- CultureTotal Recall
Japanese Box Art vs Western Box Art
As a box art fetishist, this might be the best website I’ve ever seen. It’s called Box vs Box, and its purpose is to compare the box art of Japanese video games and their Western counterparts. Sometimes it’s a straight Japan vs US matchup, other times it’s a three-way royal rumble, with PAL games joining…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Splinter Cell: Underpants Double Agent
Hello again, Kotaku. Happy Tuesday. It’s been a lovely one in San Francisco, and I hope it’s been nice near you, too. Here now, some things from around the internet for you to peruse and discuss. RIP, Maurice Sendak – I hope you’ve found your way to where the wild things truly are. Let the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
RIP Maurice Sendak, Creator of Where the Wild Things Are
This has been a brutal year for many people’s fondest childhood affections. First Star Wars visionary Ralph McQuarrie dies, then French comics legend Moebius passes away, and now we have the sad news that Maurice Sendak, the creator of children’s stories such as Where the Wild Things Are, has died at age 83. Sendak will…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
In Case You’ve Ever Wanted to Own One of Mass Effect 3‘s Punchy Heavy Pistols
When I play Mass Effect, I’m really more of an Assault Rifle or Shotgun-guy, but I do love those heavy pistols. The sound they make, that punchy “pop” that causes so much damage. Here we’ve got Bill Doran of Punished Props, back to show us another cool video game creation. He’s made the M-6 Carnifex…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Rumor: Snow-Bound Dead Space 3 Will Feature Co-Op, Humongous Enemies
According to IGN, Dead Space 3 will feature optional co-op play. It’ll be drop-in, drop-out. Their source also describes the game’s setting as a “desolate snow planet,” which confirms the rumor we reported last year It sounds as though the second co-op character might be a figment of protagonist Isaac Clarke’s imagination, as IGN describes…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Beautiful Rage of Friends Who Play Board Games Against Each Other
Canadian filmmaker Jay Cheel once worked for video game developer Silicon Knights, but in his 10-minute documentary The Politics of Competitive Board Gaming Amongst Friends, he focuses instead on tabletop gaming, casting his camera on his own friends while they play The Settlers of Catan. It’s a beautiful, funny, and poignant look at how competition…
By Kate Cox Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Sounds Like Kingdom Hearts May Return to Home Consoles
Speaking with Game Informer Magazine, Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura said that while he’s always interested in making Kingdom Hearts games on new systems like the Vita, “It’s about time that Kingdom Hearts should go back to being on a console.” The popular (and certainly unique) Disney-Meets-JRPGs franchise has been handheld-only since 2004—it sure would…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Is It Possible To Play Games Without Being a Total Shut-In?
For this week’s Burning Questions, Jason and Kirk look at how gaming impacts their everyday life. Why is it so hard to maintain a social life and play games? Is there something about some games that is simply incompatible with being social? What games do we like to share with people, and what games do…
Kirk Hamilton & Jason Schreier Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Simpsons Are Really Psyched For Diablo III
You know the introduction theme for The Simpsons? You know how each episode begins with the weird-looking family plopping down on the couch in a new and unique way? Well, Matt Groening, please look no further than the above direction for another new and unique plopping idea. For now this awesome potential couch gag exists…
By Tina Amini Published May 8, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Explosive Cuteness of a Real Life Pikachu-Kitten
Kittens are cute. They yowl and meow, they wander around and fall off of things and are tiny and fun to pet. Sometimes though, they are yellow, and weird, and they talk. When they talk, they say things like “Pik-a-chu!” And then maybe they blast you with explosive energy. Maybe! Not necessarily. This video from…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Gaming Landmark, Transformed
This morning, Kotaku video editor Chris Person and I took a trip to New York’s Chinatown Fair, which reopened last Friday following a sudden closure last December. It doesn’t look very much like the old Chinatown Fair. The gaming landmark, once a Mecca for competitive fighting gamers, is now a family-friendly arcade. Still, new owner…
By Jason Schreier Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Console War Revisionist History Alert
Video game social network Playfire wants you to vote on who won the current generation of video games. It’s hard to shake the feeling that they’re missing something…there was this white box…it had a blue light in it, maybe?
By Stephen Totilo Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Video Games Are Getting More Like TV, and That’s Actually Good
When casting about for media to compare gaming to, most minds land on film. Action movies and action games still draw inspiration from each other, and when game budgets and incomes draw comparisons, it’s always to Hollywood. But over at The Atlantic, writer Yannick LeJacq argues that really, video games and television have much to…
By Kate Cox Published May 8, 2012 -
UncategorizedHere, Have a Gif of Tyrion Slapping The Crap Out Of Joffrey on Game of Thrones (Again)
You know you want it. Everyone it. Every soul on earth loves nothing more than seeing that obnoxious tow-headed psychopath Joffrey get smacked around. And who better to do it than his Uncle Tyrion? It’s even an ancient proverb: Every time someone slaps Joff in the face/ the world becomes a healthier place. And hey,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Starhawk Reviewers Wisely Avoid Neopaganism, Focus on Shooting People
You know what would be awesome? Warhawk, only in space. And we can name it after one of the most notable figures of the Neopagan movement! I can just imagine the game reviews now. Starhawk the game (some would say unfortunately) has nothing to do with Neopaganism or ecofeminism. Instead, it’s about a bunch of…
By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2012 -
UncategorizedEx-Bioshock Developers Announce Their Mysterious Exploration Game, Gone Home
The Fullbright Company, a new indie outfit that consists of three developers who among other high-profile games worked together on the fantastic Bioshock 2 add-on Minerva’s Den, has announced its first game. It’s called Gone Home, and it’s a first-person game that revolves around exploration and discovery, rather than action or scares. The video above…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Five Comics That Will Make You Leave Your Humanity Behind This Week
If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Exclusive: Powers Artist Michael Avon Oeming Shows Off His Latest Victories
You might know Michael Avon Oeming best for drawing the cartoony yet gritty tales in the hits series Powers, written by Brian Michael Bendis. But the artist’s also a well-regarded writer in his own right. Oeming’s next work will be coming out from Dark Horse and Kotaku‘s got an exclusive look at the moody interior…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012 - Uncategorized
Read These Noir Comics Masterpieces to Get Ready for Max Payne 3
When Max Payne 3 comes out next week, it’ll be the long-awaited return of video games’ best example of work done in the film noir tradition. There’s been some concern that the franchise might lose some his its shadowy edge by moving to the tropical climes of Sao Paolo. But the change in scenery for…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012