Gaming News Message Board older than one year ago

T-shirt purveyor Meatbun is having a Memorial Day sale, in which objects of art like these two Kotaku t-shirts are on sale for $5 each. You should buy them all. All of them.

You can’t accuse the video game industry of being a boring place right now. It may be turbulent, its future uncertain, and market forces are stretching in new, untold, slightly scary directions, but there’s plenty to talk about.

We’re only a few weeks from the biggest E3 in years, and the 2013 edition is the one we’ve promised ourselves will show us brand-new video games. It's a new cycle! More money! Yeah! Increasingly, I’ve found myself shrugging at the prospect that a transitional E3 is the solution. More accurately, it’s not where I expect to find the solutions that fit my tastes. I’ll most certainly be playing plenty of AAA games in the years to come, but if my top ten list from last year was any indication, it’s not where games are resonating for me anymore, so why should I worry so much about it changing?

So...I won’t! Worst case scenario? It’s business as usual, and at some point I end up tweeting about the amount of guns and violence for the upteenth time. (I'll try not to.) Best case scenario? I’m surprised at the interesting risks video games are taking on a large scale, and we’ve all come out ahead.

Hey, You Should Play This

• imscared - A Pixelated Nightmare by Ivan Zanotti (PC / Free)

Anyone that tuned into Spookin’ With Scoops experienced what this is all about. I’m not going to say anything. Download this game, and come to learn who Mr. White Face is. I do not like him.

• Mr. Rescue by Tangram Games (PC, Love / Free)

If you told me Mr. Rescue was a long-lost game from the 16-bit era, I’d believe you. Mr. Rescue has players running around an excellently pixelated series of burning buildings, putting out fires, and tossing people through windows--you know, rescuing them! The controls are tight (I couldn’t seem to climb up ladders on a gamepad, though), and the multiple game systems--water control, heat management, crowd panic--play off each other to create a deeper game than it first seems.

And You Should Read These, Too

• "Just Making Things And Being Alive About It: The Queer Game Scene" by Brendan Keogh for Polygon

Brendan Keogh, author of Killing is Harmless, does an excellent job introducing the queer games scene. Papers, Please and Cart Life have taken the most credit for evoking empathy from players, but it’s been happening in the queer games scene for years. Playing Anna Anthropy’s Dys4ia was particularly powerful for me. Growing up, I watched a close friend’s sibling have similar experiences with gender, and Dys4ia helped answer the questions I was too afraid to ask.

"I'm really good at luring gamer nerds in, then surprising them with a discussion about gender," she says with a sly smile. "I think making things that look like video games and play like video games and are very 'video gamey' video games is a really good way to trick people into becoming more enlightened, educated human beings."

• "Shadow Warrior reboot keeps setting and katana, ditches sexism, racism, and MP" by Ben Kuchera for The Penny Arcade Report

When news about a Shadow Warrior reboot broke, it sorta broke my brain. Who wants another Shadow Warrior game? I might’ve enjoyed its blatantly over-the-top nature when I was a teen, but it didn’t take many years to realize how sexist and racist the game’s “humor” was, and none of that would fly in 2013. It’s interesting the producers of the game decided this would not be part of the new Shadow Warrior game from day one, and are focusing on the game’s other elements. Are those enough to support a brand-new game?

“We said look, there is some baggage with the original game, but we thought the elements that I described were worth it. It did some neat things, and had a very rich setting, and we were going to discard [the racial and sexist humor] elements of the original game. If some fans don’t like it, that’s unfortunate, and we think we can win them over with the other parts of the game,” he continued. “In fact, those things were, in our minds, detrimental to the original. We’re reinventing it how we think it needs to be done. If they miss that, we’re not going to be sorry, or anything like that.”

If You Click It, It Will Play

Tweets That Make You Go "Hmmmmmm"

Far be it from me to discourage msft bashing, but this "shutting out indies" thing isn't actually news, right?They didn't change policy.

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

I mean, write articles about how they should change policies, but using headlines that imply they've changed for the worse is misleading.

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

Ah, the point about XBLIG going away, if true, is a step backward, although none of the others are doing anything crazy like that either?

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

And by "others" I mean Sony & Nintendo.I guess we need a good definition of "self-publishing", and then we can judge them all against it.

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

I'm just talking about traditional big consoles, not mobile, and basically the big 3 from M, S, & N. Ouya definitely seems "open", like iOS

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

From talking to all three at the first-date stage (nothing signed), the terms for 1st party publishing are all fairly similar...

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

There are differences, some have better terms, are more enthusiastic, are funnier, wear nicer deoderant, but they're not _that_ different...

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

...enough to warrant the headlines I'm seeing, so I'm basically confused, and wonder if I'm missing something.

— Chris Hecker (@checker) May 24, 2013

Microsoft Announced a New Console, And People Have Thoughts

• Leigh Alexander watched the unveiling and witnessed a company in desperation mode.
• Rob Fahey thinks Microsoft's dug an enormous hole that E3 is being tasked with solving.
• Jamin Warren came away from the presentation with a much more positive outlook.
• Nathan Brown recommends manufacturers back away from gutting used games.
• Forbes talks to GameStop's president about what next-generation means to his company.
• We can stop arguing! The Onion has weighed in on the Xbox One.
• This is probably the funniest story to come out of Microsoft's Xbox One event.
• Former EA CEO John Riccitiello explains what Sony and Microsoft need to do next.

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• Annoyed Gamer takes a close look at recent accusations made against Kotaku.
• Johannes Köller spends some time in Proteus, and comes back to tell us about it.
• An excellent report on the amazingly turbulent development of Sonic Xtreme.
• You should play Starseed Pilgrim before you engage with an interview with its creator.
• The creators of Valve's augmented glasses left the company, but are still making them.
• Most of the gaming personalities you follow on Twitter have tons of fake followers.
• Denis Dyack responds to the Kotaku article that's been dogging his crowdfunding campaign.
• A book all about rooms with computers in them. It's cooler than it sounds.
• What happens when a mom plays Manhunt?
• Anthony Gallegos is a talented writer leaving for game dev. It's not a new story but still sad.

Maybe you've heard the entirety of Daft Punk's latest, Random Access Memories. But I'm guessing you haven't heard the album in an 8-bit style, as a single song. Thankfully, Joe Jeremiah can indulge you there, with this here video. A-Bit of Daft Punk [Joe Jeremiah]

The mobile collectible card genre has exploded over the past year, with players shelling out big bucks for virtual cards with statistics assigned to them. Players for teams of heroes, demons, pirates or robots and take them into battle, which is generally nothing more than a quick stats comparison. What if a game in the genre had actual arcade gameplay? Why, then it would be Battlestone. Battlestone began life as Golden Arrow, a much cooler-looking action game, which drew the attention of the folks at Zynga. Zynga purchased the developer, adding the group that worked on The Force Unleashed to their talent pool and transforming their game into a cartoony shadow of its former self. The end result is Battlestone, a free-to-play game that marries the action role-playing genre with collectible card game mechanics. Instead of summoning cards, you summon different varieties of 3D heroes, each with its own strengths and abilities. You can still sacrifice lesser heroes to strengthen more useful ones, upgrading their stats. You can still join a guild and participate in special events. The difference is that instead of watching numbers clash on the screen, you're controlling your characters' movements directly. Now before you get to any of that, be prepared to see quite a bit of this. I could barely play the game for a minute the first time I downloaded it without having to wait 10-15 minutes for files to download. Instead of bringing the game down in one huge chunk, Zynga decided to try out streaming files. Hopefully it doesn't do that again. Once you can get anywhere without a loading screen, the combat in Battlestone is quite simply and satisfying. You tap to move across the playfield, swiping enemies up close or from afar to initiate attacks. Each character in your party has special attacks they can use at regular intervals, from arrow flares to earthquakes. It's about as casual an action role-playing game as they come. I just wish there was a little more meat to the story mode. It's laid out across a series of maps, each with a selection of short mission types — kill x number of creatures, find three keys to unlock a door — none of which take more than a couple of minutes to complete. Once the player completes all of the smaller missions to 100 percent (each much be performed multiple times, the difficulty increasing with each instance), a boss fight occurs. When that's done the day is saved, and the player gets a set of eponymous rocks to use to summon new warriors to their stable. There's a multiplayer aspect to Battlestone, but it's very slim. Players are able to duel with AI representations of other players to win fame and more of them Battlestones. There's no direct interaction, and the battles are incredibly easy. I'm not really sure the feature is even necessary. As with games in the collectible card game genre proper, the real joy in Battlestone is collecting characters and building the ultimate party. Using those characters in real combat, however simple it might be, is a truly welcome diversion. Battlestone Genre: Collectible Character Action RPGDeveloper: November SoftwarePlatform: iOSPrice: Free Get Battlestone in iTunes

It's Alex and Rorie, here for the first installment of a periodical podcast talkin' about movies! Get our thoughts on Star Trek: Into Darkness, Pain & Gain, Iron Man 3, and Fast 6.

The award-winning console developer has partnered with Chillingo to bring an original title to iOS and Android this summer.

If you're a Verizon customer that's been considering making the leap to Windows Phone, Nokia's Lumia 928 is the device you've been waiting for.

I have a confession to make: I hate JRPGs. I also love them. Then I hate them. And I love them. And so on and so forth for 40 hours or so. I've been thinking a lot, over the past week, about the ambivalent relationship we have with video games. This was triggered by Star Ocean: The Last Hope, a game in which you travel between planets and kill aliens with swords. The Last Hope is the fourth game in the Star Ocean series, which is known both for intimate character relationships and ridiculous plot twists involving aliens and optical illusions. It's basically the Japanese version of Mass Effect. I started playing The Last Hope for the first time last weekend, and I found myself simultaneously captivated and disgusted with the fact that I was captivated. I get that a lot. It's tough to reconcile. But I think it's normal. Here's my theory: a good video game—especially a good JRPG—is a rollercoaster. It has setup and payoff. It has peaks and valleys. You wade through moments of bullshit because the adventure is fulfilling—and because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So I'm playing the latest Star Ocean. I'm wandering through the alien-infested ship that serves as one of the game's earliest dungeons. I see a random enemy on the map. I try to get away. He chases me down. He's faster than I am. He catches up, the screen dissolves, and suddenly I'm in a random battle. During that moment, I feel a little burst of annoyance, because I have to waste the next 30 seconds of my life taking this guy down. Instead of doing something *fun*, like setting plasma bombs to open up doors and hunt for treasure, or taking down some big boss thanks to careful strategy and skill, I am spamming the A-button and checking my email. Yet... That burst of annoyance is met by an equally tangible burst of pleasure when the victory music starts to play and I watch my characters gain experience. Sometimes they level up. Sometimes I get a cool item. And the endorphins rush in. Can't have the highs without the lows, right? Without those moments of annoyance, what would be the point? How could we enjoy the victory without fighting to get there in the first place? There's a quote that's always stuck with me, from Edge's Jason Killingsworth, perhaps because it so brilliantly illustrates how I always—always!—feel about the video games I enjoy. Over the course of a review, the critic needs to be able to say: I love this game, then I hate this game, then I love this game, and so on. People always ask me why I dislike Final Fantasy XIII. It's so pretty, after all, and the combat system sure is unique. But it's sterile. It's one long ride through mediocrity, a plateau of lame dialogue ("Bring the L'Cie to the Fal'Cie!") and decision-free adventuring. I didn't have a love-hate relationship with that game. I didn't have a relationship with it at all. So even as I groan at much of Star Ocean's voice acting (why do all modern console JRPGs always have a child party member?) and wince at the random encounters, I'm gonna keep playing. Because the best games aren't the ones you love, or the ones you hate. The best games—like the best relationships—are the ones that simultaneously do both. Those are the ones we remember. Random Encounters is a weekly column dedicated to all things JRPG. It runs every Friday at 3pm ET. You can reach the author at jason@kotaku.com or follow him on Twitter at @jasonschreier.

Princess Zelda heard about all those "draw my life" videos on YouTube and decided to try her artistic hand at a similar one for herself. She's certainly had a...unique enough life to warrant one. These kind of videos can be a really emotional or fascinating look into someone's personal life, but I think doing them for video game characters is a really neat idea. It's also a pretty fun way of either reminiscing about a video game or learning about one you never played. We need more of these.

Zynga's Battlestone comes to the App Store, free Push Panic! and tons of Memorial Day weekend sales. Jump in!

You might be thinking that some countries use commas instead of decimal points, but the headline above does indeed say one hundred and twenty-five thousand British Pounds ($188,700). You might also think that's awfully expensive for the special edition of a racing game (any game, really), but allow us to put things in perspective. The GRID 2 BAC Mono Edition isn't so much a special edition of a game as it is a luxury sports car that happens to come with a game.

Specifically, the BAC Mono Edition comes with the Mono, essentially a street legal formula racing car. Also included is a racing suit and helmet, a copy of GRID 2 and a PlayStation 3 on which to play it. According to BAC's website, a Mono with no frills has a base price of £96,495 ($145,919), and that's before throwing in VAT. Only one copy of the BAC Mono Edition is being manufactured, making it something a collector's item. You can place your pre-order exclusively with GAME. Oh, and shipping is free.

Not to be left out, Best Buy is hosting a special edition of GRID 2 in North America. It includes the IndyCar DLC pack and retails for $59.99.

GRID 2 comes out next week.

Dean Hall, the lead designer of the multiplayer zombie sensation DayZ, has achieved his goal after setting off for the Himalayas last month: He has summited Mount Everest. Must feel pretty good. Probably at least like, half as good as stumbling across a wrecked helicopter full of supplies and weaponry. Me on the roof of the world, Mt Everest, watching the sun rise at 4:33am, 21 May. The forty second New Zealander ever twitter.com/rocket2guns/st… — Dean Hall (@rocket2guns) May 24, 2013 In all seriousness, good show, Mr. Hall. (Via Gamasutra)

During a trip to Seattle last week, I spent a Sunday afternoon checking out the inside of a space shuttle cockpit. This was one of the coolest things I've done in a while. I took the tour at Seattle's Museum of Flight, a Boeing-backed museum that's just extremely cool. I mean, look, they have a room filled with this: And this... And, of course, this... A museum like that deserves a space shuttle or something that might even be cooler than a space shuttle, a space shuttle trainer... See, other cities in America received space shuttles last year. That's nice. Those cities got actual spaceships. Seattle got a full-scale training spaceship that used to be in Texas. Every astronaut, the Museum of Flight tour guides told me, trained in this thing. Here's the advantage of your city getting a space shuttle trainer instead of a space shuttle. Regular people like you and me get to go inside. You pay extra for this. A whopping $10. Totally worth it. You crawl in and can access two of the three levels inside the command module. The command module is where the seven astronauts in a shuttle crew sit during take-off. Then, for two weeks, it's where they eat, sleep, work and go to the bathroom. It's cramped in there and probably makes them ache to go outside. I crawled in and first went to the top level, where the pilot and commander sit during take-off along with two others astronauts. It's pretty high up. It's also really tiny. I'm barely 5'6". Let's take a look at some hastily-shot video. The tour guide wanted me to go downstairs. But I had to shoot this for you fine folks. Could you fly this? Could master all 2,100 switches and controls... The shuttle's flight controls are duplicated for the pilot and commander. Then there's a third set behind them, facing the opposite direction. That's for when you're docking with the International Space Station. You know how that is. To the right of that are the controls for the Canada Arm. Check out the Canadian Flag. Oh! That's no movie set back there, by the way. That's the rest of the shuttle (trainer). That's the cool stuff upstairs. The next level down has higher ceilings but isn't exactly a luxury suite. It's so cramped that I couldn't get a good shot of the whole tiny space. Here I am in what's about half of the room: Check out this kitchen... What's fancier than that kitchen? This bathroom. A guide told us that micro-gravity makes going to the bathroom a 45-minute process... Here's where you'd sleep... You may have noticed colored squares in some of these images. They're velcro patches for attaching tools, lest those tools float away. The patches are color-coded to identify whether the tools attached belong to NASA or private companies. When it's time to go to the cargo bay or up to the ISS, astronauts go though this little hole: On the other side, they wind up here... Reverse shot of that. Notice how the cargo gets way more room than the astronauts? The shuttle was made for hauling freight. The Canada Arm is thicker than I thought it'd be... That's pretty much the tour. You can walk around and see some related exhibits. Video game fans might even spot a familiar face. I highly recommend that you check this out, too. If you're in Seattle, go! To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo

The new controller Kinecting, Halo TV multi-tasking, temperature-reading, sometimes / always / never-online, Quantum Breaking, EA-bro-fisting, interactive smoke-and-mirroring, Call-of-Duty fine-hair splitting, smart-glassing, Ray Barnholtin', fingernail-dirt-meets-water-cooler fueled by the infinite power of the cloud entertainment experience that is the Xbox One.

Life is pretty damn unfair. Sometimes that means you'll find yourself in a situation with no solutions. Sometimes the best you can do is cope. In today's Ask Kotaku advice column, I have to answer some tough questions. And it hurts my heart to not have a quick fix for you all. If you've got questions for next week's column, email me at tina at kotaku dot com. Regarding Work and School Getting comfortable in the workplace I’m a twenty year old educational software tester from Warsaw. I wonder if You could help me out. My entire department is getting merged with IT department and instead of tiny cozy room we’re working in right now we’re going to land in the open plan environment. Since we spend half of our time on chatting and gaming (while still getting the job done on time), open space environment would greatly reduce our work comfort. Do you have any valid arguments I can present to my boss’s boss against the change? Wait it out and see how it feels to be in that big space. I understand that if everyone else is typing away quietly, it might feel odd to be gaming or chatting around them. But you never know how it will go down. Maybe they'll join in on the conversations and it'll be a bigger group of friends casually working with one another. If things do feel odd after some weeks, I'd say that's the appropriate time to bring it up with your boss. They will appreciate that you gave it a chance, maybe even tried out a few methods before bringing the issue up. At that point you can suggest perhaps a lounge or walled off corner where you guys can take a break together. Your boss might even have a solution depending on what your work space is like. But, give it a chance first! Making friends at E3 What are some tips for making friends at E3? Obviously that's not the point, but building connections is always a good thing, and as a reporter who always gets sent alone, it can mostly feel really lame just sitting there in the press room alone while everyone chats. Going up and just talking to people is a thing, but I always worry that I'm interrupting some kind of business since we're all pretty busy while we're there. Plus I don't want to be "that weird journalist," y'know? Thanks! First off: your consideration and sensitivity is endearing. Secondly, and more to your point, it's definitely true that we're all very busy when we're in the press room and at E3 in general, but I think most everyone appreciates at least a moment of friendly hellos in the midst of running back and forth, not eating (or not eating well), and constantly, frantically typing in between all that. And likely you'd be able to read cues if people want to continue talking or need to get back to work. But the best way to make connections at E3 is not only at your appointments with the PR reps and developers you speak with, but also at the shindigs that follow in the evening. It's always a very social setting, and everyone is loosened up and ready to relax with friends and make new ones. Unless you work at Kotaku. Then you barely have time to party at these things :) Deciding on a major I am an 18 year old graduating senior in high school, and I already know I want to go into computer information systems and programming.What I am uncertain is what kind of programming I want to do. Is it like if I learn how to program, do know how to program everything or do I need to specialize in a certain area? My oldest brother is a professional hacker and an all-around genius, so let's see what he has to say about this: Programming languages all share similar concepts. The best advice I can give is picking a popular stack that you also enjoy coding in. Ruby on Rails, Python on Flash/Django, iOS development, JavaScript/HTML5/CSS. No shortage of available jobs and plenty of opportunity for entrepreneurship. Best way to get a job, in my opinion, is to create projects that showcase your skills. And get comfortable with all development tools. Find a favorite IDE, get comfortable with revision control through Git and Subversion. Building a portfolio I'm a professional musician and I want to compose music for video games, what would you recommend to do? where to start? I'm not new to music composition and gaming it's just there's no one in my circles who's programming games and needs a game music composer. Start building your portfolio. Be well-versed in music in games. If there's a specific company you want to work for, create alternative music for their games like you would if you worked there, and put that in your portfolio. Working on games is also key. I took a game design class and made a game with a group of my classmates. A lot of those teams stayed on even after the class ended. So maybe join some groups, classes, organizations. The more people you meet, the more potential to work on games with them. And then, when your portfolio is something you're proud of, start pitching yourself to the companies you like. Regarding Kotaku Previewing games With what has recently happened with the Aliens: Colonial Marines and SimCity fiasco's, what is Kotaku now doing about previews to games? It seems these companies are taking advantage of sites like yours and building hype for things that either don't exist or are grossly over exaggerated. It's a publisher/PR's duty to make their game look good. All of us in press are aware of that, so we try to see beyond the rose-tinted glass presentation of demos and previews. Which can be a hard thing to do. We've already toned down how many previews we do in general. We're also making an effort to be more transparent about how a preview session went down, so you can get the best idea of what our experience was like. And we'll continue to tell you exactly what we thought, on the information we had, and remind you that things can change, and this is what we seem to be working with at that current stage of development. Personally, I try to focus on facts in my previews. It's why we do so many bullet-pointed articles with many of our previews. We tell you exactly what we saw, what seems new. Then you can decide for yourself. Sometimes, we feel the need to give you actual impressions of these things we saw and things that seem new. Usually that's when we've spent chunkier amounts of time with the game. Stephen's article I linked to above should explain all of that in more detail. Deciding on what games to buy How do the staff at Kotaku choose the games they purchase? Its sort of an abstract question, so to give you an idea of what type of answer I'm looking for I'll give an example. Personally I choose games with worlds that I think I want to spend my time in, or shorter games with novel game-play elements. I rarely am interested in shooter games as the worlds and game-play just feel very generic to me. I'm drawn to RPG and action adventure games because the worlds feel fleshed out and fantastical. So I'm curious, how do the Kotaku staff choose which games they want to spend time with? Tina: I'll play anything, really. I like to keep up-to-date with whatever it is we're all talking about, but in general I enjoy all genres and all styles. I prefer things with stories so beautiful and detailed that I can pretend like they're real for a few hours a day. Patricia: Sometimes, I can be really picky. I won't pick up a game until months, sometimes years after it comes out—I like to read what people say, and often the initial hype betrays the actual game. And sometimes, I can buy blindly: I know I'll like the multiplayer in Halo, in Gears, so I pick those up automatically. And then there's some games that I buy to support the developer, regardless of whether or not it's good, or if I have time to play it. That happens a ton with indie games, especially those that try something new. I feel those games are worth supporting, if possible, based on principle alone. Friends can determine what I buy too; some games are social experiences. And finally, some games—BioShock Infinite—are bought almost solely to be able to be a part of the conversation at the time. That's only important because of the job, though! Fahey: Games that don't receive much attention in mainstream gaming press — adventure games, budget titles with potential (even if it's just potential for laughs) and obscure Japanese things. Chris: I try to go out of my way to pay human dollars to games that I want to do well, ones where the person clearly put a lot on the line, or harder to find, older games. Kirk: Thanks largely to Jason, I've gone out of my way to track down a lot of JRPGs lately, less well-known new ones as well as classics that I haven't played. I almost never finish them, but I love to hop around and sample the beginnings of so many grand adventures. Sure, I wind up with hundreds of hours of unplayed JRPG stored on my various gaming devices. But hey, there are worse things. Ash: I usually have to buy my games. I don't get many for free! So, I either buy things I think I can play with my family (read: Nintendo games) or buy things that I think I'll finish. My wife and kids really like Nintendo games, so those are usually a safe bet for play time and fun. But, there are games that just I want to play, sans family. Since Luke seems to get a lot of games, I usually ask him. "Hey, Luke, should I get this game?" So...find someone whose opinion you trust and then ask that person? Then, decide for yourself. I tend to like shooters and open world games best, so I'm usually interested in getting those. Then, it's a matter of finding one that's worth my time, and more importantly, money. Once I find something I like, I tend to spend a lot of time in that world and don't want that experience to end. Jason: Richard: Like Brian, I also have to buy all my games. As I write almost exclusively about Japanese games, I pick up any Japanese-made game that looks even remotely interesting—be that in art style. gameplay, or some odd quirk I've heard about. However, when it comes to games outside of work that I play for pleasure, I always ask the same question first: "Is the story good?" I'm willing to play any genre of game if the story is well written and interesting. So I usually look through message boards, read reviews, or ask the other Kotaku staff for recommendations of games with a good plot. Toshi: Same as Brian and Richard, all my games are out of pocket, so I try to be sensible with my purchases. At the same time, I'm a bit of a pushover (read as "sucker") when it comes to advertising so I tend to focus on high-profile games. Eric: Before China, buying games was simple. I usually buy games from studios and companies that made games I liked. For instance, I fell in love with Sting's Riviera: The Promise Land, and have since played every available in English Dept of Heaven Game. Same could be said about the Ogre Battle games. In China, because of the limited access to English console games I tend to ask around to find out what other people are playing. If the game gets glowing recommendations, I'm willing to try it out. So now I buy games based on what other people recommend, and from my own "favorite" companies/series. Of course being a Nintendo Fan boy, I also buy a lot Nintendo first party titles. Stephen: I get many of my games sent to me, especially for consoles, but as I switch to downloading more games I increasingly just buy them myself. I love trying odd little games and won't think twice about downloading a $2 iOS game if someone I trust tells me it's good. And that's the thing: personal recommendations dictate so much of what I play, moreso than reviews and, I think, ads. The second most influential factor is probably who made the game, as I'll trust the track record of a studio more than I will a publisher or a franchise. If, for example, Criterion, Alphadream, Q-Games, Intelligent Systems or a team overseen by Patrice Désilets is putting out a game, I'll be playing it. I don't need to know anything more about it. András: My first instinct is usually to buy every RPG that pops up on Steam, unless it's completely unknown, in which case I wait for reviews first. For other genres I play, I always wait for either first impressions or reviews. Gergo: I usually get everything from my favorite studios, this is probably the most important deciding factor for me. Otherwise gameplay videos or forum discussions can easily persuade me to buy the game. Evan: Others have answered the purchasing question in the same way I would: when I don't get something for free, I buy the games from studios or creators that I want to support. But I wanted to tackle the back half of the question, which is what we choose to spend time with. I've got a young daughter and I don't have as much free time as I used to. The games that pull me in are the ones that manage to mix up themes, gameplay and/or narrative structure. If I get a sense that a game is playing around with expectations, I tend to stick around and see where they go. Becoming a recommended commenter What does one have to do to become a trusted commenter? I don't comment on every single article I read, nor do I comment on a daily basis. (I do read on a daily basis.) But I believe I've left a reasonably good number of comments since the new site rolled out, some of which have been recommended, that I should be entitled to my comments no longer being greyed out by default. It's an issue that I was at first understanding about, then became slightly annoyed with and am now frankly frustrated about. I love reading this site and commenting on it feels rewarding... Until you see your comment will never be seen by even a minority of people because it's been vanished to that greyed out abyss. It should not take this long for commenters to be approved to be visible. I'm on the edge of giving up here, a stifled voice is no voice at all. I (and certainly others in my shoes) want to participate. Why would you make it so unrewarding as a default? I completely understand where you're coming from and I'm sorry we haven't approved you just yet. It's been a slow process, agreed, but I think in general we've seen an improvement in community interactions, so it may very well be worth the time. But let me run down how we do things so you have a better understanding. We all make an effort to go through and "recommend" comments so they come out of the pending box. But, of course, some days are busier than others and we don't always get to be as thorough as we'd like. When we recognize a name or like your comment enough to go through your history, we might determine that you're cool to have the site default to bringing you out of pending automatically. (We look for comments that are smart, funny, bring up good points or experiences that add to the story, etc.) We should be doing more of this, and we will. It's a matter of getting accustomed to making that a part of our work routine. On the upside, nothing is hidden. Sure, you're not officially Kotaku-recommended, but people can still scroll through to see your posts. And other recommended commenters can recommend you out of there, too. So it's not just us! I know it's annoying to wait, and I love that you like being a part of the community here. All of us who write for Kotaku appreciate you guys who contribute. And if it's going too slow for you, you can always drop me or anyone else an email and say, hey. What gives. I'm awesome, look at all of my awesome, non-hateful comments. Some articles get a lot of responses, so it can be hard to miss some of them. Getting a job at Kotaku What steps did you take to become a contributor for Kotaku? Where did it all start? How did it come to fruition? I get this one a lot! I've been writing for a few years now, for a few different places. I got to a point where I made enough connections and established myself enough that when Stephen was looking for someone for my position, my name was brought to his attention. It's all about working until you break in. Regarding Games Wrestling games What is the deal with wrestling games? I feel abandoned. And no, I don't see a reason to be excited for an even more licensed WWE game. I've actually gotten into wrestling in the last year or so thanks to Giant Bomb's Alex Navarro. He's much more well-versed on the franchise than I, though—he was a fanatic back in his teen years—so I'll let him answer this one for you: Your question is sort of vague, though I'm guessing that by 'feeling abandoned', you essentially are just bummed that there aren't more options out there than WWE games. I'm sorry, but that is just sort of the nature of professional wrestling right now. The WWE is kind of all there is on the mainstream wrestling front. You could make a TNA game again, I guess, but considering how tepidly Midway's one TNA game was received, I doubt anyone sees much incentive to go after them again. Indie feds like Chikara and Ring of Honor are pretty great, but they're not marketable enough to justify a publisher or developer spending licensing money on them. Someone could feasibly make a great wrestling game that's license free, but who (outside of Japan) would buy it? If you're annoyed that WWE games aren't better, then I don't know what to tell you. WWE 13, for all its A.I. issues and other quirks, was still the best thing Yuke's has developed in years. They seem to be on a better trajectory these days, at least. If they're not to your liking, then maybe just go download Fire Pro Wrestling Returns off the PS2 Classics collection, and use that to salve your abandonment issues for the time being. Free updates Why is it that on iOS and android we see free updates to apps like angry birds and games like that but when we go to the PSN or the Xbox live store, we or I never see free updates to games? It's a different model. Developers know that to keep a mobile player's interest, you entice them with a simple yet effective gameplay formula, and then keep them coming back with updates. New levels, new characters, new power-ups. It's what does it for most mobile gamers who might tire of a game more easily were it not for promises of something new in that game they spent so much bathroom-time playing. When it comes to a PSN or XBLA title, you're usually buying a different package, a fuller one. It's not unknown for there to be updates, of course. It's just not as typical a model as it is for mobile games. Basically the quick answer is that it's a model more suited to mobile games. Nazis as villains As far as bad guys in video games go, the Nazis are probably one of the most used. Anyone with a high school history class under their belt knows why it's so easy to use them as villains, as their actions are synonymous with evil. That being said, do you think the use of Nazis as bad guys in so many games, lessens the impact of what they did? Obviously this isn't exclusive to video games (just go look at what Hollywood has pumped out). Nazis as villains in games have become far less frequent than they once were, but they're definitely still an easy opponent choice. I don't think that by any means affects the actual history of Nazis, though. If anything I'd say it's representative of just how, as you said, synonymous they are with evil. I see what you're saying, that shoving them into a game as your typical armed enemy doesn't serve the awful history of what happened any justice. I don't think we're limited to discussing topics in any one way, though. So I'll watch Life Is Beautiful and appreciate how much people suffered, but I'm ok with shooting up Nazis in a non-serious context of a game. In a way, anything can be a character. And TV shows like South Park and video games like Wolfenstein will put those characters in other contexts. That doesn't mean we'll ever forget what really happened. It might be painful for some people to play that one game or watch that one episode. It might be therapeutic. We're all different. The disappearance of cheat codes A lot more of current generation games don't have cheat codes. Many games don't have any for their single player. Things like infinite ammo, invisibly, health have disappeared from games. Even games like Grand Theft Auto, famous for once having cheats that activated flying cars, pedestrian riots, skin changes, weather effects, and gravity have toned down and stuck to the basics. Why do you think that is? Man, that's a really good question because I honestly miss them. I think it's both a matter of perception and of the worry that it'll create problems in the competitive world. Things like multiplayer and leaderboards make it hard to incorporate cheats. Though, it wouldn't be too hard to simply disqualify you from the leaderboards in rounds where you're using cheats. So really it comes down to a perception problem. Cheating is, in most contexts of that word, a bad thing. Maybe it's a worry of player perception, especially if there's any sense of competition in the game. Or it could be a developer perception, that gamers will all jump to the cheats and not play their game in the way they painstakingly made it to be. I'm sure some developers would worry that their game would come off as messy and exploitable. Regarding Gaming and Lifestyle Video games as scapegoats With the recent violent acts in the world happening (esp. those that occur in America) and the media has been quick to blame video games to be the root cause of all the acts of violence almost. Why are video games such an easy target for blame in situations like this instead of other forms of entertainment. Because a lot of people don't understand what games are. At all. They see two spectrums: the Call of Dutys and the GTAs of the world, and then Angry Birds and other social games. And what people don't understand scares them. Especially because from the outside, it looks like gamers are taking a very active role in murdering people. Those of us who aren't gamers don't understand how much more complex a game could be. Or, heck, even if it's not a complex game with a detailed narrative embedded with history and romantic relationships and human bonding, that it's just a fun experience and that's that. Regarding Love Compatibility and sharing interests I am in love with this woman that I met on the Internet. We are still in contact for almost 7 years already but then I just realized that we have totally different tastes in just about everything. Both of us are avid gamers but she prefers the MMO or Sims-like games or pretty much any games that have a beautiful and cute anime-like drawing that have online while I prefer pretty much most of the games being released on consoles. I tried playing some of the games she likes and I find it dreadful and a huge waste of time not to mention a pressure for me trying to keep up with her and not looking so ignorant or stupid in-game. I tried suggesting her games that I want but she never bothers playing them at all.Aside from gaming, our interest in movies and tv shows doesn't match well either. She hates pretty much everything especially the CG animated movies (which I find to be adorable even for a man who is almost reaching for 30s!) yet she absolutely enjoys those Hollywood Resident Evil movies (which I absolutely hate!) She is very sensitive with any mild intimate scenes from any shows too which is quite worrisome since when we do end up getting together in the future (I hope!), I sure would want to be intimate with her. It is part of a normal relationship, is it not?Do you think there's a chance for this relationship to work in the future despite our differences in our interests? Is respecting one's interest enough to maintain and create a connection in a relationship? If there's a similarity between us is that it's our personality and perspective in life but I'm still uncertain we can connect so well because she doesn't want to talk much about the mature, real-life side of things. I need your advise, please!! So, let's answer the question of, "Is respecting one's interest enough to maintain and create a connection in a relationship?" That's up to you and who you want as your partner. Personally? Yeah, it certainly helps. But that's because I know media is a huge part of my life and who I am. I identify myself by my taste in music, games, movies, shows, etc. So if you tell me you also love Adventure Time and listening to Crystal Castles? I'll probably love you immediately. But other people don't have as much of a problem with differences in taste as I would. My brother is dating a lovely girl who watches those dumb reality shows. His taste in things closely matches mine, but he doesn't mind that she has her silly interests and that his interests probably seem silly to her. It's a matter of respecting your significant others' interests, and being able to be ok with them being different from yours. If you're not and you prefer to be with someone who shares your interests, that's something to take into consideration. It sounds like you're like me in that regard. And to answer this question specifically geared towards gaming and gamers: I'd be happy to be with a gamer at all. I wouldn't sweat the details too much. But I do know it's important to me to at least be with someone who can appreciate games. I wouldn't even mind if they weren't as dedicated to them as I am. They just need to see why I love them so much. And maybe partake here and there. Don't apologize for knowing what you want in a significant other. Some things are unreasonable, sure. But if you think it's a reasonable quality you want in someone, and if you decide that's important to you, that's your answer right there. As for your other question on intimacy, she might just be uncomfortable watching sex on TV. Maybe even specifically because it's with you, since you two haven't been intimate yet. Also sex on TV can be supremely awkward sometimes. I wouldn't look too much into it. Being in the moment changes everything, too. Lastly, it sounds like you could have a communication problem with her, if she doesn't want to talk about serious things between you two. You should tell her it's important to you to talk about these things, and ask if there's a way she'd prefer to have those discussions that'd make her more comfortable. Maybe it's not the right time for her, or maybe she prefers to have that conversation in person (which, I know is difficult given your situation). Talking is key, especially in these long distance things. Making a connection on online dating About online dating (AKA: My last hope of ever getting a girlfriend ever): how can I get past the "keep sending messages asking about random stuff but never ever even consider meeting up until someone gets bored and just stops replying?". Take in mind it's nearly impossible for me to gather the courage to propose meeting irl, and my experience with girls is pretty much a negative number.My online "dating" experience in the past two years has been pretty much this: Look for new girls that signed up since last visit (generally once every two weeks) => Message one or two that interested me (or sometimes don't message anyone at all) => Wait for a reply (that almost never comes.) => OH HEY GOT A REPLY! => Begin actual conversation => usual "what do you like, what do you do, etc" questions => conversation dies after days / weeks => the end. Heck, right now I'm stuck in such a loop for nearly a month, and I'm almost bored out of it already and might just stop replying, assuming I even get a reply from the last message I sent. I can only presume the girl feels the same way. Online dating can be tough for both guys and girls. Typically, girls will get tons and tons of messages that are easy to ignore because there are just so damn many. It's like looking through resumes; you really have to make yourself stand out from the pile of messages that all probably say the same thing. First, to respond to the issue of sending messages and keeping it interesting: try something other than the standard interview questions to get to know someone. Ask them something weird and see how they respond. You might love their answer, you might hate it. Here's what I might ask, and what I would answer: What's your happiest memory? I have many happy memories, but one of the simpler ones that always comes to mind when I think about this is hanging out with my two older brothers in Austin. It was summer and the Drafthouse was hosting a late-night showing of Jaws on the lake. We floated in tubes with beers, and scooba divers tugged at our feet during the movie to freak us out. They shined flashlights from under the water and even had a big shark prop they swam at people. It was one of the most chill, and simultaneously thrilling evenings I can remember on cue. What's something you don't typically do but want to make an effort to do more of? [This is the perfect question to segue into a potential date, btw] I really want to socialize more. It's easy to get caught up with working all the time and spending what free time I have catching up with friends at dinner. But I want to go to events where I can meet new friends. Gallery openings, concerts, dinner parties, etc. What's your favorite dream? I once dreamt I was being chased by some bad guys (I can't remember the context exactly) and was freerunning across colorful rooftops. The guys couldn't even keep up with me, and it was exhilarating. It basically felt like this: People will put a lot of the basic information on their profile, maybe with a few silly quips and stories, but this is a more interesting way to get to know someone. Maybe you'll even catch them off guard, which is a good thing. Right there you've probably learned a lot about me. Like: I have two older brothers who I hold in very high regard; I like being in the water; I like movies; I work a lot, but I love to be social; I like adventures. Maybe these questions aren't your style, but asking for those "you're all alone on an island, what do you bring with you" questions are a fun way of interacting with people and getting interesting answers from them. And getting to know people in this way will give you a better idea of how to ask them out, or if you even want to ask them out. It's tough to gauge who a person is just from online interactions, and either way it could be hit or miss, but being playful and representing yourself in the best and non-resume-ish way possible seems like the best way to go about that. Regarding Life Living with cancer Recently I was diagnosed with non hodgkin's lymphoma. If I had noticed the signs and symptoms earlier it wouldn't be so bad where as now I am at what they consider Stage III. I still have not told anyone what is wrong and can't really think of the best way to do so. I don't want anyone to treat me differently or when they see me act like it will be the last time they see me. Is it wrong if I wait till I'm at the point where I know I'm going to die? Also what's the best way for dealing with the constant fear of wondering if I'll wake up? The doctor gave me tons of support group info, but the only people in my area are considerably older than me. First of all: I'm so sorry. You are very brave to be focusing on how you will live the rest of your life. Secondly: You don't have a responsibility to tell every single person about this. I'd say your closest family and friends deserve to know. If you're selective with who you chose, chances are these are people who are close to you and would understand and respect your wishes. And if/when you decide to tell them, you should mention that you don't want them to treat you any differently. Tell them you want to make the most of your time, and I'm sure they'll understand. Tell them it's what would make you happy, and what you need from them in terms of support. Even if it's not the way they would respond to being in a similar situation, they should understand it's what you personally need. As for your second question: I think it's about coming to terms with that fear. It's a very reasonable fear to have. But it sounds like in many other ways you've accepted your condition and are just learning to live with it. This is part of that experience, while it is very sad and unfortunate to say. In your position, I'd want to be near my loved ones at all times. So, lots of sleep overs. It might help make you feel safe, even if you know that one day that might be inevitable. Again, I'm really sorry for your situation and I wish you the best. I've had a lot of experience with cancer in my family, and it's definitely not an easy thing to deal with. People can react to hearing the news in strange ways. Most of the time, a lot of people seem to want to treat you like a patient. And that can be exhausting when you're already spending most of your life doing that for yourself. I'd say be careful who you choose to tell, and make sure they're aware that you don't want that to happen. Stupid clothing hangers Why do swivel head hangers still exist?! So you have something to play with when you get bored waiting for someone at a clothing store. Inhibited by disabilities I'm a 31 year old former hardcore gamer who has a degenerative disorder that has almost entirely eliminated my ability to play. In 2006 I was diagnosed with a degenerative disorder of the connective tissues called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I continued to play shooters, RTS and TBS, drivers, puzzle, MMO's, multi-platorm, arcade, motion sensor, and PC games(among a few others) until early 2010, where pain, fatigue, and even occasional dislocation slowed me down fast and the last game/gaming session was roughly 20 hours in a week after the Gears 3 release. I miss gaming badly. I miss gaming more than words can convey, I still have it set up, plugged in, and ready to go at a moments notice should the urge arise and I manage to get though the training and try and do something, to have a miraculous 10 minutes back. I have lost accuracy, speed, endurance, and even reaction time, and no amount of medication or physical therapy baring a miracle will ever bring it back, let alone stop it from getting worse. How do I continue to be who I am? It's a huge part of who I am and has been since I was 7, I still have my Atari 2600, but with this health problem as is and getting worse, I need to find an alternative. I've always done pen and paper/tabletop and more of that has been no help. Card, flash, and turn based tend to just frustrate me and with most of what I've tried, I end up feeling more pathetic or pissed off as I feel like I'm forcing myself to do something I don't want to because I cannot do what I love. How do I game again? I'm sure you're already doing this, but you should continue to go through therapy. Hopefully you'll see improvements or at least keep your condition from worsening. But the sad truth of life is that there's only so much we can control. At a point of time, when all options have been exhausted, we have to learn to work with what we have and embrace what we don't. It sucks that you've lost your competitive advantage. It's unfair. But even if you can manage to play for 10 minutes or have to opt for role-playing games that are slower paced, it's something to cherish. And yet it's not enough. I know that. But maybe you can live vicariously through others. You could watch your friends play games next to you. Or watch Let's Plays online. When I was younger my older brother never let me have the controller. But I always felt like I had played a game just because I sat and watched him play every minute of it. I felt like I knew the game. I knew the controls and the story and the quirks and the bugs as if I had actually held the controller in my hand the whole time. You coud go to LAN parties and big competitions. Attend the PAX conventions. Sometimes being around gamers and that vibrant setting can get you through it. It's nice to be a part of the community. That is, of course, if you're comfortable and able to travel there. It must be rough. But you'll always be a gamer at heart, even if nature takes away your ability to actually partake in it. Life centers on change. It's unavoidable. And while change comes with sacrifices and losses, you'd be surprised had how much you can discover in it, too. Maybe you'll pick up new hobbies and find amazing new interests. Regardless, I wish you luck. To contact the author of this post, write to tina@kotaku.com or find her on Twitter at @tinaamini.

DmC and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory revealed its latest project this morning, an iOS and Android free-to-play brawler called Fightback. The game is being published by EA subsidiary Chillingo, which says it has a "a striking 80s action movie vibe."

Going by this screenshot, Fightback is a skils-orientated, side-scrolling beat-em-up. The meter at the bottom indicates a three-star score based on points accumulated by skill moves like 'Skull Splitter' - think Bulletstorm, perhaps, but with more punches and kicks, and maybe a Blood Dragon vibe. It looks like you can use guns too, though. Also, is that a Japanese love hotel?

"Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," said Ninja Theory Product Manager Dominic Matthews. "Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space."

Chillingo is showing off Fightback at E3 next month, and expects to launch it this summer.

“Infinity Ward are combining Zelda with Professor Layton. The twist? It's going to feature Bayonetta as an unlockable character.” “Sega are combining Forza with Minesweeper. The twist? It's being written by JJ Abrams.” Ok, I’d play those. And you? You’d want such things to exist, wouldn’t you? If only to see how bad they might be? Yeah, you would. It’s pretty much always true that the craziest rumors are the most tantalizing. And that’s why it’s so great that reason that a bunch of people—namely Sean Bell of Midnight Resistance, Matthew Castle and Chris Spann—teamed up to make the Game Rumor Generator. Game Rumor Generator trawls the collective subconscious of the game enthusiast hivemind and seems to pull out the most awesome and/or nightmare-inducing scenarios. Like this one: “Infinity Ward are combining Starfox with Journey. The twist? It's only available after 4am in France.” The very basis for the tool taps into the impulse that drives modders to do their own legally impossible crossovers. Go get some totally baseless rumors of your own at Midnight Resistance and share them below. And, everyone, we know that the next step is to have a game jam around these fake enterprises, right? Someone make that happen. GAME RUMOUR GENERATOR [Midnight Resistance] (image via GTA 4 Mario Theft Auto on YouTube)

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: E1 Salvador runs down the games that’s he finished so far this year. And AstroKid248 offers up a TAYSnacktaku review about Sonic’s corndogs. There’s a video coming, so check back later. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

New culture and maritime policy trees are great and everything, but I'm just going to nuke the planet until I win anyway.

We're livestreaming unseen footage from Naughty Dog's survival action game on Friday. Find out when and where here.

For the longest time in Japan, to be an otaku was to be an outcast. To be labeled an "otaku" was to be branded with the staple of being an awkward, obsessive social outcast, and/or potential sexual predator/criminal. While the times have changed, it appears that Japanese mass media's preconception of the "otaku stereotype" has not. Japanese subculture blog, Otakuma Economic Newspaper (おたくま経済新聞) writes how every now and then they are approached by large media outlets, including TV studios, to introduce individuals who are self-designated otaku of a particular subject that the outlets can interview. According to this site, very often, the interviewees are turned down because they don't fit with the desired "otaku image." By asking the people who were eventually turned down what sort of "otaku image" the media outlets were looking for, a bizarrely specific "typical otaku" profile can be constructed. The following list for the "typical" male otaku was compiled based on the various reasons that male nerds did not make the cut. Body type -Preferably fat or extremely skinny. Clothes Pants- Jeans or Chino pants. Suit pants are also possible. Preferably with the hems folded back. Shirts- T-shirts of button-down shirts. Generally tucked into the pants. T-shirts with characters printed on them are preferable. Belt- GI belts. Head- Preferably have a bandana wrapped around. Baggage- Backpacks. Preferably with posters and other merchandise sticking out. Glasses- Thick lenses and plain frames. Preferably showing wear from prolonged use. Fashion sense- Preferably behind the times. The worse the fashion sense, the better. Daily Routine -Regularly checks figure stores and anime stores. -Watches all currently airing anime. Preferably anime aimed towards young girls or anime with lots of Moe characters. -Lives poorly so that all money can be spent on their hobby. Food -No expensive or fancy meals. -Generally eats fast food or cheap chain restaurant food. Self-made meals are preferably restricted to simple foods like pasta or noodles. Sexual Preference -Young girls or pop idols Speech -Uses "Otaku-specific" lingo. Talents -Inside-joke based tricks -Can sing any anime theme song Personality -Sophistic -Talks to self -Unable to make eye contact -Unable to relate to "normal" people Home -Filled with figures, hug pillows and other items Relationships -Preferably single -Introduces anime characters as girlfriend/wife Basically, large media outlets want people who would pass the Creepy Geek Test. Now it could be argued that generally, the media outlets are trying to convey an extreme sort of image and require specimens that fit with their agenda. Also, many of these "stereotypical" otaku are selected for variety shows and not necessarily news programs. Even so, the agenda itself seems outdated and wrong. Currently there is an increase of singers, comedians, and celebrities in Japan who claim to be otaku, and in many cases use this fact in a positive light as a selling point. Indeed many self-identifying otaku look, act, and dress like your average Japanese citizen (so, totally normal!) and such prehistoric stereotypes serve no purpose other than to ridicule and pander to a mean-spirited sense of shadenfreude. I guess showing "real otaku" just doesn't bring in the ratings. 大手メディアが求める「オタク像」には違和感を覚える [おたくま経済新聞] 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. contact the author of this post, write to cogitoergonihil@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8.

This July, the manga version of Neon Genesis Evangelion is ending its long run. The final entry in Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga version will appear in an upcoming issue of Young Ace. The manga began in December 1994. 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.

After playing Saya no Uta – The Song of Saya this past week, I’ve been thinking a lot about horror games. And when it comes to me personally, I have to accept that all my life I have been a complete wuss when it comes to the horror genre. While watching a horror movie or playing a horror game, I am usually okay—probably thanks to my endless string of curses breaking up the immersion. However, when I am lying alone in bed later that night, I know that the real horror is about to start. I have what you might call an active and gruesome imagination, and I am more than capable of scaring the crap out of myself. So with its graphic images and disturbing plot developments in mind, I knew what lay around the corner for me thanks to The Song of Saya. But did those little night terrors continue for long? No, they did not. To explain why, let’s look at my experience with a well-known horror movie. Back in college, I got two free tickets to see the American version of The Ring. I had no idea what kind of movie it was but I decided to take my girlfriend to see it. Incidentally, I loved the movie—but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t constantly haunted by an irrational fear of TVs for the next several months. In fact my fear of that movie persisted somewhat over the next few years, even as I watched the Japanese version and its sequels. However, upon watching the prequel film, Ring 0: Birthday, my fear completely evaporated. Why? Because while in the other movies Sadako is the villain, the Ring 0 casts her as the protagonist. She is an incredibly sympathetic character: a girl with powers she doesn’t understand trying to live a normal life. Of course, that doesn’t stop the other characters in the film from actively trying to ruin her life. So by the time evil Sadako appears near the end of the film, we are cheering her on, rooting for the deaths of all the characters who wronged her. The film establishes Sadako as such a sympathetic character that forcing people to watch a video of weird imagery seems like a small price to pay for the sins committed against her. My contemplation of The Song of Saya, brought me to a similar understanding of Saya and Fuminori as they can be seen by the player in a same light as Sadako. By seeing why they are raping/murdering/eating people in a slow, step-by-step progression, we in turn support them despite knowing that their actions are immoral. Being on the monster's side is not unique to Japanese games, however. Both of the Batman Arkham games have you play a similar role. While Batman is a superhero to us, this is only because we know what is going on with his backstory—we know his fears and hopes as well as his motivations. But to the criminals who have no such information, he is an unkillable horror monster on par with Saya or Sadako. He strikes from the shadows, picking them off one by one like a creature hungry to dine on their sins. And that is why once you see the person behind the “monster,” fear simply evaporates. In other words, it's hard to fear what you understand on an emotional level. 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.

Instead of shelling out for plastic surgery, one mother in South Korea decided she could make her daughter beautiful through things like massaging her child's face. With a spoon. This week on popular Korean show Martian Virus, the mother discussed how she thought, even as a baby, that her daughter was ugly, worrying that the infant took after the father. She even suffered from postpartum depression. The mother worried that her daughter was going to have a rotund face. In much of Asia, many do not consider large, round faces attractive. So starting when her daughter was two years old, the mother decided to begin a massage routine to mold the child into the beautiful daughter she so wanted. The mother began her daughter's face, so that it would become "smaller" and the girl's chin would become "pointed". She also started massaging her daughter’s legs so the limbs would grow straight, instead of bowlegged. To improve her daughter's skin, the mother makes a skin pack from chicken feet. The idea is that it has lots of collagen and is a "beauty food" in parts of Asia—which is apparently a myth. And to give her daughter double eyelid folds, the mother "massaged" the child's eyes with a chilled spoon for twenty minutes at a time. The mother's beauty regimen has continued for her daughter, now a teenager, on a daily basis for sixteen years, apparently.　 In Asia, there are beauty treatments for women that supposedly help them achieve the figure they desire through massage therapy, but nobody does that kind of thing on children. And the spoon trick is also surprising people in Asia—it seems incredibly extreme. If the show's name didn't already tip you off, please note that Martian Virus features guests that people in South Korea find incredibly unusual. Heck, the program once featured a guy who married a pillow and a grown baby woman (more odd guests here!), so don't even assume everything on it is even real. This mother is certainly not the norm in South Korea, so likewise, don't assume that, either! Online in South Korea, the "facial reconstruction mother" is causing an array of reactions—from commenters happy to see the mother's devotion to her daughter to commenters flabbergasted by the whole thing. This episode of Martian Virus even spread online to neighboring China and Japan, where there are those who don't realize what kind of show Martian Virus is—and, of course, use this episode to make sweeping statements about South Korea. All this being said, spoons are for eating, not for massaging your kid's face. 화성인 '얼굴개조맘'…"딸 얼굴은 내 손으로 만들었다" [Segye] 母亲用手为女儿“整容” 用勺子做出双眼皮 [中国新闻] 화성인 얼굴개조맘 “성형수술 없이 딸 외모 바꿨다” 주장 [MBN] 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.

...Otherwise this full-page ad in Britain's Metro newspaper is going to look very silly indeed. While a 2013 release for the United States is a certainty, there have been fears that, like was the case with the PS3, Europe would get Sony's latest console a few months late. Hopefully this means that isn't the case. Image [SuicidalSteve @ NeoGAF]

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, who is sidelined with an illness, sent out word to One Piece readers, apologizing for making people wait for the next issue. In the statement, he seemed in good spirits and really wanted folks to read the "new development" in the upcoming One Piece. Good to know! 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.

One assumes a simple Windows folder wouldn't be the most terrifying thing in the world. You'd be wrong.

I've got a lot of toys and statues on my "good bookshelf", but I'm also a man with small kids, and who has normal people around to his house to visit. So no, I won't be buying this giant, hideous Resident Evil bust. Even though deep down I kind of want to. Recreating RE3's Nemesis down to the...neck tendons, it's "life-size". Which might go part of the way to explaining why it's $800. RESIDENT EVIL: NEMESIS LIFESIZE BUST [Hollywood Collectibles, via Toyark]

The next Call of Duty game, Ghosts, will be the first to appear on an entirely new generation of hardware. Despite this, it's still built on an engine that's over ten years old, though the game's developers would like you to think otherwise. Sure, the engine has been heavily modified since then - Modern Warfare 3 vs Quake III isn't even a contest - but as any Call of Duty fan can attest, there are places, especially when it comes to the geometry of levels, where the engine is kinda showing its age. Infinity Ward’s animation lead Zach Volker tells OPM “When we’re talking about a new engine we’re talking about upgrading significant systems within in that engine. We’re not talking about throwing it all away and saying we’re starting from the ground up”. The reason they're still using the same engine, as opposed to an all-new one, is about what you'd expect given the annual release cycle of the series. "[It's] impossible to develop a new engine from the ground up in a two year cycle”, he says. “What we do is we say, ‘okay what are the things that are significant and that we would say that are encompassing of the engine or its visual quality?” he adds. “Are those being upgraded in a significant way? Alright, then I think that warrants that we’ve got a new engine on our hands”. Well, no, you don't. A new engine is a new engine. As he explains, the decision to stick with the old one makes complete sense, especially when you consider that most copies of this year's game will still be sold on "old" hardware. Not sure why they need to stretch the label to make up for that. Hopefully next year's game can make the break. Be nice to see what the series can do with some new horsepower under the hood. Call Of Duty Ghosts next-gen engine explained: “We’re talking about upgrading significant systems, not starting from the ground up” [OPM]