Gaming News Message Board older than one year ago

While not a direct confirmation, during the latest Major Nelson podcast episode, Aaron Greenberg, chief of staff for interactive entertainment at Microsoft, seemed to imply that whatever is shown during the Xbox reveal will be out this holiday. The assumption, of course, being that they're going to show the next Xbox during the event, and therefore he said that the next Xbox will be out this holiday. To quote: We're really going to tell one story across two events. So we're going to start on the 21st and really that's about revealing the next Xbox platform, really our vision for the future of games, the future of entertainment. We definitely have a lot of surprises planned....at E3, I mean, if you're a gamer, it's going to be tonnes of exclusives, world premieres, and obviously even beyond that we have a lot to share between then and this holiday. Emphasis mine. We've reached out to Microsoft for confirmation about this, and will update this post if we hear back. Otherwise, here is everything we know about the next Xbox. Image credit: Shutterstock

Slow zombies may be a cliche, but I'd take them any day over having to figure out how to survive against super agile, parkour zombies—like the ones in this video by ronniestreetstunts. Though maybe they'd be too busy showing off their flippy moves to actually pose a threat? Hmm. Zombie Parkour - The Flipping Dead [ronniestreetstunts via Laughing Squid]

Can Samsung's flagship smartphone compete with the iPhone and HTC's One?

Scurvy Scallywags, the upcoming game from Ron Gilbert and DeathSpank co-creator Clayton Kauzlaric, is a little different from most match-three puzzlers. As we learned in March, players can influence the direction in which the board collapses after making a match. This, in turn, can move their character around the board and allow them to engage in combat with other characters.

The concept is a bit difficult to put down on paper, so thankfully there's a new trailer! Take note of the end of the video, as we're fairly certain this is the first sea shanty in history to feature a theremin.

Deadspin How To Give A Best Man Toast That Doesn't Suck | io9 Game of Thrones will end with season 7: Producer | Kotaku How To Turn Your Android Phone Into A Gaming Powerhouse | Jezebel How to Wear A&F While Fat, as Demonstrated by Jerry From 'Parks & Rec' | Valleywag Tumblr: Still Full of Porn and Self-Mutilation

“We have to go back.”

Six years ago, I moved from Chicago to San Francisco. Six years later, I’m headed back.

One of the last conversations I had with my father before he passed was telling him we were coming home. This was more than a year ago. At the time, we figured it would happen in a few years. My wife and I had started talking about the future, and we were concerned about the logistics of raising a family in the Bay Area. It’s expensive, and our families are in the midwest. When my father passed, the gut reaction was to panic, and sprint towards what’s comforting.

During my extended stay in the midwest last summer, I considered not coming back. But life cannot be defined by crisis, and I'd have regretting pulling the trigger so quickly. I loved the life I’d built in San Francisco, and I loved my job. Around the time of our wedding, we committed. The plan was to move back for the first anniversary of my father’s passing, and that date is rapidly approaching. A year moves fast.

You might have gotten a sense that change was coming when I started experimenting with streaming from my apartment using a MacBook Air. Man, that was dumb! It was around then I was mulling the logistics of no longer being in the office, and how that impacts the work I’ve come to value while being part of Giant Bomb. I came to this place as a wordsmith, but have since spent most of my time in front of a camera. When I move, the extra time means I’ll naturally gravitate back towards more writing and reporting, but I don’t want to lose the connection I’ve built up with Giant Bomb’s incredible audience.

I’m actually excited about what’s possible being disconnected from the office. Alex and I have been talking about doing a live morning show, since we'll both be in earlier time zones. Perhaps most importantly, I haven't had time to break any big stories. Now, I will. It’s very frustrating to sit around and watch other reporters file stories that I’ve known about for weeks or months, knowing I could have easily done that. Now, I can. Besides more frequent Encylopedia Bombastica entries and Spookin’ With Scoops episodes, you can look forward to much more thoughtful, in-depth reporting from me. I’ve really missed it.

June 21 will be the last day I’m in the office, but I’ll continue to be your news editor at Giant Bomb.

We’ll leave the teary goodbye for another day.

Hey, You Should Play This

• Among the Sleep by Krillbite Studio (PC/Mac/Linux, Free) -- www.krillbite.com/ats

Besides Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, there’s not another horror game I’m looking forward to as much as Among The Sleep. It's comforting to have my enthusiasm justified. On paper, Among The Sleep is a winner. You’re a two-year-old trying to find your parents in a house where things are going very, very wrong. I’d play that game, even if it turned out awful. As part of its Kickstarter funding, the developers released a playable version of the game. They are very much on the right path with this one.

And You Should Read This, Too

• "Thoughts on Slender: The Arrival" by Thomas Grip

Speaking of horror games, Frictional Games co-founder Thomas Grip sat down with Slender: The Arrival and wrote a thoughtful analysis of what does and doesn’t work. Scaring people seems like one of the most difficult task for a creator, whether we’re talking about games, books, movies--whatever. Horror is incredibly subjective, and requires participation by the player/viewer/reader in a way other genres do not. Grip’s methodically breaks down and articulates why Slender: The Arrival can get under your skin.

"Most of the creepiness comes from the game featuring perfectly normal situations and locations. It is easy to draw parallels between the game's scenery and your own life experience. There is no need to figure out the world and your place in it, all that comes automatically. This makes it possible to become immersed in the atmosphere almost instantly. It also makes the game leave a certain amount of dread behind after you have finished playing."

• "Metro: Last Light is the triumph of an underdog" by Jason Rubin for GamesIndustry.biz

Apparently we’re keeping it morbid on Worth Reading this week. Former THQ president Jason Rubin has penned a stunning editorial about the unfortunate working conditions at Metro: Last Light developer 4A Games. It’ll have you reaching for the buy button on Steam by the end, and only makes what 4A Games has pulled off with both the Metro games all the more impressive. It makes you wonder what 4A Games would be capable of with better support. You know, like proper chairs.

"When 4A needed another dev kit, or high-end PC, or whatever, someone from 4A had to fly to the States and sneak it back to the Ukraine in a backpack lest it be "seized" at the border by thieving customs officials. After visiting the team I wanted to buy them Aeron office chairs, considered a fundamental human right in the west. There were no outlets in the Ukraine, and our only option was to pack a truck in Poland and try to find an "expediter" to help bribe its way down to Kiev. We gave up not because this tripled the cost, but because we realized that the wider Aeron chairs would require spreading out people and computers, which would lead to extra desks, and that ultimately would have required bigger offices. Yes, really."

If You Click It, It Will PlayCrowdfunding Has Promise, Hopefully Developers Don't Screw It Up

• I love games with two people on a journey together. Hopefully The Realm tuns out well.
• Boon Hill is a graveyard simulator. Game, you had me at graveyard.
• Remember that dinosaur video game from last week? It's The Stomping Land.

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

If I wanted to ensure that smart people do not want to come work at my company, I'd make the slogan something like, "Level up those badges!"

— Jonathan Blow (@Jonathan_Blow) May 16, 2013

Lastly, PDZ Fact #5: Every level in Perfect Dark Zero contains a hidden rat. That's what happens when you leave all that cheese around...

— Chris Allcock (@taskbaarchitect) May 17, 2013

Comment on our greenlight page: "you dont have the balls to take money for this when black mesa is and will be free"

— Davey Wreden (@HelloCakebread) May 17, 2013Oh, And This Other Stuff

• Digital Foundry applies its spot-on, super interesting technical analysis to Killzone: Shadow Fall.
• I suspect D doesn't hold up very well, but god damn was that an interesting game.
• Leigh Alexander and Shawn Elliott have an in-depth discussion about games, sexism, and representation.
• Thoughts on the consequences of disruption in a post-LucasArts world.
• Wait, is it surprising there aren't more violent games?
• Some folks are putting together an alternate E3 press conference. This has me excited.
• The madness that lies beyond playing more than 100 hours of Monster Hunter.
• Some of the reasons people enjoy watching Let's Plays.

Remember when local news channels across the country discovered that HOLY SHIT WOMEN PLAY VIDEO GAMES??? Today they've had another revelation: HIGH-INTENSITY EXER-GAMING!!! Brought to you by the same trite, recycled local news press release copy that brought you this fantastic report about the world of girl gamers, check out our supercut of local news reporters saying things like "HIGH-INTENSITY EXER-GAMING!!!" Video above.

Marawa is the "world conquering hoola hoop master"—according to her website. She can hoop up to 133 hoola hoops at the same time, and is basically kind of amazing with hoola hoops. She also likes Street Fighter. Hence...this kind of absurd video. Dat mega hoop combo at about a minute in. Wow. Wow. And hey. She says she wants to conquer the world with hoops. Entering the Street Fighter tournament is a good way of doing that, I think! Hoop fighter 2 !! [marawacu]

The Daily Dota does not stop until the Big W is in hand.

Your Android phone isn't just for widgets, talking, Google Now and photos. It can also be one of the world's best gaming platforms, if you're willing to spend a little time on it. Once the domain of tinkerers and super-nerds, Android devices have exploded in popularity over the last couple of years, spurred on by the emergence of superphones like the Samsung Galaxy S 4, HTC One and Google's own Nexus 4. Despite this increase, there remains the perception that - at least in terms of gaming - Android phones are somehow a step behind the iPhone. That things like piracy, a lack of apps and convoluted system specs are hindering the development of games on the platform. I'm here to tell you this is bullshit. Chances are that if you own an Android phone, and picked it up within the last 18 months, you've got in your pocket a silent killer in terms of portable gaming. Below you'll find four steps you can follow to turn that humble little smartphone into something a little more gamey. 1. USE GOOGLE PLAY Well, duh. But if you're a new user, or someone contemplating making the switch, this is important. Android users have a bad reputation for pirating software, including games, and in many ways that's a fair assumption. Pirating games for the platform is way too easy. Don't be that guy. Be the guy that visits the newly-redesigned Google Play Store (Android's equivalent of Apple App Store) and sees that, hey, nearly every big (and small) iPhone game is there too. Just as cheap. Just as plentiful. To get you started, here are ten of the best games available in the store. You'll even find some hot exclusives. Kairosoft's entire catalogue of addictive-as-hell management games is on the Play Store, for example, while only a handful have ever made it to the App Store. Seriously, there are enough quality games on there already that we could end the guide right here and you'd be set. Luckily, we're not ending the guide here. Those remaining developers who either delay bringing their games to Android, or don't do it at all, usually cite piracy as one of the big concerns. The more people actually pay for apps and games on Android, the more of these developers will be encouraged to bring their wares to the platform. So do it. 2. GO RETRO Let's say you want to play something more substantial than most mobile titles can offer. Or a classic game from your childhood that, for better or worse, isn't available on the Play Store. The great thing about Android phones is that you can still play these games, and it's a lot easier - and more legal - than you might think. Two of the most popular means of running old PC games on modern systems - DOSBox (for old DOS games) and ScummVM (for old adventure games) - both have versions available for Android devices. Before we go any further, then, you're going to need install these three applications: ScummVM for AndroidDOSBox Turbo for AndroidDOSBox Manager While that last link isn't necessary, you're really going to want it. What DOSBox Manager does is let you create a quicklaunch screen for the games, so instead of having to enter command prompts every time you want to play a game (which is normally how DOSBox works), you just tap some box art, same as a regular app/game. The quickest, easiest and most legal way to get hold of old PC games is to visit a site like Good Old Games. Many titles there are supported by DOSBox, so all you need to do is download the game to your PC and copy the files over to your phone. Tom DuPont has written a great in-depth guide to this process which you can read here. If you need help using DOSBox Turbo and/or getting your games running, the best place to start is the app's site, which has helpful (and easy to understand) walkthroughs and guides. ScummVM is an easier proposition, but if you have trouble setting it up, the official guide gives you a great walkthrough on getting set up. A word of caution, though: be careful which games you bring over. Your phone has limited inputs, most likely just a touchscreen, so trying to play a fast-paced RTS or shooter might not be the best idea. Slower, mouse-driven genres like adventure and turn-based strategy are a good place to start. Unless, that is, you want to... 3. GET A CONTROLLER (OR USE A MOUSE) It sounds crazy, I know. Buying an external controller for your phone defeats the entire point of playing games on a portable device. But the fact of the matter is, as phones become more powerful, phone games become more powerful, and it's a tragedy that people try to play something like Real Racing using touchscreen or tilt controls. Stick a pad on there and some of these newer games will feel like a console game, instead of just looking like one. There's also the benefit it brings to the retro games you'll be playing. Use a gamepad and suddenly all those amazing old shooters are playable. Connect a bluetooth mouse to your phone and anything you can't play with a pad, you can probably play with it. Doing this is pretty simple; provided they don't need drivers, Android natively supports bluetooth peripherals, including keyboards, mice and control pads. It'll even display a mouse cursor if it detects one. Just find your phone's bluetooth settings and pair it up. To save you buying a gamepad, there's an app that lets you connect a PS3 pad to an Android device. If you don't have a spare controller or mouse already lying around, or are looking for something a little more tailored, you can always try dedicated controller solutions like the MOGA Pro. Again, this might sound crazy since you can do this a lot more easily on a regular computer, but consider this: old PC games weren't designed to run on giant 23" desktop monitors. You either stretch their visuals until they look like garbage, or run them in a window. Phone screens, though, are at the cutting edge. Relatively tiny yet packing amazing colours and now sometimes even 1080p resolution, they breathe new life into your old games. Trust me, fire up something like Colonization or X-Com on a contemporary phone and it'll look better than ever. 4. GET A BIGGER BATTERY (OR BATTERY PACK) The one major downside to the crop of modern Android smartphones is that, almost to the last, they've got terrible battery life. Most can barely last a single day, even with infrequent use. If you're planning on playing a game at home, that's not a problem, but let's be honest, how often will you be playing a phone game at home? Running 3D graphics - or even just leaving a big bright screen on for long stretches - will kill your battery. So if you're serious about gaming on your Android phone, you should think about getting a bigger battery (if your phone supports removable batteries) or an external battery case/charging pack (if it doesn't). —- That should about cover it! There's enough here to get you started on turning your Android phone into a go-to games platform. If you've got something to add, though, let us know below! Howtu is Kotaku's guide on how to get the most out of your gaming.

Well, you know how things are out in the road. Sometimes you just, uh, really need to catch them all? ... Listen. Having an Ultraball for a gear shifter on your car is awesome, okay? And Redditor browner87 made one for his car by a modifying a cue ball and aluminum. You can see the steps involved in making the gear shift here, but here are a few pictures: Pretty good when compared to the source material, yeah? And let's be honest, while some Pokeball shifters float around in the web, this is an effin' Ultraball. You just can't compare—not even the Masterball. The purple looks goofy, whereas the Ultraball is classy. Finally finished my own Pokeball gear shifter. What does r/Pokemon think? [browner87]

The Bombcats explode, snails go racing with turbo speed and new Pudding Monsters levels have gone live in today's ASU.

Sorry - no Random Encounters today! I've been ill and bed-ridden and haven't had a chance to put together a column this week. But please feel free to talk JRPGs right here.

Less than a month after launching the Galaxy S4, Samsung claims the device is selling even faster than its predecesor.

Pretty sure I just had a heart attack. Coming exclusively to Transformers Botcon in San Diego from June 27 - 30, this variant cover for issue five of IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic micro-series is artist artist Tony Fleecs' way of reaching into my chest and grabbing hold of my heart with his ink-stained fingers. Here's a tiny look at the full cover, for Comic Book Resources has the exclusive and I do not wish to steal anyone's thunder. Besides, seeing it full-size in one sitting might kill you. What, you've seen a better comic book cover? Then share it. I can almost guarantee I will not agree.

You can have all the fancy future weaponry you want, but nothing beats a good old fashioned knife to the jugular.

This movie season sees not one but two different racing films hitting theaters — one aimed at a younger, less-mature audience, and the other an animated snail movie from the folks at DreamWorks Animation. One of the two scored a rather entertaining little mobile game tie-in this week. The other just adds drifting to CSR Racing. Borrowing most of the pages from one of the kings of casual mobile street racing isn't necessarily a bad thing. Fast & Furious 6: The Game looks lovely, plays quite well (at least when it works — user reviews are divided), and adds a little bit of drifting to the shifting gameplay established in its obvious inspiration. It's still about tapping at just the right time, only with drifting you have to tap, hold and release at just the right time as well. The cars are sexy, collectible and customizable, and I get to ride in a 1972 Ford Gran Torino, which is pretty much all I ever want to do. The downside here is that not only does Fast & Furious 6: The Game copy the best bits of CSR Racing, it also snagged the worst. A slowly-replenishing fuel gauge restricts your racing to a handful of events in one sitting (unless you pay). Car upgrades past the first time are tagged with arbitrary timers you have to wait out (unless you pay). What's worse, the pay wall arrives fast and furious. Once you get past the first few races in any of the available events, you'll suddenly stop winning. You'll be told to upgrade your car to be more competitive. You'll try that, but earning prize money is really tough when you never win a race. So I stopped playing Fast & Furious 6: The Game, as I have no time for this crap anymore. Either let me play or don't. This dance is getting really old. On the plus side, stopping gave me time to play Turbo Racing League, a charming little racing title from PikPok. Based on the snail-racing blockbuster Turbo, coming in July, this cute and colorful little racer manage to feature actual racing, and it's not horrible at all. Yes, you're a cartoon snail, but you're a cartoon snail that handles incredibly well as it grinds rails, drifts around corners and stunts off jumps in a variety of different racing events. Of all the 3D racing games I've played with my fingers, Turbo Racing League is easily one of the easiest to control, with four different configurations to choose from (I prefer tapping the sides of the screen to turn). Players compete events alone or against AI rivals to win stars. Earn enough stars and they'll progress to the next racing class. To prepare for the tougher challenges, players spend tomatoes collected from the track or earned through winning to customize their racer. She's no 1972 Ford Gran Torino, but she'll do. There are still annoyances, as there will be with free games. There's the Verizon sponsorship, for one. Every race track features a Verizon phone taped about the starting line, and there's an ongoing $1 million contest that's you see advertised incessantly throughout the game. The action is regularly interrupted by despicable ads, which shouldn't be necessary, what with the big Verizon deal, yet there they are. But at least Turbo Racing League is vaguely original and immensely playable. I never imagined a day would come where I'd choose a CG mollusk over Vin Diesel, but that's what it's come down to. We'll always have Riddick. Turbo Racing League Genre: RacingDeveloper: PikPokPlatform: iOS, AndroidPrice: Free Get Turbo Racing League in iTunes — Get Turbo Racing League on Google Play Fast & Furious 6: The Game Genre: Racing, sort of. Developer: KabamPlatform: iOS, Android (soon — beware the fake one)Price: Free Get Fast and Furious 6: The Game in iTunes

Doritos Crash Course 2, Blood Dragon, interns, Pandora's Tower, La Mulana, Dragon Fantasy, interns, Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter, Sorcery, Star Command, interns, NextBox speculation, Nintendo's E3, interns, BS crowdfunding campaigns, GT6, and interns. Also: interns.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: It’s crossover craziness as GiantBoyDetective begins a new feature where he looks at games inside cartoons. And his opposite number TinyManCriminal runs down TV shows inside video games. Great entries, both of ‘em. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art cheaper. Our coverage of Amazon's Mayhem Sale on 1500 games has been our most popular post ever. The sale is still going, so get in there. Looking for the current Moneysaver? Click here. Amazon's Gold Box deal today features many of Studio Ghibli's films at their lowest prices ever. Directed mostly by Hayao Miyazaki, these are some of, if not the finest animated feature films ever made, both in content and presentation. Even if you don't like animation or hate anime because of Dragon Ball Z's American edits, these are still must-see experiences. There are DVD's and Blu-rays available, and it's also worth noting that these movies tend to not make it to streaming services. [Amazon] Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are good starting points if you're new, and also probably the two most important ones to see. Personally, I'm a big fan of Whisper of the Heart and Kiki's Delivery Service. Bummer that My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle aren't included in this, but you should definitely still get them anyway. Keep up with Shane Roberts on Kinja and Twitter. Check out Dealzmodo for more great tech deals, and Deals.Kinja.com for even more discounts. This is a Moneysaver One-Shot, a post focusing on a single deal, sale, or category. Join us every weekday at 2:15pm ET for the full Moneysaver roundup, brought to you by the Commerce Team. We're here to bring Kotaku readers the best gaming deals available, and to be clear, we also make money if you buy. We want your feedback.

In case you just missed Nintendo's latest stream of Direct To You announcements, you can check out the full video here. The gist? There's a little bit of Sonic. A little more of Sonic plus some Mario. Some old school Zelda, thanks to the Virtual Console. Luigi gets the spotlight. Japan gets another thing we get to be jealous of. All of that and more that you can watch above.

You figure Nintendo is probably keeping the majority of its more interesting stuff for E3. At least, I hope so, because this morning's Nintendo Direct wasn't exactly a banger. Ostensibly focused on the Wii U and 3DS' summer lineups, the live stream also revealed a couple of new, further-flung titles headed to Nintendo's various platforms, including two new Sonic the Hedgehog games.

Here is the only image Nintendo sent over for Sonic Lost World. Super helpful, right?

The one shown most prominently was Mario & Sonic at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games, which may win the award for "Most Unwieldy Game Title" for the foreseeable future. As with other Mario/Sonic crossover sports titles, this one will feature a variety of multiplayer-focused sports, including skiing, snowboarding, bobsledding, figure skating, and curling, among others. That game is expected to launch in time for the event early next year.

However, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also announced another title featuring Sega's hedgehog mascot. Sonic Lost World is a new action/adventure/platformer that will be coming exclusively to the Wii U and 3DS. Details were scarce, but Nintendo is expected to reveal more about the title at E3.

Elsewhere, Nintendo mostly confirmed release dates for its summer games, and added a couple of details about some games already set for release. Here's the rest of today's info in bite-sized chunks.

• New Super Luigi U, the Luigi-themed DLC content for New Super Mario Bros. U, will release for $19.99 on June 20 as an eShop download. However, in addition to that, the Luigi DLC will also be packaged as a stand-alone retail game, which launches on August 25 for $29.99.
• The Wonderful 101, Platinum Games' insane looking superhero action/strategy/brawler, now has a release date of September 15 in North America.
• Nintendo plans to give you, the player, hands-on time with some of its upcoming Wii U titles during the week of E3. It will launch a demo program in over 100 different Best Buy locations in the U.S. and Canada, feauring games that will be shown on the E3 show floor. Specific locations and games have not yet been announced, but Nintendo plans to announce those details soon.
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, which will both launch on the 3DS Virtual Console on May 30, will be released at a sale price of $4.99 each for the first three weeks. After that, each title will revert to the price of $5.99.
• Nintendo and Sega will be bringing a number of Game Gear titles to the 3DS Virtual Console in the future. The titles announced for release are:
  • Columns
  • Crystal Warriors
  • Defenders of Oasis
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • G-LOC: Air Battles
  • Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya
  • Sonic Blast
  • Sonic Drift 2
  • Sonic Labyrinth
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Tails Adventure
  • Vampire: Master of Darkness

If you would like to watch the entire stream, which also features additional details and footage for Game & Wario, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and Pikmin 3, you can do so here.

Arrested Development’s imminent return means that its stars have turned up in the weirdest places. Like frozen banana stands in various cities. And while Tobias Fünke’s sizzle reel had a brief snippet of video games in it, Capcom’s taken things to a whole new level. The publisher of Street Fighter and Dragon’s Dogma took David Cross’ character up on his challenge for folks to Insert Him Anywhere and threw the thespian into a bunch of their games. I think the Resident Evil clip is my favorite but I love the non-sequitur WTF of the Mega Man cameo too. What video game would you insert Funke into?

In what appears to be a modern take on late-80s arcade game Narc, Deep Silver's Narco Terror is a twin-stick blast-everything shooter of one man (or two in local or online co-op) versus the cartels. The game is listed for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Earlier this week, we looked at the five anime you should be watching this season. But what about all the other anime this season? Well here’s why some of the more notable ones didn't make the cut. Now, keep in mind that these opinions are based only on the first half of each of these anime. A great second half could turn any of the following anime into one of the seasons’ best. And that's not to say that all the anime below are bad—though I’d argue at least one definitely is. Most just suffer from being average and don’t stand out when compared to other, similar anime in their given genre. So let’s dive in and take a look at four more of this season’s notable anime. The Severing Crime Edge Genre: Romance, Death Game Currently at: Episode 6 (of 13) Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Kiri is a boy with a unique fetish: he loves to cut hair. One day he comes across a girl whose hair cannot be cut—except, as it turns out, by an ancient pair of scissors passed down through his family. But when he cuts her hair, he unexpectedly sets in motion a death game that puts both his life and hers in mortal danger. Why You Can Skip It: On one side, The Severing Crime Edge is a lightly comedic, romantic tale about two teens who find the one other person in the world who completes them. On the other, it’s about their battling a score of psychopaths coming to kill them. The contrast between this cutesy love story and staggering violence is the strongest point of the show—but very little is done with it. So while the show is not bad, there are many far better realized romance anime out there. And if you’re looking for a good death game anime, you’d be better off watching Future Diary. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll Flowers of Evil Genre: Suspense, Romance Currently at: Episode 6 (of 13) Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Flowers of Evil is a slice-of-life tale about an average high schooler who, in the midst of teenage hormones and panic, accidentally steals the gym clothes of the girl he has a crush on. But before he can return the clothes, the school’s token female delinquent claims to be a witness to his theft and blackmails him into performing whatever perverted whims cross her mind. Why You Can Skip It: Flowers of Evil has gotten a lot of attention due to its use of rotoscope animation—and, no doubt, it makes for interesting visuals. Unfortunately, it is a gimmick that only hinders the quality of the anime overall. Simply put, Flowers of Evil is a long, drawn-out mess of tedium that is more concerned with showing off the rotoscoped scenery of rural Japan than telling a story. And what little story appears is nothing but useless, agonizing suspense coupled with low stakes and little payoff. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll Devil Survivor 2: The Animation Genre: Sci-Fi, Apocalyptic Currently at: Episode 7 (of 12) Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Without warning, monstrous demons begin flooding into Japan. It’s up to a group of teenage friends, able to summon friendly demons from their cell phones, to save the world from the apocalypse. (It is based on the DS title Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2.) Why You Can Skip It: Devil Survivor 2: The Animation isn’t “bad” per say, but it is painfully run-of-the-mill. Teenagers summoning monsters to save the world has been done to death. And unlike Persona 4: The Animation, there are no compelling mysteries nor are there deeper psychological dilemmas being explored to give the plot a unique twist. If digital-based monsters is your thing, you’d be better off watching the better seasons of Digimon. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll Henneko: The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat Genre: Comedy, Romance Currently at: Episode 5 (of 12) Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: When your typical (if more than a little perverted) high school student decides his tendency to lie has gotten him into too much trouble, he wishes it away at a mysterious cat statue. Of course, this forces him to say every thought that comes across his mind in pure honesty—no matter how rude or perverted. Teaming up with a girl who wished away her ability to portray emotions, the pair try to find a way to get back what they wished away. Hilarity ensues. Why You Can Skip It: While there is more than a little enjoyable humor in Henneko, there is really nothing you haven’t seen before. The basic setup is taken straight out of Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar and romantic aspects are pretty much par for the course for a fan service-filled moé/harem/romantic comedy made in recent years. Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll And what about the anime that didn’t manage to make this or the previous list? Why haven’t I looked at them? Probably one of four reasons: 1) They were the second season of an anime and I haven’t seen the first, 2) they were far outside what I and the majority of Kotaku readers have shown an interest in, 3) I have already reviewed them, or 4) they simply didn’t cross my radar. But if you feel I have left out an anime that’s something special, feel free to give me a heads up in the comments and tell me why you feel that way. Or pop over to to Talk Amongst Yourselves: ANI-TAY and post your own thoughts on these series. To contact the author of this post, write to BiggestinJapan@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan. 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.

How many more Japanese photo memes can there be? When will they stop? At this rate, never. In the last 24 hours or so, the above photo has been going viral in Japan. It's been retweeted over eighteen thousand times. On the original tweet, it says in Japanese, "We're sick of guitar!! We want to play Mushiking!" The four students put their guitars on their backs and pretended they were beetles. Mushiking: The King of the Beetles was an originally a Sega arcade and collectible card game in which insects battled. It was very popular in Japan about a decade ago and even spawned an anime series. Online in Japan, people are saying things like, "This is too clever" or "I want to play Mushiking, too". Of course, some people in Japan are wondering when this seemingly endless stream of teenage photo memes will end. Others are joining in: Japanese teens, like teens anywhere, like to goof off on the internet. And thus, we get trends like this—trends that sometimes go global. What's interesting about this particular is that the original photo and its catchphrase are spawning parodies. The cultural context means some of the humor is lost in translation. The tweet for above image says, "We're sick of L'Arc-en-Ciel!! Let's play Mushiking!"This one says, "Since there's no Yu Jin, we're tired of being the Five Elite Generals!! Let's play Mushiking!" This meme is, as previously mentioned, just starting to take off. And it's unclear how far it will spread or how many kids will start playing "guitar Mushiking" for internet kicks. In case you missed it, here's a round up of recent Japanese photo memes: Dragon Ball, Harry Potter, and Attack on Titan. Photos: koyoniikoyo, tamachan_0523, pannnnnta, sykc5, akarin_mc_z, tamachan_0523, a0319c, minami_moimoi, tamarankeisuke 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.

Four members of LulzSec, the group behind 2011's hacker attacks against Sony and Nintendo, were sentenced at a London court yesterday. The youngest member received a suspended jail term of two years, while the other three were sentenced to prison time ranging from thirty months to two years. [via GI.biz]

You know what's more mind-blowing that latte art? Latte art drawn in vibrant color. And this Japanese coffee craftsman has mastered it. You are looking at the work of "Nowtoo Sugi". Starting this past February, Sugi began using colored bartender syrups to, as the hobby artist says, "paint" on coffee. Sugi isn't the only one to create colorful lattes, but is certainly one of the best. So, for example, Sugi uses Blue Hawaii syrup for, well, blue and strawberry syrup for red or pink. The colors are mixed with steamed milk for variation. Sugi's work features video game, anime, and movie characters from Japan and the West. The first, or one of the first, color coffees the artist did was of One Piece's Donquixote Doflamingo (below). Soon after that, the frothy painter followed up with Nintendo's Kirby character. And Sugi also does 3D latte art—that is, color 3D latte art. The Japanese latte artist says this as a hobby—a way to blow off steam, if you will. So, since Sugi does this at home, that means only friends and family get to sample this amazing looking coffee. But who could drink such amazing art? Sugi, thankfully, does share the work online Below, you can check out some videos, which show how these vibrant java works are bought to life. In case you missed it, here's a look at 3D latte art. @Nowtoo [Twitter] 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.

The site Zero Feedback has a noble mission statement: to track down and play independent, freeware games that for whatever reason have gone completely unnoticed. The criteria for inclusion is that a game must have been submitted to a forum or site and received zero feedback (hence the name) within a 3-6 month period. If so, then the site's curator Noyb would try and find it, play it, and give it some kind of review/feedback. "It’s never been easier to make games", he writes. "It’s never been easier to make a game that goes overlooked." Noyb has looked at 300 games since setting up the site. You can take a look, and dig through the titles he's found, below. Zero Feedback [Site]

As part of the promo campaign for the upcoming Arrested Development comeback, there's now a Tobias Fünke sizzle reel on YouTube. You know, because he's an actor. It's fantastic stuff, especially the part where he gets all multimedia, and manages to star in a shitty old video game.