America’s Second Largest Arcade Pushes Gamers’ Buttons

Arcades dead? Never say die! This past summer, arcade Galloping Ghost opened in Brookfield, Illinois. With over 180 cabinets, it’s the second largest arcade in the U.S. A recent local news report gives a nostalgic tour of the Galloping Ghost, which is run by the indie devs behind Dark Presence. The game is aiming for…

Splinter Cell Returns For Sixth Game

Ubisoft has confirmed that a sixth game in stealth action series Splinter Cell is currently in the early stages development at the company’s Toronto studio. And…that’s all Ubisoft is willing to confirm as far as the game goes, with no word on things like setting (is it worth bringing back tired old Sam Fisher?) and…

Brain Age To Outsmart The 3DS?

Just because Nintendo’s Brain Age took Japan by storm in 2006, that doesn’t mean it can’t do it again. Neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima spills the beans that a new Brain Age is in development. Dr. Kawashima, whose floating head appears in the games, mentioned that a third Brain Age is in development in his new…

Run Linux? You Can Play All These Games

Want the flexibility of running Linux on your PC but still want to play games? This guide to just what you can actually play on the alternative operating system should help! Penguspy is a great resource for serious Linux gamers, who once they’re done with the more high-profile penguin-friendly games like The Sims 3 can…

Final Fantasy Creator’s LEGO Creations

When not working on video games or grooming his mustache, Hironobu Sakaguchi enjoys playing with LEGO. Sakaguchi’s creations range from Wii Remotes to LEGO fighters to robots The Hawaii-based game designer often puts LEGO together while waiting for “slow” Hawaiian internet to download game builds. Did we say there were only four reasons why Sakaguchi…

Bugs Can Not Only Break Games, They Can Also Flash Junk

Bugs. They’re those annoying glitches that can mar your experience with a game or, in extreme cases, end your experience with one altogether. But just how much do you know about them, and how they’re removed from retail games? A number of developers and testers have spoken with GamePro, highlighting some of the nuances in…

Odin Sphere Voice Actor Gets A Special (And Very Scary) Delivery

When veteran voice actor Sho Hayami (pictured) of Space Channel 5 and Odin Sphere fame checked his mail earlier this spring, he apparently found more than fan letters. An unemployed 46-year-old woman named Mayumi Konishi, who was arrested for sending a knife as a threat to an elementary school, confessed to also sending a knife…

For Sale: Left 4 Dead House, Interior Space Limited

Artist Robert Overweg built a house and put it on exhibition. If you play zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2, you may even recognise it! It’s not made of wood. Or bricks. Actually, it doesn’t even have four walls. It’s a sham of a house, a replica of one found in Valve’s popular online shooter,…

Korean Crisis “Is Not Starcraft”

Last week, North Korea shelled a South Korean island, sending the peninsula in to “crisis status.” The South fired several test shots in response but, according to the New York Times, the country denied that any hit the North. South Korean defense minister Kim Tae-young was questioned by one politician why the South’s retaliation was…

For A Moment, You Will Believe Samus Is Real

Swedish student Jenni Källberg – otherwise known as the world’s greatest Metroid cosplayer – is back, taking imitation of Nintendo’s sci-fi starlet to a whole new level. Over the past two months, Källberg has hit the streets for two shoots, one showing off Samus’ Gravity Suit in a winter wonderland, the other a vastly-improved Varia…

We Love Cars, Does Japan Still?

“Young Japanese just aren’t as interested in fast cars,” the guy at the Honda dealership says, flipping through a Honda Civic Type R brochure. “They all want eco cars or minivans.” Even if there seems to be a lack of interest in real cars, Japan is still very much keen on virtual ones, with early…

Wait’ll Next Year

To: Luke From: Owen Re: The Mountain You might remember that last year, my on-the-record Christmas wish was a conference championship for N.C. State in either football or basketball. Yesterday, State was a win away from playing for just such a thing in football, and then promptly defecated in its bunk. It was a Double…

A Visual Guide To Mafia II: Joe’s Adventures

Review: Mafia II: Joe’s Adventures — The Third Strike For A Repeat Offender

Mafia II returns to Empire Bay with “Joe’s Adventures,” the game’s second paid DLC extension. Can its 24 new missions carry the game forward, or do they dwell on what made Mafia II a good-but-not-great action game? Mafia II: Joe’s Adventures is a flashback to the 10-year period during which Vito Scaletta went to prison…

The Week In Games: Slipped A Mickey

Games enter their post-holiday hibernation with just two big releases: Epic Mickey for the Wii, and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the DS. Super Meat Boy also arrives on the PC. Monday (Nov. 29) Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (DS) – The third entry in the handheld role-playing series, and first on the DS, is set…

Kotaku’s Top 5 List of Top 10 Lists

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. •12 Video Game Characters with Eating Disorders [Ranker] A rather fitting roundup for Thanksgiving and the holiday season looks at game characters with a tendency…

Minecraft’s Latest Megaobject: The Earth

Object building, especially megaobject building, is a side pursuit in Minecraft’s classic creative mode that’s gotten so much attention that folks who haven’t played the game don’t know of its survivalist objectives. The latest doozy: Earth. YouTube user roddds469 built this by using a NASA terrain height map. It’s a smaller-scale, 1,000-by-500 block test before…

Free BBC America Shows Hit PlayStation Network

Episodes of Doctor Who are coming to the PlayStation Network Store; episodes of Top Gear already are there, and two are free. The freebie vids kickoff an arrangement bringing BBC America programming to PSN’s video service. Right now, Top Gear’s Season 1, Episode 1, and Episode 101 (the show’s American debut), are both free in…

Can A Video Game Make You Into An Elite Race Driver?

iRacing is an extremely realistic racing simulator. Its top driver won $10,000, despite never driving over 100 mph in real life. Top Gear put him in an open-wheel racer to see if digital skills translate to real racing prowess. It was lots closer than you might expect. Racing in a Star Mazda, the driver, a…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: GT5 WTF

Tuesday, Luke posted a set of pictures and asked which were from real life, and which were from Gran Turismo 5. This week’s ‘Shop Contest draws on that. Here’s the gist of it: Fake us out, or fail horribly with something really hilarious. Take a GT5 screenshot and ‘Shop in another car – with 1,061…