• Reviews

  This Graphic Novel Shows The Horrific Costs of Modern Warfare

  Shooters protagonist Terry Glass isn’t that different from the kind of character you’d play in a Medal of Honor, Battlefield or Call of Duty game. He’s a fictional American soldier fighting in the geopolitical hotspots where America’s armed forces face off against disparate, tough-to-pin-down threats. Young, handsome and affable, Glass fights for all the right…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 15, 2012
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  Oh My Glob! It’s Diablo III Adventure Time!

  Evan’s Note: It’s been too long since we’ve shown off Zac Gorman’s awesome motion cartoons, but he’s back with a great riff on Diablo III. Millions of people have waited more than a decade for the game that’s out for PC and Mac today. Blizzard’s long-awaited action/RPG will take you on a grand quest, kind…

  zac gorman Published May 15, 2012
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  Wah-Hoo, Howling Commandos! Panel Discussion Starts Now!

  Are we still pretending that comics and video games don’t have anything to do with each other? Not anymore, we’re not. Welcome to Panel Discussion, where the focus will be on comic books and sequential art, whether they connect directly to video games or not. Confused? Read this

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 15, 2012
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  Guild Wars 2 Retail Ad Shows June 28 Release Date [UPDATE]

  Kotaku has obtained this photo of an advertisement for Guild Wars 2, seen at a Fry’s retailer in Texas. As you can see, the ad says ArenaNet’s massively multi-player online game, which is currently in beta, will be out on June 28. So is it legit? On one hand, retailers tend to use placeholder release…

  By Jason Schreier Published May 15, 2012
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  Last Night’s Diablo III Debacle Demonstrates The Problem With ‘Always-Online’ Games

  We were all excited last night. After a 12-year wait, Diablo III, Blizzard’s much-anticipated action-fantasy loot-fest, had finally arrived. It was sitting there installed on our hard drives, waiting for midnight to come, for Blizzard to unlock the game so we could play it. The midnight hour arrived, and Blizzard’s servers were overwhelmed. Too many…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 15, 2012
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  A Night of Speed-Dating With Kingdom Hearts, Theatrhythm and Heroes of Ruin

  I’m in California this week for the purpose of checking out a bunch of video games that will be shown at E3 next month. I’m a pre-E3 Judge*, you see, bouncing from one showcase with a game publisher to another, signing lots of paperwork in which I swear not to tell people about these games…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 15, 2012
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  Smell Your Video Games While You Play Them

  Given what some games could smell like (blood, dirt, hellspawn hordes), this is far better than you’d think. Over on Etsy, a haven for geeky goods, seller Bubble and Geek has created a lovely line of fan-favorite home goods. These scented candles draw inspiration from fan-favorites like Doctor Who, Star Wars, and, yes, video games.…

  By Kate Cox Published May 15, 2012
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  It’s Hard To Be A Boyfriend Now That Diablo III Is Out

  I hadn’t heard Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” until this parody was born, but the Diablo III remix makes me (ashamedly) like the tune.

  By Tina Amini Published May 15, 2012
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  The Incredible Portal 2 Machine

  A single button push takes a Portal 2 cube on an incredible journey through Ben Perry’s astounding Rube Goldberg-inspired custom level. Portal 2‘s brain-twisting puzzles prepared players perfectly for creating their own convoluted level creations. The recently-released level editor has been getting a strenuous workout by some incredibly brilliant minds. Ben Perry took a couple…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 15, 2012
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  Five-Year-Old Girl Is Already A Master Thief

  I can’t decide which adjective fits this video more: adorable or terrifying. This little girl can already break into all sorts of doors and lockers and safes. And she doesn’t even have to play through a crappy mini-game first. 5 Year Old Girl Picks A Master Lock in Under A Minute [YouTube via Reddit]

  By Jason Schreier Published May 15, 2012
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  Tuesday Watch This, Play This

  Watch! This Portal 2 level is a complicated machine. Watch! Don’t leave your valuables around this five-year-old. Play! Luke plays the flash original New Star Soccer, now on iOS. Watch! Girlfriends everywhere are being neglected now that Diablo III is out.

  By Tina Amini Published May 15, 2012
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  New Star Soccer Turns you Into a Mobile Superstar

  New Star Soccer is a flash game that’s been available on PC for years now. It’s fun, and it’s free. Well, it’s also now out on Android, iPhone and iPad, and while it’s no longer free, it’s still great fun. Paring back a lot of the more interactive features present in the desktop version, the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012
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  Snow and Lightning Star in Final Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC

  Final Fantasy XIII-2 has debuted quite a few bits of DLC since its early-year release. They’ve added Sazh, Lightning, N7 armor, an octopus homage, and more, to say nothing of the various alternate costumes. Now, though, Square Enix has announced that they will finally finish with Final Fantasy XIII-2 after one last burst of content.…

  By Kate Cox Published May 15, 2012
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  Halo 4 Action Figure Package Reveals New Enemy Types

  Now that it’s being made by 343 Industries, we’ve been told to expect a lot of new stuff. And we’ve seen new multiplayer models and new looks for Cortana and Master Chief. So, Halo 4‘s not going to be the same old sci-fi first-person-shooter. Info about the new enemies has been tightly guarded but two…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 15, 2012
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Diablo III is upon us! and you can talk about it! Once it starts working, that is! Welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk about new games, old games,…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 15, 2012
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  Five Other Games From 2000 That Need Sequels In 2012

  It’s almost hard to believe that Diablo III is actually out. Blizzard’s action-roleplaying game has been delayed so many times over the past decade, it came awfully close to challenging Duke Nukem Forever for the title of Vaporware King But here we are, 12 years after Diablo II, and the third game is actually a…

  By Jason Schreier Published May 15, 2012
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  I’d Play This Game Even If It Wasn’t Called Drunken Robot Pornography

  When Dejobaan Games, the developer behind The Wonderful End of the World and AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity create a first-person shooter that’s all about building and demolishing gigantic robots, they don’t need to name it Drunken Robot Pornography to get my attention; the name it Drunken Robot Pornography because there’s something wrong…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 15, 2012
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  Black Ops II Studio Head Knows Fans Want a “Better-Looking Game”

  Activision puts out a new Call of Duty game every year. It’s been that way for the last half-decade or so. Trouble is, this annualization give people a wide-open lane to complain about recycled engines and how the games all look the same. Mark Lamia—head of Treyarch, the studio behind the Black Ops branch of…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 15, 2012
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  Nintendo Brings Augmented Reality Pokémon Hunting to the 3DS

  Catching them all gets a bit more personal later this year as Nintendo announces two 3DS eShop tie-ins for Pokémon Black and White 2: the pro version of its free 3D Pokédex, and Pokémon Dream Radar, a game that let’s players capture monsters in real life and transfer them to the full games. This is…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 15, 2012
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  What Do Predator, Mortal Kombat, Dragonball Have in Common? This Guy.

  This guy is Mike La Jute Blanche. He’s a French cosplayer, and holy crap, he is good. Just look at his work. The outfits and make up are incredibly impressive, and he does a great job of capturing Predator, Dragonball‘s Piccolo, and Motal Kombat. The hip-hop Piccolo is especially wonderful. Sure, his Kratos cosplay needs…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012