Flick Rocket is a Daydream of Centipede Asteroid Invaders Command

In third grade, I would draw up notebook-paper hybrids of arcade games. Pac-Man would chase barrels with a hammer and Frogger shot at invaders from the highway. Flick Rocket, a hybridized, deeply nostalgic arcade shooter, strongly appeals to my inner eight-year-old game designer. Drawing on Asteroids, Space Invaders, Centipede and Missile Command, with nods to…

This Is a Good Way to Promote a 3DS Game

Mysterious | TOKYO, JAPAN: Fifteen meters worth of posters for 3DS game Nazo Waku Yakata adorn Shinjuku Station. (Photo: Famitsu) Hands On with the Diablo III Beta Blizzard won’t be the only one potentially making a profit on Diablo III. Anyone who plays the dark fantasy hack and slash game could, thanks to its Auction…

2012 Will Get a New Super Street Fighter IV Version

Street Fighter IV was released in 2010. This year, in 2011, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition was released. What about next year? 2012 is getting Super Street Fighter IV. At the EVO fighting game championship, Capcom revealed that it was working on Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver. 2012 Details about this updated…

Can Nintendo Dominate Digital?

Face it. Nintendo’s never been a powerhouse in digital entertainment, like Sony or Microsoft. That could change. “Regarding if there’s anything we can do from now on that we aren’t currently doing for the 3DS and the upcoming Wii U, of course, whether that means there something we can do for in the digital business…

This Cosplay Will Curbstomp Your Face In

Meagan Marie works for Crystal Dynamics on the Tomb Raider series. You probably know her better, though, as one of the most talented cosplayers (and costume builders) in the world Meagan takes the lead this week in a stellar lineup of cosplay shots, the proximity to last month’s Comic-Con perhaps meaning people still had their…

Mario Is on an Unreal Engine Killing Spree

This is the decidedly 8-bit World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. rendered using the Unreal Engine, most commonly seen in games like Gears of War If it looks a little rough, that’s because it was an 8-week project, not a polished game release. You can see more clips at 525Leomas‘s YouTube page. What happens when…

The Sites (and Booth Companions) of China’s Biggest Show

ChinaJoy is the country’s biggest game show. It wrapped up on July 31, and showcased a whole host of PC games. What made this year different was that the booth companions were supposed to wear toned down clothing. …They’re didn’t really! Shorts and skirts were still dangerously short, though, booth companions didn’t appear to have…

The Witcher 2’s Xbox 360 Versions Slips to 2012

The Xbox 360 version of RPG The Witcher 2, originally slated for later this year, has now been moved back to “the first quarter of 2012”, the developers tell us. There are two reasons for the delay. One is to give the team “more time expanding and polishing certain elements of the gameplay”. The other,…

Soulcalibur V Turned EVO 2011 Into the Stage of History

The freshly-concluded EVO 2011 wasn’t just a fighting game tournament. It was a celebration of all things fighting, meaning there were things like developer panels. And where there are panels, there are gameplay videos. These three clips for Soulcalibur V were shown over the weekend, and while the audio is from the conference floor, the…

Silpheed Designer Passed Away too Soon. Dead at 45.

Takeshi Miyaji passed away this Saturday. Miyaji is best known for designing shooter Silpheed, mecha title Gungriffon, and Japanese role-playing game Grandia Miyaji founded Tokyo game studio Game Arts with his brother while still in his teens. In 2000, Miyaji left Game Arts to found G-Mode, focusing on social games for Japanese cell phones. G-Mode…

Diablo III Mods Are Forbidden, Banned, Not Allowed

One of the cornerstones of PC gaming is the modding scene. The best games embrace this. The good ones at least let you play with certain aspects of a game. The stupid ones try and ban them outright. Yet that’s exactly what upcoming blockbuster Diablo III has done, an FAQ handed to Kotaku at a…

2011’s Most Eagerly Awaited Mecha Game Is Now 2012’s

Armored Core V, the latest mecha title from Demon’s Souls studio From Software, looks fantastic. Fans can’t wait to play it, but they’re going to have to. The game’s release date is no longer October 20. Instead, Armored Core V is slated for release on January 1, 2012 in Japan. The reason for the delay…

Watch An 8-Year-Old Kick Ass at EVO 2011

EVO 2011 is the fighting game tournament to end all fighting game tournaments, and while we’ve brought you the “official” winners, here’s the real winner. Noah. Who is kicking some ass. Oh, and by the way, Noah is eight years old You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can…

Blizzard Will Let You Sell Your Diablo III Loot For Real Money

Blizzard won’t be the only one potentially making a profit on Diablo III. Anyone who plays the dark fantasy hack and slash game could, thanks to its Auction House, a new in-game service that allows players to buy and sell loot not just for virtual gold, but for cold, hard cash. That’s just one of…

Diablo III Gameplay Screenshots

Diablo III Auction House and Battle.net Screenshots

Hands On with the Diablo III Beta

I have defeated Diablo III‘s Skeleton King and, in doing so, also bested the upcoming Blizzard game’s multiplayer beta. Soon, many of us will have the privilege to do so, hacking and slashing our way through an early portion of the next Diablo, over and over again, seeing its randomness and testing its new improvements.…

Rumor: Mirror’s Edge 2 Running On Battlefield 3’s Engine

You know how Battlefield 3 looks absolutely stunning? That’s because it’s on a new engine, Frostbite 2. And if rumours are to be believed, so too is Mirror’s Edge 2 While EA’s Frank Gibeau first hinted at a new ME project back at E3, even coyly playing along with speculation it may be on Battlefield…

Let’s Rock This Pretty Boy Game into Infinity

Sengoku Basara features prettied-up versions of some tough as nails dead dudes. The game is set against Japan’s Warring States period during which Japanese people were beating the shit out of each other. But the game’s aren’t nearly as horrific (or smelly) as the history. So bring on the rock’n’roll soundtrack. The newly released Sengoku…

The World’s Most Famous Street Fighter Player Did Not Win EVO 2011

Just as we saw with the Marvel vs Capcom 3 final, the upsets continued this weekend at fighting game tournament EVO 2011, with Street Fighter “superstar” Daigo Umehara only able to finish fourth at this year’s Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition event. The winner of the weekend’s signature event was Japan’s Fuudo (using Fei…