- Kotaku East
Death Blog Lady Strikes Again. Even Disneyland Is Not Safe.
This weekend, a Tokyo Disney Sea visitor suffered quite a scare. While riding the Raging Spirits rollercoaster, the safety bar raised while in motion. The 34 year-old man tried to get out of the car and injured his leg. Thankfully, the man had only minor injuries. That same day, a Japanese celebrity posted a Disney…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 -
Kotaku EastClassic Japan-Only RPG Remaster Looks Beautiful on the PSP
Walk Over My Corpse (Ore no Shikabane wo Koeteyuke) is one of the great Japanese RPGs of the PS1 era that was never released outside of Japan. With its Sumi-e style graphics, complex class-based battle system, and in-depth breeding mechanic, missing out on it is truly a loss for RPG fans the world over. Luckily,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
How China Neuralyzed Men in Black 3
The Chinese government sure doesn’t like when China or Chinese people look bad. That’s apparently the motivation for cutting scenes from Hollywood flick Men in Black 3. Spoilers below. Three scenes were cut that showed aliens disguised as Chinese folks and people in Chinatown getting their memories neuralyzed Online in China, people noted that the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
Why Drink Booze When You Can Play Diablo III?
In South Korea, like elsewhere, Diablo III is out. And boy, are people ever playing it. Korean paper The Hankyoreh recently did a report on how Diablo III is impacting Korean nightlife. While much of the information is anecdotal, it does provide a good window in. For example, one businessman told the paper that instead…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
Pikachu Will Destroy You with a Big Yellow Sword
In my time, I’ve seen a lot of Pikachu cosplay, but I’ve never seen anything as bizarre (or wonderful) as this. If Nintendo ever does a Pokémon reboot (I doubt it will), it should give the Pocket Monsters battle gear and giant swords. So they can beat the crap outta each other. This was spotted…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
She’s Obviously a TV Crew Member. You Can Tell from Her Clothes
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nippon Ichi Software, a teaser site for a new game on the PS Vita has opened. It’s a PS Vita adventure game by the name of Special News Department, and will be released on August 23rd in Japan. As a TV staff crew, you work to uncover the mysteries of…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Year After Fukushima, This Japanese Cell Phone Will Detect Radiation
It’s been over a year since the Fukushima meltdown. There have been radiation fears and fear mongering. Both have certainly impacted the lives and psyche of those living in Fukushima as well as people elsewhere. And now here’s a cell phone that might make things better—or worse. Sharp’s upcoming Pantone 5 mobile phone comes with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Kotaku East
In China, Diablo III Is Sold Online as, um, “Big Pineapple”
Soon it will be summer. Time for summer fruit: watermelons, pineapples, and Diablo III? In China, online vendors are trying to skirt the law by masking Diablo III as “big pineapple”. If you thought Hawaiian pineapples were delicious, have you tried “Big Pineapple 3 Asian Servers Edition Official Version All Language Support?” Didn’t think so.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
Dreaming of a Better Nintendo Menu
Nintendo does a lot of things very well when it comes to software. Like, you know, games. Its console menus, though, could do with some work. So Cassio Leonardo thought he’d take a swing at designing his dream Wii U interface, blending what Nintendo is doing now with what he’d like to see them doing…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 -
UncategorizedNot Getting Stabbed Is Harder in Real Life
You know in a video game or a movie, how the hero easily grabs a knife from an attacker and subdues that enemy? Well, that’s in video games or movies—fantasy! Real life is different. However, as numerous YouTube commenters pointed out, the “real life” versions of the attacks are missing the confrontation. They simply show…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
Ladies, Keep Your Knees Warm With Giant Diablo Socks
Ladies, fighting the minions of hell can be hard work. Hard and cold work. And that kind of work can be hell on your knees. So keep them safe with these Diablo III socks. For the men, well…if you play football/soccer, I guess you could get away with hearing it then? But only if your…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 - Culture
This Terrific Art Goes From Mega Man to a Dead Future
Korean concept artist Kang Donghwa works for NeoWiz, one of the region’s biggest game companies. Meaning you’re not only going to see some Mega Man Online (the Capcom/NeoWiz MMO project, known locally as Rockman Online) concept art, but some other amazing pieces as well, some for Korean games, others for personal work. You can see…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Incredible World of Giant LEGO Mechs
People make amazing custom spaceships out of LEGO, sure, but they also make amazing custom mechs as well. Builders across the world, from the US to Japan, have found that, just like with spaceships, LEGO is almost the perfect means to express their own mechanical designs, coming up with machines that at times are a…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Other Brothers Don’t Mind a Spot of Actual Plumbing
Platformer The Other Brothers, which we first saw earlier in the year, is coming along nicely after a few developmental hiccups. What I’m liking about how this is shaping up isn’t just the fact its visuals are all retro-inspired, but the controls as well. This looks like the same kind of manic, slippery platformer that…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 - Uncategorized
New Satellite Will Begin the Kinect Space Program
A pair of satellites, both based on cheap, consumer electronics components, will be launched in the coming year, part of a project run by a British university and tech firm. One has parts from a Google Nexus phone, and will be launched later this year, but the second satellite is more up our alley. It’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 29, 2012 -
UncategorizedVideo Game Car Crashes Have Never Looked This Good
This is what happens when you plug the physics system of truck sim Rigs of Rods into Crytek’s CryEngine3: car crashes so nice you can watch them over and over and over What you’re seeing here is “soft body” physics. “Soft” meaning things built to break or deform. Like this poor truck. Which is about…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
Diablo III is Changing. Here’s How.
Blizzard has released a timeline of sorts for upcoming Diablo III updates, detailing the kinds of things that are due to be fixed and the kind of things that due to be tweaked. The first update, 1.02, will mainly be patching up the various network issues that have affected the game since launch. It should…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedHere’s a Game That Will Throw You into B-Boy Style Dance Battles
Maybe you’re like me. You like music enough to want to dance to it but the thought of showing off your lack of co-ordination to the world keep you off the dance floor. And yeah, there are dance games that have you mimicking all kinds of choreography but the human element that would make those…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedIs “All This Violence” Really What Video Games Are Made Of?
Last week, in the chaos around the total meltdown of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developer 38 Studios, one line stood out. Commenters on this site as well as on every other site that covered the story all zoomed in immediately on one specific statement from Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee. Twitter absolutely lit up with…
By Kate Cox Published May 28, 2012