Hail To The King Of DS Box Art

This is one of the biggest – and most beautiful – boxes for a Nintendo DS game you will ever see. It’s for Ni No Kuni, the upcoming role-playing game collaboration between developers Level 5 and animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli. And if you’re wondering why it looks more like a DVD case than the traditionally…

Review: Vanquish

It’s hard to know whether the makers of Vanquish take their game, a brash, testosterone-gushing space fight against hundreds of mindless Russian robots, seriously. Straight-faced or not, Platinum Games’ Vanquish is seriously entertaining. Players step into the jet-powered Augmented Reaction Suit worn by chain-smoking hero Sam Gideon to take down a Russian terrorist group. The…

The Last Story’s New Trailer

This is the latest trailer for The Last Story, an upcoming role-playing game for the Wii from the creator of the Final Fantasy series. I watch this trailer, and I think…the Wii could really have done with this in, say, 2007 or 2008. Something with polish, in a genre that hasn’t been that well-represented on…

Is This The Sauciest Nintendo 3DS Game?

Next February, Nintendo is releasing its forthcoming handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. New titles are being revealed for the system, but they’re typical fare: Fighting games, puzzle games, action games, etc. However, one in particular isn’t. While Tecmo Koei readies a Samurai Warriors game and Capcom works on a Street Fighter game, Level-5 is bringing its…

Vegas Screens

The Man Who Hunts For Call Of Duty Stories

It may have become increasingly ridiculous since it left World War Two behind, but the Call of Duty series still consults with veterans when putting a game together. Ever wonder why those veterans decide to spill the beans? Hank Keirsey, a retired lieutenant colonel and military historian, has worked on all six Call of Duty…

The Tester 2 Trailer Has Added McWhertor

Earlier this year, Senior Editor Michael McWhertor took a couple days off to appear as an unpaid Tester panelist and have Adrianne Curry touch his shoulder. The latest trailer for The Tester Season 2 gives a taste of what is in store for the reality show contestants: gaming, crying and screaming. Haven’t seen it yet…

Is Minecraft Not Entitled To A Blocky Version Of BioShock?

We’re getting a little tired of Minecraft’s arts-and-craft shows. Yes, you made Mega Man, well done. But there’s always room for applause when people recreate BioShock’s Rapture in its entirety, complete with whales. Actually, even that sells the whole thing short, because the creators – members of Penny Arcade’s forums – have even recreated the…

Welcome To Fine Art

Fine Art is Kotaku’s celebration of the work of video game artists. Whether it be environmental or character art, 3D renders or animation, old games or new, every morning from Tuesday through to Friday you’ll find a new gallery showcasing the work of an individual artist, studio or franchise. To your right you’ll find a…

Microsoft Seem Happy Sticking With Two Dimensions (For Now)

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer explains in one sentence why the Xbox isn’t exactly embracing 3D technology at the moment. Via CNN

Don’t Object To This Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney Trailer

Puzzle hero Professor layton and legal champion Phoenix Wright, together in the same Nintendo 3DS game? Crazy. It’s so crazy you may want to watch the game’s debut trailer to be sure it’s real.

Welcome To Fancy Pants

Fancy Pants is Kotaku’s weekly showcase of some of the best cosplay in the world from the past seven days. Cosplay is the art of fans dressing up as their favourite characters from the world of video games (and beyond), the best able to not only look the part, but act it as well. To…

Dim Mak

Who’s ready to chat about things that aren’t video games? And who else is excited to get up tomorrow morning to see what a multi-billion dollar corporation will be selling us in just 24 hours? I’ll admit, as a Mac user, I’m on the hook for Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event in San Francisco.…

Link Doesn’t Get More Mature Than This

The Legend of Zelda’s Link re-imagined as an aging elf—and looking like he’d be right at home in World of Warcraft—by artist Damien Canderle for ZBrush Central’s “Age of Legends” Comicon Challenge. Elder Link [ZBrush Central – thanks, Corey!]

The Best Halo: Reach Kill You’ll See Today

Get ready to reach for the replay button, as this brief Halo: Reach clip highlights one of the best multiplayer kills we’ve seen to date in Bungie’s newest sci-fi shooter. Either through luck, communication or plain old hard work—or some combination of all three—this outstanding airborne kill feels like it belongs on a Successories motivational…

Civ V Puts A Hex On Mac This Holiday

Sid Meier’s deeply addictive Civilization series is coming back to the Mac platform later this year, thanks to publisher Aspyr. The company confirmed its plans to bring Civilization V to Apple computers “this holiday season.” Aspyr did not narrow down the release date for the turn-based strategy game any further, only mentioning that the Mac…

PlayStation Store Update: Who’s There?

PlayStation 3 owners are in for a treat this week, with the arrival of Double Fine’s Costume Quest for the North American PlayStation Store. What else do we have in this bag of digital goodies? A pair of new PSone import titles, Aqua Panic! (emphasis theirs), the downloadable release of Tomb Raider: Underworld and “fun…

San Fran!

To: Ash From: Crecente Tomorrow I’m off to San Francisco for a day or two. Haven’t been there in a bit, kinda starting to miss the place. I’ll still be checking in over the next day or two. Just from the field. I’ve got quite a backlog of writing to do, so the flight should…

Oprah Audience Explodes Into Hysterics Over Free Xbox Kinects

We were kind of hoping today’s Kinect plug on Oprah would mean she’d be piloting a virtual raft with her body, but the episode’s YOU GET A KINECT! YOU GET A KINECT! YOU GET A KINECT! finale is even better. Oprah’s typical studio audience is, to put it politely, not exactly a core Xbox demographic—but…

Our Fable III Shirt and Book Winners Are….

Sorry this is a tad late, but here you go, the winners for yesterday’s contest. In case you forgot, we randomly selected ten commenters to receive a neat Fable III t-shirt and a copy of the book Fable: The Balverine Order. The LevelUpWear-designed shirt will be a randomly selected Fable III design, size medium. The…