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You Can’t Be Serious—You Can Not Be Serious—Playing Tennis in the Face
My father has been a tennis umpire for more than 25 years. He’s seen and penalized plenty of bad behavior, both professional and college. But I doubt he’s ever seen anything like Pete Pagassi, the protagonist of Tennis in the Face “If a player hits a ball at a court official or a ballkid, is…
By Owen Good Published January 25, 2013 -
The Ouya Controller Will Change, Because Developers Complained About It
In a post on their website yesterday, the team behind open source console Ouya announced some changes to their controller based on repeated complaints they’ve received from developers. As one of the highest funded Kickstarter projects ever, the Ouya team has been insistent on working with their investors, and at least for now seems to…
By Holden Miller Published January 25, 2013 -
Walking to Work in New York City: The Game
Coming to the iPhone and iPad in February, Gutpela’s Sidewalker: Late to Work is a painstakingly accurate recreation of what I felt like when I visited New York City last month to hang at the Kotaku main office, right down to the lack of pants. Gutpela says this is an endless walking game, like a…
By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2013 -
Still Waiting For Your Ni no Kuni Special Edition? This eBayer Has Sold Over 200 Of Them
Many of the people who pre-ordered the special edition of Ni no Kuni from publisher Namco Bandai’s online store still haven’t received their copies. There seem to be all sorts of issues surrounding inventory and distribution of the new PS3 role-playing game. A lot of people are pissed off. Now there’s a new wrinkle: some…
By Jason Schreier Published January 25, 2013 -
Leland Yee, Who Wrote Unconstitutional Anti-Game Law, Tells Gamers ‘Quiet Down.’
Remember the law California passed in 2005 criminalizing the sale of violent video games to kids? The one that got thrown out in 2011 by the Supreme Court? The thing that led to the Supreme Court declaring games were protected speech, an artistic expression? Right. Well, the author of that legislation has something to say…
By Owen Good Published January 25, 2013 -
PS3 or Xbox 360: Compare Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance‘s Looks on Two Consoles
Yes, Raiden’s return to a starring role in a Metal Gear game features a seemingly unkillable cat. But which console will all that hacking and slashing look best on? CVG offers up the same in-game sequence as played on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. If you’ve got both the Microsoft and Sony game machines…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 25, 2013 -
This Week’s iPad Charts: Do the Banana Kong
As Temple Run 2 continues to tear up the free iPad charts, a different sort of endless running game makes its paid chart debut. Video game fans love their giant monkeys. Looks like channeling Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country is doing the trick for Banana Kong. I did not expect to see the game hit the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2013 -
My Day With The New SimCity
Last week, I headed over to Maxis headquarters in Emeryville to spend a big chunk of time playing SimCity. I decided that rather than attempt to list all of the features of a game this dense, I’d just keep a journal of my day. So that’s what I did. Who’s ready for some hot city-planning…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 25, 2013 -
Forget The Numbers, This D&D Game Looks Great
Part of the appeal of playing a game like Dungeons & Dragons is that you’ve got to use your imagination. If there’s a representation of your character at all, chances are it’s pretty basic. These illustrations by artist M S Corley, though, are fantastic. If they’re not exactly what you’d imagine a character to look…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
See The Stuff Terraria Gets On Console That It’s (Probably) Not Getting On PC
It was, quietly, one of the biggest PC games of 2011 (and 2012), so it’s little surprise that Terraria is heading to consoles This clip shows some of the new features coming to the console. Features that, incidentally, weren’t originally planned to be coming to the PC version, which has been “finished” for some time…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
Downton Abbey, Ported To The Super Nintendo
Let’s imagine, for a moment, that Downton Abbey—a show set in the past—also had a game that’s from… the past. Only not so far back. OK, scrap that, and just watch this sweet video by Bill Kiley, where the manor house comes alive to the sound of midi music. Downton Abbey for the SNES [Bill…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
Don’t Worry, The Giant Purple Dildo From Saints Row Is Safe
If there’s one defining feature of the Saints Row series, it’s the fact you can use an enormous dildo as a weapon. THQ has had a replica prop made up for a while now, but with the publisher closing down, there was a very real risk that it would end up in a bin or,…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
Commander Shepard, Reporting For Duty In The Real World
There’s no shortage of quality Commander Shepard cosplay in the world, but this outfit by MissCordie has instantly become one of the best we’ve seen. Why? It’s the extra mile. A lot of Shepard cosplayers replicate the design of the uniform and leave it at that. MissCordie’s here is beat up. It’s missing paint in…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
Watch The Glee Cast Perform The Arrangement They Ripped Off From Jonathan Coulton
Last week, a recording surfaced of the cast of Glee performing a slowed-down arrangement of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 90s classic “Baby Got Back.” As it turned out, their arrangement of the tune had more than a liiiittle bit in common with an earlier arrangement by well-known geeky songwriter Jonathan Coulton. In fact, the Glee arrangement was…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 25, 2013 -
Capcom’s Sad Excuse For Not Releasing Resident Evil: Revelations On The Vita
3DS game Resident Evil: Revelations is being remade in HD, and will be coming to just about every platform under the sun in May. That means the PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii U. Curiously, the Vita is absent from the list, even though it could easily handle it. So, uh, why? Replying to user…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2013 -
Report: Rockstar Threatened To “Sue The S**t” Out Of A TV Show Called LA Noir. [UPDATE: Game Publisher Denies.]
Hollywood director and writer Frank Darabont was working on a TV show called LA Noir, which aside from having a similar name to Rockstar’s 2011 adventure was also set in Los Angeles circa 1947, the same year the game begins. Despite being based on a book by the same name, he says he’s had to…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 24, 2013 -
The Mars Volta Breaks Up, Never To De-Louse In Another Comatorium
Well, this is a shame. The Mars Volta, a band I have always had a great deal of respect for, is officially no more. Via the A.V. Club, lead singer/freak of nature Cedric Bixler Zavala announced his departure, and the band’s breakup, in a series of tweets last night: I have to say, the only…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 24, 2013 -
The Hidden Beauty Of Skill Trees
The recent launch of Path Of Exile‘s open beta—a new hack & slash action RPG known especially for its enormous skill tree, as you can see in the pic above—inspired us to collect some of the best looking skill and research trees spanning a variety of genres. It’s interesting to see how creatively devs can…
By Gergo Vas Published January 24, 2013 -
This Is What Romance Looks Like In Fire Emblem: Awakening
Sure, the Fire Emblem series is known for its well-designed tactical challenges. The newest game in the series, Fire Emblem: Awakening, is no different. But a lesser-known aspect of Awakening is just how romantic it can be. See, when your soldiers (of which you’ll amass dozens) fight alongside one another, they get closer and eventually…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 24, 2013 -
You Can Pay For Weapons In Dead Space 3 Because Of Mobile Gamers, Apparently
Many Dead Space fans were disappointed this week after hearing that Dead Space 3 would feature microtransactions—or, the ability to buy in-game goods for real money. Today in an interview with CVG, Dead Space 3 producer John Calhoun stated that microtransactions exist because they intend to court mobile gamers. There’s a lot of players out…
By Patricia Hernandez Published January 24, 2013