Kotaku

DOTA 2's Idea of Valentine's Day is New Character Art [Dota]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:00:00 EST

It's no box of chocolates or a rose - or a diamond ring - but it'll do. More »

Valve Trolls Valentine's Day With $100 Team Fortress 2 DLC [Team Fortress]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:40:00 EST

Team Fortress 2 developers Valve have put together "the most accurate simulation of an actual Valentine's Day gift ever made available to the public", and today made it available as an in-game item to owners of the multiplayer shooter. More »

What People Think Gamers Do [Memes]

Tina Amini — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST

The stereotypes against gamers never seem to go away, so we've decided to throw our proverbial meme-hat into this ring of "What People Think I Do." You've seen and heard it all; now you can see it in this delightful image form! More »

Forget Ryan Gosling in Drive. Check out Mario in Kart [Mario]

Kirk Hamilton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST

Man, that is one badassed jacket. That jacket is so badassed that even though this image is goofy and funny and ridiculous, I'm still impressed with Mario's total sexiness. More »

Sony's Old Position on Touch Screen Gaming Is Incompatible With The PlayStation Vita [Pullquote]

Kate Cox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST

It doesn't feel like 2005 was all that long ago... until you remember that the first iPhone didn't launch until 2007. In the many years since a former Sony executive could make an offhand remark about the Nintendo DS, touch screens have taken over, and the tech is getting sharper every year. The future, it seems, can take anyone by surprise. More »

They Made a Video Game About Slavery, And It's Actually Good [Video]

Kirk Hamilton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST

"I'm running tonight." More »

Lumines On The Vita Is Cool, Except for the... Tapping Parts [Video]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST

Lumines was one of the best games on the original PlayStation Portable. It was sort of a rave version of Tetris, which was a very good thing. The successor to the PSP is now upon us, and so is a new Lumines, subtitled Electronic Symphony. More »

Hollywood is Making a Twisted Metal Movie [Twisted Metal]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:22:00 EST

The co-director of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Brian Taylor, will be both writing and directing a Twisted Metal movie. It's being produced by super nerds Avi and Ari Arad. More »

Roses are Red, Mario's Blue [Note]

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST

Perpetual Romance | Hopefully on Valentine's Day, Princess Peach will actually be in her castle. (Part of a collection of cute digital Valentines on Etsy.)

Kill a Room Full of People With Your Brain (For Fun) [Video]

Kate Cox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

The Cut-Scenes in Tales of the Abyss Sure Are Abysmal [Video]

Jason Schreier — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST

I am quite enjoying Tales of the Abyss 3D, which publisher Namco Bandai released today for 3DS. It's an anime-styled Japanese role-playing game with action-ish combat and a world map packed with towns and dungeons. In other words, it's a Tales game. More »

A Fabulously Flirty Video Game to Play With Your Valentine [Blip]

Kirk Hamilton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:15:00 EST

Just a quick reminder that the two-player iPad game Fingle is custom-made to deliver fun, flirtatious Valentine's Day laughs. Give it a go with your Valentine today! More »

Watch a Mean Ol’ Reaper Blot A Little Girl’s Sunshine in This Mass Effect 3 Teaser [Video]

Evan Narcisse — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:42:00 EST

This teaser is only a small part of a larger clip that EA's going to roll out during this Sunday's Walking Dead. More »

Video Proof That Touch My Katamari Is, At Last, A Good Portable Katamari Damacy [Video]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:30:00 EST

The name of the game is perverted, but Touch My Katamari is still a winner among the PlayStation Vita launch line-up. The game may have touch controls, but who needs them? The Vita has twin analog sticks, and that's what Namco's great everything-rolling game needs. More »

Zynga Raked In More Than A Billion Dollars Last Year [Blip]

Kirk Hamilton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:15:00 EST

Social-game megapublisher Zynga has released their financial results for the 2011 fiscal year, reporting a revenue of $1.14 billion. That's revenue, not profit, but still. Dang. More »

See Watchmen, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers in All Their Toy Fair 2012 Glory [Batman]

Evan Narcisse — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

Spider-Man's new movie mask sports yellow eyes. Catwoman's nightvision-glasses-as-ears look works. And I still think Hawkeye's going to be the best character in the Avengers movie. Feast your eyes on the big offerings from Marvel and DC from this year's celebration of plastic (or porcelain) collectibles. More »

Geoff Johns Says a Great Superman Video Game Needs the “Right Studio” [Superman]

Evan Narcisse — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:30:00 EST

I started off my talk with DC Entertainment's Chief Creative Officer on the wrong foot, by forgetting that Geoff Johns has been writing an Aquaman series. "You just proved my point," he chided me. The point being that people rag on the publisher's amphibious character, which is a phenomenon that Johns is trying to reverse in the DC Comics New 52 relaunch. Johns' Aquaman is powerful in ways that other characters in the DC Universe are not and, when cannibalistic sea creatures come to the surface, the same people who once made fun of the Sea King in the comics have to thank him for saving their lives. More »

Gotham City Impostors: The Kotaku Review [Video]

Evan Narcisse — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST

Batman's had lots of sidekicks over the years. Imps from other dimensions, mask-wearing dogs and his own kill-crazy offspring have leapt from the shadows with the DC Comics superhero. He's trained them, scolded them and in case of Ace the Bat-hound, probably picked up their poop while out on patrol. But there's been a tacit Bat-approval for all of those partners. More »

Don't Blame Your Crappy Marriage On Video Games [Are Video Games Evil?]

Jason Schreier — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:30:00 EST

With every new day comes a new excuse for nasty people to crucify video games. This time it's a study by researchers at Brigham Young University, as reported by U.S. News in a story today titled "Spouses Being Pushed Aside For Video Games" that claims gaming is ruining marriages. More »

Either You Give Grimlock Your Heart or He Takes It [Transformers]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:15:00 EST

Is that love in the air, or is it Energon? No reason it can't be both. Anything's possible when he, Grimlock, loves you. More »

Twisted Metal Sets Game Critics' Skulls Aflame [Twisted Metal]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

After a decade of lurking in the darkness just outside of gamers' views the evil clown rides back into town, guns blazing, engines roaring, and game reviewers rarin' for a shot. More »

The PlayStation Vita Needs a 'Dislike' Button [Vita]

Kirk Hamilton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:30:00 EST

Sony's new PlayStation Vita handheld sports a good amount of ways to connect with people. It will let you share your trophies, passively trade and unlock game content, and even broadcast how you're feeling about the games you're playing. More »

Death Comes Calling in Darksiders II June 26 [Blip]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:15:00 EST

The June release date for Darksiders II has been narrowed down to a specific day via the game's official Twitter. Expect Death and the pale horse he rode in on June 26. More »

The Past and Future of Psychonauts 2 [Video]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST

Until about, oh, early last week, Psychonauts 2 seemed like an idea—or maybe a wish—that would never become a video game. More »

Skullgirls Picked Just the Right Day to Reveal the Deadly Nurse Valentine [Video]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:45:00 EST

You just know the team at Reverge Games have been giggling to themselves for the past week in anticipation of today's reveal of Nurse Valentine, the Skullgirls fighter with a prescription for pain. More »

Watch This, Play This and Then Have a Happy Valentine’s Day [Watch This]

Tina Amini — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST

Continuing in our long-standing tradition (aka yesterday) of Watch This, Play This are three pieces of entertainment to stave off that bitter Valentine's Day loneliness, or that romantic dinner you totally forgot to plan but that you promised your significant other you would. Oops. More »

Ratchet & Clank Terrorize These Hapless Businessmen [Video]

Jason Schreier — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:20:00 EST

Ratchet might not want to harass anybody when he uses Clank as a helicopter, but sometimes it just can't be avoided. More »

Beat Hazard Ultra is the Game Photosensitive Seizure Blurbs Were Warning You About [Video]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:10:00 EST

Until now your iTunes music library has remained passive, patiently waiting for you to allow it to waft delicately to your eardrums. With the release of the iOS version of Beat Hazard Ultra your music is now a deadly predator, lurking in your playlist, awaiting the call to be transformed into explosive levels of eye-melting twin stick shooter action. More »

See Curt Schilling Shilling Kingdoms of Amalur on Jimmy Fallon [Video]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

38 Studios founder Curt Schilling uses tales of baseball triumphs past to hook Late Night host Jimmy Fallon and then brings Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in for the kill. More »

First PlayStation Vita Ad Gives Bad Advice [Video]

Jason Schreier — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:45:00 EST

Here's Sony's first video advertisement for the powerful PlayStation Vita, an ad that the publisher says will be plastered on Fox, Comedy Central, and ESPN (among other networks) in the near future. More »

Survey: There's a 1 in 10 Chance Words With Friends Will Get You Some Action [Words With Friends]

Kate Cox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EST

We all know that the "social" space has changed the dating scene. Facebook has thrown all sorts of new tools and little wrinkles our way. More »

Reminder to Arkham City Players: Talk to Calendar Man Today [Batman]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:15:00 EST

Today is ~~Halloween Thanksgiving Christmas New Year's Day~~ Valentine's Day. So if you're playing Batman: Arkham City and you don't believe in cheating by changing your system's internal clock, go talk to the Calendar Man today. More »

Stop Copying World of Warcraft, Start Making a Better MMO [Speak Up On Kotaku]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST

Commenter Kinecticdamage tries to shock massively multiplayer online game developers out of their World of Warcraft-fueled haze and on track to create something truly unique and beautiful in today's Speak Up on Kotaku. More »

Mostly Dead is Slightly Alive: Where Adventure Games Are Hiding [Opinion]

Kate Cox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:40:00 EST

Double Fine's record-breaking Kickstarter adventure has, over the past few days, rekindled the perennial discussion about the entire genre of adventure games. The classic adventure has had its death announced dozens, if not hundreds, of times over the past decade or so, with at least an equal number of rebuttals. More »

Talk Amongst Yourselves [Official Kotaku Forum]

Evan Narcisse — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:20:00 EST

Welcome to Kotaku's official forum, Talk Amongst Yourselves, where we gather on a daily basis to discuss the joys and wonders of gaming all rolled up into one. More »

Making The Last Guardian is Very Hard, Sony Admits [Video]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

The Last Guardian is the the PlayStation 3 game that the people who most want PlayStation 3 games want. More »

New Fray Trailer Channels the Spirit of X-COM [Video]

Jason Schreier — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:45:00 EST

Strategy buffs should get a kick out of this trailer for Fray, which French developer Brain Candy officially announced for pre-order today. I saw this simultaneous turn-based strategy game last year at an event in New York and thought it looked pretty damn neat, so it's good to see that things are progressing nicely. More »

Child Left in GameStop Leads to Neglect Arrest [GameStop]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:30:00 EST

Attention parents of the world: GameStop is not a babysitting service. That fact was made abundantly clear to 21-year-old Kethia Dagrin-Francois of Florida when police arrested her for child neglect after her five-year-old son was found wandering the parking lot of Boyton Mall. More »