• Uncategorized

  The Heavy-Metal Art Of Darksiders II

  Every corner of the Darksiders world is laced with art. There’s art on art, more art than you can shake a stick at. That makes sense, given the fact that Vigil, the studio behind Darksiders and this August’s Darksiders II, is headed up by well-known comic artist Joe Madureira. I spoke with Madureira last week…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published July 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Bubble Witch Saga Pops In On the Future of Cross-Platform Social Gaming

  Today players of King.com’s popular Bubble Witch Saga can continue their Facebook-based quest on the iPhone and iPad. To some a free-to-play puzzle game that seamlessly synchronizes between Facebook and smartphone might not sound like that big of a deal. To others it’s another step on the path towards a future of platform-free gaming. Nearly…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 26, 2012
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  Report: Microsoft Starts New Studio in London

  Microsoft’s new London studio is believed to be focused on creating casual and free-to-play games for the Xbox 360. [MCVUK via CVG via Polygon]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Game Creators Are Constantly Looking To The Future. Here’s What A Few Of Them Are Looking At

  Weekly Famitsu celebrated its 1,234th issue this week with an interview with several game creators abouth their thoughts on the future. Among the creators were Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno, Grasshopper Manufacture’s Gouichi Suda, and Tecmo Koei’s Kenichi Ogasawara Director of the Devil May Cry series and Dragon’s Dogma, Hideaki Itsuno enthusiastically spoke of his dream to…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  This Is a Rocket Launcher. For Plastic Bottles.

  This summer, your Commando dreams are reality, thanks to Japan’s Marudai Corp. For a cool ¥28,350 ($363), the company will sell you its PET Bottle Launcher RPG-7 kit. It contains all the parts to make your own bottle launcher. Once you have the RPG-7 built, you fill a plastic bottle with water, set the launcher,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Spooky, Yet Beautiful Lava Caves of Mt. Fuji

  Anime blogger Danny Choo recently checked out the lava caves of Mt. Fuji, including the Fugaku Fuketsu (wind cave), which is cold year round and was previously used as a natural refrigerator, and the Narusawa Ice Cave, which looks to be even colder. The caves were created by lava, and there are about 80 caves…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  These Totoro Cream Puffs Are Cute Enough to Eat. Literally.

  Discovered at Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory in Tokyo, these Totoro cream puffs look like something out of a Ghibli movie. They also look like something I want to gobble up. The cream puffs are available in a variety of flavors, such as chocolate cream, custard, and whipped cream. There are also seasonal varieties, like strawberry…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  DMC: Devil May Cry Features A Not-So-Sexy Version Of A Famous Demon

  The DMC: Devil May Cry trailer from E3 showed a hack-and-slash action game set in a dark world where demons/devils control society through media and products. In the game, the main character, Dante, joins forces with an Anonymous-like group called The Order to fight against the demonic rulers. Anyone who played the demo, got to…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  From Japanese Gaming Hero to…Disney Tour Guide

  For decades, Takahashi Meijin was one of the most iconic faces of Japanese gaming. Not only did he star in his own games, he also was able to fire 16 shots per second in shooting game Star Soldier. But back in spring 2011, he decided to hang up his controller and call it a day.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Official Nintendo USB Memory Ain’t Cheap

  So Nintendo is releasing an official USB memory drive for the Wii so players can enjoy Dragon Quest X. It’s…not cheap. If you order the 16GB flash drive directly from Nintendo, it will set you back ¥3,150 or US$40. For comparison’s sake, you can get 16GB memory via Amazon Japan for about ¥1,000 or $13…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Hopefully, Double The Content Will Make This Game Better, Rather Than Just Longer, Than Its Predecessor

  Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 was announced at E3 with little more than a trailer and fan speculation. Now, Tecmo Koei has released new information on the sequel to Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage. Announced in Japan under the title, Shin Hokuto Musou (“Shin” (真) meaning “true” or “pure”) Ken’s…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Dragon Quest X to Get New Stuff Each Week

  Dragon Quest X is getting weekly updates with new quests and story segments—which should keep players busy! That’s not all—ten weeks after release, there will be a massive update with new systems and gameplay elements. [Siliconera]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Reviews

  Salty Watermelon Pepsi Isn’t as Bad as You Think

  Like clockwork, Pepsi Japan releases a new crazy flavor every summer. In the past, there’s been Ice Cucumber (blergh) and Shiso (not bad!). And this year, the flavor is “Salty Watermelon”. Let’s give it a whirl. As previously posted, watermelon is very much a summer food in Japan, where people are known to sprinkle some…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Some of the Worst Pikachu Drawings on the Internet

  There are many talented artists online. You see some of the stuff on DeviantArt, and you go, “Wow, there are many talented artists online.” But what about the untalented ones? Over on Japanese forum 2ch, a thread popped up in which people showed off their awful Pokémon drawings—drawings they knew were terrible. Many of them…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Meet Nintendo’s Hardware Ladies

  For nearly a decade now, Nintendo has made a very focused effort to makeover how Japan views video games. To do that, Nintendo’s needed help from the country’s most famous females. With the DS, Nintendo changed the stereotypical notion that video games were toys or for guys. It wasn’t just the games that had non-gamer…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  How Warcraft Was Almost a Warhammer Game (and how That Saved WoW)

  Ever since the first Warcraft game was released in 1994, fans of the series have been saying, some with kinder words than others, that the series feels similar to Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe. It’s a sentiment that only intensified after the release of World of Warcraft, ushering in millions of new fans to Blizzard’s games…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  So, Minecraft Might Actually be Able to Teach us Some Serious Stuff

  Those who already know all about Minecraft, stick with this past the intro, because even if you agree with the theories put forward or not, it’s still an interesting new way to look at the game. Put together by PBS, it examines how the game can serve as a model for what happens when we…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  A Game About Debauchery, Wine, Loose Women and Space Bombs

  I’m not really sure exactly what upcoming indie action/adventure game Descension is all about, especially after such a vague trailer. But when it opens with the question: “What does it take to ruin what started as a luxurious cruise of debauchery, wine, and loose women? How about falling out of the sky, sitting in a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  When Professionals Get Their Hands on Valve’s Film-Maker, Good Things Happen

  It’s not that the current offerings have been terrible, far from it, but ever since Valve released the Source Film-maker there’s been the quiet expectation that it would really start to shine once professional animators, and not just dedicated fans, got hold of it. Well, here’s what it looks like when a professional gets their…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  OK, That Halo 4 Console Doesn’t Look as Bad as I Thought

  Let’s be honest: most people’s reaction to the upcoming Halo 4 Xbox 360 console was probably somewhere between “oh” and “oh God my eyes”. Which may explain why some new pictures of the console have turned up on Halo’s official site looking, well, a lot better. It’s all down to that transparent effect. Not really…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2012