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UncategorizedSimCity Is More Expansive and Detailed Than Ever, Yet Remarkably True to Its Roots
SimCity has always been a game that is viewed from two distances—up close and far away. You would start with the camera zoomed out, able to see the entirety of your creation; a city or cities on a grid, little smokestacks pouring out smoke, tiny airplanes droning over the hills. Zoom in, and you were…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 28, 2012 - Kotaku East
Catching Up with South Korea’s Cosplaying Superstars
Spiral Cats. How and why. Here is the simple answer. The famed cosplay group burst onto the scene a few years ago, and with their picture perfect costumes, professional quality photos, and that subtle charm called allure, people began to take notice online, which coincided with Spiral Cats’ initial goal of raising awareness of the…
By Chi Lee Published March 28, 2012 - Kotaku East
Queens Blade MMORPG Has Sexy Women, No Apostrophe, Few Scruples
The new adults only MMORPG by Korean developer LivePlex is called Queens Blade, sans apostrophe. That’s how it’s printed in the upper left hand corner of the game’s homepage, which reads “The Queens Blade is registered trademark of LivePlex.” The game has nothing to do with the Queen’s Blade you may know, but it’s going…
By Chi Lee Published March 28, 2012 - Kotaku East
Report: Overworked Foxconn Workers Complaining About Too Much Vacation
Remember when people would complain about those horrible working conditions at Foxconn plants? How employees worked too much? Now, people—well, Foxconn workers—are complaining about something else: too little work. According to China Business News (via TechInAsia), Foxconn workers on the iPad line are suddenly finding themselves twiddling their thumbs with loads of time off. And…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedWhen Did Little King’s Story Get so, Ahem, Sexy?
Last I checked, Little King’s Story was not a sexy game. It was a cute game. Now that Konami is handling the game, it seems different. Have a look at these latest screens! The game, dubbed New Little King’s Story, will be released on the PS Vita tomorrow and has touch-based controls. And ladies in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWould You Like To Watch a Fat Man Dancing to Cute Japanese Music?
Make that, a fat man in skivvies. And black socks. Sure you would! Here a large man gets down to , a popular remix from a boss battle them in Tohou’s maniac shooter Prefect Cherry Blossom. 日本のテクノダンスと紹介されていた、わら人形に五寸釘おじさん [Zaeega]
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2012 - Kotaku East
When Games Force You to Read Books in Korea
In the top picture, you can see a yellow rubber band running around the case of a Korean copy of Red Dead Redemption. That rubber band came free with a used copy of that game, and it holds together the disc case and a booklet in the back. That booklet is the Korean translation of…
By Chi Lee Published March 28, 2012 - Kotaku East
Cosplayers Selling Pics and Posing for Them
Usually when cosplayers pop up at events, they’re just there to pose for photos. But at Romket, they’re they to sell their cosplay discs and pose for pictures. Visitors must pay a ¥2,500 for the standard entrance fee. Coplayers offer their ROM discs for purchase—much like they do at Comic Market if you’ve attended that.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2012 -
Kotaku EastRelax! Sometimes Hollywood Doesn’t Whitewash *Everything*
Yesterday, it was revealed that Hollywood acquired the rights to the 1970s Japanese manga Lone Wolf and Cub. Upon hearing this, my heart sank. There are already a series of wonderful Lone Wolf and Cub films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, older brother of legendary Zatoichi actor Shintaro Katsu. My heart sank because Hollywood, no doubt, is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedMan, This Indie Game Action Movie Looks Badass!
Indie Game: The Movie, a documentary following the careers of a few of the more notable indie devs going around, moves men to tears. It’s also, by all accounts, rather good. But I never knew it was this good. Seriously, the early trailers have been awful. If it takes you this long to get to…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedStunning Tech Demo Made Using Single Texture
Artist Tor Frick is the sole man responsible for the Unreal Engine tech demo you see above. If you just watch it, it looks lovely, but also looks like nothing out of the ordinary. It’s only when you find out he made it using a single 256×512 texture that you go “wow”. For reference, in…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedGet a Real Good Look at the New Portal Gun Toy in Action
Limited to just 5000 pieces and priced at $150, most of you will never get your hands on one of NECA’s replica Portal guns. Ah well. You may as well do the next best thing and check out this video of one of the beasts in action. It certainly looks the part, and the flashing…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 -
UncategorizedBattlefield 3 Looks Wonderful as a Strategy Game
With a little camera trickery and some added effects, Battlefield 3 – which is very much a first-person shooter – suddenly becomes a real-time strategy game. If you’re wondering why you’re enjoying this so much, the Red Alert theme song might have something to do with it.
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Most Realistic Link You Ever Did See
Plenty of people cosplay as Link, star of the Legend of Zelda. Some people do it really well. Few, however, can ever seem to really match the appearance of the little guy. Probably because he’s a small, cartoon-like boy with giant ears and huge feet. Cosplayer Amouranth has given it a damn good shake, though,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
There Was Too Much Blood On This Game’s Cover
The upcoming Risen 2: Dark Waters has been asked by the ESRB to change its front cover, because there was simply too much of the ol’ claret splashed across the box art. The body places limits on the amount of violence that can be shown on marketing materials, and as a result the marketing team…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 - Uncategorized
EVE Online Suicide Taunter Goes Well Beyond Apologising
The Mittani, a senior player in the EVE Online community and the man at the centre of yesterday’s story about suicide taunts at a game convention, has gone well beyond apologising for his actions. Saying that “actions > words” and that he hates it “when people use alcohol as an excuse” for their behaviour (The…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 -
EsportsThe World Cyber Games Sounds Like it’s Done for
The World Cyber Games, or WCG, for a long while regarded as the pinnacle of the e-sports movement, has all but given up with news that it’s dropping all support of PC and console titles and switching to competitive…mobile gaming. In a letter leaked to cadred, and confirmed as authentic by Gamearena, WCG CEO Brad…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
Nintendo’s Shameless 1970’s Advertising
Before Nintendo made home console titles and hardware, the company made, among other things, arcade games. Behold, then, the might and majesty of Nintendo’s advertising, circa the late 1970s. In which the company releases clones of other people’s games (in this case Space Invaders), and is damn proud of it to boot! Flyers out of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 28, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallJapan’s Most Famous Foreigner in Today’s (Well, Yesterday’s) Best Game Trailer
UFO Kamen Yakisoban was a 1994 Super NES game that was basically one giant commercial for instant noodles. The star of the show? The dude in the black cape with the fork who ends up covered in giant noodles? That’s Dave Spector, probably the most famous foreigner working in Japan [via VGJunk]
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2012