Gaming News Message Board older than one year ago

After getting booted from his team Evil Geniuses last week, pro StarCraft player Greg "IdrA" Fields went on Real Talk with host JP McDaniel to discuss his plans for the future. Sounds like he's moving away from professional playing and getting into commentating. (Via PC Gamer)

In case you just hopped on the MMO bandwagon with the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, it's not a massively multiplayer party until the anthropomorphic animals arrive. The original EverQuest had the Vah Shir, World of Warcraft has Worgen and now Pandas, and The Old Republic has the Cathar, a race of intergalactic kitty people. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where the Cathar first appeared in Star Wars history, mainly because every time I try to search for them, Google is busy looking for "catharsis." The most famous gaming Cathar is Juhani from Knights of the Old Republic, a Jedi member of a Cathar sub-species that doesn't look quite as furry as the ones we'll be playing now. The Cathar are fierce warriors and incredibly loyal, so if you're going to roleplay them having sex, don't be slutty. The Cathar are available as a player character race with today's game update 2.1 for The Old Republic, which also adds all sorts of dyes and new customization options. Hooray!

If you've ever held a Board Game Night, you know that every group of board game players has...let's call it a "limit." There are games that are just too advanced for some, and the key to having fun is picking a game that's complicated enough to be satisfying for veterans but simple enough for newcomers to pick up. (That is, unless you're lucky enough to have a dedicated group of people to learn the Game of Thrones game or Risk: Legacy or any of those amazing games Quinns is always going on about.) The comedy duo Rhett and Link have a good time making fun of the more complicated kinds of board games out there in this new short in which they play a made-up game called Risky Settlers Knights and Allies of the Lords of Dominion of Earth: Pandemic Edition. Heh. What is this, a Wayans Bros movie? I mean, I'd play it. (Via Huffpo)

Crime is a constant feature of video games writing. Somewhere, someone is doing something illicit with them—sometimes comically stupid, but potentially tragic. Games and consoles are currency, objects of dispute, sometimes even weapons themselves. Kotaku's Police Blotter is here to round up the latest in games crime. Put On These Glasses, or Start Eating That Trash Can CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—A 23-year-old man avoided jail time for a psychotic episode last year in which he brandished a toy shotgun inside a bank, believing himself to be in a video game. "In his delusional state, he imagined his sunglasses were displaying a game score," reports the Canberra Times. "The sunglasses told him how many enemies he had killed and how many were left." Status of how much bubblegum he had left, apparently, was not displayed. Courteous Suspects Save Cops Time WEST HAVEN, CONN.—Two men and a woman are in the slammer on burglary and larceny charges for stealing a big flat screen TV and "Xbox gaming system," according to the New Haven Register. On Friday, the trio strolled into a New Haven pawn shop with their ill-gotten booty—where detectives assigned to the very same case where investigating another. Beware of Cougars PALMERSTON, AUSTRALIA—Two 28-year-old blokes must have thought they hit the jackpot when they took home four women, between ages 20 and 49, from the bar on Saturday, and proceeded to get rip-roaring drunk and high. As the passed-out marks snoozed, the ladies made off with an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, two samurai swords, a pressure washer, "... and a broom," notes the Northwest Territory News. All of the property has since been returned and the four women are facing a variety of charges. Death Row Inmate Says He was Framed as 'Xbox Murders' Ringleader TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Troy Victorino, serving a death row sentence for his role in the infamous "Xbox Murders" of 2004, insists he was framed as the ringleader, but Florida's supreme court appeared skeptical of the appeal in hearings late last week, according to The St. Augustine (Fla.) Record. Six people were bludgeoned to death in the August 2004 slayings, which acquired their nickname because Victorino allegedly had gone to retrieve his belongings, including the gaming console, from the home where the killings occurred. One other defendant got a death sentence, too. Victorino's convictions were upheld in a 2009 appeal; this one was brought as a claim of ineffective counsel. No Death Penalty for Dad Accused of Killing Infant who Interrupted Game HIGH POINT, N.C.—A man will not face the death penalty when he goes on trial for the death of his infant son, whom investigators say was killed by a punch to the face by his enraged father, upset the baby's crying interrupted his video game. Brian Jack Frazier, 20, and the baby's mother, Stefany Renee Ash, 20, both face first-degree murder charges, she for allegedly discussing such actions as hiding the baby's body, reporting a kidnapping, or Frazier feeling to the mountains. (Winston-Salem, N.C. Journal) Also in crime news this past week: • Julian Knight, the shooter in Melbourne's infamous Hoddle Street Massacre of 1987, is suing his prison for refusing to let him have a PlayStation (unspecified model) in his cell. • One teenager is in a world of trouble after he and two others allegedly robbed a home of a PlayStation 3, and held a babysitter and two children there at gunpoint. The babysitter recognized one of the intruders under his bandana and drove to his mother's house to tell her, where cops caught him and an accomplice • She-Hulk, or someone matching her description, anyway, is wanted by York, England police in connection with an assault outside a McDonald's. Lots of strange things happen in the pages of your local newspaper or on the 6 o'clock news. If you see something, say something. To me, that is. I'd like to write it up. Remember: You need not reveal your identity. To contact the author of this post, write to owen@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @owengood.

Wolfenstein: The New Order, MachineGames' series reboot announced last week, has deployed a platoon of screenshots featuring mechs, robo-dogs and pistol-packin' Nazi grandmas.

Of all the games that I played at New York University’s No Quarter exhibition, the one I most wanted to take home and play with a friend was There Shall Be Lancing. Granted, Killer Queen and Bennet Foddy's Speed Chess are a little too unwieldy to play in my small New York City apartment, But, the combat game by Sophie Houlden operates on a mechanically specific tension that keeps pulling you back. You can grab a version here if you ask nice. Houlden wasn’t able to attend this year’s No Quarter but I talked to NYU’s Charles Pratt—who puts together the annual event—about why he commissioned the game and the importance of getting hands-on exposure for new, independently developed works.

Welcome to the first official Ask Kotaku column, where I will provide weekly answers to the questions you send me. There were lots of questions for this first event. They ranged from love and life troubles to job woes, Kotaku, help with specific games and help with organizing them. I tried to answer as many as I could. Let's get to it. (Some questions shortened for length.) Don't forget to email me questions for next week! Regarding Games and Hardware So given that sony never did show what their console looked like back on feb 20th, do you think microsoft will try to have a finalized version of the durango they can show off if they decide to show it? This is all guesswork, but I’m going to say that they will show it. Sony’s situation was a weird one where they only showed off the controller during their PS4 event. And if Microsoft does show off the next Xbox, I’d say it’d be the finalized version (or very close to it) since they wouldn’t risk showing something less than perfect at their big reveal event. Plus, you’d think they’d wanna one-up Sony somehow, right? Have you seen anyone in public play a PS Vita? I've never seen it. I haven’t! Not even at the PAX conventions! I’ve only ever seen these rare gems from my coworkers. Oculus rift - when can I start believing that this is anything more then an awesome experiment that journalist and developers will get to play with? Do you think this thing will make it to market? It certainly will! I think they’re still polishing the thing—both in terms of the hardware itself as well as the aesthetics, cause, c’mon—and figuring out pricing. I can’t give you a good estimated guess for when that will be, but it is a pretty damn cool device already, so who knows how close they are from a consumer release. You can pre-order a dev kit right now, though! I've recently been really into Dark Souls but I find it nearly impossible to get through the entrance part of the Tomb of the Giants when you enter through the Catacombs... I've got a Strength build with Havel's Ring and I am about to get to 50 points in strength to use the Demon's Greataxe. I always fail at the part, where you slide down the first column and then after sniping the two archers that attack me on that platform, I either get killed by the great skeleton that kicks me of the edge and I die, or I slide down the second one and then get kicked down by the two great skeletons down there. Any advice on that? I defer to Dark Souls expert Michael Rougeau, who guest edits here on Kotaku: Make sure your equip weight is under half so you can dodge effectively. Don't bother sniping the archers; dodge the great skeletons' initial attacks and then unload on them with your most powerful weapon. At your level you should be able to kill them in 2-3 hits. Dual-hand it to be sure. If not, upgrade your current weapon or choose a different one. Once you get past the two great skeletons you're almost to a bonfire. Just keep moving so the archers don't pin you and you should be fine. Oh, and use a light spell or the skull lantern to help you see. Good luck. I've recently begun considering buying a mobile gaming device. Up until now, I have always done my gaming on the PC and Xbox 360. With the recent release of some cool titles like Soul Sacrifice and soon Muramasa: Rebirth, I am leaning more towards a PS Vita. I'm still not entirely convinced on the Vita over the 3DS, however. Any suggestions? The Vita is slowly, slowly getting a few more worthy titles, but it still feels somewhat barren to me. Especially when the 3DS is holding on strong. I think you could spare waiting a bit longer before getting the Vita, with the 3DS XL to tide you over. That’s what I’m personally doing, while also praying for a price cut. Are there such things as over sexualization for male characters? If over grown muscles and broad shoulders accentuated by skin tight clothing (or lack thereof) are all meant to be empowerment, what draws the line between the two? This is a really tricky one. I don’t think there’s an inherent “right” and “wrong,” or explicit “too far” when it comes to representing a male (or female) character as empowered versus flat out oversexualized, because it’s completely relative to the viewer. What might be a step over the line for me could be completely tame or normal for someone else. Miss Jenn Frank does a good job of framing what’s so complicated about this sort of discussion. So, ultimately, the line should be drawn if/when a character is clearly and disrespectfully being used to capitalize on a certain look for a certain marketing direction. Problem there is that it’s hard to pinpoint which characters are specifically servicing those needs. Outside of the often maligned simulated violence, what do you think is the most cathartic aspect of AAA games, and why? This is an interesting one, because there are so many. But for me, I think I’d have to go with what basically translates to freedom. I’ve been replaying Borderlands 2 recently where, as you may know, you can fall without any physical damage. But even in what I know is just a virtual world, dropping from huge heights still makes my stomach lurch a little bit. It’s exhilarating and still slightly scary. Same goes for double jumping, or performing crazy bounces and slides in platformers like Super Meat Boy or the more recent Battleblock Theater. I have yet to play Mirror’s Edge but it seems like a game that would fit here, too. I'd love to be able to partake in real-life freerunning, but it's terrifying and I don't think I'm physically fit enough. Video games give me a body that's capable of doing so much. It's empowering and thrilling, and I don't have to break any real bones in the process. Here’s another one because I like this question so much: friendship. Not every game is great at doing this, but I can usually at least find one or two characters per game that I can bond with. Sure, being able to experience what it's like as a criminal with no real consequences is fun, but I find there are a lot of positive aspects you can enjoy, too. BioWare games are a particular favorite of mine when it comes to bonding with characters. I've heard Fire Emblem is great, too, but I've yet to play that one. Regarding Gaming and Gaming Lifestyles For some time now I’ve been on a mission to own as many games for any console, handheld, or PC as I possibly can. I’m only trying to collect games that have either made a difference in gaming, noteworthy, or just great, respected games, and of course games from my past. Steam has made this fairly easy with their weekly discounts and black Friday goodness. Gamestop helps with the console and handheld for used cheap copies of the games only available on them. However, I’ve spiraled out of control with spending and lack of focus. I don’t have a list, so it’s mostly just whatever is on sale, and I don’t have a plan of attack. My question: Do you have any suggestions/tips on how to organize this and maybe how to accomplish my goal? You answered your own question! Create a plan of attack. List out games you want, prioritize them as either need-to-haves or only-if-it’s-a-certain-prices. After that, research the hell out of the need-to-haves options online before forking over your money for it. You’d be surprised what kind of deals you can find (or make!) with people on the Internet. (And yes, I realize how that sounds. Stop that.) I cannot seem to get my wife into gaming. Before we were married she would at least casually game, such as guitar hero or the odd game of Tetris. Lately she doesn't want to play anything. I tried co-op, mmo and even other puzzle type games. Nothing seems to interest her. Part of getting your wife into gaming, I imagine, is to play games with her? In that case choose games you’re into and see if she likes any of them. Gauge what in particular she dislikes about a game and what she likes about it. You might be able to figure out a suitable game for her after that. And if that fails, try board games and card games. Try Cards Against Humanity! They’re all fun and it might help her get into the spirit. But at the end of the day if she isn’t feeling it anymore, you might have to find a different hobby to share. We've been playing Borderlands 2 for quite some time on Playstation 3. Somewhere along the way, amidst all the updates and hot fixes, we lost the ability to access new DLC...However, Tech Support and Moderator responses have been...lacking, lets say. Understandable, cause these things get complicated and don't fix themselves, and there's two parties involved (PS/Gearbox). As, players what can we do about this to get some kind of answer and/or status report? I mean, I'm sure things like this happen all the time in the video game biz. In general, what are some things players can do to provoke a response? Man, that sucks. It can be a huge process to get a proper response from support and tech teams, but if there’s one code you have to live by as a customer, it’s that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Keep asking, keep pushing, keep emailing. To the point where they themselves want to solve your problem just to get you off their backs. Clearly you've played a ton of Borderlands 2 and enjoy it dearly, but just how many cumulative hours (between all your characters) are we talking here? Because I'm at about 15 days across all my characters and I need to know if I have a problem or not. Since you seem to have your sanity intact, if you're anywhere close to that then I can rest easy. Oh man, I don’t even know by now! I’ve played the game a few times over, with a few characters. I think I might’ve played more Borderlands 1 than 2, though. Regardless, after World of Warcraft binging for about a year or two, I realized that I really don't like spending too much time occupied with one video game. There are way too many new games coming out all the time, and my backlog grows with each new release. There’s something great about feeling really familiar with one game, but I’ve learned to value having a more diverse palette, even if my range of knowledge that comes with that diversity is at the expense of how thorough it is. Do you know of any games whose plot, tone, game play, or other feature can beneficially augment the standard healing process for people with mild to moderate (or, if you have anything for it, debilitating) depression? Due to isolation or otherwise, games can be one of the few remaining messages to which someone with depression is receptive. Sorry to hit you with a serious one on Ask Kotaku's maiden posting... I think all games can be good for depression, it just depends on the kind of game that resonates most with you. Personally, I find losing myself in rounds and rounds of a first-person shooter works best for me. It’s an easy outlet for my frustrations, and I get a kick out of the competition. But other times I’ll be more in the mood for games with cute art and a slower pace, like ilo milo. It’s a game I won’t forget because everything about it is so darn pleasant. It soothes my insides. Though, if you want something that speaks to the issue of depression more directly, there are choices there as well. I'm getting old, getting married, trying to start a new career while working full time. Much as I love a good long game with story (say Dead Rising or Skyward Sword), I just haven't the time! When and how do I get my game on? I've tried using phone games, but my lady friend really isn't having it. She's spoken highly against my use of games in public/social situations. what do I do?? It’s all about game selection and time management. I wrote a long thing about this awhile back actually. I think it might help! Regarding Kotaku The "Off the Topic" and other random articles on Kotaku and the other Gawker sites (like whenever an entry is about a pretty picture or short film), are these things the columnists just find while doing other things and decide to post, or is there a way to submit things? Are you guys scouring the internet all day for virtual knick-knacks or do you have lackeys feeding you things you pick and choose through? Just curious... We share with our readers what we, as authors and as people with various tastes, find interesting. Sometimes we stumble on it during our usual Internet searches and RSS feed perusals, sometimes readers send it to us as a tip, and other times our friends and colleagues are tweeting about it. Our stories come from everywhere. Basically we live and breathe the Internet. How do you deal with rude comments? Do the Kotaku writers talk about their articles with each other if they get slandered in the comment section? We absolutely talk to each other about this stuff. We’re humans, after all, who work closely together every single day. We talk about these things partially to vent and find a shoulder to lean on, but also to work through the vitriol to see if there’s any validity to criticism that we can use in a constructive way for the future. Working on the Internet means you have to have a certain thickness to your skin. No matter how awesome you are, someone out there won’t like you. (This is the case in the real world, too, only people tend to be more polite or at least discreet about it.) On the Internet, it’s easy to forget that we’re all just people interacting with one another. People with families and bills and problems of our own. People with different interests and backgrounds. But, most importantly: people with feelings. No matter how thick your skin is, the Internet’s cruelty can occasionally tip over your usual threshold. The way I deal with it is send an IM to Evan to let him know it’s bakery time, and we swing over to one to pick up tarts and eclairs and brownies and cupcakes and cookies and junk. Sugar is my very, very good friend. But mostly it helps to vent to a friend and remember that, hey, this is the Internet and it sucks out there sometimes. I was always interested in what life is like in the offices for you guys. As a major in web design, and someone who’d really like to write in video game journalism, how’s the environment? I’ve seen some videos with Totilo and you folks in what appears to be a conference room with a big dark table and stuff. Maybe you can give us a tour of the office? Are there often disputes over video games at the Kotaku offices? In general, what’s normal for you guys, and is everything always business in the office? Let’s see if I can set the scene for you. Stephen Totilo, bossman and editor-in-chief of Kotaku, sits to my left. Chris Person, video editor, sits to my right. Across from me are reporters Jason Schreier and Evan Narcisse. The rest of us are online and across the US and the ocean. Those of us who work in the NY offices with the rest of Gawker are in downtown Manhattan, in a pretty dimly-lit four-floor walk-up. (The picture above is of a Kotaku reunion in NY, so it's not typically that full of our writers.) We work. A lot. We’re normally always at our desks and always on call. Occasionally, on a rough day, Jason and I will go get coffee (I don’t drink coffee—I get tea) or Evan and I will get sweets from a bakery. Stephen gets pizza. It’s usually the only thing that gets him up out of his chair. Evan sometimes teases him about it, and we try to make him eat other foods (or eat at all!). We do chat and have fun with one another. We’ll joke around, or discuss what direction we should take an article. Evan and I talk about comics almost every morning, cause I'll usually have been reading something new on the train ride over. Stephen and I have weekly meetings about many Kotaku-related things. Most of our interactions take place online, though, since we have to coordinate with so many out of office writers. Sometimes we record audio or videos, so we go to one of the conference rooms either on our floor or the floor below us. That always involves Chris and sometimes at least one other writer. That’s pretty much it! We’re all work horses. Regarding Jobs After years of writing, I've never been able to transition to a paying position, it seems nearly every site just wants writers to contribute for free indefinitely. Do you have any tips for writers on how to achieve the dream of being paid for their words? Given the current climate, and previous experience, the whole endeavour just seems like trying to win the lottery. This is a question I get a lot, and it is sort of like winning the lottery. Well, it’s half winning the lottery and half who you know and how well you can establish those connections. My tips for this kind of thing are always: continue to write and produce content, continue to reach out to outlets with interesting, unique and well-written content for consideration, and continue to socialize and get to know people in this industry. The difference between a resume in my inbox and an email from someone I know and am familiar with makes a huge difference. Also, on that note, don’t pitch resumes, pitch stories! Short version: I lost my job. I loved my job. Now I'm scared I can't face having a job, even if I can find one. So even if I want a job.. What do I want to do? It sounds like you’re more concerned about figuring out what kind of a job you want to have. And that can be daunting. You’ll basically be spending a big portion of your days (and therefore life) at this job, so of course you want to be somewhere that will make you happy. Do some research and some soul searching to find a place where you’ll fit in. If you’re somewhere that makes you happy, you won’t feel like you can’t face it. Since you loved the job you lost, consider searching within that field first. Don’t let the loss get you down or get in your way. Push through it, and if your old line of work isn’t fitting right, you can always try something new. In December of 2012 my boss resigned his position at the hospital I work at. It was decided that I would take over his responsibilities as the Interim Director of Technology for 90 days. It has been over 150 days and the CEO continues to tell me I'm being evaluated. Taking over all his responsibilities plus my own has made my job difficult to manage and I'm not being compensated any differently. I asked the CEO about a different compensation and I was told that when the evaluation was over it would be decided what my compensation would be. Am I essentially being overworked for not extra pay? Any suggestions on this situation? Oh boy, this can be a very frustrating position to be in. On the one hand it’s exciting to feel like you’re moving up, but on the other hand you don’t want to be strung along for too long and feel like you’re being unappreciated or, worse, taken advantage of. My suggestion to you is twofold. One: as much as it sucks to hear this, if it’s a job you want and think you can continue to grow in, keep up the patience. You have to figure out if it’s worth having the patience for, because this is how businesses are run. Employers are in positions to dictate how and when things go down, and the best you can do is nudge things in that direction. You should, of course, always be direct. Firm but polite. Which leads me to my second suggestion: find some alternate form of compensation. Ask if you can bring someone in under you to help with some of your extra responsibilities, for instance. It’d both show initiative and lighten your work load. Of course, this may not be a feasible option. But if they can either move someone to work under you, or hire someone new, it’d probably be very helpful for you. And it might expedite the decision-making process if they see that you are taking on extra management responsibilities, with the benefit to you that you won't actually be taking on too much new work. Regarding Love WHAT MAGIC LIQUID IS INSIDE THE FLASK THAT YOU ARE SO YEARNING TO TAKE? IS IT THE HOLIEST WATER, THE MOST SACRED WATER, OR JUST BLUE GATORADE... TELL ME NOW!!! Also, do girls like it when they are tickled? I will never tell >:) As for your second question: it depends on the girl! Some people are too sensitive to tickles, or just prefer their boundaries. I know some don’t like involuntarily laughing and squirming, either. Personally, I think it’s all in good fun, though there are certainly limits to how long any human can tolerate tickles. Image from Dakota Rose's website. I'm a 17 year old junior in highschool and I'm an Otaku. I am having an issue with girls at my school, I have a lot of girls flirting with me but my standards for women are pretty outrageous. My ideal girl is one from an anime, pretty, gorgeous eyes, and an amazing personality. Its bad I know... But I just want to meet a girl like that. I look at the girls at my school and I set the standard so high that I fail to really see what I should... Any advice for me? It’s important to remember that no girl, or guy for that matter, is perfect. Our imperfections—and the processes of learning to deal with them—are even sometimes what make us who we are. You’re still young and have plenty of time to meet a lady that is compatible with you, because it sounds like you haven’t met her yet. Which is fine, because I’m sure once you find her you’ll forget about the bullet points and see her for who she is. Give it time, keep an open mind, and maybe try to diversify your media intake. It’d be good to expose yourself to other kinds of women than just the big-eyed, small-waisted anime type. Riddle me this: How does a guy, too shy for online dating get a girl? Be active! Go out to different places. Not necessarily bars, not dance clubs, but other public places where people might gather. A coffee shop, a museum or a gallery, a yoga studio, a bookstore, anything really! And if you spot a girl you like, don’t be afraid to engage her in conversation. Worst case scenario is that it doesn’t work out and you’re back where you started. But at the very least you’ll undoubtedly come away having learned something, even if it’s just how to be more comfortable going about these things. I just broke up with my girlfriend and moved all of my stuff out of our apartment. I know she still has my favorite Morrissey t-shirt, even though she claims it's not there. Will I ever get it back? Do I chalk it up as a loss? If you really want it back, and are in a position where you’re comfortable enough to continue speaking with her to ask for it back, try rephrasing the question. Ask her to search around, suggest that it might be crammed in a corner somewhere rather than outright accusing her of hiding something. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s not being totally honest. I don’t know your ex-girlfriend at all to suggest that she is, but I’ve definitely known other people who have lied to their ex significant others about items that were supposed to be returned in the divorce but were not. It could be a spite thing, or a memento, or whatever. At the end of the day you very well may have to chalk it up to a loss. If you rather not maintain contact, I’d say do that immediately. Not worth it in that situation. Im about as comfortable around women as Louie CK. How do I avoid looking silly in the future? Practice practice practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. Approach women, talk to women, be friendly to women. Remember that women are just people who eat breakfast in the morning and stress out about deadlines and missing the bus or whatever else it is we humans do. There’s always something that you can use to relate to other people. Find it and use that as your stepping stone to comfortable conversation and—gasp—maybe even a phone number. And also remember that with the billions of people out there, you’ll likely not get along with many of them. And that’s ok. Just keep trying. So after a year of dating my ex, and a few months of "I love yous" but still both single. I learned she was off with some other dude and kept lying about it. Cut her out of my life painfully, but I know when I get back up to college it'll be hard since so many games I played I loved playing with her and I don't know if I'll find the same pleasure in it. Advice? (Borderlands 2, TF2, SC2, various CoD games, etc.). Also: What is your opinion of zombie culture? Is being over done at this point or is it just getting good? I know the feeling. I remember I used to associate a show with an ex because we’d always watch it together on Netflix party watch (back when that was a thing). Months later my friend wanted to watch some episodes of it with me and I hesitated. But she told me that if we watched it together, I’d start to associate the show with her and no longer my ex. And she was right! We made a thing of it and now it’s the show she and I watched together, not the show I watched with my ex. Play those games with other friends and make new memories. Re-appropriate the experiences. As for zombie culture, it’s definitely dried out for many, many games and movies and etc. But I still find some zombie content to be enjoyable when done right. I still haven’t seen Warm Bodies, but it seems like something I’d be interested in. A new angle, with some comedy value and a little bit of cheesy romance. At the very least it's different from most other zombie stuff we get these days. The Walking Dead comics are still fantastic, even if the show is really beginning to drag on and Activision’s game is crap. There’s life in it if people have creative ways of implementing it. It’s just that the market has become so inundated by zombies zombies zombies that most of it will be awful drivel. You gotta really mine for the good stuff these days. Regarding Life Do you think that society, as a whole, has become more rude as a result of the internet becoming so prevalent? I think of real world society as separate from Internet society. Many people seem to adapt their personalities when they step into the virtual world to connect to people anonymously. People say and do things they probably wouldn’t dare to do in person, face-to-face. It’s also really easy to forget who you are interacting with. Because online, a statement is all that you are sometimes. You aren’t Bob Smith, with a wife and kids who likes to go hiking and nap in hammocks. You’re that douchebag who thinks console gaming is blablabla. On the Internet, things go to extremes really quickly. I love you because you agree with me, I hate you because you disagree with me. But once people step back into reality, I think they tend to shed a little bit of that extremism and think through what they want to say with a bit more perspective. To summarize it, let’s just say that I hear the words “*crag* you” a lot more on the Internet than I ever have in real life. I'm from South America (and I reside here as well). I found myself feeling like a 'foreign person' ever since school and all the different expressions of my own nationality are meaningless to me, not that I stand by any others, it's just my personality is a constant denial of my own country customes (intellectually, culture, music, parties, dancing, food, etc) and I do not relate in any particular way to a latin-american context. Off course I'm currently trying to move abroad (yet unsuccessful) for it is substantially difficult for a natural from a "third world developing country" to get an opportunity out of the illegality of immigration. We all felt alone in some time of our lives but when that is actually true, every second of everyday you start to wonder and reasoning about the whole reality construct that brought us here. Having said that: Do you think I am under the illusion of finding an appropiate context where I can develop and grow, or is it just my own delusion that prevents me from accepting the world surrounding me? The fact that you’re thinking through these things tells me that the problem isn’t any sort of delusion. It seems to be exposure. As a first generation American, I can certainly understand finding a balance within your cultural upbringing and the environments you expose yourself to. I think moving abroad is an excellent idea for you. Have you thought about studying abroad? It’d be a good way to spend a smaller amount of time living in a new country without immediately committing yourself to that one area. I recently reached a point where I might need anti-depressants... Do you think that I should use them? I am worried, if they might change me into another person... Honestly, antidepressants—and, really, any kind of drug you have to take for long lengths of time—scare me. But from what I hear from friends who are under professional care and on various medicines, it does change you. For the better. It helps you deal with anxieties that might otherwise hold you back from who you are underneath all the stress and paranoia and everything else. Of course, this is something you should thoroughly research and then discuss with your doctor and specifically your psychiatrist once you’re armed with tons of information. Make sure you know what you’re taking, what else you could be taking, and if you really need to be taking it. Keep in mind that the side effects can vary from drug to drug and from person to person, and they can sometimes be intense. You and your doctors might need to find the right medicine that balances with you. That's all for this week, guys. Send over more questions to me for next week's column, and I'll keep the advice coming. Hope you enjoyed this first Ask Kotaku! To contact the author of this post, write to tina@kotaku.com or find her on Twitter at @tinaamini.

I've been informed that he's "cool," but also "rude."

Less than five months after debuting its latest OS, BlackBerry plans to offer its messaging service on competing mobile platforms.

By the time this game actually comes out, we may have already seen every level via promotional trailer.

If you camped in the top floors of the Nuketown houses long enough that you wanted to change its hideous government-issue curtains and carpet, then this video is for you. An Illinois paintball field and (paintball) arms supplier Tippmann Sport recreated the map in real life this past weekend. The nuclear clock tower, the school bus, the sandbags, the mannequins in the windows, they're all here at Paintball Explosion of East Dundee, Ill. It doesn't look like the map stretches out into the cul-de-sac, but there are two houses, and the yellow one with the back deck is nearly virtuoso. Notice, however, the lack of heedless running and gunning, grenade spamming and melee kills. Some things just can't be replicated. Real Life 'Nuketown' Paintball Field Recreated by Tippmann [Charlie Intel. h/t Victor]

Everyone's talking about Gatsby: the newest cinematic take on Fitzgerald's classic drama made big bucks last weekend at the box office despite disappointing reviews. So this seems like a good week to remind you that there have been a couple of different Great Gatsby video games over the past few years. In 2010, there was a hidden object game. It was disappointing. Some bloggers gave up midway through. About a year later, something interesting happened: a couple of designers made a flash game based on Gatsby that was kind of amazing. Mixing the style of the Roaring 20s with the gameplay and aesthetics of an NES classic, The Great Gatsby's video game was actually quite fun. "There's little bits and pieces of a whole lot of games we love, but we never really wanted to make it derivative of any single game," designer Charlie Hoey told Kotaku back in 2011. "The goal was more to make something that really could have been a real one back in the day." You can play that flash game right here.

Starbreeze-owned developer Overkill Software will launch Payday 2 this August on consoles and PC. Publisher 505 Games announced this morning the game will no longer be limited to digital distribution networks, with retail versions planned for Xbox 360 and PS3.

"We're expecting great things from Payday 2 and are really looking forward to working with our retail partners all over the world to make it the huge success it deserves to be," said 505 Games Head of Global Brand Tim Woodley.

Payday: The Heist sold around a half-million copies and the sequel received a creative injection last year when it was announced Battlefield 3 lead designer David Goldfarb exited EA to work on the project.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Pokemon toys battle in a attractive photo essay by Zarynx And GiantBoyDetective offers his thoughts on S’mores-flavored soda. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

If you're into being constantly on the verge of death for the sake of insane damage and health bonuses, Krieg's gonna be your huckleberry.

Puzzle games tend to fall into one of two categories. There are the fast and frenetic ones, where you watch pieces smash into one another, pushing your mental and physical reflexes as far as they can go before a wire is crossed and it all comes crashing down, hopefully after you've set a new high score. Then there are the Zen puzzlers. These are slow, asking you to plan the best moves for the highest score. You examine the board, analyzing its patterns and discerning how best to eliminate all those pesky blocks or orbs or gems or what-have-you.

Mosaique falls into the latter category, presenting a deceptively simple game of destroying colored blocks. At no point will it bring you either the stress or exultation of a Tetris or a Puzzle Fighter, but sometimes that's okay. Sometimes you want to sit back, relax, and watch as everything falls into place.

You might have somebody in your life who doesn’t get video games. And you may have tried putting them in front of a classic title like Shadow of the Colossus, Braid or World of Goo. But, games might still feel like a foreign experience to them, despite your best efforts. A new documentary wants to change all that. Ok, yes, this is a Kickstarter campaign but, fear not: Video Games: The Movie is done, according to director Jeremy Snead. He’s assembled loads of familiar bold-faced names from the scrolls of geek royalty but it’s the prospect of going backstage and showing game development at various different stages and scales that might make this movie something special. While not the first doc about making games, VGTM is casting a bigger net than say Indie Game: The Movie. Getting a glimpse of more of the faces and the effort that goes into making games might help that certain someone in your life understand the medium you love.

If you'd rather watch video games than play them on your console, Twitch.tv has the app for you, available for Xbox Live gold subscribers today. The app makes the top 300 live channels available for spectating. No streaming from the 360, only viewing. There'll be more at the next Xbox reveal in a week.

Nokia's new Lumia 925 Windows Phone device is launching next month, with an improved 8.7-megapixel PureView camera and a lightweight metal frame.

Recently on 2ch, Japan's largest bulletin board, a thread popped up. And in this particular thread, people showed off their desktop setups. They showed theirs, so let's see yours. Below, you can check out the 2ch desktops. Most are...not too fancy! In fact, they might look rather pedestrian. That's not a bad thing—if anything, it's rather interesting. Have a look: The last image shows somebody's desktop is in a closet! Previously, Kotaku asked to see your wallpapers. And we haven't done this for years, so dear readers, why not show us your desktops? Hit us up in the comments below. お前らのPC周りが見たいんだよ [2ch] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

We are now about halfway through the Spring anime season of 2013, and for weeks now I have been bombarded with the question, “What anime should I be watching this season?” Well, with a good chunk of episodes under my belt from many of the different series, I feel it’s now safe to answer that question. Now keep in mind, these are the anime that should not be missed this season—but that doesn't mean all the others are objectively bad; it just means that the following five series are a cut above the rest. Attack on Titan Currently at: Episode 6 (of 25) Genre: Low Fantasy, Steampunk Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: In a medieval world where giant Titans roam the lands, the last remnants of humanity hide behind a series of enormous walls. But should the Titans ever break the walls, it is up to the army to stop them with their specialized steampunk technology. Why You Should Watch it: Attack on Titan is a heart-pounding adventure like few others before it. It feels like a cross between the steampunk world of Full Metal Alchemist and the violent, low fantasy world of Berserk. The mystery behind the Titans is compelling and the characters are well-developed—not to mention interesting. And unlike many similar stories about a group of underdogs, the violence and danger are treated realistically—to put it another way, the heroes are all too mortal. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet Currently at: Episode 6 (of 12) Genre: Adventure, Mecha Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Many years after the majority of humanity had evacuated Earth, a young soldier crashes upon the watery planet. There he finds himself upon a floating city where he learns about a culture and lifestyle far different from his own. Why You Should Watch it: Written by Gen Urobuchi (the author of Madoka Magica), Gargantia is, at its heart, a tale of personal growth through the introduction of new ideas. It also looks deeply at the implications of being a one-man super weapon and the danger that position holds for not only the young soldier but also all those around him. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll Valvrave the Liberator Currently at: Episode 5 (of 12) Genre: Mecha, Sci-Fi Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: When his neutral space colony is invaded, a normal high school student pilots an experimental mobile suit to fight off the invaders—but at a terrible cost. Why You Should Watch it: From the creators of Gundam comes... well, Gundam (only this time it's called Valvrave for some reason). While the basic story setup is hardly original, the way the series plays with that framework is new, original, and often over-the-top awesome. It really looks at how a war in space would be perceived in a world with widespread social media and how a Gundam pilot would be treated by the populous at large—in addition to how major governments would act toward him. More than that, it's a series that pulls out surprise after surprise that you'd never expect—making it an enjoyable ride you won't be able to stop watching. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, Hulu Red Data Girl Currently at: Episode 6 (of 12) Genre: Japanese Fantasy, Romance Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: A young girl has led a normal—if sheltered—life in a small mountain town. Yet, odd things happen whenever she touches electronics, causing them to be destroyed. But little does she know that entering high school will take her into a world of spirits and magic—a world hidden within our own. Why You Should Watch it: Just as Harry Potter merged western magic and wizards with the modern world, Red Data Girl does the same with Japanese magic and shamans. When it comes down to it, it's a coming-of-age story about finding one's self. Though it is not as action-filled as the other anime on this list, it is still drama-filled—yet, manages to never descend into overly melodramatic territory. Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, Hulu The Devil is a Part-Timer! Currently at: Episode 6 (of 13) Genre: Comedy, Western Fantasy Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: When the Demon King is defeated by the Hero, he and his last minion escape their fantasy world and land in modern Japan. But with no marketable skills and running low on magic, the Demon King is forced to get a fast food job and begin his conquest of both worlds from the very bottom of the pecking order. Why You Should Watch it: The Devil is a Part-Timer! could have been nothing but your standard fish-out-of-water comedy. Instead, the whole scenario is turned on its head by continuously showing how well acclimated the Demon King is to his new life. The resulting story is a comedy satirizing not only fantasy world clichés, but also life as an entry level employee in modern Japan. Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, Hulu Want a second opinion? See what our friends over at io9 had to say about the anime this season. Stay tuned to Kotaku East for our article coming later this week on the other anime this season (and why you can skip them). And if you would like to chat about all things anime, head over to Talk Amongst Yourselves: ANI-TAY. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. To contact the author of this post, write to BiggestinJapan@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan.

Today, Gaijin Entertainment announced that it was bringing its military MMO game War Thunder to the PS4. Dubbed War Thunder: Ground Forces, the game will be out holiday 2013.

In 1987, Julian Knight shot and killed seven people in Clifton Hill, Melbourne. A further 22 were wounded. He's currently serving seven life sentences. He is also now taking the local state's corrections department to court because they won't let him have a video game console. Knight first requested to have a personal computer in his cell seven years ago, but was knocked back. He's since made a further seven attempts, none of which were successful. Corrections Victoria's (the local corrections department) decision to also block his 2009 request for a "PlayStation" (it's not specified which) has led him to say he is being "unfairly treated", as other prisoners have been granted similar requests. So he's taking his case to the Supreme Court, seeking not only the PlayStation, but the granting of his original request for a PC as well. This is not a joke. Knight is in prison having been convicted of the Hoddle Street Massacre, as it became known. A former army cadet, on the evening of August 9, 1987, he climbed atop a billboard - armed with two rifles and a shotgun - and fired at numerous passing cars (as well as a police helicopter) on the Melbourne street. Hoddle St killer Julian Knight launches legal action over decision not to allow him a PlayStation in his cell [Herald Sun]

The next Xbox is having its big reveal soon, on the 21st May. Here's where it will happen. These photos were tweeted by Microsoft's Larry Hyrb (AKA Major Nelson) and Aaron Greenberg, and show the still under construction briefing space. [Thanks, VG247.]

Nippon Ichi Software, which is based in Gifu, Japan, just inked a contract to be the official sponsor of Japanese soccer team F.C. Gifu. Hope this means all the players must wear Prinny hats! Here's more on the long, strange history of video games sponsoring soccer teams. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

According to online reports, this is apparently a high school lunchroom in Seoul. A disaster of a lunchroom, that is. The images were originally uploaded in South Korea with the title "The Worst High School" and have become a hot topic online, reports Rakuten Infoseek. The photos went viral in South Korea, racking up over 90,000 likes on Facebook. After these students ate, they seem to have dropped their dirty trays in the lunch lady's general direction, instead of putting them away. Online in South Korea, people saying that this is "truly awful". Other feel bad for the lunch lady and some think that the tray return system needs a severe overhaul. Others wrote things like, "These students have zero morals." As it is with these kind of things, the images themselves do not appear to tell the whole story. Because the photos became such a big deal, the school's vice principal actually had to comment on the matter, explaining that the cafeteria staff was shorthanded (there was apparently a worker's strike), and that all the stacked dirty trays were accidentally knocked over. "Please don't make excuses," wrote one individual online in South Korea. "This is a trashy school." In neighboring Japan, people online are uploading photos of how tidy Japanese children are at lunch and are, thus, using this as a way to criticize South Korea. "What is this a zoo?" asked one. The criticism at Korea is totally not fair; Japanese kids can be slovenly, too, and this is certainly not the norm in South Korea. People there are just as shocked as anyone by these images, whether they were intentional or accidental. This is a mess! 韓国の学校の給食風景が本当に凄い！ [KJ Club via 気ままに] 韓国の学校の給食後が凄すぎる [Rakuten Infoseek] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Robotech (or, specifically, Macross) games have a chequered past. Some have been OK! Others terrible. Some have even been pretty good, though you wouldn't know it, since the best ones (on PS2 and PSP) have never been officially been released outside Japan. But anyway. Video games! This isn't a video game. It's Robotech RPG Tactics, a tabletop game that you won't need to wait to be translated, because it's being made by a Western company (Palladium, the same people behind the classic Robotech pen-and-paper RPG). Despite its commercial backing, the project is actually up for bidding on Kickstarter. With a goal of $70,000. Which has been exceeded just slightly, with the tally at time of posting standing at just under $720,000. For those who don't play board/tabletop games, think of this as XCOM. Only you play it on a table, with friends, with amazing Macross pieces that look good enough to just sit on a shelf. So, yes, this could be the greatest game ever. Robotech® RPG Tactics™ [Kickstarter]

British artist Darren Bartley works at Crytek's main studio in Germany. Prior to that, he spent five years working at Runescape developers Jagex. Don't let the Runescape links fool you; you're about to see a lot of killer robots. And animals turned into killer robots. You can see more of Darren's work - including more lemurs - at his personal site and CGHub page. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the bottom-right corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment, promotional or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

Though not from Sony. Despite reportedly toying with the idea back in 2008, the platform holder has to date never followed through with the idea of a controller that can break apart into two pieces. In 2013, third-party peripheral manufacturer Mad Genius wants to. It's launching a Kickstarter campaign for its pad, which in addition to serving as a standard pad, can also be broken apart and used as a PlayStation Move-ish controller. You can see a demonstration video above. Just when you thought the days of waggle and motion were over! Mad Genius [Site, via The Verge]

Well. And here I was thinking the move to get a giant statue of Robocop erected in Detroit would ultimately come to nothing. It has instead come to something. Something wonderful. What you're seeing here is the almost-completed model of the city's sworn protector. This is the thing that'll be shipped to the sculptors to be made into a cast, and from that cast will emerge a bronze statue of Robocop that will stand ten feet tall. Speechless (With Lots of Pictures) [Kickstarter, via Boing Boing]