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The New Way
Hello, Kotaku, and welcome to the Thursday evening open thread. Oh, I like Thursday evenings. I’m slaving away all day on Kotaku Melodic, and then I get to organize the open thread. Today, for some reason, I got started off on one of my favorite films of all time, Wet Hot American Summer. I hope…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
The Very Essence of Sonic the Hedgehog
This is What We Fell in Love With | A piece of Sonic the Hedgehog fan art that gets everything right (Photo Credit: Reddit User BansheeIndian via Imgur.) Learn How To Make Video Games With This Video Game Code Hero isn’t your basic first-person shooter. You’ll have enemies, and you’ll be “shooting” them, but it…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2012 -
Blizzard Working on a Free-to-Play Game? [Update]
According to a report on Develop, World of Warcraft and StarCraft developers Blizzard are working on “an upcoming, as yet unannounced game” which will be based around a free-to-play business model. It’s unknown whether this free-to-play (F2P) game is Blizzard’s famous “Project Titan” or a separate title. To date, Blizzard’s games have either been available…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 -
This Game Puts You Inside a Gigantic Synthesizer
It took me a long time to understand synthesizers. When I was a kid, I would often think of a synthesizer as being more or less the same thing as an electric piano—wasn’t a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer basically just a synthesizer? No, in fact—a synthesizer, like a Moog or a Yamaha CS-15, is much…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
This Lovely, Soothing Ballad Makes Lunar Sing
Music is kind of a big deal in Lunar, a lovely set of role-playing games that hit its peak on the PlayStation back in the late 90s, when a non-stop barrage of Japanese RPGs hit the United States after Final Fantasy VII showed the world that, yes, we’re into this stuff. “Golden Voice” (embedded above)…
By Jason Schreier Published February 23, 2012 -
The Many Melodies of the Nintendo 3DS
Welcome back to “Menu Music,” a regular Kotaku Melodic feature in which we’ll be listening to the best and worst menu music in video gaming. Last week, we listened to the mind-numbing music of the PlayStation Vita, so it seemed only fair that this week we should listen to the music of its competitor, the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
Music To Creep Through the Jungle To
Last week, I had some fun sharing a bunch of jokey dubstep videos inspired by the new trailer for Far Cry 3. In doing so, I remembered how much I loved the music from Far Cry 2, and so I’m sharing some of it here. This music, composed by Marc Canham, stands apart from the…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
Video Games are the New Best Way to Make a Living Composing Music
You may have heard that it’s tough to make a living as a musician. You heard right! It’s a tough world out there, and very few people get paid a good living to make music. But while it may seem daunting from the outside, there is actually a greater demand for music than ever—there is…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (Until Now)
Like anyone with a brain and ears, I seriously love Frank Zappa. Certainly one of the most brilliant, idiosyncratic composers of the 21st century, Zappa’s amazing orchestral compositions, unhinged harmonic freakouts, and hilarious lyrics have long been a musical inspiration. As great as many of his more well-known albums are, the first album that truly…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
The Grindy Grooves of Danny Baranowsky
I’ve written in the past about how much I like Danny Baranowsky’s work, but tonight during Kotaku melodic, we’ll be running a more in-depth feature about him, so I thought it would be cool to share some of his non- Binding of Isaac work. You can download most all of this stuff at his Bandcamp…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
In The Hall of the Gaming King
I’ve been playing a bit of Escape Plan on the Vita; it’s a charming puzzle game that places you in a series of incredibly dangerous rooms and tasks you with helping the two hapless, goofy main characters survive. It’s got a neat, clean black & white art style, and a humorously mournful style. It’s also…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 23, 2012 -
The Many Samples and Sound-Alikes of Earthbound
Few games boast soundtracks as bizarre and innovative as Earthbound‘s, but perhaps the most innovative (and legally troubling) aspect of all is its use of sampling and sound-alikes. Click the video above to see what we mean. Over the years, Earthbound‘s devoted fan base has picked apart every aspect of the SNES cult classic, tracking…
By Chris Person Published February 23, 2012 -
Yes, the Next Medal of Honor Game is Called Warfighter
Between this official art (released by EA alongside confirmation of reports from earlier today) and the name, which isn’t just funny but is also part of an existing, competing series, we’re getting dangerously close to self-parody land here.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 -
Madden 13 Focusing on More Fun Defense, Says EA
News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • EA Sports is aiming to create “a better defense that’s more fun to play” in Madden NFL, according to Richard Hilleman, Electronic Arts’ chief creative officer. The game’s design team, which came under new management in the past year, “haven’t accepted any of…
By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012 -
EA Sports Keeps NBA Live in the Game, but Can It Compete?
At the time I asked about its readiness, EA Sports’ next NBA game didn’t even have a name. Peter Moore, then the label’s boss, avoided my question and told me was doing so. “It’s in the shape you would expect it to be for a title that’s a year and four months away,” Moore said…
By Owen Good Published February 23, 2012 -
Towns, Blocks, and Treasure Hunters Round Out This Indie Royale Bundle
You can now download the “Indie Royale Alpha Collection,” one of those lovely cheap indie bundles that gets you a bunch of games at a decent price. This one features three games: Towns, a city-building game in the vein of Dungeon Keeper or Dwarf Fortress; 3079, a sci-fi first-person “lovechild of Minecraft and Fallout; and…
By Jason Schreier Published February 23, 2012 -
How Much Better Does Max Payne 3 Look on PC?
Today’s Rockstar released the first images of Max Payne 3 running on PC, and while no exact comparison shots are available, taking a look at similar screens for the console version reveals substantial differences. Just look at the image above. On the left we’ve got two of the three PC shots released today. On the…
By Mike Fahey Published February 23, 2012 -
Google Glasses To Augment Gamers’ Reality
Google is in the news this week not so much for their software and search offerings, but for their hardware, and whispers of an item yet to come. According to the New York Times, Google is developing a type of Android-based glasses that will, in some way, project content immediately into the wearer’s field of…
By Kate Cox Published February 23, 2012 -
Gamer’s Last Name Deemed Obscene by Xbox Live Cops [UPDATE]
A gamer says his handle has been censored by Xbox Live because it seems too much like a slang word — even though it’s his last name. Christopher Gooche uses his surname as his gamertag on Microsoft’s online service. He says he’s been using “Gooche” as a name since the days of the original Xbox…
By Jason Schreier Published February 23, 2012