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‘I Did It Thirty-Five Minutes Ago’: Before Watchmen‘s Prequel Problem
Last week, Minutemen #1—the first of DC Comics’ suite of Before Watchmen projects— came out. This week, Silk Spectre #1 hits the stands. There’s been a metric ton of controversy surrounding DC’s decision to make more comics set in the beloved fictional universe created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark 1986 series. And, like…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Finally, Your Xbox Live Avatar Can Take an Official Skyrim Arrow in the Knee
It had to happen eventually, and now it has. Among the many new Xbox Live avatar costumes that Bethesda released today is one that takes the meme to end all memes to its logical conclusion. Yes, for a mere 240 Microsoft points, your avatar can injure him or herself in the best, most Skyrimmy way…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
“There Was No Face Anywhere”: Why One Movie Producer Chose Uncharted over Halo
Not to knock on the PS3’s signature action franchise, but the Uncharted games never sparked the kind of cultural fascination that the Halo franchise did under Bungie’s tenure. So, if you had to make a movie of one series, you’d pick Master Chief over Nathan Drake, right? Not if you’re Avi Arad, you wouldn’t. With…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy Creator’s Next Game Is Just The Kind Of Complex, Meaty JRPG I’ve Been Waiting For
A long time ago, the combat in Japanese role-playing games was extraordinarily simple. Classic turn-based RPGs would hit you with a deluge of random and scripted battles. To beat them, you’d select options like “fight” or “magic” from a series of dropdown menus. You’d usually only die if you were under-leveled, in which case the…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Gravity Rush Comes Out Today
The first must-play game for the Vita jumps onto Sony’s handheld game device today. If you’re not sure if Gravity Rush is worth your time, go ahead and read the review. You might fall in love with it like Kirk Hamiltion did
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
This Is How Nintendo Prefers You To See Their Games
Nintendo likes to prioritize their screenshots by what they consider to be the best images to use when discussing their games. Last year we looked at what Nintendo’s favorite and least favorite screenshots post-E3 were, according to the notes in their batch of press kits. It seemed like angle-choice, depth of background action and color…
By Tina Amini Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Persona 3: Official Design Works Explores the Artistic Process June 20
Persona 3 owes much of its success to the stunning work of legendary character designer Shigenori Soejima. The fan-favorite artist lends his commentary to 144 pages of character art, concept pieces and design work in Persona 3: Official Design Works, coming June 20 from UDON. UDON makes a sexy book, habitually going above and beyond…
By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
A Teeny Tiny Percentage of Lucky Gamers Have Been Invited to Play Skyrim‘s Dawnguard Expansion Early
According to Bethesda’s developer twitter feed, the beta invites for Skyrim‘s impressive-looking expansion Dawnguard, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360 for the time being, have gone out. If you applied to get into the beta but didn’t get in, don’t feel bad: Bethesda says that they accepted just one half of one percent of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
A Controller Solution That Strikes at the Very Core of Android Tablet Gaming
Last week I reported on Power A’s MOGA portable gaming system for Android devices, a system that allows developers to quickly integrate game pad support into their Android titles. Nyko’s PlayPad line of tablet controllers might not be quite as elegant, but they make up for that lack of style by being compatible with just…
By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Ten Years of Civ II Lock The World in Perpetual War
This is kind of amazing: one gamer, over on Reddit, has been playing the same save game of Civilization II off and on for the last decade. That, itself, is not the amazing part. The amazing part is how it’s played out. The first two thousand years of his reign went more or less like…
By Kate Cox Published June 12, 2012 -
ReviewsLollipop Chainsaw: The Kotaku Review
You could pick Suda51’s work—like Killer7 or the more recent No More Heroes and Shadows of the Damned—out of a line-up. The art style is cartoonish, as are the characters. Memorable protagonists like the vulgar-mouthed tough guy Garcia “Fucking” Hotspur or the lascivious Travis Touchdown turned juvenile humor into compelling, tongue-in-cheek delight. And the combat…
By Tina Amini Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Microsoft and Sony Dodge Questions About the Next Xbox and PlayStation in the Most Amusing Ways
As you read this, people are making video games for the next PlayStation and the next Xbox. They have been for many, many weeks. But last week, at E3, where the biggest video game companies were ostensibly talking about the biggest video games on the horizon, not a single soul would officially discuss the PlayStation…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedGauge Your Endurance Under the Pressure of Dancey Music and Psychedelic Visuals
The music starts slow and rhythmic as you tap delicately on your iPad. Your eyes are glued to either end of the bar on screen, ensuring that your taps never linger long enough to push the bar’s limit. You occasionally glance at an appearing second gauge whose new color grows as you maintain a balance…
By Tina Amini Published June 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedMax Payne Knows How To Chill Out
In the midst of all the shoot-outs, drinking, and pill-popping, Max Payne is just another guy, you know? He wants to lounge on a pool chair and kick his feet up on the table. Except he does it in slow, bullet-time motion. Max Payne 3: Dramatic Chilling Simulator [YouTube via Reddit]
By Tina Amini Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Shigeru Miyamoto Thinks He’s Right About Pikmin 3, But, if Not… Uh-Oh
After years of being badgered about making a new Pikmin game, Nintendo is finally making a new Pikmin game. It took the company a while, Nintendo’s head of game development, Shigeru Miyamoto, told me in Los Angeles last week, because the company was experimenting with how to get Pikmin right. They’ve finally settled on an…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Splinter Cell: Blacklist Ushers in a Faster, Bossier Sam Fisher
Sam Fisher’s always been like what Liam Neeson is now. He’s the exemplar of the old-dude badass in the video game pantheon. Even in the first few Splinter Cell games, you’d hear Michael Ironside’s distinct growl in Ubisoft’s stealth action series and think, “This guy’s been around the block a few times…” If Sam was…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Guided Tour of Mists of Pandaria‘s Faction-Divided Capital City
What better way to get to know the Alliance side of Mists of Pandaria‘s Asian-themed capital city than through the eyes of a delightful Serbian guide? The Blizzard Serbian Community walks us through the expansion pack’s unique answer to a sanctuary city. Previous World of Warcraft expansion packs have all included some sort of dual-faction…
By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
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, games that aren’t even out yet? Knock yourselves out! Anybody can play fighting games, even Italian Renaissance…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Ten More Things About Dishonored You Should Know
Maybe you’ve already seen Totilo’s breakdown of 18 things you should know about Dishonored, the upcoming stealth-action game by Arkane Studios. And maybe you’re still wondering why you should care. I don’t blame you: in an industry stuffed with marketing schemes and false promises, it’s hard to get really excited about a video game until…
By Jason Schreier Published June 12, 2012