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An Indie Mars-Based Survival Game Inspired by… Pokémon Snap?

A bit over a month ago, we showed you Lacuna Passage, an amazing-looking and quite mysterious indie Mars exploration game. Now, developer Random Seed Games is taking to Kickstarter to raise some money so they can work full-time on their first commercially released game. So yes, Lacuna Passage is a survival game set on Mars,…

Lightning as Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII for Pre-Order Bonus

Lightning returns alright. This time, she can dress up in Cloud Strife’s Soldier 1st Class Uniform and swing his Buster Sword. But there’s a catch! According to the PlayStation Blog, those who pre-order Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3 get the costume DLC. Um. Okay. Neat? Eds note: The press release also says…

Oh, Nothing, It’s Just A Girl Building A Prosthetic Leg Out Of LEGO

Somebody in Christina Stephens’ research lab joked that she – an amputee – should build a fake leg out of LEGO. Challenge. Accepted. This awesome video shows Christina rummaging around like a kid for the right pieces, before taking the legfor a test drive AmputeeOT: My Legoleg [YouTube, via ALBOTAS]

Pokémon Evolve. So What’s Up With Crocodiles?

It’s a good question! I mean, Darwinism holds that species evolve over time. Yet some creatures – sharks, crocodiles, cockroaches – have gone unchanged for millions of years. There must be an explanation for this. And whaddya know, here it is. MiniMation No.1 – “Hold B Button” [YouTube]

Half-Life Conspiracy Theorists, You’re The Best Kind Of Crazy

Patricia had this image tucked away inside a story from earlier today, but I thought it was too magnificent not to showcase on the front page. It’s by artist Ivan Bakula. It is my new desktop wallpaper.

Gamers, You Rely On YouTube

Google has released a report on how gamers use YouTube, and it’s pretty interesting! Looking at the viewing statistics behind every single video game-related clip on the service, they’ve found that, well, pretty much all of you use it. All the time. For all kinds of stuff. Here are the important bits from the study:…

Steam Offering A “Low Violence Version” Of Saints Row IV

In the wake of Saints Row IV’s “ban” in Australia, a “Low Violence Version” of the game has appeared on Steam. Available for Australian customers, there’s no explanation as to what this version actually changes, leading to the suspicion it’s simply being offered in expectation that publishers Deep Silver will resubmit a modified copy of…

Microsoft’s New Control Pad For Flashy Rappers, Russian Oil Tycoons

I can’t think of anyone else who would consider owning one of these ostentatious fingerprint magnets. Announced earlier today, its full product name is the “Xbox 360 Special Edition Chrome Series Gold Wireless Controller”. It’s out next month and will retail for $55 “at GameStop and Microsoft Store locations in addition to select regions worldwide”.

One Of The World’s Best Modders Is Making His Own Game

In the Total War community, Darthmod occupies a place behind only developers Creative Assembly themselves. For years, his comprehensive (and easy to use) mod packs have transformed the flagship strategy series from “great games with whiffy AI” to “amazing games oh God where is my life going”. Last year, though, he all but walked away…

The San Francisco Fog Never Looked So Gorgeous

For going on a decade now, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the San Francisco fog. It’s our city’s defining characteristic; so beautiful from afar, so smothering and depressing up close. But there’s no denying that beauty, captured here in a gorgeous new video from photographer Simon Christen called “Adrift.” He describes his project thusly.…

This Dude Does NOT Want To Pause His Game

The I CAN’T JUST PAUSE MY GAME, MOM AND DAD is such a cliche, I know. MachinimaPrime doesn’t do much to dispel stereotypes about gamers in this video where a gross man refuses to stop playing a game, but damn if they didn’t do a good job of showing how that situation can get extremely…

Two great essays about Animal Crossing: New Leaf: In this smart analysis by Gamasutra‘s Christian Nutt, he looks at why this entry in particular has been such a sensation. Meanwhile, USGamer’s Jeremy Parish talks about how summer arrived today and caused him to finally fall for the game. I haven’t seen a game this broadly…

Hell Yes, It’s OC Remix’s Mondo Musical Tribute To Final Fantasy VI

Yesssss. The madmen and women at OC Remix have pulled together a massive group of musicians to pay tribute to one of the most beloved video game soundtracks of all time: Square Enix’s 1994 classic Final Fantasy VI The album, titled Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin, is out today. It’s the result of a…

Ragdoll Physics: Better With Kinect

Ragdolls are fun on their own, but watching Criken2’sfriend mess around in Garry’s Mod using a Kinect looks like a blast. Something about knowing the ragdoll is acting a certain way because there’s an actual person doing the same thing on the other end, I think. It’s extra playful. The fact that Criken’s is naturally…

Man On Unicycle Plays Game of Thrones Theme on Flaming Bagpipes

Also, he’s wearing a dragon mask and there’s a Daenarys look-alike just kind of standing there awkwardly in this video by squiddkidd …uh, yeah. I have no idea, although it dawns on me that flaming bagpipes are a thing. Game of Thrones Theme on Flaming Bagpipes and Unicycle – The Unipiper [squiddkidd via The Mary…

How ‘GLaDOS’ is GLaDOS In Pacific Rim? Pretty GLaDOS.

Among the questions video-game fans may have about Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming robots vs. monsters blockbuster Pacific Rim—how are the robots? How are the monsters?—one question stands apart: Is GLaDOS really in it? There has been some confusion on this issue. The first big trailer for the movie featured voice-actor Ellen McLain reprising her famous…

The New Kinect Means You Won’t Have To Enter Codes On A Control Pad

The Kinect is mandatory on the Xbox One—which means that one of gaming’s most annoying facets, entering a million codes every time you buy a new game, doesn’t have to exist according to Microsoft’s Marc Whitten. Why? Because you’d just be able to scan a QR code in! Easy. We’ve contacted Microsoft to ask if…

Show Us The Games You’re Playing To Survive The Summer Doldrums

Every summer there’s a video game dead zone, a break between the games of spring and the deluge of the fall. Lately it’s seemed as though that dead zone is getting shorter and shorter. But it arrives each year nonetheless. As we ease our way into July, it’s clear that we’re about to enter 2013’s…

Police Blotter: Caught Sleeping With a DS

Crime is a constant feature of video games writing. Somewhere, someone is doing something illicit with them—sometimes comically stupid, sometimes tragic. Games and consoles are currency, objects of dispute, sometimes even weapons themselves. Kotaku‘s Police Blotter is here to round up the latest in games crime. Cops Find Robber in Bed with the Evidence LANESVILLE,…

The Many Ways You Can Pay To Be “Good” At A Game

How badly do you want to win? Enough that you’d pay to strap on a gaming headset that shocks your brain? Maybe that sounds insane, but then again, many of the things people do to gain an edge in multiplayer games are ridiculous. You might be familiar with more ‘tame’ practices. I for instance have…