• Culture

  The People and Places of Crysis 2

  Today at Fine Art we’re looking at the work of Daniel Rizea, who in the last few years has provided art for games like Crysis, Crysis 2 and Crytek’s upcoming fantasy title Ryse Rizea hasn’t always been at the PC powerhouse; he got his start at Ubisoft, where he worked on Blazing Angels, Silent Hunter…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  Enjoy, Modern Warfare 3’s New Multiplayer Trailer

  Say what you will of the basketcase this franchise’s singleplayer has become, one thing it still does very well is multiplayer. Which, you know, is the reason 95% of people buying this game buy this game. So…it doesn’t really need a trailer at all! But thanks for making one anyway, Activision. Appreciate it. Call of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  Whatever Happened to That Third-Person Call of Duty Game?

  Confirming something that was, well, already pretty clear earlier this year, Sledgehammer has said that helping Infinity Ward develop Modern Warfare 3 meant it had to abandon its planned third-person Call of Duty game. “We came on board to make a third person action adventure game, in the Call of Duty franchise, and we were…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  This PS3 Collaboration Disappoints Me

  Late last month, a countdown clock appeared, teasing a collaboration between Tecmo Koei and Namco Bandai. In years past, Koei and Namco Bandai collaborated to create Gundam Musou, a Gundam meets hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors style game. Now that Tecmo and Koei have merged, the idea of a Tecmo Koei collaboration with Namco Bandai sends notions…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 2, 2011
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  Fake Angry Birds Game Shoots Real Plush Birds at Green…Balloons

  Oh China. First a bootleg Blizzard theme park and now this, bootleg, real-life games of Angry Birds? What’s next, fake Apple stores? Fake consoles? Oh. This game, at a theme park in Changsha, Hunan, isn’t as extravagant as the Blizzard park, but it’s just as unlicensed, Britain’s Metro reporting that it lacks the permission of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  Tokyo Game Show Will Be Flooded with PS Vita Demo Units and New Games

  Yesterday, it was revealed that Sony will be showing 18 unannounced PS Vita games at the Tokyo Game Show. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment exec Hiroshi Kawano revealed that there will be around 40 titles on display (including trailers and demos), and the Sony booth will have over 80 PS Vita demo units for gamers. “That…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 2, 2011
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  Star Wars Meets Disney? The Muppets? This Continues To Please Me.

  For a little while now, the revamped Star Tours attraction at Disneyland has been selling some rad figures mashing up famous Disney characters with those of the Star Wars universe. And now there are more of them. These images have popped up on a Chinese blog and show a new series, which while heavy with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  The (Zombie) Women of Dead Island

  Before everyone died in horror game Dead Island, they liked to hit the pool and drink beverages with little umbrellas in them. Those days are dead, err, gone. The game won’t be out until next week, but website Complex already has seven screens of the title’s sexiest zombies, viewable in the link below. Be sure…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 2, 2011
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  Police Chief Used Department’s Only Computer for Video Games

  Doug Foster, who has been the Police Chief of Umatilla, Florida for the past 19 years, has been suspended for ten days after a litany of complaints against him by staff. While he’s been accused of bullying, refusing to attend crime scenes and “having his staff run his personal errands”, the first offence listed on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  She’s in a Cowboy Hat and a Bikini. There are Monsters!

  Did I mention the goggles? There are goggles, too. Hack-and-slash series Onechanbara is returning to the Xbox 360 with Onechanbara Z: Kagura This is the game’s debut trailer. The game will be out this winter in Japan. 【XB360】『お姉チャンバラZ 〜カグラ〜』ファーストインプレッションムービー公開 [ゲーム情報！ゲームのはなし] You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 2, 2011
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  Hate Map Packs? You’ve Got Nobody to Blame But Yourselves (Or Your Friends)

  Whenever a multiplayer game’s map packs are revealed- and Call of Duty is often the worst offender in this regard – people on the internet wail and gnash their teeth. And rightly so, in many respects, since you’re rarely getting much value for your dollar. All that wailing counts for naught, though, because as far…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  These Japanese Schoolgirls Hate Nuclear Power with a Cute Song

  If you’ve played a Japanese video game, watched an anime, or read a manga, you’ve seen them: schoolgirls. Idols, in particular, are the lighter, fluffy end of the spectrum. They stand for the fantasies of their fans. Not idol collective Seifuku Kojo Iinkai (School Uniform Improvement Committee), or SKi. Those girls are standing up to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 2, 2011
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  Red Dead Redemption Cast Members Reunite For a Live-Action Horror Movie

  A whole bunch of the stars of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption are getting back together to shoot a live-action horror movie set in the Wild West. In a brothel. With zombies. The movie’s called From the Trailer to the Grave, and is directed by K. Harrison Sweeney. It stars, among others, Steve J. Palmer and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  Co-Op Comes Very, Very Late to the 40K: Space Marine Party

  Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is out next week. And developers Relic have only today revealed the fact the game will have a co-op mode. It’s a late addition to the game; so late, in fact, it won’t be available until next month. The co-op mode, called Exterminatus, has two maps, and lets up to four…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  Star Trek Online Goes Free to Play by the End of 2011

  Star Trek Online, the MMO picked up by new owner Perfect World when it acquired Cryptic Studios back in May, will be taken to a free-to-play format by the end of 2011, says the new ownership. Perfect World’s chief financial officer told investors during a call today that it’s looking to a free-to-play Star Trek…

  By Owen Good Published September 2, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  Let’s Go Shopping For Video Games! (In the 1980’s and 1990’s)

  Ah, paper catalogues. They still make them, but they’re not what they used to be. What are now glossy prints highlighting only a select few items from a store used to be informational tomes, full of almost everything you could ever want. And we all wanted video games, right? These catalogues, mostly from US retailer…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011
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  The Best Gears of War Book You’ll Ever Read

  In anticipation of the upcoming Gears of War 3, Microsoft and Epic contracted novelist and Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter author Tom Bissell to take a deeper look into the design and history of the Gears franchise. Titled “The Art and Design of Gears of War,” it covers most every aspect of the Gears…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 1, 2011
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  Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Gets a Multiplayer Beta This Saturday

  In preparation for the November 15th launch of Ubisoft’s upcoming open-world stealth/action/swarthiness-simulator Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the publisher will be running a multiplayer beta for the game from September 3-11th. However, the beta is exclusive to Playstation Plus members as well as “select Playstation 3 Uplay members.” Multiplayer in the new title will be much the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 1, 2011
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  You Probably Won’t Play This PSP Game

  Unless you live in Japan or import it, that is. The last Yakuza spin-off PSP title, Black Panther: Like a Dragon New Chapter, wasn’t localized for the West. With the PS Vita coming out, smart money says this one won’t be either. If there’s one thing that makes me happy about a new Black Panther…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 1, 2011
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  Checking the Pipes at Dragon Con 2011

  It’s not every day you find a Kotaku editor in downtown Atlanta. Normally I’m about 10 miles north, but for Dragon Con 2011 I’m making an exception. I’ll be hanging out at one of the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy conventions this weekend, taking photos, taking names, and taking whatever gaming news might pop…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 1, 2011