeed be making an appearance in coin-op form. Only, in Japan. Some images have surfaced claiming to be of a Mortal Kombat arcade unit on location testing, and while the presence…

Let’s All Read The Very First Issue of Nintendo Power

Designer Eoin Stanley, who we featured a little while ago on Total Recall, doesn’t just archive beautiful old Nintendo logos. He’s also got on ice something more informative; namely, the entirety of the very first issue of Nintendo Power. It’s not his – it appears to have belonged to a young Mr. Jeremy Salsman –…

The Inside Story of the Making of Warcraft, Part 2

Luke’s Note: We’re joined again tonight by Patrick Wyatt, a games development legend and former Blizzard executive who has played a big role in the success of games like StarCraft, Diablo and Guild Wars. This is the second part (you can read the first instalment here) of his insider’s story of the making of Warcraft,…

Castle Crashers is Coming to the PC!

Castle Crashers, the awesome side-scrolling brawler that’s a lot older than most of us probably realise, is getting a third lease on life with the announcement of a PC port. Developers Behemoth revealed today at GamesCom that the game, which was released on Xbox 360 in 2008 and PS3 in 2010, will be coming to…

An RTS That Looks Truly Different. And Lets You Throw Asteroids.

Planetary Annihilation is an in-development strategy game from Uber Studios that, unlike most other entries in the field we see these days, is trying something genuinely different While its promise of truly global warfare looks a little like Spore, and in terms of scale it reminds me a little of Total Annihilation, the way its…

Exclusive: The Art of Persona 4

Occupying a strange space between Final Fantasy, Bully and Neon Genesis, the Persona series has grown into something of a cult phenomenon in the West. Part of that is down to its unique premise, sure, but another is the series’ bold and memorable visual identity. Even for those who could accuse all anime of looking…

Sins Publisher Accuses Former Employee of Deleting Everything Before She Quit

Sometimes when you leave a job, it’s mutual, and everything’s cool! Other times, you may want to feel the need to punch out with a little “fuck you” scrawled on your former place of employ. That can be fine, sometimes, but there are limits. And Stardock, the publisher of Sins of a Solar Empire, are…

When I See the Blitz Coming, I Audible to a Dragon Shout

Review copies of Madden NFL 13 arrived today. EA Sports usually sends out funny premiums with its review guides, like it did with a yardage book for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. This year, they included a quarterback wristband—the kind you see Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers flipping up and staring at during a two-minute…

Death Claims the Souls of Seven Darksiders II Game Reviewers

Most men of modern profession have the good fortune to face death but once in their lifetime. These brave and critical souls stared into those empty sockets for hours and did not flinch… much. Steadfastly refusing to spare anyone over ’til another year, Death rides his pale horse into the spotlight in Darksiders II, otherwise…

It’s The Middle Of Shark Week And There’s A Megalodon Roaming Liberty City

Holy crap look out! There’s a huge freaking shark roaming the Liberty City Bay. It hasn’t attacked anyone yet, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time, right? In light of our recent list of the best sharks in video games (and also the one from Banjo Kazooie) comes this mod from JMoorfoot4…

Midweek Moneysaver: These are Dark Days

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. Software • Yesterday’s release Darksiders 2: Limited Edition (360, PS3) is $49.99 plus $2.99 shipping from Fry’s Electronics. Next best is $59. [Dealzon] • Guild Wars…

Blizzard Prompting User Data Changes After Hack

Following an attack on Blizzard’s Battle.net service last week, the company is today prompting all North American players to update their mobile authenticators, change their security questions and read up on a new FAQ/guide that gives hints on improving their account’s protection. North American Battle.net Account Update [Blizzard]

Watch A Cutscene From The Last Of Us Come To Motion-Captured Life

“Is that a banana-gun in your hand, or are you just happy to see me?” I like these motion-capture process videos that Sony keeps putting out—they let us see the increasingly involved process of bringing these characters to life, and they we get to check out some of the cutscenes early, too. This one shows…

Team Fortress 2’s Hats Just Turned It Up To Eleven

It’s the third and final day of reveals for Team Fortress 2’s big Mann vs Machine update, and Valve has saved the most important for last. Well, most important if you’re the kind of person who’s still playing TF2. Because if you are, you probably enjoy hats. The robot wars will include a game mode…

PlayStation Plus Members Will Get Counterstrike: Global Offensive‘s Demo Downloaded Auto-Magically Overnight

Itchy trigger fingers everywhere are waiting to unleash all-new kinds of carnage when Counterstrike: Global Offensive hits on August 21st. But if your trigger finger is attached to a PS3 owner, there’s a good chance that you’ll be amongst the first players to get online with Valve’s new shooter. Over on the PlayStation community boards,…

Holy Crap It’s A Far Cry 3 Leopard Attack

Man, I’m starting to think that Far Cry 3 is more of a “Big Cat Hunter” game than the action game that Ubisoft is describing it as. How else to describe the fact that the best screenshots from the game all feature giant jungle cats doing rad stuff? Ubi dropped a passel of their trademark…

Grand Theft Auto is Too Big. Yakuza is Too Small. Sleeping Dogs is Just Right.

Creating a compelling and enjoyable open world experience is more than just giving the player as much real estate technologically possible to play in. It’s a delicate balancing act between character and scale. Somewhere between Grand Theft Auto‘s size and Yakuza’s personality lies Sleeping Dogs That’s not to say that Grand Theft Auto IV or…

It Turns Out, This Is A Really Awesome Year to Love Gorgeous Adventure Games

I would never have expected 2012 to turn out to be such a phenomenal year to be an adventure game fan. And yet, here we are. This new one is Primordia, brought to us by Wadjet Eye Games. Those are the same folks who brought us 2011’s Gemini Rue and this summer’s fantastic Resonance Primordia…