• CultureTotal Recall

  The First Mass Effect‘s User Interface Sure Was Terrible

  I still think fondly back on when I played the first Mass Effect. It had so much going for it, and I was so excited about the game—I remember tearing through the campaign, loving the story, and tolerating the somewhat janky combat and technical issues. I also remember the interface. It was something that I…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 25, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  No Rage Quite Like Asteroids ‘Roid Rage

  We’re back with a second episode of Retro Rumble, where guys compete to get high scores in olllld (really old!) video games. This time around, they’re playing Asteroids, which is a good deal more colorless than you may have thought. I know I’d have ‘roid rage if someone kept calling me “son” while I was…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Want Some Rye?

  Course ya do. This line, from 1993’s Return to Zork, gets me every time. Put a couple of beers in me and I’ll start asking it of people who have no idea what I’m talking about, but fuck ’em, because if they don’t want any rye then they’re not worth my time anyway.

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012
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  Watch Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert Talk About Adventure Games for 35 Minutes

  Surely you all know about Tim Schafer’s incredible Double Fine kickstarter adventure, which has now raised $2.1 million. Using the money, Schafer and fellow Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert will be making a new old-school-style adventure game. In the (awesome) video above, Schafer takes on the role of interviewer, talking with Gilbert about their shared…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012
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  Total Recall Starts Now

  Welcome to Friday Night’s “recent” version of Total Recall, where we’ll be looking at games that are new enough not to be super old, but old enough not to be new.

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012
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  Don’t Forget About Me, Veronica

  “…I could never.” Greetings Team Kotaku, and welcome to the Friday night open thread. I hope you had a fun and exciting week, and are looking forward to a restful weekend. It’s almost spring! Can you smell the springness in the air? Here, from around the internet, are some things that you might want to…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012
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  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  When I travel, I usually frontload my gameplaying, trying to pack in progress in an RPG before I leave, and then kill time with handhelds in transit. But Monday, I’ll be flying to Washington. My grandfather will be buried at Arlington. Forgive me, I’m not in much of a games-playing mood right now. It’s not…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  Now These Are Some Seriously Cool Video Game Posters

  This is a little bit niche, but if you’d like to have some truly cool, distinctive posters for your dorm room or apartment, you could do worse than Rachel E. Morris’ awesome series of prints created on commission for the NYU Game Center’s “Practice” lecture series. You can check out all of the various posters…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 24, 2012
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  Mad as Hell, And They’re Going to Take It

  I swear to Christ, Battlefield fans have to be the unhappiest people on earth. They hate Modern Warfare. They hate Origin. They hate Electronic Arts and, for all I can tell, they hate the game they play so much. It’s a community that seems committed to proving itself to be the most knowledgeable, least appreciated,…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  A Postwriter Contemplates the Stupidnaming of Warfighter

  We have a clubhouse leader for stupidest triple-A game name of 2012, and it’s at least seven months from release. Medal of Honor: Warfighter. Say it three times fast. For sure, the last word ends up “Warfare” on the third try. If a focus group wanted to develop a name that highlighted the derivative nature…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  The Week in Evil DLC

  Downloadable content. Everyone hates it—but everyone buys it. Yes, even you in the comments, smart guy. Here’s a look at the latest package of extensions and pre-order bonuses designed to crowbar the last dollar out of your wallet. Can you still respect yourself if you buy it? Mass Effect 3: From Ashes Available: Day-one DLC.…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  Square Enix’s Next Mobile Game Is Called Guardian Cross

  Publisher Square Enix will release a new fantasy game for iOS and Android this spring, it said on its press Twitter account today It’s called Guardian Cross and its Facebook page describes it as a fantasy card battle game Square Enix has had several forays into the world of mobile gaming. It recently released ports…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 24, 2012
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  Pinball Wizard

  Pinball Wizard | The twin-flipper pinball table—which practically anyone with a living memory of pinball understands as the game’s only layout—was developed by this man, Steve Kordek, who died on Sunday. He was 100. (Image by Pinball News) Pokémon Director Teases New Game Announcement This Weekend News of the next Pokémon game could come as…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  MLB 2K12 Demo Arrives on Tuesday; No Word Yet on The Show

  News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • Major League Baseball 2K12 will release its demo on Tuesday, 2K Sports said today. Still no word from Sony regarding a demo for MLB 12 The Show The demo will rematch the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, the two teams from last…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  Expect NCAA Football 13 to Have a Heavy Heisman Focus

  The Gaming Tailgate, which last year chipped in to help NCAA Football 12 coordinate its end zone artillery, has noticed that this month seven Heisman Trophy winners have all been mentioned on Twitter in connection with NCAA Football 13. Most of the mentions come from Sandy Sandoval, EA Sports’ top man for athlete relations. Famous…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  Biff Tannen Gives You Sports’ Lead-Pipe Locks for This Weekend

  Hey, are you a sports fan on the go? Who has time these days to watch the big game, or bother with messy DVR, or boring highlight shows? With Biff Tannen’s Sports Almanac, we’ll give you the weekend’s biggest matchups before they happen, thanks to these highly accurate peer-reviewed scientific simulations of sports video gaming’s…

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  A Children’s Treasury of NBA All-Stars Shrugging

  Kevin Durant wonders what the fuck is going on. What is this bullshit? Kevin Love seems to ask. Eighty-eight points in an all-star game? Are you fucking kidding LaMarcus Aldridge? To reiterate, neither Kobe Bryant nor Durant can believe this shit. I love it that this is Kobe’s signature highlight.

  By Owen Good Published February 24, 2012
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  Pokémon Director Teases New Game Announcement This Weekend

  News of the next Pokémon game could come as soon as this Sunday. Junichi Masuda, one of the original minds behind the popular role-playing game series and the director of Pokémon Black and White, the series’ most recent entries, will appear on TV Tokyo’s Pokémon Smash Sunday morning to make “a very important announcement,” he…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 24, 2012
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  The Man Who Designed Two-Flipper Pinball Has Passed Away

  Steve Kordek, best known for revolutionizing pinball by adding those bottom two flippers that you can find on just about any machine nowadays, died Sunday. He was 100. [The New York Times]

  By Jason Schreier Published February 24, 2012
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  Five Mobile Games Combine to Form Week in Gaming Appicus

  Any one of this week’s Gaming Apps of the Day could easily crush you beneath their heavy metal feet. When all five of them join together, however, they’re one giant pissed-off strategic defense robot that’s got the Empire State in its sights. Will anyone survive? Worry not, fair citizens; the only thing this week’s apps…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 24, 2012