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David Gaider, Ken Levine, and Chris Avellone Discuss What Matters Most in Games: the Words or the World?
This Saturday, at PAX East, I had the pleasure of attending the “Plot vs. Play” panel, moderated by Joystiq’s Ben Gilbert and Kotaku‘s own Jason Schreier. The panel brought together three developers who have all worked on landmark, story-driven games to discuss their differing philosophies on the presence and purpose of story in gaming. Ken…
By Kate Cox Published April 9, 2012 -
Cranky Merlin Hates All the Magical Flirting in This Demon Knights #8 Preview
Listen: all you gamers who grew up on Dungeon & Dragons, R.A. Salvatore or Gauntlet should be reading DC Comics’ Demon Knights. Written by Paul Cornell, the monthly series throws together a motley crew of medieval adventurers out to defeat powerful necromancers for personal reasons that vary wildly. The basic approach may sound like standard…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012 -
Unlikely Fan Fiction Crossover Battle: Link Encounters Resistance
Colorful. Bright. Cartoonish. These are all adjectives used to describe the light-hearted and airy adventures found in Insomniac’s Resistance series. What happens when Nintendo’s dark anti-hero Link comes on the scene? Glorious chaos. In the realm of video game crossover fan fiction there are plenty of pairings that make perfect sense. Mega Man and Street…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
Let’s Hope This Wedding Had a More Satisfying Ending
Or at the very least they video taped it so they can add more context via cinematic scenes a few months from now. Reader Ryan sends us this shot of a cake from the wedding of his friends Pete and Mary. Note that this was the bride’s cake, and not the groom’s. Good going, Pete!
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
Not-So-Great Moments in Video Game Humor: How Much Dana Gould is Too Much?
Back in 1995 we gamers were still thrilled with the relatively-fresh concept that their video game characters could be voiced by big-name talent. Gex, Crystal Dynamics gecko with an attitude, quickly helped us get over it. In the 90s video game characters had to have attitude. Gex’s attitude manifested itself as an endless stream of…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
The Dorkly Weekly: Mario The Axe Murderer
Sometimes Mario’s just gotta vent a little. And sometimes just stomping on turtles isn’t enough. The newest Dorkly video, which debuted during the comedy site’s hilarious panel at PAX East this past weekend, shows off just how violent Nintendo’s iconic plumber can get. It’s adorable For more sick and twisted video game comedy, follow the…
By Jason Schreier Published April 9, 2012 -
What Does Comic Book Guy Think About Mass Effect 3?
During their adventures at PAX East this weekend, our intrepid crew stumbled upon none other than The Simpson‘s resident geek culture reviewer Comic Book Guy, who offered his impressions of the final chapter in the Mass Effect saga. Damn, I was really hoping he had finally found something he wasn’t disappointed with. Maybe we can…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
Fake Gamer of the Week: Why Can’t Techno Soldier Control His Rage?
What made Techno Soldier so angry? Was it an unfortunate round of Call of Duty? Did someone call his mother nasty names? Is he cosplaying the angriest bird? The mainstream media might tell you that violent video games cause this kind of behavoir, but I believe I’ve discovered the true culprit: green and black backdrops.…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
Penny Arcade Pranks ‘Ocean Marketing’ Nemesis. Here We Go Again… [UPDATE]
The founders of Penny Arcade pulled a fast one on one of their most notorious foes this weekend, hitting Paul “Ocean Marketing” Christoforo with a prank they say has been in the works for the past three weeks. Christoforo, who set off an Internet firestorm several months ago when he sent a series of inflammatory…
By Jason Schreier Published April 9, 2012 -
The First Concept Art for Wasteland 2 Peers Off in the Dusty, Dusky Distance
It certainly looks like there’s going to be a Wasteland 2 game. The crowdfunding efforts by inXile Extertainment have way exceeded the announced goals, to the point where Chris Avellone and Obsidian Entertainment will be joining to flesh out the team building the eagerly-awaited RPG. And now inXile CEO Brian Fargo has revealed the first…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012 -
Jack Tramiel, Father of the Great Commodore Computer Company, Dies at 83
Jack Tramiel, a Holocaust survivor and the tech visionary who founded the company that created the legendary Commodore 64 computer, died on Sunday at the age of 83, Forbes reports. We’ll have more on Tramiel’s great legacy later.
By Stephen Totilo Published April 9, 2012 -
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2‘s Actually Happening, Here’s Animated Proof
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 looked like it was dead in the water for a while, with reports that dev studio GSC Game World was going out of business. But then the Kiev-based collective resurfaced on Facebook this year and indicated that work was underway for the sequel to their acclaimed shooter. That was way back in January,…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012 -
The Incredible Mass Effect Cosplayers of PAX East 2012
If you went to the PAX East convention in Boston, this past weekend, you would have thought that Mass Effect was the biggest video game on the planet. Mass Effect cosplayers were everywhere, and so many of them were amazing. For starters, there was the guy who shows up as the Krogan warrior Grunt. I…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 9, 2012 -
Street Fighter x Tekken Developer Jokes Tekken x Street Fighter Might Not Be Out Until 2018
So, Street Fighter x Tekken came out and met with widespread acclaim. Good for Capcom. Now it’s Namco Bandai’s turn to produce a fighting game crossover that follows up on an idea that once looked impossible. When might the Tekken company’s answer be coming out? The guy who made SFxT has no idea. “Honestly, I…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012 -
The 1.2 Update Warzone for Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Pretty Good
MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic has been churning along pretty well since its launch late in December of last year. Developer BioWare is now preparing to release update 1.2 for the game, which will add a rather significant amount of content. One of the features arriving in SW:TOR with the 1.2 update is the…
By Kate Cox Published April 9, 2012 -
War of the Roses Sure Looks Like Battlefield: 1455 To Me
In the video game War of the Roses you’re a medieval mauler. You’re a person with sword, mace, or bow-and-arrow. You might be on a horse. You might have a lance. You’re one of many warriors in a multiplayer game that will play like Battlefield or even a Modern Warfare, but with much older, sharper…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 9, 2012 -
Angry Birds Observe Easter, Too (But It’s Weird)
In a weird, oxymoron twist of a story, two loving Angry Birds characters come together to celebrate Easter. I never knew you could use peeps for anything other than blowing them up in the microwave, but they clearly have some cinematic value to YouTube user mike chan. I kind of don’t know what the hell…
By Tina Amini Published April 9, 2012 -
Awkward Speed Dating Moment Rescued by World of Warcraft
The true power of World of Warcraft was unleashed during the second episode of BBC program World Series of Dating, when a pair of awkward strangers suddenly discover they have one major thing in common. It doesn’t matter how old, young, pretty or plain you are; if you play World of Warcraft you’ve instantly got…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012