- Culture
Fallout: New Vegas Isn’t as Dangerous on Paper
In over fifteen years working as an artist in the video game industry, Joseph Sanabria has been in the employ of companies like Obsidian, THQ and Rockstar. For those developers, he’s produced art for games such as Terminator 3 and, awesomely, the Neverhood series. Most recently, he served as art director for Fallout: New Vegas,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2012 - Uncategorized
Wii U “On Par” With 360, PS3 (So Far) Says Darksiders Developer
While Nintendo has yet to release the full specs for its upcoming Wii U, you can guess by its launch lineup that its capabilities are probably in line with the Xbox 360 and PS3, something Vigil Games are now backing up. “So far the [Wii U] hardware’s been on par with what we have with…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 27, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Star Warsploitation Film That Deserved a Crummy Atari Game
If you’ve never seen 1979’s Starcrash, boy are you missing out. It’s basically a collection of awful special effects, Flash Gordon-style pulp science fiction and a lot of attractive women in small bikinis and thigh-high boots. Of all the bad Star Wars clones that emerged in the wake of George Lucas’ classic, this was one…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Jumping the Mega Shark
Greetings, Kotaku readers, and welcome to Monday’s open thread. We’ve got some fun stuff for you, gathered from around the internet. Enjoy: The ultimate Lego duel – Wow. The things people get up to with toys these days. “The Film Noir Roots of Cowboy Bebop” – An excellent piece by L.B. Jeffries, as always. Facebook…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
There are Pirates in Assassin’s Creed III (Well, Sort of)
The Revolutionary War setting of Assassin’s Creed III means that, tricorn hats aside, there’s little tying the game to another of people’s favourite historical periods, the age of pirates. That hasn’t stopped Ubisoft from bringing the two together anyway. Announcing the game’s fancy collector’s editions, curiously available in Europe, Australasia, Asia and the Middle East,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Reportedly Suicidal Player Laughed at, Then Trolled at EVE Online Gathering [Update]
At EVE Online’s recent FanFest gathering, a panel got real unsavoury real fast when senior EVE players began not only mocking another player reportedly displaying suicidal tendencies, but encouraged others to do the same. During a panel last Thursday, one moderated by a CCP employee (the developers of the game), a presentation/Q&A gets awkward when…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Robot Helicopters Can’t Deliver Your Tacos, Says Bummer Scientist
Last week, I saw something that sounded amazing. Like a dream come true. A dream called… TacoCopter “Flying Robots Deliver Tacos To Your Location,” said the website. It seemed to be too good to be true. It was almost certainly a hoax or prank. But it was also too irresistible not to get at least…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
A Hundred Ways to Look at Gaming’s Most Iconic Character
The thing about legendary icons is, in a sense they serve as a cipher. A character who’s been around for 25 or 30 years is going to to be reimagined and reinterpreted nearly as many times as there are fans to see him. So it goes with Mario, Nintendo legend, who has been featured in…
By Kate Cox Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
5 Ways a Hunger Games Video Game Could Work, Killer Kids and All
Sooner or later, we’re going to get a video game based on The Hunger Games. No film can be as popular as this one, raking in just under $155 Million opening weekend, and not bring a huge amount of tie-in products in its wake, video games included. As KPCC’s Matthew DeBord notes, there are a…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Report: Namco Bandai Files U.S. Trademarks for RPG Tales of Xillia
The Japanese role-playing game Tales of Xillia could be jetting across the ocean at some point in the near future. Gaming site Siliconera reports that it has found a U.S. trademark for the recent Tales game, which developer Namco Bandai released for PlayStation 3 last fall in Japan. Earlier this year, Namco Bandai brought both…
By Jason Schreier Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Zelda Games Are Taking Longer and Longer to Get to the Point
I found Tevis Thomson’s lengthy critique chronicling the decline and fall of the Legend of Zelda franchise to be very convincing. That doesn’t quite diminish my enjoyment of more recent Zelda games, but then, I’m no Zelda super-fan. But it was hard to argue with his points about how the series has changed and in…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Baldur’s Gate iPad Will Support Multiplayer, Cost Less Than $10
The enhanced iPad version of classic role-playing game Baldur’s Gate, slated for release this summer, won’t cost you more than $10. Also, it will support multiplayer. An enhanced edition of Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is in the works for iPad later this year as well. This is all according to Cameron Tofer, COO…
By Jason Schreier Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
A Tribute To Bert Sugar, Who Gave Me My Start
My father knew a guy who knew Bert Sugar. That’s how I wound up working for Bert, as a high school intern and then in my first job as a professional reporter. He was my first editor, my first mentor, my first journalism role model. He passed away yesterday at age 75 Back when I…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Skyrim is the Wrong Place to Look for Dragon Age III Inspiration
Commenter Tony Danza stars in today’s newly-rescheduled episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, giving us the skinny on a Dragon Age III that won’t be the glorious return to glory fans hoped it would be. You’d think we would have changed time slots on a happy note. So, for those of you who aren’t aware,…
By Mike Fahey Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
Call of Duty‘s Robert “fourzerotwo” Bowling Steps Down
Infinity Ward Creative Strategist Robert Bowling, known as one of the most public faces of the Call of Duty franchise, has stepped down from his position, he said on his Twitter feed today. Activision sent over an official statement on the situation this afternoon: We sincerely thank Robert for his many years of service. He’s…
By Jason Schreier Published March 26, 2012 -
CultureMcDonald’s Fish McBites: The Snacktaku Review
In all my 38-plus years on this great spinning dirt ball of ours I’ve never once heard a person exclaim, “Hooray, fish nuggets!” Can McDonald’s Fish McBites make that happen? Of course not. No single corporate entity possesses that much power. The best the fast food giant can hope to achieve is assuaging the powerful…
By Mike Fahey Published March 26, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Dorkly Weekly: It’s Pronounced “Fee-null Fon-tisy”
Do you have problems pronouncing the people, places, and things of Final Fantasy VII? Just follow this simple rule and you can’t go wrong: the way I say it is always correct. This is a problem I’ve never encountered, at least not in a Final Fantasy game. The language Square Enix’s story-crafters use is my…
By Mike Fahey Published March 26, 2012
