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Let’s Meet An Australian Politician Who Loves Video Games
When Australia is mentioned in the same breath as video games, most people’s first thoughts are of something negative. Something unpleasant. So let’s meet an Australian politician who’s one of the good guys. His name is David Bartlett, Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania. That makes him the equivalent of, roughly, a US state…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
K-On! Star’s Favorite Game Might Surprise You
Aki Toyosaki is a voice actress and a pop singer, perhaps best known for schoolgirl rocker anime K-On! She’s a gamer, too, and she’s got discerning taste. In Japan, Western games are not big sellers. People play Japanese games, which is totally fine! It is Japan. And while Western games might not be as popular…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Assassin’s Creed Boss Joins THQ, Forms New Studio
We told you this back in June, but it’s today been made official: Patrice Désilets, the former creative director of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series, has joined rival publisher THQ, and will be setting up a new studio in Montreal. Désilets had been with Ubisoft for 13 years prior to his departure in June, during which…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Dubai Seizes Over 48,000 Knock-Off PlayStation Games
In Dubai, customs officials successfully blocked an attempt to smuggle over 48,000 counterfeit PlayStation games into the country. The value of the seized phony goods? Over US$1.3 million. Emirates News Agency WAM reports that Officials located the games in “cartoon boxes” and that the shipment originated from an Arab port. As website GamePolitics points out,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 -
UncategorizedAgainst A Giant Cat, No Amount Of Combos Can Save You
When someone says “it’s a game of cat and mouse”, this isn’t what they’re talking about. Though it probably should be. This clip, by Marcus Blättermann and Susanne Wohlfahrt, is the Street Fighter of the animal kingdom. And in the animal kingdom, the term “balanced roster” doesn’t really apply. [Creature Combat IV, thanks Phil!]
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Red Dead’s Zombies Are Like A 70s Horror Movie
The dead walk the earth in the the zombie add-on for Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare. While zombies are tres passe, Rockstar thinks it can put an original spin on them. Here’s why: “With Undead Nightmare, we have long wanted to find a way to make zombies interesting, and one of the ways that we…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 -
UncategorizedA Short Film Shot Not With Cameras, But With Grand Theft Auto IV
Although it’s filmed entirely within Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV, don’t expect this piece of machinima – called Mastermind – to be about guns, hookers or push-ups. It’s more Heavy Rain than Liberty City, with its slow pace and…strange outlook, and while it’s far from exciting, it’s still professional enough to warrant a hearty round…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Why Are These Pokemon Words Offensive?
Yesterday, a list of naughty words that can be entered in Pokemon: Black and White surfaced. Some of the words might be easy for Westerners to understand why they are considered offensive. Other words, less so. Like with most languages, Japanese has an array of colorful terms for bodily functions and genitalia. That doesn’t mean…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Bulletstorm’s Action Figure Gets The Boots Right
Bulletstorm is an upcoming shooter that will have the words “Epic Games” and “Electronic Arts” on the front of the box. Which means not only men with guns, but action figures, too. Oh, and giant feet. Grayson Hunt is the star of the game, and also the subject of this figure, designed by NECA and…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 -
UncategorizedWatch The Opening Of Persona Developer’s Upcoming Game
Exploring death in dreams. Upcoming role-playing game “Catherine” is the latest title from Persona developer Atlus, and it looks to be anything but typical. The title features anime from Studio 4C (Mind Game, Tekkon Kinkreet, etc). This isn’t Studio 4C’s first venture into gaming; the company has worked on titles like Rogue Galaxy and Lunar…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
By The People, For The People
Since “Basically Everyone” is, well, basically everyone, that’s all of our signatures on that thing. Considering the timing of the delay, thanks for keeping it so civil! As seen on This Is The Internet, via Gamefreaks
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
A Week In Comments
Fallout: New Vegas’ First DLC Will Be Xbox-Exclusive Comment by: meteora3255 Nominated by: Joe Why is this making everyone so angry. Back in my day we had a console war that many didn’t survive. And right after that another. There were third-party exclusives that each side fought tooth-and-nail to defend. There was no crying, this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
An Illustrated Guide To World Of Warcraft’s Scammers
Being a place where fools and money meet, World of Warcraft is as prone to scammers and swindlers as anywhere else on this planet (or any other planet). This handy chart shows just how prone it is. From power-levelling to gold scams, it’s an informative scroll for anyone who’s ever wondered what kind of money…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Mother 4 In Development (By Fans, Not Nintendo)
The Mother series, known in the West as Earthbound, are some of the best games to ever grace a Game Boy. They’re so good, in fact, that Nintendo of America wants nothing to do with them. Despite years of asking, demanding and then begging for the third game in the series – never released outside…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 -
UncategorizedYou Can’t Beat This Starcraft AI
Beating the computer at Starcraft can be tough enough as it is, but let university programmers at the AI and it becomes almost invincible The AIIDE 2010 StarCraft AI Competition, held last week at the University of California, pitted 28 teams against each other in a battle to produce the toughest artificial intelligence. There were…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 19, 2010 - Uncategorized
Welcome Back, Kotter
What did I do during my week-long vacation? Nothing much, but it’s the topic that will kick off tonight’s open thread in which we smarmily question “How is this news?” My days off from Kotaku—minus having to write up a Castlevania: Lords of Shadow review and field a few calls from EIC Brian Crecente—were uneventful…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 18, 2010 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy XIV MMO Log Four: Pancake Week Ends With A Bang
It’s the fourth week of my four-week feast of Final Fantasy XIV, and my jaws are seriously getting tired. Kotaku’s MMO reviews are a multi-part process. Rather than deliver day one reviews based on beta gameplay, we play the game for four weeks before issuing our final verdict. Once a week we deliver a log…
By Mike Fahey Published October 18, 2010 -
UncategorizedWhat’s New In The Incident 1.2?
Big Bucket Software’s The Incident—one of my favorite iPhone games of 2010—has graduated to version 1.2, adding dozens of new items and features, like the option to turn your iPhone into a dedicated controller for the iPad version. The newly updated The Incident also adds retina display and Game Center support, for anyone with an…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 18, 2010 - Uncategorized
Report: FarmVille ‘Breaks’ Facebook Privacy Rules, Sends Personal Info To Ad Firms
Dozens of Facebook applications, including Zynga’s wildly popular casual games FarmVille, Mafia Wars and FrontierVille, transmit user data in violation of the social network’s privacy settings, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ‘s investigation finds that apps like FarmVille have been transmitting identifying information to “dozens of advertising and Internet…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 18, 2010 -
UncategorizedThe LEGO Metal Slug Hauls Some Serious Ass
This LEGO-fied version of the infamous Metal Slug from SNK’s series of the same name is more than just a rad brick-based recreation of the tank. It features amazing handling. Peer “mahjqa” Kreuger, the creator of the Metal Slug inspired “Metal Grudge,” calls it “pretty much a sportscar tank.” He’s not kidding. Watch how well…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 18, 2010