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UncategorizedHalo Fan Films Never Look This Good
Though the acting can seem a little hammy in this fanmade Halo film, which creator Xerxes Sangco sent us yesterday, the graphical effects are seriously impressive. And the art direction is phenomenal. Even more impressive: the fact that Sangco and crew made this whole thing without spending more than $200. Hope you’re paying attention, Hollywood.…
By Jason Schreier Published March 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Is This Instagram App an InstaMatch?
I am obsessed with Instagram. I think it’s the most wonderful thing. Ever. It’s not, I know, but I am finding myself spending significant amounts of time on it. So when I heard there was an app that incorporated Instagram, I got all excited. Talk about easily excited! It’s called InstaMatch, and it’s a card…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Drugged and Delirious Nathan Drake Terrorizes the Local Flea Market
Uncharted hero Nathan Drake makes getting hit with a tranquilizer dart and stumbling through an open-air market mumbling to yourself look easy. Video game satirists supreme Mega64 make it look hilarious. Does anyone else feel like investing in a blowgun now, or is it just me? Not that I’d use it, of course. Especially after…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Art of Video Games Brings Pac-Man and Mass Effect to the Smithsonian This Weekend
The biggest game here in Washington, DC is usually the game of politics. But this weekend, the city will be hopping with something much more fun. This Friday, March 16, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will open their new exhibit, “The Art of Video Games.” And as always happens these days in gaming, they have…
By Kate Cox Published March 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Why Can’t Male-Centric Sports Games Let the Ladies In?
The football players in the NFL are male. The baseball players in the MLB are male. It stands to reason that custom characters in video games based off these sports should be male, but Kotaku commenter Seoul Sister makes a valid point: When has reason ever stopped a video game? Someone posted in response to…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
You ever wonder what we might find out there in the stars, folks? We can discuss those things and more in this very web destination! Welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves, where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. It’s a cartoony cosmic…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Normal Life, An Extraordinary Death and the Video Game That Wasn’t Meant to Be
In late 2003, a friendly, attractive and perfectly normal 38-year-old woman named Joyce Vincent died in her London flat. She was in the midst of wrapping Christmas presents. No one knew that Joyce Vincent died that day. Not right away. Not for a while. Joyce’s remains were eventually discovered when building officials entered her apartment…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD Feels the Same But Different
While at GDC, I talked to skating legend Tony Hawk about the upcoming re-make of the releases that made him an icon to a generation of gamers. He thinks it’s great but, of course, he would. Me? I found myself surprised at how much I missed the unique style of extreme sports offered by the…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 12, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Real Stars of Prototype 2 Have Spinning Blades on Their Heads
You know what sold me on the original Prototype? Protagonist Alex Mercer leaping onto a helicopter and punching his way inside. I’m sure Prototype 2’s James Heller is a compelling new hero, but what about the whirlybirds? Ah yes, here they are. Radical Entertainment and Activision, keen on the importance of proper helicopter destruction and…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2012 - Uncategorized
“Just For Kids” Comes to PlayStation 3 Netflix, Still Waiting for “Just for Adults”
The menacing black box lurking within your entertainment center just got a bit less menacing, as Netflix adds the bright and colorful “Just for Kids” to the PlayStation 3 version of its streaming video app. For those of you unfamiliar, the picture above depicts the Backyardigans, a group of singing, dancing and imagineering young animals…
By Mike Fahey Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
At This Chinese Video Game Bar, You Drink
There are many arcades in China, some are shopping arcades, others are video game arcades. But Arcade, in Shanghai isn’t an arcade in any sense of the word, it is instead a bar. While there are many video game bars in the US and Japan, there aren’t too many in China. There are arcades that…
By Eric Jou Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
Junior High Kid Arrested in a Great Condom Caper
Earlier this year, four junior high school students apparently broke into a shuttered love hotel. Love hotels are the Japanese equivalent of “no tell motels”, where couples can meet for trysts. They typically offer complimentary condoms. These four junior high students supposedly stole a huge amount of unused rubbers from a shutdown love hotel. One…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
Is This the World’s Youngest FPS Player? He’ll Snipe Your Ass. Maybe.
Don’t you hate it when you’re online playing a first-person shooter and the person on the other end that kills you is a young kid. Well, in China, that player could be younger than you’d ever imagine. In a video posted last December, an unnamed 2-and-a-half year-old, is shown playing a Counter Strike clone, Mercenary…
By Eric Jou Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
Japan’s Greatest Manga Artists Offer Encouragement
This Sunday was the one year anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake. Around the country, people paused at 2:46pm—the moment the quake first hit. On Saturday, I noticed a display at a shopping mall of manga art from some of Japan’s most famous manga artists. Each of them drew pictures and wrote encouraging messages. The result…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2012 -
Kotaku EastTurns Out Siri Isn’t Fluent in Japanese
Apple has the personal assistant Siri. DoCoMo, a major mobile service provider in Japan, has the Syabette Concier. With the Japanese version of Siri being recently introduced, one man on YouTube tested the two voice controlled assistants to see how they differ. The man speaks out in Japanese to both Smarthphones at the same to…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
Will Apple’s iPad Trademark Become China’s?
Just last week, Apple announced a new iPad. It’s already become an object of desire in China. But, unfortunately for Chinese Apple fans, Apple has not announced a launch date for the Mainland market. Even if Apple does announce a Mainland launch date, its on going legal troubles with Chinese tech company Proview might hinder…
By Eric Jou Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Truly Bizarre Metamorphosis. This Female Character Looks Totally Different!
Newly released Blades of Time is a spiritual successor to X-Blades, a hack-and-slash game noteworthy if only for its risqué Japanese style character design. Blades of Time is the game’s spiritual successor. Kotaku has covered the title before (here), but honestly, this title hasn’t been on my radar. At all. It stars Ayumi, who appeared…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2012 - Kotaku East
Crazy Women, Stay Away from This Dude
You think only male nerds are scary? Wrong! Japanese voice actor Shinnosuke Tachibana is so freaked out by some of his female fans that he actually asked them to stop tailing him. As pointed out by Japanese site OtaNews, late last week Tachibana, who does voice work for Inazuma Eleven and Konami dating games, uploaded…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2012