• Culture

  The Jarls, Jesters and Thieves of Skyrim

  The last time we saw some concept art from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, it was from Ray Lederer, and featured loads of colour and action shots. We’ve got some more art from the game today, and this time, it’s all about the design. The clothes, the weapons, the fine details. These pieces were drawn…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  My God, This Time Travel Game Looks Amazing

  Void is a game about time travel. That’s been done in games before, I know, but it’s never been done like this. A first-person PC game, Void gives you direct, immediate control over the timing of your surroundings via a variety of tools. I won’t bother trying to describe it to you; just watch the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  I Never Want To Hear Another Skyrim Remix. Ever!

  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a great game with a great world and great music. Some people love the music so much that they’ve decided to put their own spin on it. The results vary: from symphonic to shit. After spending time on the internet, combing through what’s out there, I’m done. I don’t…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2011
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  Pepper Spray Cop is an Ass-Kicking Street Fighter

  Pepper Spray Cop will be one of the enduring images of 2011. While most tributes to the man have been simple PhotoShops, though, this piece by Pazero goes to the trouble of being an all-original illustration. Ken VS Lt John [DeviantArt, via Gamefreaks]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  Lou Reed: Sad Song

  Kids! And not kids! It’s that time of the night. The time when we gather around those glowing portals you call screens and listen to music. Together! That’s right, it’s time for Soundtrack. Tonight, we have Lou Reed’s live rendition of “Sad Song” from the classic Berlin album. This live version appeared on Reed’s 1975…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2011
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  A Skyrim Helmet Made of Bacon. Shout “Delicious”.

  Taking one page out of EpicMealTime and another out of some book in Skyrim about helmets made of bacon, internet person Liktwo made a Skyrim helmet. Out of bacon. It’s built using a delicate bacon weave, and once cooked looks good enough to wear. Then eat. Or both. While Liktwo says it was made from…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  Dante’s Inferno Isn’t Metal Gear Solid. It’s the Japanese Police.

  If you live in Japan, you’ve seen Dante Carver on television. The American-born actor plays “Onii-chan” or “brother” in a series of mobile phone commercials that star a dog as a family patriarch, actress Aya Ueto, and Shigesato Itoi’s wife And if you’ve been to the Tokyo Game Show, you’ve probably seen Carver on stage,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2011
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  Stealth Will Return in Next Metal Gear Solid Sequel

  Metal Gear Rising is a hack-and-slash game. It’s not a stealth game—no biggie MGS creator Hideo Kojima pointed out. It’s a spin-off game, and stealth will return to the next MGS sequel so wait for that. [@Kojima_Hideo]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2011
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  This House Was Built For LAN Parties

  Google software engineer Kenton Varda has a pretty great house. Not because it’s all clean and new and rather large, but because it’s been built specifically with LAN parties in mind. The house has twelve “fold-out computer stations”, with six each in two rooms (for team play!), and which normally just look like monitors placed…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  Silly Cosplay, Schoolgirls, and a Fake Monster

  Over the weekend, Monster Hunter 3G launched in Japan. Sister site Kotaku Japan was on hand for the festivities in Shinjuku. Members of AKB48 spin-off group NMB48 were on hand, along with Japanese comedians, a tricked out van, about 200 people, and Kotaku Japan One of the comedians, Ken Maeda, loves Monster Hunter and has…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 13, 2011
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  Revengeance is a Stupid Word, But It’s Also One the Klan Used

  Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. It’s a name Square Enix would be proud of, but before you go thinking some Japanese guy made it up by combining “Revenge” and “Vengeance” and nobody had the sense to tell him it was a stupid name, know that it’s a word that’s been used before. Metal band Soulfly, for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  Yup, Ico’s Creator Has Officially Left Sony

  Fumito Ueda, the driving force behind both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, has confirmed that he is no longer employed at Sony. Having joined the company in 1997, and until recently overseeing his own development team at Sony (Team Ico), Ueda’s departure is a blow to Sony’s home-grown talent stocks, what with him being…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  Street Fighter V? Contra 6? These Games Exist (In Russia).

  Remember how last month we looked at some of the better examples of the unlicensed NES/Famicom clones that walked the earth during the 1980s and 1990s? One towered above all others like a colossus in terms of how successful it was, and that was Russia’s Dendy console. It’s my personal favourite of the bunch. Not…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 13, 2011
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  If Only Cartoon Network Took Its Games More Seriously

  Perhaps I was the only male over the age of thirteen to hope that Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL for the Xbox 360 was something more than a sloppy clone of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series of character-driven fighting games. What can I say? I love cartoons. I’ve loved them all my life, and…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 12, 2011
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  Meshell Ndegeocello: The Way

  I liked jazz growing up, but some of the intricacies of a tune’s “pocket” were lost on me. I was young then, and foolish, and I hadn’t yet heard Meshell Ndegeocello (whose official website no longer refers to her as Me’Shell Ndegéocello). But then I finally discovered her, and in so doing discovered what groove…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published December 12, 2011
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  This Video Shows Just How Gorgeous Battlefield 3 Can Be

  Watching Battlefield 3 like this makes me wish I had a PC to play it on. It looks great in slow motion. Watch it in full 1080p HD or else you will be losing half the beauty of the video.

  By Chris Carolan Published December 12, 2011
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  The Cuter Video Game Characters Are, The More I Want To Kill Them

  I swear I’m gonna murder Toad. I hate everything about him—his stupid smurfy hat, his dumb little smile, his goofy, perky body language. I despise his goddam Marge Simpson voice, and the way he yells “Rabo!” But most of all, I hate the way the little fucker keeps nailing me with blue shells in Mario…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published December 12, 2011
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  The Last of Us Trailer is Full of Hints, Says Naughty Dog

  They didn’t expect to be able to keep it a secret. They were worried it would leak. But the co-presidents of Naughty Dog managed to keep the fact that their Uncharted studio has been making The Last of Us for a while. Moments after the first trailer was revealed, the two chatted with the official…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 12, 2011
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  Kind of Cool, Kind of Creepy

  Kind of cool, kind of creepy. I played Google Shoot View in front of Kotaku‘s NYC HQ. -Stephen Totilo For the Right Price These Gamers Will Die For You This story starts, as so many great ones do, with a classified ad: “I will take bullets for you,” it read. And he did. Contact made,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 12, 2011
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  Guild Wars 2 Only Thought It Was In Control of the Mesmer Class Reveal

  Mesmers are not controlled; a Mesmer does the controlling, which is probably why this video for the final Guild Wars 2 class slipped out a few days earlier than planned. Mind control! Master of illusion and control, the Mesmer class perfectly fits the promises made earlier this year by ArenaNet that the final class revealed…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 12, 2011