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Posted by Joystiq Jun 27 2013 23:00 GMT
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Professor Layton series developer Level-5 has launched Layton Brothers Mystery Room, a crime-solving "interactive mystery novella" for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Layton Brothers stars Inspector Alfendi Layton and his assistant Detective Constable Lucy Baker, who must work together to solve a series of grisly murders. Players will need to carefully examine crime scenes for clues in order to sniff out suspects and establish motives.

Layton Brothers also seems to share the same quirky charm that defined the Professor Layton series; as part of the game's first case, you'll need to disassemble a deadly sandwich. Was the lettuce laced with poison? Or does the pickle have something to hide? Don't forget to interrogate the bread, if that's an option.

The core Layton Brothers app is a free download that includes two cases to solve. Seven additional cases are available as in-app purchases.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 21:30 GMT
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This is Rogue Legacy, an indie roguelike side-scroller in which you slash your way through randomly-generated dungeons to fight monsters and earn treasure. Here's the big gimmick: if you die, you get to play as your character's child, and then when you die again, you'll play as that character's child, and so forth. Every generation inherits loot from the one before them. Each child has certain traits: a kid can be colorblind, for example, or hyperactive. If you're OCD, you'll gain hit points by breaking every pot you see. Naturally. Sounds neat, yeah? Rogue Legacy is out today for PC and Mac. You can check out the demo on their website.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 19:30 GMT
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Think about how newspapers, magazines, blogs and media platforms of every stripe follow Kanye West’s every move. Now imagine if Yeezy had a suit of power armor that made him a flying engine of mass destruction. People would be even MORE obsessed with him. That’s the idea behind MediAvengers, a blog that imagines the splashy feature profiles and gossip round-ups that would surround Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in real life. You can tell that there’s a ton of care being put into the great layouts and faux headlines in these mock-ups. I really like the Scientific American article about the Hulk being a possible cure for cancer and the Us Weekly-style pieces about who’s dating whom. The idea of Earth’s Mightiest Gossip fits with the whole idea of the Marvel Universe, which started from the very beginning as more down-to-earth interpretation of super-powered characters. Great stuff.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 19:00 GMT
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"In Garfield's dreams, he can fly!" reads the description for the latest mobile game starring everybody's favorite cartoon cat three decades ago. Okay. Sure, in his dreams Garfield can fly, but would he? Garfield's Wild Ride, available today on iTunes and Google Play, seems to think so. I'm pretty sure he'd just sit around eating one of Italy's most involved dishes in a single gulp over and over again like a dick. How many more genre's can we cram the fat bastard into before Jim Davis finally writes his fatal heart attack? I'm guessing all of them.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 18:30 GMT
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The biggest mystery of Level-5's Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is who exactly is Alfendi Layton's biological father, because it sure as hell isn't the good Professor. Professor Layton is a stocky fellow who travels the world with his companions, solving an endless string of mind-bending riddles. Alfendi Layton is a lanky, sharp-featured man with a machine that allows him to investigate crime scenes without ever having to leave his office. Alfendi and his new assistant question witnesses, examine evidence, and solve cases with dramatic flair. You know, if Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright had a son... oh my god. Now we know where the tension between the pair in Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney comes from. Obviously Phoenix got together with Layton's wife behind his back, and Alfendi is the product of that torrid affair. Never mind that Professor Layton never mentions his wife. He never mentions a son either. He's ashamed. It also explains why Layton is so fixated on his young companion, Luke. He's a son-figure who isn't a constant reminder of betrayal. It all fits. In Layton Brothers, Alfendi only mentions his father in passing, and there's a definite air or resentment about him. He's a shut-in, rebelling against the Professor's world-traveling ways. Plus he has a secret, one likely born out of intense psychological abuse. All of this deduction is what comes of spending several hours sifting through the criminal cases of Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. Much more Phoenix Wright than Professor Layton, Alfendi is a crime scene investigator who handles only the most baffling of cases. Utilizing imaging technology that borders on magical, he and his new assistant sift through a series of nine increasingly difficult cases (two included free, the rest available through in-app purchases), scouring the scene for evidence, culling the suspects down to one. Through deductive reasoning and the evidence provided, the pair must whittle away at the culprit's defenses until they confess. While the first case is pretty straightforward, there's something very strange and rather scary about Alfendi Layton that's revealed as the game continues — he is not a well man. Understandable, considering the questions I've raised about his parentage. The truth of the matter is Layton Brothers: Mystery Room was originally planned as part of Level-5's Atamania series of puzzle games. Planned for release in 2010, Mystery Room became Layton Brothers: Mystery Room in 2011, and development switched from Nintendo DS to iOS. Fans of intelligent crime investigation adventure games would have likely loved Mystery Room either way. It's one of those titles where you're face is all scrunched-up and concentrate-y, unfolding into a sly grin as you finally figure out what's going on. That's a lovely moment, and you'll get at nine of those here. Tying the game into the popular Professor Layton series was a weird move. I understand the reasoning — Layton is a big name, likely to draw in players that would otherwise have bypassed the game completely. Who knows? Maybe the combined riddle-solving power of his legion of fans can figure out how the good professor produced such a brilliantly broken offspring. Layton Brothers: Mystery Room Genre: Crime Investigation Adventure Developer: Level-5 Platform: iOS Price: Free (Case packs $1.99 and $2.99) Get Layton Brothers: Mystery Room on iTunes

Posted by Giant Bomb Jun 27 2013 18:17 GMT
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I don't care if I'm too old to be playing with toys. I'm going to go buck wild on this thing.

Posted by Giant Bomb Jun 27 2013 18:08 GMT
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Watch as aliens are dispensed without your character firing a single bullet. His team does plenty of bullet firing, though.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 16:40 GMT
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Here's the first trailer for Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy. 8 games in all, plus a couple of graphic novels. It's a trip down memory lane for those of you that have played any of these titles over the last 25 (!) years. The collection is out July 9th, 2013 for the PS3.

Posted by Joystiq Jun 27 2013 15:45 GMT
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Killer is Dead, Suda 51's next over-the-top action opus, has been pegged for an August 30 launch in Europe by publisher Deep Silver. We've contacted North American publisher XSEED for a launch date in the US.

The European date was included in a press release announcing a Fan Edition of Killer is Dead for £54.99, which comes in special packaging with an artbook, Akira Yamaoka's soundtrack and the Smooth Operator DLC pack including an additional mission and a special pair of x-ray glasses for Killer is Dead's "gigolo missions." The Smooth Operator DLC pack will also be included in all standard launch day copies in Europe.

The story of Killer is Dead revolves around Mondo Zappa, an executioner for an assassination firm charged with killing bad people the world over. Zappa swings a sword with his right arm while his left, a full cybernetic replacement, can form various other weapons such as a drill or gun.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 14:20 GMT
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Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: ToxicBunnies wants to know what your favorite saddest moments in gaming are. (Mine's probably the ending of Shadow of the Colossus.) DanimalCart argues that Final Fantasy XV is the biggest disappointment of this year's E3. And, Cimeas asks all you TAY folk where you hail from. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 11:25 GMT
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Level-5 announced that the iOS iteration of the popular Professor Layton series of puzzle games, Layton Brothers Mystery Room, is now available in the US and Europe following last year's Japanese release. The game follows the son of series protagonist Professor Layton. He and his partner, Detective Lucy Baker, form a part of Scotland Yard known as the Mystery Room; the finest detectives of Scotland Yard, who take care of the most difficult-to-solve cases by investigating crime scenes, matching up case files with evidence, and interrogating suspects in a somewhat Ace Attorney-like fashion. Speaking of cases, the game features nine of them in total; the first two, along with the prologue, can be nabbed for free from the App store. Cases three through nine, however, are only available as in-app purchases. Layton Brothers Mystery Room on the App Store [iTunes] Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 11:50 GMT
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Packed with Tomica toy cars, the clip shows a high-speed car chase. And does that with so much style, fun, and car crashes, you can't help but wonder why Hollywood needs to spend all that money. This is the work of YouTube user Luxe37. For the past few years, Luxe37 has been creating cool car chases. Other YouTube users also create Tomica shorts, sure, but what makes Luxe37's clips so cool is how elaborate the sets are and how expertly the films are put together. That, and they're truly enjoyable. Here are some more Luxe37 films. They're also terrific. Luxe37 [YouTube] 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.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 12:00 GMT
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How many of the games you buy do you actually complete? Some games you finish the main story and move on to the next, some games you get bored of and drop out of midway through, some games you go for a full achievement score, and some games haven't even had the package seal broken weeks after purchase. On Japan's major online billboard, 2ch, one user opened up a thread asking, "When you buy a game, do you all play it to the end?" saying that, "These days, I quit before completing and move on to a different game." The thread was filled with gamers giving their answers, from specific titles to broad examples. Here are some of their responses: "If it's a sh*t game, I'll quit playing." "I only buy one game a month, if that, so I'll play a game to the end. I don't really do all the collecting achievements stuff, though." "I tend to stop playing right before the ending. I tend to buy games for the uniqueness of gameplay, rather than the story." "Sometimes I'll buy a game and end up not playing it." "I bought Final Fantasy XII when it was released, but haven't touched it in a year since reaching chapter 12. I bought Sim City but still haven't installed it." "Unless it's a piece of garbage, I'll play to the end." "While it's normal to play to the end, unless you're poor, you tend to move on to the next game." "Once I got a job, my play time decreased. I don't have the time to play, but I've got the money, so I end up buying more." "RPGs: Finish the story, but no trophy completion. Tactical RPGs: Once I'm good enough to get to the second stage without reloading, I'm satisfied. Adventure games: Full complete. Fighting games: I get bored after 3 hours. Racing games: I play until mastery. Simulation games: I get bored at about halfway." "Leave for a while and forget where I am → Feel I need to complete all sub-events so I restart from the beginning → Get bored and play something else for a while → Leave for a while…" "I end up playing 5 games at the same time. I have no idea when I'll be done." "Unless it's a huge pain, I try to complete all achievements too." "Recently, I've gone back to my roots and have been playing the NES all the time." "I feel I get bored easily these days. I got Far Cry 3 but got bored of killing people and have been playing Kingdom Hearts instead. I used to clear FPSs without straying to other games." So, what about your game completion habits? Personally, I tend to feel obligated to complete a game once I've purchased it, but the sheer number of releases and games I'm interested in results in a constantly growing stack of games I haven't touched while I try to burn through whatever game I happen to be playing so long as the game mechanics aren't so infuriating as to make me want to break my controller. It's taken years, but I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to be able to play all the games out there that I want to and have gotten better at not immediately jumping on the latest flashy new title when I've still got games in my queue... Better, not perfect. お前らって買ったゲーム最後までやってんの? [2ch] 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 cogitoergonihilATgmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8.

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Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 11:20 GMT
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Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, the modern remake of the original Leisure Suit Larry adventure game from 1987, is now available from creator Replay Games' website, with the Steam, Android and iOS versions coming later today. The game secured $650,000 in funding last Spring on Kickstarter.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 10:40 GMT
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So this is what they were talking about yesterday. Codemasters' original rally sports simulator is now on iOS, looking as dapper as ever. The "re-imagined" iOS version is based on the second game in the series from 2001, Colin McRae Rally 2.0, and it sports overhauled graphics and optional tilt controls while including the cars, events and locations that made the original great. Have a look at the features list: • Hit the dirt with an upgraded edition of classic genre-defining rally driving game experience• 30 unique rally stages with over 130km of track• Real world locations, with varied track surfaces including Australia, Greece and Corsica• Legendary rally cars including:o Ford Focuso Subaru Imprezao Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIo Lancia Stratos• Dynamic damage model - windows shatter, bodywork crumples and falls off• Expert car handling and physics model, based on the original model developed alongside Colin McRae• Authentic co-driver and race notes, written and voiced by professional rally co-driver Nicky Grist• Multiple gameplay modes - quick race, single stages, rallies and an extensive Championship• An iPad 2 or newer, iPhone 4S/5, or iPod touch (5th gen) is required for this game Colin McRae Rally for iOS is available worldwide, and can be grabbed here. Codemasters: If in doubt, FLAT OUT! [Twitter] Colin McRae Rally on the App Store [iTunes] Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 10:00 GMT
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Osamu Tezuka, for those who do not know, is Japan's most famous manga artist. His long list of creations include Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Black Jack. The man is widely revered as an artistic genius, and crayon pictures from when he was apparently in fifth grade seem to indicate that he was always one. Included in the Osamu Tezuka Creative Note and Early Works: New Discoveries (手塚治虫 創作ノートと初期作品 新発見編) released by Shogakukan Creative this month is the thirty-seven page picture book titled, "Martians Arrive!!" (火星人来(きた)る!!). Completely without dialog or narration, Tezuka Pro archive director Haruji Mori, theorizes the story is about "Martians coming to Earth and attacking humans. There are also scenes of Martian cities." He also added, "Looking at the depiction of light through windows and the vivid use of color in the Martian cities, you can see [Tezuka possessed] outstanding artistic potential even from such a young age." Internet commenters seem to be in agreement. Said one commenter on the website Direction Zero: "Good artists are amazingly good, even from childhood." Another added: "He's the only man I admire. Some say he had jealous tendencies, but Osamu Tezuka was a God." Remarked another: "It's not like now where fifth graders are surrounded by manga and anime." True. But it's thanks to him that they are now. Very few crayon works from Tezuka's elementary-school days exist, and this is the only complete sequential story work from that era ever to be found. Originally discovered in 1994, a few pages were put on display at a museum shortly after, but this is the first time that the entire story has been publicly released. Osamu Tezuka Creative Note and Early Works: New Discoveries is on sale in Japan for ¥14,700 (US$149.88). 【衝撃】「手塚治虫」 が小5の時に書いた絵本が 凄 す ぎ る 件 wwwwwwwwwwwww [Direction Zero] 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 cogitoergonihilATgmail.com or find him on Twitter @tnakamura8.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 09:30 GMT
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Earlier this month, a man erected a tent in the middle of one of Tokyo's busiest intersections. Some people were not happy. "There's a stupid foreigner who just pitched a tent in Shibuya's scramble crossing," wrote one Twitter user. What's Shibuya's scramble crossing? This: The intersection is one of the most famous in Japan—and the world. It's been featured in numerous movies and video games, too. As you can see from the above video, it's also incredibly busy. "This guy might get run over," wrote one commenter on 2ch, Japan's largest web forum. "It'd be fine if this guy got run over," wrote another. "Was this photo altered?" wondered one commenter. "That guy" is Dave England of Jackass fame. You know, the guy that always shits. And no, this wasn't Photoshop trickery. In Japan, Jackass did (does?) have a following—and its ridiculous physical humor (less the pee and poop stuff) does seem reminiscent of the kind of stuff you'd see on some of the country's variety shows. Some people online in Japan were quick to think this was a Jackass or a Jackass-related stunt of some sort. Many didn't. "Maybe this is an advertisement for tents?" chimed in another 2ch commenter. In the past, a flash mob appeared in the intersection to promote Coca-Cola. Others were amused by how unexpected—and unbelievable—the scene was. "This is a survival game," wrote one commenter. "Survive in Tokyo." What made it more surprising for many was that there's a police station right in front of this crossing. This isn't just a good way to get hit by a truck, it's also a good way to get picked up by the police! "A foreigner, huh?" wrote one commenter. "So naïve." Another replied, "Foreigners' sense of humor is so strange!" Sometimes online in the West when people see unusual things in Japan, they use that opportunity to make blanket statements about Japanese people or to criticize Japan—i.e., This is how all Japanese people are. That unfortunate tendency is, sadly, universal. Thus, some 2ch commenters used the tent stuff to criticize non-Japanese. This particular stunt shows how one person can then be used to color an entire group. When people in Japan do stupid or strange things, folks think, well, that individual is an idiot. When (some) people outside Japan hear of those same things, they think all Japanese people are like that. Ditto for this Dave England stunt. Not everyone online in Japan thinks all foreigners are like Dave England! But there were a handful that used the incident to lump all foreigners in with him. Then, there were the far savvier individuals on 2ch. Early in the thread, someone wrote that this seemed like it was a stunt for Jackass. That comment, however, got buried pretty quickly; however, later commenters drew the same conclusions. "Why'd he come to Japan? This Jackass stunt isn't all that funny," wrote one 2ch commenter. "Don't pitch a tent, shit in a bedpan!" Other commenters were also very familiar with the show as one wrote, "Jackass? Is Steve-O still in that?" One Twitter user in Tokyo was quick to identify the man in the tent as Dave England. This is a guy who pees on clothing irons and makes barf omelets. Camping in Shibuya seems tame. "If this is Jackass," wrote one 2ch user, "then, this is the kind of crap they do daily." 渋谷のスクランブル交差点で外国人がテントを張り始める事案が発生 [2ch] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 08:00 GMT
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This is Naruto from, well, Naruto. The iconic manga and anime character has been recreated in a Japanese rice paddy. This is called "tanbo art" (田んぼアート) or "rice paddy art". There are no dyes to create the different colors and hues. Instead, farmers used various rice strains in their tanbo canvases. Often, hundreds of villagers work together to plant the rice by hand and create these massive works of art. While planting, different areas of the rice paddy are roped off, so people know which type of rice to put where—kind of like painting by numbers. Rice is planted in the spring, and then harvested in the fall. When it gets close to harvest, the color changes to a beautiful hue called "koganeiro" (黄金色), which is often translated as "golden" or "honey-colored". This means the art changes as the seasons change. Originally, tanbo art was started in the early 1990s after a village Aomori Prefecture was looking for a way to rejuvenate itself. Since then, the rice paddy art has been good for local tourism—so good, it seems, that it has spread to other prefectures. The Naruto tanbo art, for instance, is located in Okayama Prefecture. So while tanbo art isn't new, the Naruto rice paddy hit Twitter earlier this week. Now, people visit these local rice fields and take photos of the rice paddies from scaffolding. Some, of course, take photos with the tanbo art. Traditionally, tanbo art has taken its designs from traditional motifs—Japanese or Western. But in the past few years, there have been more and more "geek-friendly" rice paddies, whether that's Mazinger-Z or, more recently, Naruto. Photos: “ちょっと”いいもの見付けた!, jopparika, uchinome, 俳句とお星様と山歩き, Hatena, kisaragituan, Aomori, 湯郷りんりんブログ 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.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 07:00 GMT
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Perhaps seeking to open a new front in the war for hearts and minds, the US Army have taken up the ancient and noble sport of Quidditch. OK, no, they're just taking a page out of Japanese schoolbooks, but there's something especially amazing about seeing a group of armed servicemen on active duty using taxpayer-funded cleaning equipment to...re-enact scenes from Harry Potter. Merica [Boys Boots N Booze, via Geekologie]

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 06:30 GMT
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The Deadpool game, out this week, looks OK! Maybe not $60 worth of OK, which is what Sony were charging for the game on the PlayStation Network, but that's fine, because it shouldn't really have been priced at $60. The retail version was $50, and to make it up to those who paid $10 to forgo possession of a box and disc, Sony is offering everyone who bought the game digitally a $10 credit on their PSN accounts. Deadpool: We're aware of a PSN price discrepancy. If you bought it at $59.99 you'll get $10 credit, look for XMB message with info this week — PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 26, 2013

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 06:00 GMT
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While American researchers build robots based on safe, friendly animals like puppy dogs, and the Japanese continue to build cute little robot children, the Germans have gone for something a little more brutal: a robotic ape. The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence calls this an "ape-like robotic system". It's part of a program designed to help better understand and implement mechanical movement. It looks cool, but I remember the last time this happened, and it did not end well. [via technabob]

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 05:15 GMT
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A week ago, Sony released new firmware for the PS3 that unfortunately messed with a lot of people's consoles, trapping them on a menu screen. Well, having pulled the offending firmware shortly afterwards, Sony now has a fix for those affected, as well as an updated firmware that hopefully works a lot better. If you're trapped on the "ribbon" screen, you're going to need a USB stick with at least 168MB free space, and to download the new 4.46 firmware using a PC. Sony has the full instructions here. Those who heeded our advice and held off on updating their PS3 last week, you can go ahead and download 4.46 now. It should, fingers crossed, work better this time.

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Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 04:30 GMT
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Paul Zakrzewski has done the bulk of the work single-handedly on Void Destroyer, a game that started out as a space combat sim before morphing into a strategy title that, yes, looks a lot like Relic's classic Homeworld. Which is a good thing. I mean, it's been a decade since we last saw a new Homeworld game. And while Sins of a Solar Empire tries to scratch the same itch, it can't quite manage it, so while this game's atmosphere may be a little on the thin side, the action itself looks (relatively, considering the scale of the project) promising. The game's currently up on both Greenlight and Kickstarter. Void Destroyer [Greenlight, via Rock Paper Shotgun] Void Destroyer [Kickstarter]

Posted by Giant Bomb Jun 27 2013 04:00 GMT
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We couldn't wait until Friday to make our daring escape into the world of quality games.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 03:00 GMT
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Coming to Kotaku, reading a story then reading another one is easy, but there's more to this site than the obvious. You can comment, share and create your own content. You can even filter content according to taste. And more. Here's how. We've picked up a lot of new readers over the past year, especially in the wake of E3. For those newcomers, think of this as your introduction to Kotaku! For old-timers, who know that we're still only a few months into a fairly major redesign, think of this as a primer on some of the sideshows of the site you may not be familiar with. KOTAKU IS FOR EVERYONE First things first. Kotaku is for everyone. Regardless of race, gender or sexuality, this is a place you should feel welcome. Remember that when you're reading stories you may not see on other gaming sites, and remember that when you go to comment on a story and interact with readers. GET INVOLVED Commenting on Kotaku is...different. You can sign into the site using your Google, Facebook or Twitter account, which in turn will prompt you to generate your own Kinja account. It's via this account that you can not only comment, but also blog (more on that later). If you're not cool with that, that's OK; you can also create what we call a "burner" account, which is an anonymous account untied to any of the major social networks. You can read more about burner accounts here. Once you're logged in, you can comment by scrolling to the bottom of a post and doing one of two things. You can either create your own discussion topic by clicking the "DISCUSS" button, or you can find an existing discussion and click the speech bubble (pictured above). The actual commenting screen looks like this: One last thing: stars. Next to comments, you'll see a little star. These are designed to allow users to elevate a discussion, as recommended comments are more likely to be near the top. With great power comes great responsibility, so we'd hope readers use this feature - which is not the same as a Facebook "like" - wisely. WE TALK ABOUT MORE THAN JUST GAMES This is a site for people who like video games. Most of the time that means we cover, yes, video games, but other times we'll branch out and cover stuff we think you'll find funny/interesting/cool. Every day, for example, we run a block of stories we call "Kotaku East", a slice of what's hot in online discussions in Japan, China, Korea and beyond. If you want to read those stories, cool! If not - or if you don't want to read any other stuff we post that isn't strictly related to video games - that's still cool. We've got something for you called "Kotaku Core". Bookmark/visit this link and you'll only see stories related directly to video games. BIG STORIES, LONG READING We don't just serve up quickfire news. You can find "Kotaku Selects", a collection of our best original work, here. If you want to settle in with a cup of tea for a long piece of reporting or interviews, you can find those here. If you want to see our editorial opinion pieces, those can be found here. THE BEST...AROUUUNDDD New to a system? Need some new games? We curate a list of what we, as a group, feel are the best titles available for each major platform. You can check it out here. If you disagree, or want to know what our individual recommendations are, well... TALK TO US! The staff of Kotaku are always here for questions, feedback and comments. You can find a full list of our contact details (email, Twitter, Facebook) here. In addition to individual details, you can reach everyone on the site at once by emailing tips@kotaku.com. As you might have guessed, that's also the best place to send us anonymous tips! We've also set up a new email address: feedback@kotaku.com. While we do our best to stay on top of comment moderation, the fact is with millions of readers and only a handful of writers, we can't see everything. So if you see a hateful, spiteful or just plain trolling comment in your travels, use that address and a little silver comment moderation bell will ring. TAGS While you're reading a story, you'll see little white boxes underneath the author's photograph. Those are our tags. You'll only see one by default; hover your mouse over it and you'll see all of them. Click on one and you'll be taken to every story we've written that deals with that subject. Those pages can then be bookmarked, so you can stay on top of specific coverage, whether it be related to a single platform or something like indie games or mods. SHARING Hypothetical: Imagine you finish reading a story here that was so good, or at least so stupid, that you wanted to share it with your friends. That's easy. At the bottom of every story is a little "command bar". Clicking on the star "recommends" the story. Clicking the arrow next to it opens a drop-down menu bar that lets you share the story via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. KOTAKU IS NOT JUST A WEBSITE You can read us on Kotaku. Like, this site. Kotaku. But you can also keep up with us on various other networks. We've got a Facebook page where we share our best/coolest content, and a Twitter account that does much the same thing. In addition to those, we've also got a Tumblr site, which is a little different. We'll share some stuff we post on the main site, yeah, but it's also a place we can share content that may not make it to a front page post on Kotaku, but which we still think is cool. Finally, here's our YouTube page. It's not a dumping ground for trailers; instead, it's where we keep our original videos, whether they be interviews, impressions or something else. YOU TOO CAN WRITE FOR KOTAKU (SORT OF) Kinja, our new publishing platform, gives every registered user their own website. This site doesn't just collect your comments, but lets you write your own stories as well. Here's mine, for example. Why bother? Well, we've got a reader community set up for people to blog on. But the platform also means we can easily share and promote other stories written on Kinja. So if you write a particularly interesting opinion piece, or share some hot scoop, or present a compelling counter to one of our arguments, we can quickly and easily put that post on our front page, complete with your byline, where millions of people will see it. THE MENU Up the top of the page, you'll see this menu bar. It does a few neat things. Let's take a look. That red bubble over a portrait icon is your notifications centre. It's where replies to your comments, or posts, are shown. The magnifying glass opens a search bar, where you can search the site for whatever you want. Next to that, the pencil, that'll create a new post on your personal Kinja page. There's a part in the middle that shows you which stories on the site are currently the most popular, and will also show you how many people are reading it right now. Clicking on the arrow next to it will open a drop-down menu showing the top ten. Finally, you'll see a little arrow next to the Kotaku logo. That opens another drop-down menu, giving you quick links to not just the other sites on the Gawker network, but also our most important sub-sites/tags on Kotaku. GLOBETAKU There are various international versions of Kotaku which give you Kotaku with a more local flavour. But if you're in, say, Australia, or Japan, or Brazil, and want to visit this site instead of the local variant, the easiest way to get around automatic redirects is to visit this page, then bookmark it. It'll take you to the global site. GO, READ! That about does it! Hopefully this has opened your eyes to some of the cooler, smaller features we've got under the hood here. So go forth, read about video game stuff, and if you're feeling up to it, comment about it. Just make sure to be excellent to each other while you're doing it. Howtu is Kotaku's guide on how to get the most out of your gaming.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 02:00 GMT
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South Park is a popular show, and video games love easter eggs. So it shouldn't be surprising that a number of games over the years have given nods to Trey Parker and Matt Stone's edgy show. If you're curious as to what those easter eggs are, well, DYKGaming took the liberty of compiling many of them into one video. I still remember that Kenny moment in Fallout, back when I first played the game. Oh, memories. South Park Secrets in Video Games - Easter Egg Hunting [DYKGaming]

Posted by Joystiq Jun 27 2013 02:00 GMT
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Tecmo Koei hits up its back catalog for this week's release of Tecmo Game Pack, a retro gaming compilation available for Android devices via Google Play.

Tecmo Game Pack includes the original arcade version of Tecmo's action-puzzler Solomon's Key, along with the sadistically difficult NES platformer, Mighty Bomb Jack, and the Japan-only, Famicom sumo wrestling sim, Tsuppari Oozumou. All games feature touchscreen controls and offer unlockable bonuses such as arcade flyers and promotional artwork.

Posted by Kotaku Jun 27 2013 00:30 GMT
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Last time we checked in to Better Supes, they had a number of of illustrations that took inspiration from superhero-loving little girls who like to put their own costumes together. It was cute, heartening and kind of badass. Alex Law, the artist behind the blog, has kept updating the site with more awesome designs—like the one above. "Kids are more impressionable than you, but kids can also be less restricted by cultural gender norms than you. Kids are more creative than you, and they're better at making superheroes than you," Law writes on the Supes blog. Here are some more designs, starting with the batch of girls that influenced the Batman one above. Little Girls Are Better At Designing Superheroes Than You [Better Supes]

Posted by IGN Jun 27 2013 00:32 GMT
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Is this mobile game version of the movie as good as you expect, or is it the exception to the rule?