Sarah Palin on a Hog

I’m with Leather | ARLINGTON, VA: Former candidate Sarah Palin checks out the Rolling Thunder Rally over the weekend. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla | Getty) Link is Dreaming of Some Creepy-Ass Pokémon Cosplay can be great when a piece is a painstaking recreation of the original. There is, however, nothing stopping it from being great when…

Crysis 2’s Engine Will be Training American Soldiers

Crytek’s CryEngine 3 technology, which we’ve seen most recently in the company’s own Crysis 2, is the driving force behind a $57 million project from the US Army aimed at teaching its soldiers how to fight. While virtual battlefields have long been a staple of military training, the new Dismounted Soldier Training System (DSTS) looks…

End of Nations Is Packed With Unrealized Potential

The promise of blending a real-time strategy game with legions of gamers around the world in a persistent online environment is great. But pulling that off remains a challenge. Earlier this month, I had a chance to sit down with End of Nations, Petroglyph Games’ attempt at cracking the code for a working, successful MMORTS.…

Link is Dreaming of Some Creepy-Ass Pokémon

Cosplay can be great when a piece is a painstaking recreation of the original. There is, however, nothing stopping it from being great when there’s a bit of gender-bending going on, either. Rmthompson1979’s shot of Abigail here, dressed as Zelda’s Link, is proof of that. She’s far from the only amazing picture we’ve got this…

Japan Gets the Best PS3

When big PS3 games are released, Sony often launches a limited edition PS3, either with a special design or in a unique color. Role-playing game Tales of Xillia is no different. Out on September 8, the game will be sold as a stand alone title in Japan or bundled with a Tales of Xillia PS3.…

The Beginning And End Of Western Action Role-Playing Games

Over on Hardcore Gaming, there’s a new timeline up for reading called “A Brief History of Western Action RPGs”. Brief? Are you kidding me? Spanning over thirty years of role-playing games (mostly) free of teenagers with stupid haircuts and over-sized swords, the timeline begins with the likes of Adventure and Dungeons of Daggorath and ends…

Metal Gear Creator Sitting Out E3

Metal Gear Solid 5 isn’t the only thing sitting out this year’s E3, the stealth series’ creator Hideo Kojima also won’t be at E3. Last year, there was a flurry of MGS news at E3. This year? Probably not. [@hideo_kojima]

The PS3’s New Headphones Look Awesome

Headphones. You’ve seen one pair you’ve seen them all. Unless they’re Sony’s new official wireless PS3 headphones, in which case, they look different, and great as a result. The standard headphone design of “buds and band” is dominated by two massive panels over the earpieces, one there to hide the microphone which can retract within,…

Being Hard Gay for Laughs and Cash

In 2005, comedian Masaki Sumitani became the most popular funny man in Japan. He dressed in a PVC hotpants, thrusting his pelvis as he exclaimed, “Fooohhh!” Little kids imitated the catchphrase, and Sumitani conquered the country. You probably know him better as “Razor Ramon HG” or simply “Hard Gay”. Gay, he’s not. Japanese comedy is…

The Origins Of Pokémon

As the creator of Nintendo’s Pokémon series, Satoshi Tajiri is one of the most important (if not well-known) developers working in video games today. Like another Nintendo legend, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Tajiri’s most popular work has been directly inspired by his childhood experiences and hobbies. While Miyamoto’s Zelda was the product of boyhood explorations,…

Is Sony’s New Handheld Called “Vita”?

It’s the week before E3. There are rumours buzzing around like flies on a turd. Here’s the biggest fly, then, from the weekend: that the NGP has a name. And that name is “Vita”. Now, there’s a sordid tale behind this, beginning with “leaked” snaps from a supposed marketing brochure and ending with the original…

Slingshot AI

Free the Indianapolis 500 | The U.K.’s Dan Wheldon won on the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 today, zipping to the checkered flag first when rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed in the final turn of the final lap. (Photo: Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images) Bankrupted Studio Says Square Enix Demanded Code by Fax, Didn’t Recognize…

Reaching for the Brass Ring on NCAA Football 12‘s Coaching Carousel

Ben Haumiller’s got a job for me. Several jobs, actually, but they’re all in NCAA Football 12‘s new career mode, the “Coaching Carousel.” Haumiller, the game’s producer, explains it all using an offensive coordinator named Owen O’Cain as an example. Who the hell is Owen O’Cain? More on him in a moment. The real story…

A Quiet Week for Games

Holiday weekends and the period around E3 typically are slow, and this coming week fits both bills. The big drops: Hunted: The Demon’s Forge; BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II comes to PSP and 3DS; PC players get the BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den and Call of Duty: Black Ops-Escalation expansions. Tuesday Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (PC, PS3,…

Practice Your Marksmanship with This Gears of War 3 Target Poster

Microsoft sent out a big thank-you email to every participant in the monthlong Gears of War 3 beta, noting the outrageous stats it compiled and directing everyone to a set of desktop wallpapers and a printable target-practice poster. That might come in handy, as it took 25 rounds per kill, on average. The email went…

Catch ‘Em All (but Maybe Avoid These)

Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •10 Ridiculous Pokémon Products [UGO] I’m appalled that the Pikachu menstrual pad didn’t make this list. •The 10 Greatest Poop Moments in Gaming [Ranker] We’ve…

Sony Exec to Testify Before Congress on PlayStation Breach

During the PlayStation Network outage, Sony was asked to appear before a U.S. House of Representatives committee to explain the situation. The company declined, sending an eight-page letter instead. Now it will go before Congress, when the president of Sony Network Entertainment visits a Tuesday hearing to answer questions. Tim Schaff will testify before a…

Here are the Pictures That Guy Took with his 3DS at the WWE SmackDown Event [Update]

Friday, Totilo noticed someone sitting ringside with a 3DS at WWE SmackDown’s recent event in Spokane, Wash., apparently capturing the action with the device’s 3D camera. (Kotaku commenter Dr. Zaius: ‘Guy was watching the match through the 3DS’s 3D lenses. ‘Whoa! It’s like I’m RIGHT THERE!'”) Yesterday, that guy contacted us to share the photos…

Million-Dollar Winners

Many of you pointed out this perfect candidate for a ‘Shop Contest when the story published on Thursday, and I agree. There’s so much you can do to this image. Let me make a humble request though: If you’re going to goof on Brian Kingrey, the guy holding the check, make it good-natured. Because he’s…

WWE SmackDown Pictures by the Guy with the 3DS