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Kotaku EastThis Game Looks Nothing Like Pokémon
Nope. Nothing like it at all. It’s totally different. No way could anyone call Little Masters a Pokémon rip-off. Just look at it. See? Totally different. Recently released on iOS, Little Masters is a game in which you caught monsters, train them, and have them fight. Know why they call the game “Little Masters”? Because…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe Time Jeremy Lin Escaped in a Hello Kitty Mask
Being super famous is difficult. Just ask Jeremy Lin! That dude is super famous—in the US and especially in Asia. This video shows how the hoopster escaped Linsanity while in Taipei: by wearing a Hello Kitty mask. Cool video, but there’s something Lin couldn’t escape: all those Nike logos! A Late Night Escape in Taipei…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Way Before “Gangnam Style”, Gangnam Was Very Different
This summer, the K-pop single “Gangnam Style” hasn’t only been popular in its native South Korea, but it has also captured the imagination of those outside the country. Gangnam is a ritzy area of Seoul and the term “Gangnam style” obviously refers to that district. However, Gangnam wasn’t always galloping horse dances, tennis courts, and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Maybe Zynga’s Not Such a Bad Place To Work After All…
Zynga, the home to games like Farmville, doesn’t seem to be the greatest place on Earth to work. It’s not entirely awful, though. Here’s a new multiplayer gaming setup built into the company’s cafeteria. That’s sixteen screens. Is it enough to make me want to work there? Hell no. Is it enough to make me…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedThese Real Soldiers Are Being Trained On Amazing Video Games
The use of glorified video games to train military personnel is nothing new, but traditionally, it’s been pretty stodgy stuff, not really the kind of thing casual users would be particularly jealous of. This stuff, though, I am jealous of. Laser Shot is a company that specialises in providing military training gear to clients like…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 - Uncategorized
Watch as Dead Keyboards Become Portraits of Celebrities
My last keyboard that broke, I gave it to my kid. It’s now being used for tea parties. The one before that ended up straight in the bin. How wasteful I’m being! Instead of disposing of dead hardware, I could have been recycling it all this time, turning the keys into awesome portraits of celebrities…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhen The Future of Video Games Was…Tape Decks
This is a commercial for Hitachi’s H2 model of the MSX, Microsoft’s unsung hero of Japan’s gaming past. The soothing tones, the brilliant whites, the computer-generated animal…this is the future, people. The distant, star-gazing future! Where video games are so advanced they’re sold not on discs, or downloaded over communications networks, but put on cassette…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
Miyamoto’s Worst Game Idea Ever. Or Maybe The Best. Not Sure.
In 1989, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for an interview. The two spoke about practically everything, from game design to their latest titles (like Link to the Past) to the future, but what I found most interesting was the pair’s ideas on making games about teaching. Both had…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 - Culture
Star Wars, Dead Space, Transformers, This is Some of the Best Nerd Art on the Planet
Ryan Church is about as close to the top of the concept art world as you can get. He’s worked on Star Wars movies. He’s working on the new Star Trek movies. He’s worked on Avatar, Transformers and John Carter. In addition to all that movie stuff, though, he’s also found time to lend a…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
UncategorizedWe Are One Step Closer To Real Metal Gears
Continuing a process that began back in the 1960s, the United States has this week taken us one step closer to a world in which Metal Gears cease to be science fiction and start being part of the military’s everyday life. Boston Dynamics, whose military robots even look like Metal Gears, this week released video…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
Eidos Developer Fired Over Murder Comments
Blake Marsh spent four years working for Eidos Montreal, the team behind Deus Ex: Human Revolution. He was fired this week. Not for anything he did while on the job, but for stuff he said on Facebook. As the latest reminder that anyone with a full-time job had best watch what they say on a…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Best Crime Show No One Watched
Remember Terriers? Man, that show was great. (Too bad about the terrible name.) In the annals of dead-before-their-time TV shows, Terriers is right up there with Firefly, for my money. And hey, as it turns out, both of those shows had amazing flashback episodes written by Mr. Tim Minear! Yeah, the guy who wrote “Out…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
That Harry Potter-like Spellbook for PlayStation Move Is On Sale in November
Wonderbook; The Book of Spells, the not-really-Harry-Potter-but-endorsed-by-J.K.-Rowling-so-you-think-it-is bundle of game and hardware, is gonna hit shelves in November, Sony said earlier today. Sony’s selling it in two forms: The Wonderbook: Book of Spells Move Bundle, for $79.99, which comes with the game, a peripheral, and the PlayStation Eye camera and Move controller that makes the…
By Owen Good Published September 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
Report: G4 As We Know It Is As Good As Gone
According to a report on Variety, G4 – one of the only TV stations in the world with a “geek” mandate – will be “rebranded” early next year, resulting in a change of focus and possibly a change of name as well. In other words, it’ll be an almost entirely new/different channel. NBCU, the station’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
One Last Dragon
Hey, maybe you’re playing some more Skyrim lately. Maybe you’ve even downloaded the latest DLC, Hearthfire? Seems like a good enough excuse to share this amazing image by Dead End Thrills. It’s part of his “Parting Shots” series, which he’s put up to bid Skyrim farewell. Jason’s been playing Hearthfire, so check out his list…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 6, 2012 -
UncategorizedLet’s Listen To Some Bitchin’ Music From Torchlight II
In just a few short weeks, Torchlight II will finally come out. I’m looking forward to digging in to Runic’s dungeon-crawler for a number of reasons, and of course, the question of “What can they get right that Diablo III got wrong?” is at the top of my mind. But one of the very coolest…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 6, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis Amazing Harmonica Player Gets The Halo Composer’s Endorsement
It’s always fun to hear composers talk about their favorite musicians. This past weekend at PAX, I sat down with a group of the biggest names in AAA video game music to talk about all things musical and video games. Fresh from their panel at PAX, I chatted with Dragon Age composer Inon Zur, Assassin’s…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 6, 2012