- Culture
Sunday Comics: The Bad Old Days
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. Legacy Control by Javis Ray published July 25.—Read more of Legacy Control Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published July 23.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by…
By Owen Good Published July 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
These Sure Look Like the Stages You’ll See in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Someone seems to have pried apart the data files for the private, early access PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale beta and discovered what appear to be the stage select icons for every stage in the game, plus eight characters unannounced so far. If this is true, locales like Columbia from BioShock and Black Rock Stadium from…
By Owen Good Published July 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
It’s your morning call to talk about the games you’re playing, loving and hating in Talk Amongst Yourselves, the place to discuss all things video game and existential. Go to the TAY forum at this link and do what you’ve always done: share your thoughts and opinions on the things you’re passionate about.
By Owen Good Published July 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
Sexy Mario, Anyone? The Winners.
A celebrity guest pose kicked off last week’s edition of Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. Internet-famous Sexy Mario offered up his centerfold for the reworking and remastering of our depraved artists. We have this week’s best inside, plus overall winner warmsleepy! Though Sexy Mario was indeed at a tennis court, I fully expected to see him transported…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Best Part of Waking Up is a Super Nintendo in Your Cup
This “Super Nincoffee Jr.” case-mod won’t brew you the perfect cup of joe, but apparently it will play Super Nintendo games. This appears to be the creation of a kid named Tyler and his father. Yes, I scoured it for clues that this could be a trick, that some other console playing Super Mario All-Stars…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
An Earthquake Sets the Scene for Battlefield 3‘s Next Map Pack
We didn’t get a release date for Aftermath, the next set of four maps for Battlefield 3‘s multiplayer, but an official page does provide some detail as to what it includes. New vehicles and a new game mode are featured on four new maps set in Tehran after an earthquake. Destructible terrain would seem to…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
‘Minecraft Guy’ Isn’t Supposed to Be a Guy—or a Girl, Says Game’s Creator
Though jokingly given the name “Steve,” Minecraft’s lead character is supposed to be gender neutral, said the game’s creator. All living things in the game are supposed to be gender neutral, in fact. Markus “Notch” Persson, musing about gender in the low-resolution world he created two years ago, admits that calling the protagonist “Minecraft Guy”…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
How to Punish Penn State—from the Comfort of Your Living Room
When the NCAA leveled crippling sanctions against Penn State a week ago, harshly penalizing the football power for its lack of institutional control in a 13-year sexual abuse scandal, it wasn’t long before I was asked if the NCAA Football series, this year or in the future, would incorporate any of these bans and restrictions.…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedSee Vice City‘s Final Mission, as Imagined on a Commodore 64
You talk about love at first sight. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City had me at its opening credit screens: the LOAD “*”,8,1, multicolored flashing logo and rudimentary MIDI theme took me straight back to 1986, and all the days I spent parked in front of my Commodore 64. When I showed it to my brother—not…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedIt’s Settled: No Yellow Card if You Curse at FIFA‘s Referee
One of the funnier controversies coming out of E3 was how FIFA 13 intended to handle voice recognition in its new suite of Kinect-enabled features. A promotional video left a strong impression that yelling “#$@%!” or “$&%@!” or “wanker!” at the virtual official would result in a yellow card. That was the impression that the…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Moneysaver: Collect Them All
Three collector’s editions headline the usual summer clear-out of stock as we transit to August. Walmart gets really desperate with a three-for-one come-on—for PSP games. Sixty savings, bonuses and deals await below. Software • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector’s Edition (360) is $49.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $60. [Dealzon] • Dead…
By Owen Good Published July 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Best of Kotaku, This Week
Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week’s best content. First up is the image above. We look into the real eyes and mustache of Mario, thanks to deviantART artist CALLit-ringo. Be sure to hit up the link for the full-sized image. Thanks to dotcore for the find. Moving…
By Tina Amini Published July 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Video Game Version of The Dark Knight Rises‘ Prison Scene Is, Um, Different
Ah, the poetry and metaphor of the prison sequence in The Dark Knight Rises! How would one ever turn that into an awesome video game level? The answer: by adding lots of dudes for Bruce Wayne to punch. Video games are excellent at many things, but adapting movie scenes that don’t have a lot of…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 27, 2012 -
UncategorizedWoah: Heath Ledger’s Joker Was Basically Tom Waits
There have been few if any comic-book movie performances as startling and singular as Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. At once loose and strong, purringly deadly and weirdly vulnerable… it was a shambling shaggy dog performance for the record books. There’s no way to know now where Ledger drew his…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 27, 2012 - Uncategorized
Our Psychological Need For Villains and Bosses Explained
Most games have bosses—and there are multiple in-game reasons for that. What punctuation does for sentence structure, video game villains do for narrative: namely, pushing the pacing forward. Bosses give you reason to act: if Bowser never kidnaps the princess, there’s no game! A boss can also act as a good mastery check, which is…
By Patricia Hernandez Published July 27, 2012 -
UncategorizedKnock Knock. Who’s There? A Customizable Haunted House Defense Game
I have not played The Void, but it’s on my list. And I’ve definitely heard enough about the game to make me think that the developer, Russian studio Ice Pick Lodge, has some interesting video game ideas. Their latest idea, which they’re funding via a fairly low-priced Kickstarter (at least by video game standards), is…
By Kirk Hamilton Published July 27, 2012 - Uncategorized
Hello Giant Robot, You’re Beautiful.
Artist Kogoro Kurata makes robots. Huge robots. In a shed. Previously, Kotaku featured Kurata’s amazing work. Recently, Wired Japan checked out his latest project, Kuratasu, and took some stunning pics of an amazing creation. Have a look. 人が乗って操縦できる巨大ロボット「クラタス」、完成目前の勇姿を公開！ [Wired Japan] (Top photo: Wired)
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 27, 2012
