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Spec Ops: The Line Multiplayer Pits Brother Against Brother Against Sand
How refreshing is it to have a tactical shooter set in Dubai without one side having to be some sort of terrorists? It’s The Exiles versus The Damned in Spec Ops: The Line‘s online multiplayer sandbox. Not that Spec Ops: The Line is a giant, open-world free-roaming experience. In this case sandbox actually means boxes…
By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2012 -
You’ve Got Final Fantasy XIII in my Fire Emblem!
In the above Fire Emblem: Kakusei image, there’s a character named “Lightning”. In Final Fantasy XIII, there’s a character named “Lightning”. Hey, wait a second… This seems to be a player’s My Unit creation—and one that really, really looks like Final Fantasy‘s Lightning. Lightning appearing in Fire Emblem would make more sense than, say, Mass…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 -
Studio Ghibli Boss Is Glad Japan Lost World War II
Even for people in Japan, it’s easy to forget how awful World War II was. Entire cities were firebombed. Children were killed. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Horrible. That’s not counting the havoc the Japanese military unleashed throughout Asia and the Pacific. The whole thing was rotten. But for famed anime producer Toshio Suzuki, something good came…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 -
Making Mass Effect Adorable
Artist Andy Helms, of “Dude a Day” and movie pixel art fame, has for a little while been drawing these cute little portraits of the cast and crew of Mass Effect 2 & 3 He’s probably not finished yet, but there’s enough here already to give you an idea of where he’s going with it…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
ArmA 3 Still Looks Like 2012’s Sexiest War Game
Call it Call of Duty fatigue, call it a longing appreciation for what Bohemia Interactive is doing with this series, but every time I see new footage from upcoming military sim ArmA 3 I get a little weaker around the knees. Military shooters, done well, are a guilty pleasure of mine, being a child of…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
This Weekend, Everyone Can Play Diablo III. Even You. And You.
Listen up. From noon on Friday, April 20 (Pacific) until 10:00am (Pacific) on Monday, April 23, Diablo III will be in open beta. Meaning anyone with a valid Battle.net account can get in on the action. To download the client now ahead of time, click here. Once downloaded and once the weekend rolls around, you’ll…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
Fake Adventure Game Lands Fan a Double Fine Internship
When German adventure game nut Marius Fietzek applied for an internship at Double Fine studios by, well, making an adventure game, it seemed a cute touch, though a little short on hard selection criteria. Not to worry! This is Double Fine we’re talking about, a studio run by Tim Schafer, who landed a job at…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
“After A Few Months, I Realized She Was Eating Pancakes For Every Meal”
Hello, Kotaku! It’s almost the weekend, and that is just groovy by me. I hope you’ve had a good thursday, and are ready to get your open thread on. It’s gonna be hot! So hot! Here are some things for you to read and maybe gab about. “The State Home for Manic PIxie Dream Girls”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
Atlus Publishing Vanillaware’s Gorgeous Dragon’s Crown
Dragon’s Crown, an action-RPG from boutique Japanese developers Vanillaware (Odin Sphere), has been missing in action since its E3 debut last year. If you were thinking that meant the game was dead, though, you’re wrong! Atlus just signed on to publish it on both PS3 and Vita, and it’ll be out next year.
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2012 -
Iowa Journalism School Adds Video Games Writing to Curriculum
This fall, the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication will offer a course in writing about video games and reporting on the industry. “My idea is that everyone can learn from video games,” Kyle Moody, the course’s instructor and a teaching assistant in the journalism school, told The Daily Iowan, the independent…
By Owen Good Published April 19, 2012 -
Who’s Left for Kratos to Kill in God of War: Ascension?
Game Informer rounds up Kratos’ hit list—of Olympians—over all the games in the God of War series. That figure stands at 23. (Obviously, this carries a huge spoiler alert). Who’s left for him to kill? [Game Informer]
By Owen Good Published April 19, 2012 -
Report: Prey 2 Studio Hasn’t Worked on the Game Since November
There’s a good reason Prey 2 has been delayed to 2013, as announced today. It’s because its development studio hasn’t worked on the game since November, according to an anonymous source speaking to Shacknews. The reason for that? Human Head, the developer “was not happy with the terms its contract with [publisher] ZeniMax,” reports Shacknews,…
By Owen Good Published April 19, 2012 -
The Man Who’s Mastered the Art of the Ridiculously Impressive YouTube Music Tribute
This past Monday, I got hipped to this video by FreddieGredde, YouTube tribute-artist extraordinaire. I’ve seen a lot of videos that I kind of describe as “Guy With Instruments Playing Video Game Music” (GWIPVGM) videos—they can be great, or they can be dull. They can be as charming as Pomplamoose, or as annoying as… well,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
Antônio Carlos Jobim, The Great Romantic Melodist
“I’d like to make a request.” (A woman has approached the bandstand. She’s smiling.) “Do you guys know ‘The Girl from Ipanema? I love Bossa Nova.” You and the rest of the band are midway through your second set at this wedding; this is your first request. The ceremony is over, and everyone has moved…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
Introducing the Melodic Mailbag
I’ve been having a great time writing about music and games for you guys every Thursday. I’ve also been happy to hear from many of you about different music you’re into, what you’d like to see covered here, and to generally nerd out about all things musical. So I asked myself, why not make some…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
Rest In Peace, Levon Helm
It’s a funny thing, my relationship with The Band. They were a band that I wasn’t super aware of for a long, long time—that era of rock was something of which I was mostly ignorant for most of my years growing up. A few years after college, I watched Martin Scorsese’s phenomenal film The Last…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
The Kotaku Mixtape Vol 6: SimCity and Beyond
If you’re reading this, you probably wasted hours and hours of your youth on Simcity 2000. Chances are you also know the weird, off-beat soundtrack by heart. But in the 90’s, Will Wright’s Sim Franchise was massive, and SimCity 2000 was only one one game in a series that spanned subjects like healthcare reform and…
By Chris Person Published April 19, 2012 -
All Of The Coolest Instruments In The World Unite For A Single Album
Here at Kotaku Melodic, we sometimes talk about music that doesn’t turn up in video games. This week is no different! When I was writing about Botanicula earlier this week, I mentioned my well-documented bass clarinet bias; it’s one of my favorite instruments, though I don’t own one myself. And okay, yes, my headline here…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012
