I Can’t Quit You: EA’s Odd SimCity Social Friends and Neighbors Policy Makes Zynga Look Good

Here’s a story about a very strange way to run a multiplayer game and the effects it might have on friends. Well, “friends” in the Facebook sense, at least… I got a Facebook message from my ex-boss’ ex-boss the other day. I hadn’t heard from him in years. He thought he’d detected a glitch in…

Kotaku Is Looking For A New York City-Based Editorial Fellow

Note: This position has been filled. Want to work for Kotaku? If you live in or near New York City, this is your shot. We’re launching a new Editorial Fellowship program and we’re looking for the perfect person to help kick it off. This is a part-time, paid position in our Manhattan-based office that will…

This New Assassin’s Creed III Trailer Stars A Whole Arsenal Of Very Lethal Weaponry

We all know by now that Connor kills an awful lot of people (particularly British soldiers) in Assassin’s Creed III. But how does he kill them? This angry British narrator is happy to give the full list, starting with muskets and bows and moving on into melee territory from there. Kill everything? Don’t mind if…

Physics Make All the Difference in This Bunny-Based Breakout Game

I would have been perfectly happy if Super Bunny Breakout, a collaboration between Atari and Zynga, were nothing more than the original Breakout with a vaguely rabbit-looking ball. Luckily for everyone else, it’s so much more than that. This is the story of a superhero rabbit and his four oddball (pun sorta intended) companions banding…

Watch This Explanation of Why Playing D & D Totally Makes You Better at Life

I kind of love the PBS Ideas series. It appeals both to my inner nerd (the child who watched Nova and 3-2-1 Contact incessantly many years ago) and to my current internet-based, short-on-time self. In this latest installment, host Mike Rugnetta takes a hard look at the stereotype that gamers and tabletop gamers still can’t…

2010’s Best Adventure Game Is On Sale For Under $20

I don’t know how Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors slipped under so many peoples’ radars. Maybe it was bad timing. Or that funky name. But if you missed out on this 2010 DS gem, you should know that in preparation for the sequel, which hits 3DS and Vita on October 23, 999 is on…

We’ve corrected yesterday’s story on Star Citizen—which isn’t free-to-play—with info on how the game might be priced.

Here’s the New Look for the PlayStation 3’s Online Store [UPDATE: Comes To U.S. On 10/23]

No word yet on whether the new design for the PlayStation 3’s online store will be coming to North America or other parts of the globe, but, today, Eurogamer has coverage of what Europe is getting UPDATE: Sony tells Kotaku that the new store will be available on U.S. PS3s on October 23. UPDATE 2:…

Midnight Club Vets Bring Fast-Paced Combat Racing to Facebook

Developed by a crack team of former Midnight Club developers at Jagex’s new California studio, Carnage Racing is a fully-realized 3D combat racing game debuting exclusively on Facebook next month. That doesn’t leave us much time to push the cows off the road. Smashing headlong into the notion that Facebook games are inane click fests…

Borderlands 2‘s First, Pirate-Packed Campaign DLC Is Out October 16

Rumors swirled yesterday about Borderlands 2‘s first piece of big downloadable content. They’re true. The game’s first official campaign add-on is all about pirates. It’s called Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty. It will take you to an entirely new area of Pandora, a wasteland that was once a beautiful resort by the ocean called…

Teenage Mutant Ninja LEGO Debut at New York Comic-Con

Re-born and raised in the sewers beneath the city that never sleeps, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo make a rare above-ground appearance today as LEGO reveals its upcoming line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle LEGO sets. Cutest turtles ever. Based on the newly-launched Nickelodeon animated series, the new line (ninja) kicks off on January first.…

Dishonored‘s Co-Creator Responds To My Few Complaints About The Game

Okay, so Dishonored is excellent. That won’t stop me from nitpicking and critiquing some of the things I didn’t like about the new stealth-action game. And if I’m gonna complain about Dishonored, I might as well complain to Harvey Smith, the guy who co-designed it. While talking to Smith on the phone last week, I…

Here’s Your Super HD Version of Crysis 2, People

Crysis 2 was pretty, but for hardcore PC types, in some ways it wasn’t pretty enough. It didn’t push the limits of fidelity in the same way its predecessor had. While most have moved on from the game, and if anything are waiting on Crysis 3, this texture pack turns Crytek’s mildly pixellated New York…

The Latest Angry Birds App Isn’t a Game. It’s a Cookbook!

What did you think the Bad Piggies were doing with the eggs they stole from the Angry Birds? Raising the them as their own? Oh no, they’ve been making omelets, waffles and egg sushi, and now you can too with Bad Piggies Best Egg Recipes on the iPad. Well, technically you’ve been able to for…

I. Hate. Microsoft. Points.

I hate Microsoft Points. I always have. And not simply because they’re essentially a cheap scam to confuse you on how much you’re actually paying. It’s because this crappy “currency” doesn’t act like any normal currency in the real world. Let’s put this in perspective for a moment. In Japan, the going rate for 3500…

Here’s a countdown site for what looks like looks like a new Dynasty Warriors

Korean Airline Will Rent You a PS Vita

Jin Air, a subsidiary of Korean Air, is back with Sony handhelds it wants to rent domestic travelers. Units are available to rent out of Incheon Airport and expect more details about available titles. Back in 2010, Jin Air had a similar service for the PSPgo. PSVita [Jin Air via 2ch] Kotaku East is your…

Guile’s Theme Goes With Everything, Even this Nobel Prize Winner’s Crazy Hair

Sir John Gurdon might have had an awful school report as a kid, but he has the most amazing hair Cambridge has ever seen. This year, he shares the Nobel Prize with Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka for stem cell research. Since he is sharing the prize with a Japanese researcher, Sir Gurdon has been appearing on…

In Japan, The Kinect May Soon Be More Common In Hospitals Than In Homes

Ah, the Kinect. The problem with the Kinect in Japan is that one of the requirements for using it, namely open space, is pretty much one of the most expensive commodities in the country. That, paired with substandard games making the headlines, and it’s not surprising that Microsoft’s motion detecting Xbox peripheral does not sell…

Japan Builds a Castle from 35,000 Empty Beer Cans

A Japanese non profit organization has earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World records for building the largest aluminum can sculpture, reports FNN. A little over 35,600 empty beer cans were collected from folks and companies and used to build Takatori Castle in Nara. No doubt, the best part wasn’t building the castle,…