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Shooting Virtual People Makes You Better at Paying Attention, Science Says
It’s good timing for everyone to be excited about Call of Duty: Black Ops II, it seems. New research finds that playing the game, and others like it, can actively change your brain for the better. Several previous studies have found that playing different kinds of games has a different effect on the brain, from…
By Kate Cox Published May 3, 2012 -
Valve Knows They Keep You Waiting. There’s Even an Amusing Chart About It.
Nothing’s worse than thinking you’re going to get something cool at a certain time and finding out that there’s going to be some sort of delay. Damn you, delays! While other companies wouldn’t own up to the amount of time they keep folks waiting, Valve is better than that. The developer of the Team Fortress,…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 3, 2012 -
Video Gaming’s Most-Celebrated Sex Comedy Is Coming Back, With a New Asian Girl
Yesterday, Al Lowe told me a dirty joke. “What do you call a redneck with a pig under one arm and a sheep under the other arm? “Bisexual.” Al Lowe likes telling jokes, many of them dirty. Back in 1987 he created Leisure Suit Larry, an adventure game about a loser who tries to score…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 3, 2012 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk about new games, old games, games that aren’t even out yet? Knock yourselves out! So this month’s painting pairs a well-off gentleman…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 3, 2012 -
EA Backtracks On Shutting Down Rock Band Mobile
Publisher Electronic Arts seems to have backtracked on its plans to shut down the mobile version of Rock Band following a massive outcry from fans and press yesterday. Yesterday, customers with the iOS version of Rock Band received a message saying the game would shut down on May 31. Now, EA says that was an…
By Jason Schreier Published May 3, 2012 -
Charlie Brown as the Hero of Hyrule? Good Grief!
Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic strips stand as one of the most brilliant artistic achievements of the 20th Century. You could say the same about The Legend of Zelda video games. So, yes, I’m going to vote for this shirt design by Threadless contributor Winter the Artist. You should, too. He’s also got a great Chewbacca…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 3, 2012 -
Oh Hey, a Virtual Console Game! Remember Those?
Back in late 2006 we were convinced that one day our Wiis would be filled with every classic video game we ever wanted, thanks to the magic of the Virtual Console. That dream is dead now, but the Virtual Console continues to hang-on in superlative fashion. Today on the Wii Virtual Console it’s Super Hang-On,…
By Mike Fahey Published May 3, 2012 -
Gravity Rush Looked So Damn Beautiful From the Very Beginning
Raise your hands if Gravity Rush is the reason you got a PlayStation Vita or plan on getting one. Wow, that’s a lot of hands! All the anticipation for Gravity Rush comes from the game’s combination of a clever core mechanic with a unique aesthetic. A new post over at the PlayStation Blog shows a…
By Evan Narcisse Published May 3, 2012 -
Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes Converge in One Free-to-Play Online Cartoon Universe
Two of Warner Bros. most beloved children’s franchise come together later this year in Cartoon Universe, a free-to-play browser-based online adventure world. You know, for the kids. The first project out of WB Games Montreal, Cartoon Universe is a colorful kid-friendly destination for fans of The Looney Tunes Show and Scooby Doo. Kids will be…
By Mike Fahey Published May 3, 2012 -
Mass Effect’s LEGO Mako Looks Easier to Drive
Complaints about certain parts of Mass Effect 3 may be more contemporary, but let’s not forget the first game had a more serious problem: the Mako tank drove like shit on wheels. Which presented me with a problem, because I loved to look at it, but hated to drive it. Yet I had to do…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
Ever Wonder What’s Inside a Guitar Hero Guitar?
Sure, you could smash one open, but these are pieces of consumer electronics, not Easter eggs. Why do you always have to go for the violent option first? In a post over on Behance, industrial designer George Schnakenberg explains the design process behind the last Guitar Hero peripheral, that used for Warriors of Rock, and…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
These Fake Nintendo Games Look More Interesting Than Real Ones
Can you believe it’s Famicase time already? That time of the year when indie Japanese store Meteor holds an exhibition showcasing a bunch of incredible, one-of-a-kind fake video game cartridges. The goal of the exhibition is simple: artists submit a cartridge for a fake Famicom game. It can be whatever they want, basically, meaning some…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
“Who Put a Dick on Lara Croft?”, and Other Great Box Art Mysteries
Kotaku reader “Michael” was taking a look through the pre-owned section of his local EB Games (read: GameStop) in Australia when he started noticing things weren’t quite right. Lara Croft had a marble dong. Old Snake had become a vet. Hulk Hogan had started attending Hogwarts. So he started looking through the section and found…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
Fly Like an Eagle Across Chasing Aurora’s Polygon Landscape
Broken Rules, the indie studio behind And Yet it Moves, is currently working on a game called Chasing Aurora. It looks lovely. Calling it an “explorative 2D aerial action game about the dream of flight”, anyone who perfected the “bombing” flight-and-glide technique from the Batman games should be at home with riding the wind across…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
If Valve Made Bottles of Rum, They’d Hopefully Look This Cool
Reader Adam has an idea. An idea for old-timey bottles of rum, bottled by Valve Corporation, and named for Admiral Kunkka, a hero from the DOTA series. It is a wonderful idea. Those wondering, um, why rum, Kunkka’s Rum is found in both the original and Valve’s upcoming sequel, with units doused in it receiving…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2012 -
A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Dolph Lundgren Action
That one’s for you, Kotaku. Hope you’re having a great Wednesday! Welcome to the open-thread. If you’ve watched that video (and you should), here are some other things you might read and talk about. Space is never anything less than amazing – Wow! A pretty hilarious version of the Pledge of Allegiance – Dark! But…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012 -
Iron Man Cosplay That Actually Moves
Just…look at this. LOOK AT IT. The suit’s not brand new, so you may have seen it before, at least in picture form, but seeing it in motion like this…wow. UPDATE – Here’s a longer video showing its creator, Anthony “Master” Le, putting the suit through its paces. [thanks Chewy!]
By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2012 -
The “EA Indie Bundle” is Like The Man Saying F*** the Man
You may not have heard of Electronic Arts, a boutique publishing label based in Redwood City, Calif. Well, I bet you will be raving about them once you pick up the “EA Indie Bundle” on Steam, the indie-friendly digital marketplace, unlike that Origin bullshit run by that place that screwed up the end of Mass…
By Owen Good Published May 2, 2012 -
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron‘s Shockwave, Optimus Prime, and Jazz Trapped in Plastic Bubbles
Here’sa a trio of official packshots for Hasbro’s Transformers Generations Fall of Cybertron line, with Optimus Prime, Shockwave, and Jazz sporting the sexy Cybertronian forms they’ll be wearing in Activision’s next big bot game. I was fully expecting the Optimus Prime to be the same one from War for Cybertron in a fancy new package.…
By Mike Fahey Published May 2, 2012 -
There Will Actually Be Women in the Next Call Of Duty
Guns were always a given for the next Call of Duty. Women? We really did not expect them. And yet when I saw the game in action last week, there they were. Women. Two of them in the press demo alone! Ye gods. I went down to Call of Duty: Black Ops II developer Treyarch’s…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 2, 2012