How One Developer Cheated His Way To The Perfect Smurf Village and Why

Jenova Chen is the designer of genre-bending, artfully crafted games Cloud, FlOw and Flower. He’s the co-founder of ThatGameCompany and the recipient of a master’s degree from the University of Southern California’s Interactive Media Division. He’s also a cheater. At least when it comes to Capcom’s iTune Farmville knock-off game Smurfs’ Village. But unlike me,…

The Biggest Games Of 2010 You Didn’t Play?

Today in Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Culebra takes a look at the biggest games of the year that he never got around to playing. Which have you missed? Well, we’re almost at the end of the year, and as we know, we’ll all see the same ‘Best Of Year’ lists that’ll have the same four…

Two Years Of PlayStation Home Evolution

Sony’s PlayStation Home virtual world launched two years ago tomorrow with nine games, 114 virtual items, and 25 community events. On the eve of its second anniversary, PlayStation Home is much, much bigger. At launch PlayStation Home wasn’t nearly as interesting as we thought it would be when we first broke the news of its…

Sharp Shooter Offers Killzone 3 a $40 Crutch

Plastic rifle stock tucked into my shoulder, Killzone 3 suddenly feels like a much more active game, a shooter I need to play standing, face-to-face with my enemies. The Sharp Shooter is molded-plastic housing for the Playstation 3 Move’s controller and navigation controller. The Move controller snaps into the barrel of the plastic gun, its…

Cut the Rope Holiday Gallery

There’s Free Cut The Rope For The Holidays

ZeptoLab’s chart-topping physics-based iPhone candy muncher Cut the Rope is gift enough in itself, but we won’t say know to the free standalone holiday expansion now available in the iTunes App Store. Cut the Rope is a devilishly addictive little game that involves slicing cables and avoiding obstacles in the name of giving the adorable…

New Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Content Races Home For Christmas

In case the cars in Criterion Games’ Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit weren’t fast enough, the Super Sports content pack will be out later this month, adding new events and three ridiculously powerful vehicles to the mix. If the police in my area drove Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Interceptors, I’d never go outside. Either that,…

A Two-Year-Old Teaches Us How To Play Angry Birds

Angry Birds needs no tutorial, not when you have a two-year-old super-fan to teach you how to play the game. Cute kid! 2 year old addicted to Angry Birds Christmas [YouTube]

Who Steals Video Game Consoles From Children With Cancer? [Update]

While PlayStation 3 thieves busy themselves punching women in the face, an Xbox thief in North Carolina breaks into a medical center and steals multiple consoles meant for children recovering from cancer. Update: The games industry rallies! If I were writing a crime handbook, one of the first rules would be something about not doing…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Gather your favorite gaming heroes and discuss video games today, right here in the comments. Thanks to Orbitofglass for today’s image. Submit yours to #TAYpics

When Quarters Attack Things Get Magical

Before you scrutinize this video, sit back and absorb it. Take it for what it is said to be: An unbelievable stop-action ode to video games made entirely of quarters. Once you’ve enjoyed it feel free to decide whether this is entirely digital, entire a product of sore knees and many quarters or something in…

As A Kid I Loved This Book

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Late Night Dinner Review: HKS Racing Controller Is A Hot Rod For Your Hands Heads Roll Over Final Fantasy XIV, PS3 Version Delayed This Was Supposed To Be The Day Australian Gaming Grew Up Hey, PS3 Thieves, Don’t Punch Women In The Face This Amazing Deus Ex Trailer Will Need…

Review: HKS Racing Controller Is A Hot Rod For Your Hands

There are two traditional options for racing game controllers: a gamepad and a wheel. The HKS Racing Controller is somewhere in the middle. But does that mean it’s middle of the road? Specs Price: US$49.99 Platform: PS3 What’s in the box: Controller, instructions. The Basics California-based peripheral maker Eagle3 hooked up with 37-year-old Japanese racing…

A Visual Guide To The HKS Racing Controller

Lara Croft Trading Sexy Hot Pants For Gritty Torn Threads

Square Enix is rebooting Tomb Raider, and wiping the slate clean means no more 1990s-style sexy game heroine pandering. But what does that mean for Lara in 2010? Two words: ripped clothing. According to Art Director Brian Horton, the goal isn’t playing up the character’s sexuality “for sexualities sake”. “If for any reason we wanted…

This Is The Future Of Guitar Hero

The current “plastic instruments” phase of the music game scene seems to have run its course. Next up must surely be the genre’s logical conclusion: Air Guitar Hero. This concept clip by British artist Chris O’Shea shows what Microsoft’s Kinect could do in the hands of somebody who’s serious about making a rock n’ roll…

Starcraft’s Queen Of Blades Is One-Of-A-Kind

While Blizzard do a better job than many other game developers in getting toys based on their games out to the masses, some people still prefer to forgo official figures and make their own stuff. Sculptor and custom toy creator Chris Hooton spent two months making this one-of-a-kind “Queen of Blades” figure, going to such…

Ni No Kuni’s First Fifteen Minutes Translated For Your Listening Pleasure

Ni No Kuni, the Nintendo DS title from animator Studio Ghibli and Professor Layton developer Level-5, is out in Japan. Those outside The Land of the Rising Sun are out in the cold. This video might make things all better. It might not. It might make you want the game more. Here are the first…

Dead Space 2 Looks Pretty Rough, Isaac

Aside from the inclusion of multiplayer, probably the biggest addition to Dead Space 2 is “The Sprawl”, the confined, segmented sections of the first game’s spaceship replaced with the cavernous interior of a space station That’s a lot of ground for our hero Isaac Clarke to cover, so you can excuse him for popping the…

Super Deluxe And Ready To Destroy Cities

Matsuko Deluxe is a Japanese columnist who also appears on variety shows. Matsuko might be deluxe, but is the writer deluxe enough for new Wii game Karaoke Joysound Wii Super DX? Matsuko Deluxe got started at Japanese gay magazine “Body”, before moving on to mainstream television appearances. Apparently, Deluxe does not dress in drag outside…