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CultureThis Guild Wars 2 Art Can’t Stand Still
OK, so I’ve got a bit of a thing for Guild Wars 2 art. It’s a gorgeous game, shoot me. But before you do, you should check out both this concept art and, in a neat twist, some trailers made out of concept art. Horia Dociu, who worked as an artist on Half-Life 2, joined…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Duck Hunt: The Movie is Surprisingly Terrifying
When you think about it, Duck Hunt is a pretty scary game. Get past the blue skies and cheery art design and that’s one evil dog lurking in the bushes. Something this horror movie based on the Nintendo classic knows only too well. The Hunt is the first of G4’s promised trilogy of short horror…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Metal Gear Team Feverishly Checking Plastic Boobs
Hideo Kojima, creator of stealth series Metal Gear, and his team are approving a series of figurines based on Metal Gear Solid characters. Serious questions around the office being asked about this Meryl figure include: “Are her boobs like this? Are they big?” This is the latest prototype, and according to Kojima, the figure needs…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why Do Computers Always Have a Lady’s Voice?
Some of gaming’s most cunning foes have been computers. Think GlaDOS from Portal, or Shodan from System Shock 2. At least part of what makes them so memorable is that their artificial intelligence is brought to life by a cold, calculating, female voice. Friendly artificial intelligence usually skews female as well. Anyone who’s played Deus…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Some Vita Games Will Have DLC, and Some Won’t [Update]
Sony gave sister site Kotaku Japan a list of games that require memory cards for saves and a list of games that do not. So who decides which games need memory cards and which ones don’t? According to Sony Computer Entertainment, the game companies do. Kotaku Japan is reporting that it is up to the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Amazing Nerd Art of Andrew Jones
British artist Andrew “Bones” Jones is a man after my own heart. In his works paying tribute to the video games of yesteryear, you won’t find much Mario or Mega Man. You’ll find Wing Commander, Zombies Ate My Neighbours and old Amiga games. In the gallery above you’ll see some amazing digital paintings by Jones,…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Guy’s Art Is Bananas. Literally.
By day, Keisuke Yamada is an electrician. By night, he’s a master banana artist, peeling, sculpting, and, yes, eating. While Yamada’s art might not be the most beautiful you’ll see, it is the most delicious. Earlier this year, Yamada’s banana art, which he uploaded to Japanese art site Pixiv, became an internet sensation. It was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 25, 2011 -
UncategorizedLet the PlayStation Vita Put a Face on Any Damn Thing
The PlayStation Vita has a range of onboard apps. Some of them teach you how to use the Vita. Others are simply good. The Hello Face falls in the cool camp. It does creep me out somewhat, though, but it’s still cool. In Hello Face, you try to find things in the word around you,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Minecraft’s Creator is a God
This piece of fan art showed up on the Facebook page of Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson overnight. It is blocky. And strangely erotic. I know the painting it’s based on, Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam, is not erotic in the slightest. It’s about God giving life to man. Which is what this picture is…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Time to Get Up Close and Personal with Sony’s PlayStation Display
This November, Sony is releasing a PlayStation-branded 3D display. The Tokyo-based electronics giant recently showed off the display, along with new 3D glasses. Websites Game Impress Watch and 4Gamer were on hand to check out the hardware and take photos of the display, the glasses, and knees. The 3D Display is priced at ¥44,980, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Guy Cheated to get an Achievement (But He Did It in Style)
There’s an achievement you can get in Gears of War 3 that can be earned by playing a piano 2000 times. That’s a lot of button pressing, so LEGO builder Guy Himber set to work on a less strenuous solution. He built this LEGO rig that would both hold his 360 controller and press the…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
PC Gamers, You Should Update Your Graphics Card Drivers This Week
It’s been a big month for PC games, and things are about to get even bigger, so if you’ve been lazy and forgotten to update your graphics card drivers, you’re going to want to fix that. Between big games having issues (RAGE) and even bigger games just being…big (Battlefield 3), both AMD and Nvidia have…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Game That Started the Battlefield Series
The first Battlefield game, Battlefield 1942, was released in 2002. Nearly ten years ago! Yet while it was the first game to bear the branding that lives on to this day with Battlefield 3, depending on how you look at it, it’s not really the first game in the series. That honour goes to a…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Much Ado About Lamprey Pie (And Russian Unicorns)
Hello and welcome to another week at Kotaku! We’re off to a rip-roaring start, with a bunch of big pending game releases and other holiday-related news. I bet that a bunch of you already finished Arkham City (though if you actually survive the New Game+, my hat is off to you), and maybe you’re sitting…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Week in Dangerous Games: Layton’s Wino Tendencies, Romantic Rectal Exams, and The Humpty Dance
After a week of downtime, I’m picking up our friend Mike McWhertor’s stewardship of our weekly look at the new ways that games are offending the world’s sensibilities. Or at least, offending the sensibilities of the fine folks at the Electronic Software Rating Board, aka the ESRB This week was a bit thin, given that…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Still No Word From Netflix on Video Game Rentals
No word yet in Netflix’s ongoing quest to change things up and, possibly, add video game rentals to their offered services. First the company announced that it was splitting in two, moving its disc-based rental service to a new company called Qwikster before reversing course and killing the whole idea This may or may not…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Is Harley Quinn Arkham City‘s Most Subversive Character?
Plenty of folks have been talking about how Batman: Arkham City handled (or mishandled) the character of Catwoman, but fewer have addressed the character of Harley Quinn. In a thoughtful post on his personal blog, Girl Parts author John M. Cusick looks at her character, identity, and the possible reasons she acts the way she…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why I Talked About Chickens to a Room Full of Game Developers
A couple of weeks ago, I attended GDC Online in Austin. I was covering the event, but I was also there as a speaker, giving a microtalk as part of a six-critic panel on great game storytelling. Joining me were N’Gai Croal (Hit Detection), Leigh Alexander (Gamasutra), John Davidson (CBS Interactive/Gamespot), and Ben Fritz (the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Samsung’s New SSD Will Come With A Free Copy of Batman: Arkham City
Two versions of Samsung’s new 830 series solid state drives will come with a free copy of Batman: Arkham City, the company’s vice president said during a press conference tonight. Reid Sullivan, senior vice president of mobile entertainment at Samsung Electronics America, announced the giveaway at a press conference in Manhattan tonight by bringing the…
By Brian Crecente Published October 24, 2011