• Kotaku East

  I’m Serious You Jerks, Stop Vandalizing the Anime Statues

  There’s a crime wave in Japan. The victims are famous and beloved, but helpless and unable to fend for themselves. They’re being violated and damaged. It begs the questions: If they are so beloved, why is this happening? This week, another Japanese statue of a famed anime character was defaced: Namihei Isono, the father of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 23, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now. Right Now.

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 23, 2012
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  Lost Planet 3 Gameplay Footage is a Little German

  Capcom’s German outlet has posted this lengthy clip giving us our first substantial look at Lost Planet 3 gameplay. Just skip through all the bits where German games writers are talking and you’ll see all the guns, snow and mechs you’d expect. Stephen played the game himself recently, and came away surprisingly impressed. You can…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Superstars of Indie Gaming…Unite!

  Coming together like a less muscular version of the Justice League, Steve Courtney’s INDIES, ASSEMBLE! brings together the stars of games like Braid, Journey and Minecraft in the one incredible image. It’s due to appear in an upcoming issue of Jumpbutton magazine, but if you feel like getting it now, there are wallpaper-sized versions available…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  LEGO Ghost Recon Looks Even Better Than the Real Thing

  So, perhaps unsurprisingly, it seems there’s another decent installation in the Ghost Recon series. Which is all well and good, but where’s our LEGO Ghost Recon games? In fantasy land, that’s where, so in their absence we’ll make do with this awesome video made by LEGO superstar Kooberz Lego Ghost Recon Future Soldier [YouTube]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
• Culture

  Some Kick-Ass Fantasy Images to Start Your Wednesday

  Sean Murray is an artist who we’ve actually featured here before. But that was when I only posted images pertaining to a particular game, or franchise. Now that I’ve blown Fine Art’s doors off, it’s time to look at the rest of his work, because the stuff he’s done aside from Kingdoms of Amalur is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Sephiroth’s Bad Day at the Office

  Final Fantasy villain Sephiroth wasn’t always a bad guy. Like Michael Douglas in Falling Down, all it takes is one bad day at the office to send him off the deep end. It gets a little corny in places, but then, that’s half the charm! One Winged Office: A Sephiroth Song [YouTube]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Promising Skyrim Movie Looks Far More Professional Than it Has Any Right Looking

  “The Thief” is a short film that Chris Wood has been working on all year long. Sure, it’s yet another Skyri fan film, but this one looks notable for the fact he’s spent some money on it, and that it looks very professional. The actors? They’re actually acting, not grunting while plastic swords clash. The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Even Activision Executives Joked That StarCraft II Was Never Coming Out

  StarCraft was released in 1998. By 2010, three years after it had first been revealed, StarCraft II still wasn’t out. If you thought it was understandable that fans were wondering if it was ever actually going to come out, it’s pretty funny seeing even Activision’s top executives thinking the same thing. Buried in the emails…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Zombie Playground Turns Art Into a Video Game Starring Kids, Zombies & Rap

  Back in 2009, Masive Black artist Jason Chan (who draws wonderful pictures and even Kotaku mascots) gave the world an adorable piece of art that, while not directly inspired by Left 4 Dead, certainly captured people’s attention at the time. Mostly because it looked like a Fisher Price version of Valve’s shooter. Fast forward to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  This Man Wants to See the Xbox 360 Banned From Sale (And he Might Actually Succeed)

  The Microsoft v Motorola court case that’s been bubbling away since 2010 seems to be heating up in all the wrong ways for the Xbox 360 manufacturer, with a judge involved recommending that the console’s US imports and sales be halted immediately. International Trade Commission judge David Shaw, pictured, has said he believes that the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Unboxing a…1986 Sega Master System

  Who gives a shit about unboxing modern games hardware. We all do it when we buy the thing, they come with basically nothing, and the documentation is woeful. Let’s enjoy, then, this unboxing of a 1986 Sega Master System bundle. Marvel at the included accessories. Gape in awe at the pack-in games. I actually never…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 22, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Your Eyes Are Not Ready For This Hideous Sega Jacket

  Just as Nintendo had its Power Line, so too did Sega once have its own band of phone-based game assistance. It was staffed by men and women who were known as Sega Game Counselors, and in addition to their jobs helping kids get past the tough parts of games, they also got these jackets. This…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 22, 2012
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  As Always, You Had Me At “Dog Riding a Bike”

  I mean, you didn’t even have to tell me his name was “Norman.” Hello Kotaku, and welcome to Tuesday’s open thread. I always used to like Tuesdays because even though the weekend is far away, ‘Rescue 911’ was on. Maybe I’ll do a week of open threads themed to the TV shows I used to…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 22, 2012
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  Six Video Game Reviewers Team Up to Take On Dragon’s Dogma

  It takes a strong party of adventurers to take down a dragon, but an even stronger party to dissect a game as massive as Capcom’s ambitious action role-playing game Dragon’s Dogma. Do these six brave heroes have what it takes? What a silly question, this is what they do for a living. They play through…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 22, 2012
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  Skyrim’s Giant Dragon Wall, Installed on a Regular Office Wall

  Alduin’s Wall, the giant stone wall that not only plays an important role in Skyrim but which was also prominent in the game’s early advertising, was last year turned into an actual thing Strung up at Bethesda’s E3 and PAX booths, it’s now found itself a permanent home in the offices of the game’s developer,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 22, 2012
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  Get Drunk and Slappy With This Ginned-Up Rayman: Origins Drinking Game

  From the guys who brought you “Mario Party Down”, the excellent Mario Party drinking game (with some bonus Party Down references) comes “Rayman OriGin and Tonics.” (Groan.) Yep. It’s all gin, all the time. The game leverages the abusive nature of Rayman Origins‘ co-op gameplay to get you as drunk as possible. Take four drinks…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 22, 2012
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  We’ve Waited a Terribly Long Time for Fieldrunners 2

  One of the most popular tower defense games of all time, Fieldrunners has been charming and challenging players on the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, the PSP, PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo DSi since 2008. Subatomic Studios is finally ready to release a sequel, giving fans only a month to get their affairs in order. Featuring…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 22, 2012
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  I Was Impressed By Company of Heroes 2‘s Fire And Snow

  The physical feature that most impressed players of the first great Company of Heroes real-time strategy game was the earth. In combat, under the impact of a grenade or tank shell, it cratered. There were many other things to like in the first CoH, which is one of the best-reviewed video games of all time.…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 22, 2012
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  Sony Web Address for Next PlayStation Doesn’t Work Anymore

  Above, an image screencapped on my computer the day this past March when we broke the news that the so-called PlayStation 4 is codenamed Orbis That URL up there used to work, curiously bringing people to same PlayStation developers’ site that similar web addresses for PS3 would take you to. I tried it again today.…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 22, 2012