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Bullet Blender: The Winners
Yes, yes, yes, I know that’s a mixer, not a blender. Look, I play video games and write about sports, I’m not the goddamn chef de cuisine. Anyway, we asked you to blend that mixer with some twisted humor, and we’ve got 20 winners inside, including overall champ Ryan! Getting started, power_overwhelming (14) became an…
By Owen Good Published January 14, 2012 -
Surprise Surprise, Mass Effect 3 Requires Origin, Won’t Launch On Steam
In today’s edition of, “News You Saw Coming a Mile Away”, BioWare’s Community Coordinator, Chris Priestly, has told Mass Effect fans that Commander Shepard’s epic quest to save Earth from the Reapers will not take place on Steam due to the set of “restrictive terms of service” which also led to EA pulling titles like…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
The White House Isn’t Happy With SOPA, Either, “Will Not Support Legislation That Reduces Freedom of Expression.”
Critics of the Stop Online Piracy Act, you just might have a new ally: The President of the United States. The White House responded to a pair of online petitions today, expressing support for anti-piracy legislation but outright refusing to back the anti-piracy measures as outlines in the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 14, 2012 -
Want to Play Skyrim on a Tablet? There’s an App for That
This past week at CES, Nvidia and ASUS teamed up to show off The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim running on ASUS’ latest and greatest tablet – the Transformer Prime How’d they do it? There’s an app for that. An app called Splashtop THD. Splashtop THD is the new and improved (but not yet available) version…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
What Can You Expect From Nyko for the Vita? Whatever Sold for the PSP
When it comes to mobile gaming, first party acessories can get damn expensive. That’s where Nyko comes in. When it comes to third party gaming accessories, nobody is as prolific and nobody gets their gear to market faster. This week at CES Nyko let it be known that they’d be releasing a few choice accessories…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
More Big (and Small) Game Developers Sound Off Against SOPA
More and more game developers are voicing their displeasure with the Stop Online Piracy Act better known as SOPA. We’ve already heard from the likes of Epic Games, Riot Games and Red 5 Studios. Well, this week Bungie has come out against SOPA and proclaimed that they, “All agree that SOPA sucks.” Well said gents.…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
This SWTOR PC Case is Fast Enough For You, Old Man
If you’re a Star Wars fan and a PC Gamer, there’s a good chance that The Old Republic has consumed your life for the past month or so. Well, if the fine folks over at iBUYPOWER have anything so say about it, this is the PC case you’ve been looking for. Now, I know what…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
Bang Your Head to This Metal Cover of “The Dragonborn Comes”
Not long ago, the world was treated to this amazing cover of “The Dragonborn Comes” from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim courtesy of the lovely Malukah. It became so popular that many PC gamers have even replaced the game’s main theme with her magnificent and soul stirring rendition Today we have a quite different, yet…
By Dave Oshry Published January 14, 2012 -
Everything Must Go
Three weeks past the holidays, retailers still are clearing off stock to make room on shelves or in the warehouse for the storm of new releases yet to come. Yes, this is the bargain bin, but there within it are someone’s treasures. The Moneysaver marches on! Software • Feb. 21 release Syndicate (360, PS3) pre-orders…
By Owen Good Published January 14, 2012 -
Meet Kotaku’s Special Weekend Guest Star: Dave Oshry
In fifth grade we had two teachers and one of them would routinely be (finger quotes) sick, because her (finger quotes) medicine sometimes had (finger quotes) side effects. That’s sort of what is going on while I am out this weekend. See gang, I am on vacation, having spent much of the week on a…
By Owen Good Published January 14, 2012 -
The Independent Games Festival Finalists are Outstanding
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) has announced the finalists for this year’s IGF Awards, which will be held at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco in March. Some truly great games on this list. We’ll have more coverage of the IGF in the coming weeks.
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
The Week in Unbelievably Gorgeous Screenshots
Since running a big, enjoyable feature on Duncan Harris, the “video game photographer” behind the website DeadEndThrills, I’ve been sharing some of his work each week here. This week has some great stuff. Here we go! First up, at top, we’ve got one of several shots from Star Trek Online, this one titled: “Harbour Lights.”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
Study: Video Games Keep Out The Nightmares
The Wall Street Journal has news of yet another gaming study, but this one’s pretty darn interesting: Rather than judge video games’ effect on violent behavior or socialization, the study looks at whether games can help people escape nightmares. Specifically, the study looked at military men and women, 64 of whom were “hard-core gamers” and…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
On Playing Dance Central 2 While Male
Recently my friend, who for this article we’ll call “Dan,” was over at my apartment for beers and video games. We’d gone through most of the big fall releases—I showed him some craziness from Saints Row: The Third, got across the gist of Catherine, and played some (shockingly fun) split-screen Modern Warfare 3 spec-ops. The…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
This Isn’t A Confirmation of Half-Life 3, Either
Gabe Newell Could Kill You | But first he’d make you wait a long, long time. (Image via Reddit.) This Could Be Your Last Chance to See Retro Game Master Last year Kotaku readers were enthralled by the daring exploits of Shinya Arino as he desperately attempted to finish a dozen of the most brutal…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 13, 2012 -
Zombies, Muffins, Doodles, and Kangaroos? It Must Be The Week in Gaming Apps
We’re finally back up to speed after last week’s regrettable triple play, charging headfirst into 2012 with our mobile devices held up in front of our faces so we can’t see a thing. What might we be playing when we stumble into traffic? Speaking for myself, there’s a good chance I’ll severely dent someone’s Prius…
By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2012 -
Canadian Broadcast News Talks Propaganda Games
Canadian broadcast news organization CBC has put together audio documentary about propaganda games, featuring our own Stephen Totilo. In the piece, they discuss the case of Amir Mirza Hekmati, a man sentenced to death by the Iranian government for, among other things, allegedly making propaganda video games for the company Kuma Games. They also talk…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
This Could Be the Very Best Pokémon Art Exhibit, Like No One Ever Was
This April the Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis, Minnesota will be transformed into the ultimate trainer fantasy, when 151 artists take on the 151 original pocket monsters in an all-out Pokémon Battle Royale. Light Grey Art Lab co-owner Chris Hajny dropped us a line this afternoon to fill us in on what could be…
By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2012 -
Kotaku Commenters Do Not Suck
Here at Kotaku, we run all sorts of stories. Video game news and reviews, culture stories, stories about Japan, stories about the history of video games, funny posts about snack foods. But no matter what stories we’re running, there seems to be a consensus out there in Internetland: “Kotaku commenters are the worst.” I’ve been…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 13, 2012 -
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising Does Away With Subscription Fees
In preparation for its eventual move to free-to-play, Heatwave Interactive’s Romanesque massively multiplayer online game Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is ditching subscription fees and lowering its initial price to $9.99. Or you could just wait a few months and pay nothing. [Gods & Heroes]
By Mike Fahey Published January 13, 2012