Battlefield Play4Free Pulls The Trigger On Open Beta

The war between the United States and Russia escalates today as EA’s browser-based shooter Battlefield Play4Free enters open beta, allowing gamers everywhere to enter the fray with the default equipment or pay to play the tricked-out way. Signing up for an EA account and a quick download is all it takes to get started in…

Edge of Time Gallery

Casey ‘The Zangief Kid’ Gets His Own Video Game

Casey is a real kid who used a pro wrestling move to teach a school bully a dangerous lesson. And now a Brazilian game developer has created a simple web game that lets you take a few punches, like Casey did, before pummeling scrawny bullies. Warning: Our expert play-tester lost interest in Zangief Kid The…

What Music Stirs Your Ancient Gaming Memories?

In today’s edition of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Arok_Lazarus wonders what music transports us back to the games we used to play. So I’ve been listening to a lot of Queen lately again. It has also been bringing up lots of gaming memories for me. Back when Star Wars: Battlefront II came out my best…

Big-Headed Caveboys And Infinite Adventures In This Week’s Nintendo Download

While we patiently wait for the 3DS Virtual Console to arrive, Nintendo continues to deliver fresh new and old content to the Wii and DSi, with the ginormous cranium of Hudson’s Super Bonk headlining this week’s offerings. Yes, North America finally gets a Virtual Console release of Super Bonk, the side-scrolling caveman platformer that hit…

This Robot Dog’s Ugly is Only Skin Deep

It looks more organic than robotic. The four legs march under the barrel chest of the robot, snapping up two at a time in perfect precision. But when Boston Dynamic’s creation, BigDog, is pushed, or it walks across ice, it suddenly looks very much alive as it stumbles to correct itself, and succeeds. Designed to…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Welcome to a new week of talking about video games. Do your video game chatting right here. Thanks to Snake56 for today’s image. Submit yours to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on how to do a TAYpic.)

Long Lines In Akihabara To Donate To Quake Victims

STAND UP | TOKYO, JAPAN: “Otaku” celebrities like voice actress Aya Hirano collect money for quake victims. Small talk, handshakes, etc. were not permitted. (Photo: Koepota) Wake Up, Kotaku Anonymous Targets Sony, Warns Of Penises Stuck In Hornets Nests Militant hacker group Anonymous has launched a campaign against Sony, citing the Japanese company’s “unforgivable offense…

Max Payne 3 Developers Learned All About Brazil

Upcoming action game Max Payne 3 is set in Brazil. Rockstar, the folks making Max Payne 3, are not a Brazilian studio, so that meant one thing: research. The game’s art director, Rob Nelson, tells Edge magazine that the team put as much research into Sao Paulo as the original Max Payne developer did with…

The Puzzler That Made Arcades More Fun, 7th Guest More Maddening Hits iPhone, iPad

There are many devious puzzles in 90’s classic, and often infuriating, computer game 7th Guest. So you may not have noticed that when the puzzler made its way to the iPhone and iPad it was missing one particularly teeth-grinding one. The original Microscope game in the 7th guest used a custom built AI engine that…

New Super Mario Bros. Arrives In A New Setting

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is making the jump from the Nintendo Wii to arcades, and trading Wii Remotes for joysticks and jackpots. Dubbed Super Mario Bros. Wii: Coin World, the game is being reborn as a four player “medallion game”. Medallion games are arcade games in which players try to hit the jackpot and…

Nintendo Is Taking May Off, It Seems

April showers might bring May flowers, but they sure as shit don’t bring games in Japan. The release schedule for the Wii, DS and 3DS is looking shockingly barren. According to Nintendo’s Japanese site, there are only two DS games getting released in Japan in May: Treasure Report, Red Stone DS and Nakayoshi Kids: Oshigoto…

Big Time Gangsta Takes Back The Portable Streets

Fresh out of prison and back on the streets, it’s time to gather your gang and reclaim your ugly, run-down, drug plagued neighborhood block-by-block. Glu Mobile is so gangsta. Big Time Gangsta for the iPad and iPhone takes the formula established in Facebook games like Sony Online Entertainment’s The Agency: Covert Ops, strips out the…

PixelJunk Shooter? No, PixelJunk Signed Shooter Shirt

Kyoto’s Q-Games, the studio behind PixelJunk and a whole host of wonderful titles, is auctioning off a signed ThinkGeek t-shirt for “Play for Japan”. The whole PixelJunk staff autographed the shirt! Auction ends on April 10 and all proceeds will go to the American Red Cross. More info in the details below. Play For Japan:…

Want To Help Build A Digital Library Of Old Video Game Magazines?

Kevin “Game Mag Weasel” Gifford has a plan. He’s sitting on a motherload of old (like, pre-2000) video game magazines and wants to know if anyone’s got the means to scan them all. Make a digital “library” of sorts. If you can help, head here for details

Lara Croft Gets Wet, Snake Takes A Smoke Break And Vader Mourns A Tragic Loss

Between Anime Conji 2011 being held a week ago, Wondercon 2011 and the Supernova conventions going down in Australia, there’s been a ton of great cosplay on display in recent days. So let’s take a look at some of the best of it! In this week’s round-up, there’s an aquatic Lara Croft, an energetic football…

Street Fighter’s Cammy Gets An Unofficial Makeover

Cammy, a Lara Croft rival for “Most Beloved British Video Game Character Of All Time”, is looking a little old-fashioned in the 2000’s. I think it’s the boots. Time, then, for a change. Russian artist Bogdan Gabelko drew this redesign of the iconic character for a recent competition. There’s two pictures on show: one a…

Naked Fan-Made Figure Goes For Insane Price

Virtual idol Miku Hatsune has her own Sega video games, concerts, insane game controllers, and figurines. Whether it’s plastic statues for arcade redemption games or detailed collectors’ statues, there is no shortage of Miku merch. One fan decided there was a gaping hole in the Miku figures, namely of the totally naked variety, and decided…

Get A Behind-The-Scenes Look At The New Twisted Metal

Twisted Metal series creator David Jaffe has posted some photos on his blog, giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the new Twisted Metal’s live-action cutscenes. If you’re not a Twisted Metal fan, these likely won’t make sense at all! If you are, though, you’ll see glimpses of costumes and characters you haven’t…

Gaming’s Greats (And Kotaku) Pay Tribute To Japan

Broadcasting over the weekend, Gamers Heart Japan is a one hour program, designed to celebrate the country that’s given us so many great games as well as help with the relief efforts. Created by The Electric Playground, the program features a whole host of gaming luminaries, like Tim Schafer, Will Wright and Sid Meier, talking…