Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week's best content.
I'm back from vacation (with a slight tan and a cold) and ready to unleash this pretty, wooden Atari 2600 at you. It's currently running for $1.2k on ebay. Or, if that's too much for you, you can always just look at extra pictures of the thing on Ian Brooks' Tumblr, where I found the console, and read about it over on Game Sniped.
Now let's move on to reading this week's best content, courtesy of us.
The Many Ways We Didn't Get To Play SimCity This Week
Can't access SimCity? Lots of people can't. For lots of reasons. Kirk Hamilton takes a look at these. More »
Oh My, How the Pokémon Anime Has Changed
Brian Ashcraft gives us side-by-side comparisons of these Pokémon changes. More »
Ultima Creator Richard Garriott Revolutionized Video Game RPGs. Now He Wants To Do It Again.
Evan Narcisse has an interesting chat with Lord British, the man behind Ultima, who is coming back to making games. More »
Proof That American Gamers Really Do Want Japanese RPGs
Jason Schreier lets the numbers do the talking. More »
Amazon's Potential Jump Into Cloud Gaming, And Other Secrets From The World Of Video Games
Superannuation uncovers more secrets about Amazon, Trion Worlds and more. More »
God of War: Ascension Vs. The PlayStation 4
Stephen Totilo wonders how much the PS4 will help (or not) to evolve series like this one. More »
SimCity: The Kotaku Review
Mike Fahey knows there's plenty to love about SimCity, if only he could get to play more of it. More »
Here's What Japanese People Are Saying About The PS4
Toshi Nakamura rounds up what Japanese people's concerns and excitements for the PS4 are. More »
I'd Like Fewer Addictive Games, Thanks
Patricia Hernandez explains why "addictive" isn't really all that much of a compliment to a game. More »
MLB 13 The Show: The Kotaku Review
Owen Good finds this series holding strong. More »
Mass Effect 3: Citadel: The Kotaku Review
Kirk reviews this Mass Effect 3 DLC that he considers a great chapter for the most diehard of fans. More »
I'm A Mormon. Pop Culture Often Mocks My Faith, But Fallout Treated It Right
Skip Cameron is pleasantly surprised by Fallout's treatment of Mormon culture. More »
Tips for Playing SimCity
Fahey gives us some tips before we dive into SimCity (if/when that happens). More »
What I'd Like To See In The Witcher 3
Kirk, resident The Witcher nut, runs down what he wants to see out of the next title in the series. More »
What In The World Do Video Game Writers Do? The Minds Behind Some Of Last Year's Biggest Games Explain.
Phil Owen interviews some video game writers to see what they do exactly, and how they do it. More »
I Sold My Video Games To Pay For My Wedding, And Said Goodbye To Part Of Myself
Christopher Lawton shares his experience of letting go of a favorite hobby to make way for a new, shared life. More »
DmC: Vergil's Downfall: The Kotaku Review
Evan enjoys the DmC extension, even if Vergil isn't as awesome as Dante in this DLC. More »
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate: The Kotaku Review
Jason enjoys the combat in this Castlevania, even if the game does have a few flaws. More »
The Dramatic Palm-Slice: A Fantasy Trope I've Never Understood
Kirk ponders this odd ritual. More »
Introducing 'The Multiplayer,' Your Weekly Destination For Games We Play With Each Other
Patricia introduces her new weekly column. More »
Cadbury Creme Eggs: The Snacktaku Review
Fahey tries all sorts of flavors. More »
SimCity Won (and Broke) My Heart in Just Three Days
Fahey shares the story of the rise and demise of his city, and how he killed Kotaku boss Stephen Totilo's city, too. More »
Be Excited About Assassin's Creed IV. And Be Skeptical.
Stephen shares all the reasons we have to be excited about a new Assassin's Creed, and all the reasons we should remain skeptical for now. More »
How I Learned That I Suck At Civilization
Mike Rougeau tries out different methods of tackling Civ V. More »