- Culture
I Want an Entire Coffee Table Book Made From This Video Game Artist’s Amazing Paintings
Ruan Jia is a concept artist currently living in Quebec. Having formerly worked for Chinese developers NetDragon, his most recent gig was with Volta, a studio that specialises in providing things like art and world building for video game companies. His art isn’t just great by concept art standards. If I could print these off…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 -
Uncategorized100 of Cinema’s Most Maniacal Laughs Gets Your Monday Off to a Great Start
The clip’s title, “100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs”, pretty much sums it up. What’s intended as creepy, unsettling or even mildly terrifying in a movie becomes one hell of a gag when they’re all played back-to-back. 100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs [honsco]
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Neo Geo Returns This December (For $200!)
Remember in January how everyone got a little excited about the official return of the Neo Geo brand, via a new handheld system called the NEOGEO X GOLD? Yeah, well, it might be time to get a little less excited. Because the thing costs $200. That’s right. For a small handheld that plays a bunch…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
What if Assassin’s Creed Looked More Like Star Wars?
This futuristic take on what looks like Ezio, from the Assassin’s Creed series, was designed by artist Davis Lim. It takes the Renaissance killer and drops him squarely in the future. Or, if you prefer, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I’m getting a very “Old Republic” feel from that armour…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
Van Damme “Showed Cammy His Thailand” While Filming The Terrible 90s Street Fighter Movie
Just in case you needed a little more background to the relationship between Jean-Claude Van Damme (Guile) and Kylie Minogue (Cammy) in the 1994 Street Fighter movie, know that according to the Belgian brawler/breakdancer the pair enjoyed a real-life “affair” behind the scenes. So, um, who gives a shit? I do, because he describes it…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 -
UncategorizedJust Cause 2 Mod is Redefining the Term “Massively Multiplayer”
To recap: smart people are introducing multiplayer to the PC version of sandbox shooter Just Cause 2. A public beta was held last week, and another is just winding up now. It continues to look like just about the best thing ever Rather than only letting 4-8 people onto the game’s enormous map at a…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
If Only This Beautiful Majora’s Mask 3DS Was Real
As far as we know, Nintendo isn’t working on a 3DS version of classic Zelda title Majora’s Mask. So as far as we know, they’re not working on a special Majora’s Mask edition of the Nintendo 3DS, either. Pity. Fan Cameron Smith is, though, and has drawn up his idea for what such a handheld…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Report: GameStop is One of the Worst Places to Work in America
Using data from online employment portal Glassdoor, business site 24/7 Wall St has compiled a list of what they claim are the worst places to work in the United States. Everybody’s favourite specialist retailer GameStop managed to make the cut, finishing in tenth place. Why? The chief reasons cited from current and former employees include…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
“XBOX Durango Development Kit” Sells For $20,000
The nondescript black PC tower that its seller claims is a Durango (ie, the next Xbox console) development kit has now been sold. The winning bid? Oh, a trifling $20,100. For that price, the buyer has either got themselves an unexpectedly early look at the future of the Xbox brand or the world’s most expensive…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
No, This Isn’t a Photo From an Upcoming Tomb Raider Movie
The best cosplay images rarely involve someone who just has a nice costume, or someone who can act the part, or even pretty photos. It’s usually the result of all three things combined, something this amazing shot certainly manages. Photographer Balázs Sármai and model Csenge Huszár, with make-up and effects assistance from Karolina Neszteli and…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
At Least One Man Still Plays Draw Something, And He’s Damn Good
Its popularity may have been the very definition of “flash in the pan”, but there are still some people out there playing social smash Draw Something. And some of those people have gotten good. Real good. James Corbe has been cataloguing his images, most of which are off-kilter answers that involve tributes to the Criterion…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedDayZ Hackers Introduce Death by Teleporting Dance Party
Hackers are rampant throughout zombie survival mod DayZ, and while this can often by a massive pain in the ass, it can also – occasionally – be cause for celebration. Like this elaborate move, which teleported an entire map’s worth of human players to an airfield, where they were left dancing the night away until…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 12, 2012 - Culture
The Week in Games: Canis Major
Square Enix picked up Sleeping Dogs from Activision’s scrap heap and early word is it’s worth a good look. Maybe being freed from True Crime‘s heavy yoke of disappointment will help the concept live out its promise. Darksiders II also hits shelves, and the Summer of Arcade closes out as the kids return to school./…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Game is the Same and the Rules Don’t Change—So Why Do the Controls?
In basketball, it was the three-point line, or the reintroduction of the zone defense. In baseball, it’s the designated hitter, or an All-Star game played for stakes. In American football, it’s instant replay, or the two-point conversion, or moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone. All sports have confronted and incorporated…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Sons Of Anarchy Game Adaptation Has ‘No Traction,’ But That’s Better Than Being ‘A Piece of Shit Like Game of Thrones‘ Says Creator
Done right, the well regarded FX biker gang series Sons of Anarchy would seem to be a natural fit for a game adaptation. It’s got guns, violence, antiheroes and a natural open-world setting. Doing it right, however, takes a lot of money and commitment. That is is why the series is getting “NO TRACTION” toward…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Epic Confirms Three More People Fly from Gears of War: Judgment
People Can Fly, the Poland-based studio behind 2011’s Bulletstorm and the upcoming Gears of War: Judgment, said goodbye to creative director Adrian Chmielarz (pictured) and two top artists today, according to Gears developer Epic Games and Chmielarz himself. “Gears fans, you’re going to love Judgment. It’s in great hands,” Chmielarz said via Twitter about 1…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Catch the Pokémon World Championships Live This Evening
For the first time in tournament history, the Pokémon World Championships will livestream the both its trading card and video game final rounds in the Masters’ Division. You can see the action here, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT, and you can check the final round pairings here. Pokémon World Championships 2012 [Official Site]
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The Kitchen Sink
Gang, we’ve gotta save this marriage. The Kotaku ‘Shop Contest has been publishing every week for more than 2 1/2 years, and let’s face it, the thing is in trouble. We haven’t had a full 20 in the finalist pool for more than a month. I can blame myself for uninteresting exploitables; you can blame…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
This ‘Airport Virtual Assistant’ Looks Like the Ancestor of Avina from Mass Effect
Meet AVA, a hologram projected onto a human-sized piece of plexiglass. The idea is that AVA, at some time, will respond to questions, offer answers, and provide reliable guidance in multiple languages to travelers who have just landed and need help orienting themselves and understanding local services. Sound familiar? Sounds to me like Avina, the…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012 - Culture
Sunday Comics: It’s Not Stealing, It’s Copying
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik published Aug. 6.—Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Aug. 6.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012