• Kotaku East

  How Do You Lure Kids to a Power Rangers Beta Test? Pizza.

  A Power Rangers Online exists in Korea, which is about to enter its second closed beta testing phase from March 29 to April 4. Somebody thought it would be brilliant to lure students to test their game with the promise of pizza; the top ten school classes with the most applications for the beta test…

  By Chi Lee Published March 14, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Another Peek at What Metal Gear‘s Creator Is Working On

  Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear Solid, is not only working on a new game, he’s also working on a new game engine. Oh, and he’s also hiring up for the “next” Metal Gear. Busy guy! But Kojima’s also been nice enough to provide a peek into what’s going on at his studio, Kojima Productions.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2012
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  New Final Fantasy Versus XIII Info? Hrm…

  Square Enix has been making Final Fantasy Versus XIII for a long, long time. Gamers aren’t playing the game yet; rather, they’re playing the waiting for it game. The Versus designer, Tetsuya Nomura said the latest info about the title is ready to roll, but… But…. “We’re almost done with preparing the latest info for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Why this Ridiculous Zombie Game Rings True

  Yakuza: Dead Souls is goofy. It’s silly. It’s a parody. The game looks like it has borrowed pages from both the Left4Dead and Resident Evil handbooks. Yet wrapped inside that hammy exterior is something surprising: reality. When the game was originally about to be released, the Tohoku Earthquake hit. Yakuza: Dead Souls, with its images…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2012
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  Oh God, a Kanye West Video Game

  Kanye Zone may look, play and sound like a cheap flash HTML5 game, and…well, it is. That doesn’t stop it being a perversely addictive thing. I don’t even like the guy’s music, but then, maybe that’s the genius behind it. The aim of the game is to stop Kanye getting into his zone. Keep him…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  This Weekend, Play Star Wars: The Old Republic For Free

  BioWare’s galactic MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic normally costs money to play, but not this weekend. And by “weekend” I actually mean Thursday through Monday, because as EA rightly assumes, if you can’t afford a subscription, you might not be doing much on Friday anyways. Beginning Thursday, March 15 at 12:01AM CT and running…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  Mass Effect 3’s Director Didn’t Want you to Forget the Game’s Ending

  Casey Hudson, the Director and Executive Producer of Mass Effect 3, has spoken with Digital Trends about the game’s controversial ending sequences, and how it was BioWare’s intent all along to “polarise reaction”. “I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  Charitable Donations Don’t Give you the Right to Ask For Changes to Mass Effect 3 [Update]

  Note: This post contains mild spoilers There is a group of people on the internet asking for changes be made to the way Mass Effect 3 ended. They are serious. They are so serious, in fact, that they’ve attached themselves to the Child’s Play charity in the hope this makes them appear less “angry or…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  There are “No Plans” for More Sonic Episodes

  Sonic the Hedgehog’s dalliance with episodic gaming seems to have been a bit of a dud, with Sega revealing that after Episode 2 ships the publisher has no plans for more episodes. In an interview with Digital Spy, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka said “We are looking forward to hearing the feedback from the users…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  When is a Video Game Not a Video Game?

  Games designer, author and all-round very smart man Raph Koster has written a rather interesting piece on his personal site laying down some framework for just when you can call something a video game (or a game in general) and when you can’t. Spurred on by the likes of Dear Esther, which I thought was…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  A Hero Past His Prime Finally Gets His Chance To Shine

  When you’re 14 years old and set out to make a game, you don’t anticipate it will take 16 years to complete. Nor do you imagine the hero of your RPG to be a balding, tubby knight based on your father. Adam Rippon certainly didn’t expect any of this, and his game, Dragon Fantasy, is…

  Tracey Lien Published March 14, 2012
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  Dungeons & Dragons Did Not Ruin This Teenager’s Sex Life

  Pretty sure the overalls did. Who Needs to Hang Around? I’ve Got Dungeons and Dragons [Retroist]

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2012
• 

  CultureTotal Recall

  Hell is a Dennis Hopper Video Game

  Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller was a PC adventure game released in 1994. It’s OK if you’ve never heard of it, or can’t remember it. Actually, no, it’s not OK. Because you really should know as much as you can about a video game that didn’t just star Dennis Hopper, but Grace Jones as well. Hell,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2012
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  Love Is Hell

  Hey there, Kotaku friends, and welcome to your Tuesday evening open-thread. I hope your Tuesdays have been energizing and enjoyable, and that you’re primed with enough energy to push on through to the end of the week. Not too many links for you, as it was a busy day. I’ll have more great randomness in…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published March 13, 2012
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  Double Fine’s Adventure Game Will Have the Longest Credits Sequence of All Time

  If you even thought about giving money to Double Fine’s Kickstarter project for a new adventure game, you’d have seen that the minimum contribution to get a reward was $15. That got you a copy of the game when released, so it wasn’t a bad deal. Here’s where it gets cool, though; while the $15…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2012
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  Shooting 15-Year-Old Modern Warfare Players is Fine, Just Don’t Sleep With Them

  Maine resident Cassandra Grant, 22, faces charges of second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor after a round of Modern Warfare grew into a nine-month relationship with a 15-year-old Connecticut boy. According to authorities, Grant met her unnamed victim (which I suppose is the correct term here) in March of 2011 while playing…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 13, 2012
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  Journey, a Bunch of Other Less-Awesome Games New This Week on the PlayStation Store

  A sizable update for the PlayStation store, as new Vita content continues to roll out. But who am I kidding? The coolest thing on the store is ThatGameCompany’s highly anticipated (and seriously splendid) new downloadable game Journey. (I should say that although I’ve only played it at a preview event, Warp is pretty cool, too.)…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published March 13, 2012
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  Former Adventure Game Designer Makes Disney World His New Canvas

  What’s an adventure game designer to do when he moves on from PC titles? Conquer Disney World, of course. Once upon a time, Jonathan Ackley worked at LucasArts, where he worked on classics such as Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max Hit the Road. He now works for Disney, where first he worked…

  By Kate Cox Published March 13, 2012
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  Double Fine Kickstarter Closes After Raising 3.4 Million Dollars

  Double Fine’s record-breaking adventure game kickstarter has officially ended, closing out with $3.3 million raised, as well as an extra $110,000 from off-the-record premium backers. Great show, guys.

  By Kirk Hamilton Published March 13, 2012