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UncategorizedLet This Street Fighter II Song be Your Gateway to Shirtless Keyboard Fun
As Sonaje starts playing the Street Fighter II intro on guitar, you might think this is just another boring video of some guy playing the Zelda theme on violin, or the Mario theme on a tamborine, or whatever. It’s not. Stick with it. There are keyboards. Sonaje is a delight. And watching this video let…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Death Star Arrives in Earth Orbit, They’re Here for our Toys
In this neat ad for Toys ‘R Us in Denmark, the Death Star pops into Earth orbit and Imperial shuttles start landing. In Denmark. Which seems pretty believable. That’s where all the LEGO is. If I came from outer space for something, it’d probably be LEGO.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
UncategorizedHeavy Rain’s Most Screwed up Scene, Recreated in Living Color
If you haven’t yet played PS3 adventure Heavy Rain, and want to, don’t watch this. It contains a pretty big spoiler. If you have, though, or haven’t and don’t care, or haven’t and want to see drama, take a look at what reader David came up with for his media arts interview at Sheridan College.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Smithsonian’s Video Games Exhibit is Nearly Ready, Let’s See how it’s Coming Along
The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s “The Art of Video Games” exhibition opens next month. Which is exciting! While the doors aren’t quite open yet, here’s a look at how the exhibition are shaping up as the team puts it all together, and some of the cool/interesting things you’ll see if you manage to make it…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 - Uncategorized
This Modern Shooter Can’t Come Soon Enough
Earlier today, I made a little fun of an upcoming modern military shooter. I am now going to gush over a modern military shooter. The distinction? The first Medal of Honor (well, the latest one) pitched itself as a “real” military tale. Free of a World War 3 soap opera, it was about some guys…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHow Some of the Best Adventure Games Ever Made…Were Made
If you’ve ever played an old adventure game from Sierra – so King’ Quest, Police Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, etc – you need to see this old documentary showing how some of those titles were made. While the bulk of the clip is taken up with hyping the then-upcoming King’s Quest VI, there…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
A Beautiful Collection of Awesome Nintendo Logos
I like the games and the hardware, of course, but one of my favourite things about Japanese video games from the 1980s were the logos. And some of the best ones came out of Nintendo. I’m not talking about the company’s primary logo, either. I’m talking about the series of logos drawn up for the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
The New Way
Hello, Kotaku, and welcome to the Thursday evening open thread. Oh, I like Thursday evenings. I’m slaving away all day on Kotaku Melodic, and then I get to organize the open thread. Today, for some reason, I got started off on one of my favorite films of all time, Wet Hot American Summer. I hope…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 - Reviews
A Wireless Headset That Changes Channels and Gets Out of the Way
How do you review a product for something that isn’t there, and isn’t supposed to be there? That’s the distinguishing trait of the Turtle Beach X32 headset for the Xbox 360. It’s identical in nearly every way to its X31 predecessor, released in 2009, except for one. A big one. It’s the frequency at which…
By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Very Essence of Sonic the Hedgehog
This is What We Fell in Love With | A piece of Sonic the Hedgehog fan art that gets everything right (Photo Credit: Reddit User BansheeIndian via Imgur.) Learn How To Make Video Games With This Video Game Code Hero isn’t your basic first-person shooter. You’ll have enemies, and you’ll be “shooting” them, but it…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Blizzard Working on a Free-to-Play Game? [Update]
According to a report on Develop, World of Warcraft and StarCraft developers Blizzard are working on “an upcoming, as yet unannounced game” which will be based around a free-to-play business model. It’s unknown whether this free-to-play (F2P) game is Blizzard’s famous “Project Titan” or a separate title. To date, Blizzard’s games have either been available…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis Game Puts You Inside a Gigantic Synthesizer
It took me a long time to understand synthesizers. When I was a kid, I would often think of a synthesizer as being more or less the same thing as an electric piano—wasn’t a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer basically just a synthesizer? No, in fact—a synthesizer, like a Moog or a Yamaha CS-15, is much…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
Uncategorized
This Lovely, Soothing Ballad Makes Lunar Sing
Music is kind of a big deal in Lunar, a lovely set of role-playing games that hit its peak on the PlayStation back in the late 90s, when a non-stop barrage of Japanese RPGs hit the United States after Final Fantasy VII showed the world that, yes, we’re into this stuff. “Golden Voice” (embedded above)…
By Jason Schreier Published February 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Many Melodies of the Nintendo 3DS
Welcome back to “Menu Music,” a regular Kotaku Melodic feature in which we’ll be listening to the best and worst menu music in video gaming. Last week, we listened to the mind-numbing music of the PlayStation Vita, so it seemed only fair that this week we should listen to the music of its competitor, the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedMusic To Creep Through the Jungle To
Last week, I had some fun sharing a bunch of jokey dubstep videos inspired by the new trailer for Far Cry 3. In doing so, I remembered how much I loved the music from Far Cry 2, and so I’m sharing some of it here. This music, composed by Marc Canham, stands apart from the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedVideo Games are the New Best Way to Make a Living Composing Music
You may have heard that it’s tough to make a living as a musician. You heard right! It’s a tough world out there, and very few people get paid a good living to make music. But while it may seem daunting from the outside, there is actually a greater demand for music than ever—there is…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
Uncategorized
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (Until Now)
Like anyone with a brain and ears, I seriously love Frank Zappa. Certainly one of the most brilliant, idiosyncratic composers of the 21st century, Zappa’s amazing orchestral compositions, unhinged harmonic freakouts, and hilarious lyrics have long been a musical inspiration. As great as many of his more well-known albums are, the first album that truly…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012
