- Kotaku East
Area Ravaged by Japanese Earthquake Gets…a Cute Character
To help lift the spirits of Tohoku, Japan, the area hit by March 2011’s earthquake and tsunami, illustrator Ninico Edomura created Zunko Tohoku. Named after zunda mochi rice cakes, she’s a 17 year-old, who excels at archery. And she’s copyright free. The idea is that the character will go viral via fan art and whatnot—thus,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Korean Subway to Nowhere
You step off the train. You head through the immaculate blue and white terminal and make your way to the surface. It’s like you’ve arrived in the future alright—only, a post apocalyptic one. These photos are making their way around Japanese forums and blogs, with some saying they resemble Fallout 3. According to Andy Tebay…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 - Kotaku East
Phantasy Star Online 2 Will Also Be on on Smartphones
On March 26th, SEGA has officially announced that the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released not only on the PC, but on the PS Vita and smartphones as well. The game is planned to be released early summer of 2012, and will be free to play with certain purchasable in-game items.…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published March 26, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Woman with Gundam Models in Her Hair Is Not Japan’s Craziest Hairstyle
Oh no. Japan can do better—or rather, the girls at fashion magazine Koakuma Ageha can. How about a headphones hairdo? Or a glasses hairdo? Or cat ears? Or Tokyo Tower? You got it! While Koakuma Ageha is popular with hostesses (who, infamously, have big hair), I’ve never actually seen anyone, hostess or not, in Japan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 - Kotaku East
Are You An Average Dude? You Might Make Good Husband Fodder in Japan.
During the 1980s, the stereotype for Japanese women was that they wanted three things in a marriage partner: high education, high salary, and a tall man. These days, Japanese women are content with things that aren’t nearly so sky-high. For marriage partners, they’re fine with “average”. In Japanese, “sankou” (三高), or what would be localized…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012 -
UncategorizedA My Little Pony Xbox 360. Just in Case you Needed One.
I am not Michael Fahey. I do not understand the appeal for grown men of My Little Pony, a franchise my little sister thought was rubbish when she was nine If you are Michael Fahey, though, you may go bananas for this custom My Little Pony Xbox 360, with hand-etched plexiglass, paint scheme and fancy…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Argh, the Bad Guys in The Last of Us Look Just Horrible
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is taking the old zombie stereotype in a different direction, substituting hordes of ravenous flesh-eaters for…a global population that’s been infected by some kind of fungus and now looks really gross. While we’ve seen the monsters before, this statue of one was posted on Twitter over the weekend by…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Art of the Death of the Manual
This piece by artist Maskull Lasserre takes the impending demise of the printed computer manual quite literally, pressing a number of old pieces together and then carving a skull out of it. Morbid, but also quite lovely. [Maskull Lasserre, via Boing Boing]
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Awesome Lady Turns Nerf Guns into Video Game Guns
Nerfenstein – more boringly known as Aesthetic Nerf Mods Australia – takes regular old Nerf guns and, with a little customisation and paint work, turns them into replica weapons based on those found in video games, movies and comic books. Replica weapons you can shoot a kid in the face with and not feel that…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
How Assassin’s Creed III Will Work on the Wii U
As bizarre as it seems to be thinking of a proper Assassin’s Creed game appearing on a Nintendo console, it’s going to happen later this year when Assassin’s Creed III is released on the Wii U. Leading many people to wonder, how’s it going to take advantage of the console’s unique control pad? The latest…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Very Best In Cosplay: Omi Gibson
For the last few months, I’ve used this feature to highlight the very best cosplay artists in the world. To the last, each of them produces astonishing work, whether they be costume builders, props makers, photographers and/or models. None of them, however, can quite match the output of Japanese superstar Omi Gibson. Whether it be…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Mega Man Becomes Mega Girl
So what if Capcom seems unwilling to make any more Mega Man games. They could always make a Mega Girl game instead! At least, that’s the premise behind this gender-swapping take on the platforming hero by artist dcwj, in which the star and several other characters/bosses are reimagined. It’s adorable. So much so I would…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
The BioShock Movie Just Lost its SECOND Director
In case you somehow thought the ill-fated BioShock movie project would emerge from the depths of production hell and actually get filmed, know that this seems even more unlikely now given the fact the film has lost its second director. 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who came onboard in 2010 to replace the…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012 -
UncategorizedCan a Vita Survive Being Dropped Onto the Road?
I dropped my Vita over the weekend. Luckily, it landed on grass, and it was totally fine. These guys aren’t dropping their Vita on grass. They’re dropping it on a road. Over and over again. For science. As part of their highly practical “drop test” series, Gizmo Slip let the Vita fall to the bitumen…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012 -
ReviewsTotal War: Shogun 2: The Fall of the Samurai: The Kotaku Review
Or, as I should have called it, my review of the Great Colon War of 1864 In 2009, Creative Assembly released one of the greatest strategy games ever made. A year later, they had the cheek to release an expansion pack and try and pass it off as an all-new title. Skip ahead to 2011,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012 -
UncategorizedIt’s GTAIII, Running on GTAIV’s Engine
Similar to the Vice City Rage project (and the San Andreas Rage project), here’s an undertaking bringing the world design of Grand Theft Auto III’s Liberty City to the more robust engine of Grand Theft Auto IV Why bother? Same old classic game world you know and love, only now the cars drive better and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012 - Culture
The Tail of a Tiger
Tiger Woods, who just won his first PGA Tour event in two years, dominates a very thin week for releases at the end of the quarter. Tuesday • Supremacy MMA (PS Vita) • Myst (DS) • Country Dance: All Stars Kinect (360) • Warriors Orochi 3 (360) • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)…
By Owen Good Published March 25, 2012 - Uncategorized
An All-Male Club Lets Video Gamers Punch at Sports’ Glass Ceiling
For years, EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour series has allowed gamers to create female golfers and play with them, even against all-male tournament fields, on any course and in any of the events licensed to appear in the game. Last year, Tiger Woods added The Masters Tournament, the event hosted by Augusta National Golf…
By Owen Good Published March 25, 2012 -
UncategorizedMad Men Video Game is Free, Lets You Smoke and Shoot People
If you’re like me, you watched Mad Men and lamented the fact that the hit AMC Show takes place before the dawn of home video game consoles. Can you imagine too-cool ad execs Don Draper and Roger Sterling in a pitch meeting for the Atari 2600? “So, all it does is move that thing on…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 25, 2012