An “Everlong” Ending to a Two-Day Blizzard Celebration

This is pretty much exactly how I imagined BlizzCon 2010 would end when I first heard that Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters would be playing us out. Just about the same time the Foo Fighters took the stage at the BlizzCon 2011 closing ceremonies, I realized I was incredibly hungry and would likely collapse…

Sunday Comics: Subjective Objective

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Oct. 17.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Oct. 18.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…

Let’s Talk About the 1,700 Pound Orc Shaman in the Room

Lording over the Mega Bloks booth at BlizzCon 2011, Doomhammer held high, World of Warcraft’s Thrall would have been much more impressive in block form if it wasn’t for the long line of people waiting to get their picture taken with him. He’s the savoir of two worlds, people! Mega Bloks ran a contest during…

Put a Ring On It Winners

Last Sunday the ‘Shop Contest said “I do” to Bejeweled’s cartoon-crazy cubic zirconium. We’ve got 20 winners—and one animated .gif—plus Ruizc inside! Getting everything started, Zak Canard (19) went well off the map and looked to another PopCap title to create his bloody-good shop. SphessMahreen (16) took a ridiculous-sized gemstone up to an even more…

Here’s the First Dumbass Thing the Mainstream Media Said About Grand Theft Auto III

Ten years ago today, Grand Theft Auto III released for the PlayStation 2. It became, in the words of Time “a national obsession.” In the mainstream media, it has since served as the No. 1 scapegoat for the corruption of youth through violent video games. Rightfully considered an epochal entry in video game design, the…

I Wield the Mighty Doomhammer

Does this make me Warchief? Weighing in at 18 pounds and forged from steel, Epic Weapons’ Doomhammer replica is one mighty meat tenderizer. If I can scrape up $300 we might have a new banhammer on our hands. The Doomhammer is the weapon of the Orc warchiefs in World of Warcraft, passed down from father…

Doomhammer Gallery

How EA Sports Kept Loose Lips from Sinking Blitz

For 18 months, Dave Ross surfed forums and blogs and dreaded what he’d find. He couldn’t tell his kids what he was working on, lest they say something at school. Every day, when Ross booted up his computer at EA Sports, he clicked on the shared drive over the studio’s intranet, and then on the…

Domain Registrations Sound Certain that Assassin’s Creed Movie is Coming

Variety reported on Wednesday that Sony Pictures and Ubisoft were in talks to make an Assassin’s Creed movie. Turns out Sony’s already registered 16 domains for such a picture, making this seem like a done deal. The domains were all registered on Oct. 20, the day before the Variety story, reports domain name eye-in-the-sky Fusible.…

One Hour in the Paws of a World of Warcraft Pandaren Monk

Join me as I go on a mystical journey on the back of a giant turtle, learning the ways of the new Monk class, the ways of the Pandaren race, and how strange it is to play a melee character in World of Warcraft without an auto attack. Blizzard may take forever to finish their…

What the Discerning Diablo III Fan is Wearing at BlizzCon 2011

Every year geek clothing companyJinx uses BlizzCon as an excuse to roll out their latest and greatest Blizzard-inspired fashions. This year’s Demon Hunter coat and Tyrael hoodie make me want to be a better, thinner man. Over the years Jinx has grown from a company that made licensed t-shirts to a company that designs and…

The Cel-Shaded Stylings of NBA 2K12‘s DLC

Somewhat lost in the shuffle with Thursday’s announcement of NBA 2K12‘s “Legends Showcase” DLC is the unique visual style the extension will carry. People seem to be fixated so much on the backstory of this and 2K’s motivations, and rightly so. This is the first paid post-release DLC extension for a 2K Sports title; it…

The Blizzcon 2011 Costume Contest Winner Must Be Seen to Be Believed

In a show filled with people dressed in cardboard copies of World of Warcraft armor a woman dressed up as the Adjutant from Starcraft completely stole the show at last night’s costume contest. I was on my way to the Kotaku Meetup party last night while the costume contest was going on, but I did…

Conan O’Brien Thinks Batman’s Getting Too Old for This Shit

Batman is Batman, he’s not like the Patterson family in For Better or For Worse in which everyone ages real-time. He was created more than 70 years ago and, as this Conan O’Brien sketch from Thursday imagines, he’d be a lot less badass if Batman: Arkham City didn’t lie about his age. Scroll down to…

PlayStation Games “Not Just For Sony Devices” Says Hirai

Sony’s looking to expand its PlayStation game offerings to other mobile devices, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Kaz Hirai told a conference in Hong Kong on Friday. “This isn’t an ecosystem where we want to keep everything within the Sony family,” he said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “This is not just for Sony devices.”…

Start Off BlizzCon Day Two With a Delicious Bowl of Tyrael

Nothing starts the day like a heaping helping of the Angel of Justice, the latest extravagant character statue to grace to floor of Blizzard’s annual celebration of itself. It’s part of this complete breakfast! Which complete breakfast? I don’t know, but I assume there’s orange juice and toast involved, complete with perfectly square pat of…

Is This Really “The Most Anticipated Game in History?”

The official launch trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 went up sometime overnight, billing itself as “The Most Anticipated Game in History.” And here is the singleplayer campaign the whole world has been waiting for, right? Right? Well, here it is anyway. Makarov’s causing all sorts of inconveniences and traffic tie-ups in London,…

IGN Closes Parents’ Guide What They Play

Irony of ironies, here as we are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Grand Theft Auto III terrorizing parents everywhere, IGN has shuttered What They Play which analyzed video games from the perspective of parents concerned about violent and sexual content. Founded in 2007, What They Play was closed quietly on Wednesday. Tom Byron, the…

Sounds to Me Like You Guys Are a Couple of Bookies

Pork belly prices have been dropping all morning, which means that everybody is waiting for it to hit rock bottom, so they can buy low. Which means that the people who own the pork belly contracts are saying, “Hey, we’re losing all our damn money, and Christmas is around the corner, and I ain’t gonna…

It’s Back! Scream Fortress Returns for a Third Halloween

The Horseless Headless Horsemann and Mann Manor will return for Team Fortress 2‘s annual “Scream Fortress” Halloween event. Triple H—the game’s first boss—and the Manor, a special map, were introduced in last year’s event. Valve says the full update will arrive sometime next week. [Team Fortress 2 Blog] You can contact Owen Good, the author…