Final Fantasy Rap Levels Up

Here’s a song about Aeris, that (SPOILERS!) dead chick from Final Fantasy VII. It’s awesome. Rapper Random, aka Mega Ran, used to be considered a Capcom man. No longer, it seems, as he’s about to release an entire album dedicated to Square Enix’s classic 1997 RPG. Sure, the premise isn’t that original — we’ve seen…

How The Wife Of Japan’s Beloved RPG Maker Challenged Nudity Censorship

In the West, Shigesato Itoi is best known for the Earthbound series of role-playing games. He might challenge game conventions, but his wife Kanako Higuchi challenged Japanese censorship more, changing it forever. Itoi is no stranger to the limelight. During the 1980s, Itoi hosted an educational program called “You”, but he really made his name…

Call Of Duty Is Nothing Like The Real Thing

I’ve been a long-time advocate of somebody making a war game that plays like an actual war: one where you fight in real battles, not battles from a video game based on an action movie. This is what I mean. This clip, posted on military site TheBrigade.com, depicts a US infantry squad in combat in…

The Modern Warfare Fight: Your Guide to Activision Vs. Infinity Ward

The ongoing legal tussle between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward and publishing giant Activision is full of intrigue, accusations, lawsuits, a mass exodus of key staffers from the studio behind the game and, now, allegations of sabotage. Updated with recent developments. At stake is the future of Infinity Ward, the studio behind…

EA Realising In-Game Ads Maybe Aren’t The Best Thing Ever

A few years back, it seemed in-game advertising was going to ruin everything. That…hasn’t really happened, with EA saying that the business has been eclipsed by one more lucrative for publishers. “We actually aren’t getting much from ad revenue at all”, EA’s Ben Cousins tells Edge. “The in-game advertising business hasn’t grown as fast as…

First Kinect Game For PC Coming From Korea?

While Kinect will inevitably come to PC gaming one day in an official capacity (it’s of course already being used by hackers), there have been no games actually revealed making use of the peripheral. Until now! Korean developer GamePrix reckons its upcoming massively-multiplayer online game Divine Soul “is scheduled to support Kinect, a new control…

I’ll See You On The Beach (Or Close To It)

Dear Kotaku readers, won’t you come into this open thread and share your conversation with us? We could use a little back up, what with all the vacation happening this week. I will join the other half-vacationing Kotaku editors starting tomorrow, when I hop on a plane to head to more-sunny-than-LA Orlando, Florida to visit…

PlayStation Store Update: It’s Santa Claus Sized!

The North American PlayStation Store is getting some business done before the Christmas break. This may be the PlayStation Network’s biggest week yet, thanks to tons of new games, a ridiculous amount of deals and a flood of Neo Geo titles. While the Christmas rush of new games may be tantalizing, don’t blow it all…

Call of Duty Giant Suing Rival Over Modern Warfare Meltdown, Paints Uglier Picture

The nasty lawsuits between Call of Duty publisher Activision and the ousted lead creators of that hit series got nastier today with accusations that the president of rival EA was instrumental in trying to “hijack” the Call of Duty developers. And there’s more mud being slung. Activision also says the makers of Modern Warfare gleefully…

Diablo III Seeks Hardcore Monster Encounters

Blizzard’s action role-playing game Diablo isn’t just about the click-click-click of whacking on monsters and chugging potions. There are tactical considerations, like how one will deal with the constant flow monsters in Diablo III, that one must keep in mind. The many ways in which we will encounter the bestiary of Diablo III is the…

Activision vs. EA Complaint

Auschwitz Game Creator Yanks Wolfenstein Mod Amid Pressure

Sonderkommando Revolt, the video game mod that reimagines an Auschwitz uprising as a bloody, pixelated shooter, may never see release, according to the project’s lead creator. He blames the “emotional trauma” of media attention for its demise. Israeli mod enthusiast Maxim “Doomjedi” Genis says the attention Sonderkommando Revolt has received from those outside the Wolfenstein…

No Lost Zelda Here

To: The Night Crew From: Totilo Video got clipped off at the end, but you get the idea! Stories you may have missed How To Turn Someone Into A Gamer The Kotaku Guide To Winter Video Games Is It Wrong To Hate Shadow Of The Colossus? Your Choice Of Giant Killer Worm Games The Tester…

Ninja Senki May Be The Best Free Mega Man-Like Game You’ll Get Today

You have almost no excuse not to download freeware indie platformer Ninja Senki, the action platform game from Jonathan Lavigne inspired by classic NES games Ninja Jajamaru-Kun and Mega Man. The 8-bit action adventure, created by the designer of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, gives us a much-needed injection of shuriken-tossing ninja action,…

The Tester 2 Episode 8: “Season Finale” Liveblog: End Of Line

Twelve potential Sony testers have been narrowed down to three, and now comes the moment of truth. Who is the ultimate tester, and how long will they work in Sony’s testing department before they realize they’ve made a terrible mistake? I can’t believe it’s over. Do you know what this means? After eight weeks of…

Your Choice Of Giant Killer Worm Games

We’ve got two giant-killer-worm games for you to consider today, each available cheap for an iPhone/iPod/iPad. Death Worm is based on the 2007 original of the same name. Super Mega Worm Vs. Santa is a newer elf-slaying take. Decisions, decisions. Both games went on sale in the iTunes store in recent weeks. Death Worm has…

Is It Wrong To Hate Shadow Of The Colossus?

Today’s Speak-Up on Kotaku takes us way back to December 10, when commenter PatMan33 ponders whether it’s okay to hate a game that pretty much everyone else adored. Is it? Okay, so my buddy is ripping me a new one for disliking Shadow of the Colossus. He’s been nagging me all year to play the…

‘My Blackberry Is Not Working’ And Other Fine British Puns

BBC one’s The One Ronnie comedy sketch show successfully combines old men, food and technology puns in an impressively effective way, one that pays off with a most delightful video game gag. As seen in #speakup, thanks to ibro911!

Customize Your Christmas

The Alienware M11x is what every little video game-loving boy and girl has on their Xmas list this year because it can be perfectly customized for the optimal personal gaming experience. And weighing in at just under 4.5 lbs., it’s light enough to hang by your chimney with care. Besides sugar plums, some gamers are…

Hell, It’s About Time For The StarCraft II Demo

Five months after the release of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard has released the real-time strategy game’s demo, a chance for those who didn’t get caught up in summertime StarCraft hype to try the game for free. What’s in the demo? The first three missions of the Wings of Liberty campaign and Terran-on-Terran solo…