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I Was Wrong About The Sims

Until this week, I’d never played The Sims. I knew it was a popular series. But for whatever reason, I’d just never played it.. …okay. Maybe not “for whatever reason.” There’s an actual reason, I’m just ashamed to admit it. I avoided The Sims purely because of the stigma I always associated with it. Growing…

The Legendary Skylanders Return To Toys’R’Us

Hey kids, want the same exact toys in black and gold? The Toys’R’Us legendary Skylanders line continues with next month’s Trap Team, with a pair of special toys guaranteed to be warming shelves a month or two after launch. Two years ago I might have told parents and fans to make a beeline for Toys’R’Us…

You Just Can’t Trust Puzzle Games Anymore

I saw two inventive, perception-centric games at PAX last week that got me thinking about how much we take for granted when playing games in a first-person perspective. In one of them, you’re playing as someone who think he’s a god. In the other, you’re getting yelled at by one. Both of them challenge you…

Destiny Doesn’t Offer Major Feature, So Fans Make It Themselves

No random matchmaking for endgame raids in Bungie’s new “shared world” shooter Destiny? No problem, say these fans. They’ll just make their own. Well, OK, kind of a problem, actually. Despite there being an established precedent for random matchmaking—that is, a game automatically sorting you into a group of other players—and pick-up groups in (some)…

Calories You’ll Burn by Playing a Video Game for One Hour This probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone, but playing games doesn’t use that much energy. A study in the Journal of Pediatrics found that adults playing sedentary games (the study used Disney’s Extreme Skate Adventure) only burn 10% more calories than people…

The Legal Battle Over Aliens: Colonial Marines Just Got Juicy

We’re still seeing fallout from one of the biggest video game flops in recent history, and some recent court documents reveal a number of juicy details that give us a behind-the-scenes look at the marketing of Aliens: Colonial Marines, including internal e-mails and some jargon-filled PR plans that are as insane as they are revealing.…

Tool Could Make You A Hearthstone Master, But You Can’t Use It

A Google researcher has figured out how to predict each card his opponent will play in mega-popular online card game Hearthstone. Don’t (or do) worry, though: the tool he developed is staying locked away forever. Google anti-fraud and abuse research lead Elie Bursztein developed machine learning/data analysis tech specifically for Hearthstone, which he demonstrated in…

The Guy Who Hunts The Rarest Pokémon of Them All

Not all Pokémon are created equal. Some legendary Pokémon, like Groudon and Kyogre, feature more prominently in the games’ stories. Other Pokémon, like Garchomp, have superior stats. And some, like Lucario, are fan favorites. None of those, however, are as coveted as the fabled Shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon are special monsters that come in sparkly…

You Can Remote Play PS4 Games On Sony’s New Phones And Tablets

Utilizing the same sort of technology that enables the feature on the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s upcoming Xperia Z3 phones and compact tablets will have the ability to stream PlayStation 4 games over Wi-Fi networks. That’s right, Sony is still making phones. I don’t mean to offend anyone out there with a Sony phone. I’m sure…

First-Person Temple Run Makes Samsung’s VR Headset Terrifying

Announced on the heels of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4-powered VR Gear headset, Temple Run VR takes the popular endless running game and puts it in a terrifying new perspective. It’s one thing to float above the action as a giant killer ape chases your thief/archaeologist through a never-ending maze of temple corridors, forest trails and…

Read This: A Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe Comic That’s Fun And… Smart!

Comic book recommendation: You can set your expectations low for many toy tie-in comics but Tom Scioli and John Barber’s Transformers vs. G.I. Joe ongoing comic series from IDW is shockingly impressive. The writing is wonderfully arch, but the main draw is the paradoxically sophisticated-yet-primitive style of Scioli. Take a look: Or, better, justgo to…

Cards Against Humanity Fifth Expansion, Dead Rising Apocalypse [Deals]

You can preorder, preload, and pre-save on Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition. $36 down from $50 after code NEVR14-U3AJ96-7004LF. Out 9/5. [Dead Rising 3] Cards Against Humanity’s Fifth Expansion is here, and since the first four are still regularly sold out, we expect this to sell out almost immediately. Base Game Expansion 1 Expansion 2…

Play This: A Hard Roguelike That Feels Better On Mobile Than PC

Game recommendation…. The Nightmare Cooperative is a stylish, simple-to-control, difficult game that has you moving up to four heroes in unison through randomized dungeons, collecting loot, fighting monsters, dying plenty. Five minutes of video impressions for you below… You can get the game on Steam (PC/Mac/Linux) for $6 but I recommend going for the mobile…

A Quirky Take on Turn-Based Strategy

The Behemoth makes games that are infamous for challenging players’ reflexes. But the next game from the indie dev studio slows things down a bit, putting the emphasis on planning instead of speed. Alien Hominid had players jumping and shooting through a brutally tough 2D side-scroller. Castle Crashers‘ co-op brawling put a premium on fast…

How To Get Infinite Money In The Sims 4

Nothing makes me lose your interest in a Sims game as quickly as suddenly having access to mountains of cash, so I shall not be taking advantage of the game’s built-in infinite cash cheat code. The rest of you may read/watch on. IGN put together this handy video to explain how to enhance your Sims…

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku‘s reader-run community: How Does Your Game Keep You Contained? Part 2 • A Chat with Little Worlds’ Jenna Hoffstein • Great Food Debate: Coffee vs. Tea • Game of The Week — Basically Call of Duty: Gundam [Gundam Side Story 0079] TAY Classic—TAY Open Forum—Beginner’s Guide To TAY Follow…

Angry Birds Transformers Trailer Is So 80’s

The new Angry Birds trailer is meant to look like it was ripped from a VHS tape. Also, it’s loaded with lasers and features a new song by the man who made music for the 80’s Transformers movie: The music is by Vince DiCola and Kenny Meriedeth who explain how they made the new song…

Pixelized Tribute To Hayao Miyazaki

Everyone from Totoro to the characters in The Wind Rises, and even Lupin and the gang are here in Pablo Fernández Eyre‘s lovely pixelized tribute video to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. The Hayao Miyazaki Tribute in 8-bit [Vimeo] To contact the author of this post, write to: [email protected]

Who’d Win a Fight, Minecraft Steve or Mario?

Years of wilderness survival experience versus years of tournament fighting experience. Two wildly different worlds. It could go either way. Filmmaker Andrew McMurry, who has explored topics from the dark side of being a superhero to video games clashing with the real world, has the answer in the form of a three-minute video. Man, Steve…

Deluxe Eddard Stark Action Figure

Threezero just revealed its latest Game of Thrones figure—Eddard Stark You are now looking at Screenburn, a Kotaku blog dedicated to the best gaming images, videos and GIFs online.