Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week's best content.
Up above is a cute and, oddly, heartwarming Mario gif. It's the adorable handiwork of Paperbeatsscissors, where you can find more cute and oddly heartwarming Mario gifs.
Moving on to our Best Of content this week, we kick things off as usual with a comment from the community.
The Best Comment From The Community
Our favorite comment of this week comes to you from Troy Themed Gimmick Account: La Araña Discoteca, in response to Jason's role-playing text game:
Ooh, fun! I want to try!
Kotaku: Warhammer. Talk to me.
THQ: Mmmmmmaybe. *coy smile*
Kotaku: Dammit, PUT KNOWLEDGE IN ME.
THQ: To know if Warhammer is meant to be, first you must answer these riddles three...
Kotaku: Jason Schreier. To seek the Holy Scoop. Blue.
THQ: Did you hear about our Humble Bundle? Pretty cool, yeah?
Kotaku: Uhhh, yeah. A while ago. Warhammer me.
THQ: *singsong* There might be another Saints Roooooooow!
Kotaku: You don't say.
THQ: We cannot confirm or deny any rumors regarding the future of the Saints Row franchise. *click*
... Aaaaaand scene.
The Knights of New Vegas: How Obsidian Survived Countless Catastrophes And Made Some Of The Coolest Role-Playing Games Ever
Jason Schreier gives us a fascinating inside look at Obisidian's development history. More »
Video Games And The Sandy Hook Shooting: Two Very Different Reactions
Stephen Totilo compares two very different reactions to the Sandy Hook shooting that were sent to him last weekend. More »
Peter Molyneux Needs Your Money ASAP Because "I Am Not by Any Measure a Hugely Wealthy Individual"
Evan Narcisse talks to Peter Molyneux about the realities of his new career at 22 Cans. More »
Pokémon Designs Aren't Getting Worse, They May Be Getting Better
Patricia Hernandez gets in depth about Pokémon design over the years. More »
The Smartest & Dumbest Things EA Did in 2012
Holden Miller takes a look at EA's accomplishments this year. More »
The Most Stylish, Arresting & Maybe Even Beautiful Video Game Trailers Of 2012
Luke Plunkett rounds up this year's best trailers. More »
The Best Gaming GIFs of 2012
Chris Person shares his favorite GIFs of this year, with readers chiming in on their own. More »
The Fear is Gone: My PC Is My Next-Gen Console
Stephen already has the next generation console. It's his PC. More »
The Smartest & Dumbest Things Activision Did in 2012
Stephen puts Activision's decisions in 2012 in perspective. More »
The Best Stealth Moments Of 2012
Kirk Hamilton shares some of his most notable stealth memories in video games released this year. More »
The Smartest & Dumbest Things Ubisoft Did In 2012
Holden takes a look at Ubisoft's decisions this year. More »
The War Z Mess: Every Crazy Detail We Know So Far [UPDATE]
Jason gathers together every piece of news to come out of The War Z and its questionable state. More »
Borderlands 2 Gets So Much Right, But Gets One Thing Very Wrong
Rick Burford points out Borderlands 2's shortcomings. More »
5 Things You Should Know About Borderlands 2's Next DLC
Tina Amini plays a bunch of Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt to preview the latest DLC for you before it comes out. More »
What Happens When A SNES Controller Is Eaten By A Wii U Controller
Luke reviews a wacky Wii U controller. More »
After Sandy Hook And Virginia Tech, I'm Done With Violent Video Games
Jeremy Norman explains how violence has taken a personal toll on his life. More »
The Biggest Disappointments Of 2012
Kirk tallies up all of this year's biggest disappointments. More »
Weapons of Mass Disruption #2: Why Is (Almost) Every Video Game Suddenly Free?
Ben Cousins explains the trend toward free-to-play. More »
The Best Japan-Only Games of 2012
Richard Eisenbeis makes us all jealous with the best Japan-only games of this year. More »
Minecraft: The Story of Mojang: The Kotaku Review
Matt Hawkins wasn't much of a Minecraft guy. Until he saw this documentary, that is. More »
The NRA's Absolutely Unhinged Response to Newtown Condemns Video Games as a 'Shadow Industry' that 'Sows Violence Against Its Own People'
Owen Good reports on the NRA conference where the executive VP attacked a bunch of video games. More »
Partygoer: Topless Women at Gameloft's Holiday Party Says a Lot About The Games Industry
Jason Schreier talks to the attendee of a crude game industry party. More »
What Are Splatterhouse, Kindergarten Killer and the Other Games the NRA Slammed Today?
Owen explains what each of the five games singled out by the NRA, and puts them into context. More »
The Year In JRPGs
Jason takes a look at what was good and what was bad about JRPGs this year. More »