Gaming News Message Board older than one year ago

I told myself I wasn't going to play another one after Assassin's Creed III, but...

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Ellen Miller digs up her memories about Sega Master System. Sir Trey’s been imagining what would go into a video game Criterion Collection and considers whether the first Deus Ex belongs in there. And PyramidHeadcrab wants to know what the best game you’ve gotten in an indie bundle is.Read more...

I did not expect to have a WWE designer name drop one of my favorite Japanese PS2 wrestling games. Not that I'm complaining.

Is two years too long to wait for a new smartphone? AT&T's Next may be the right plan for you.

Sure, there are already lots of alt-outfits for Spider-Man in Gazillion Entertainment’s click-battle MMO. But this one is Superior.Read more...

Gearing up for its new episode, the game's look remains as creepy as it is unique.

Just how similar is the new PlayStation 4 controller to the one that PlayStation 3 gamers have been using for nearly seven years? At a PlayStation event in New York City yesterday, we were able to put a model of the DualShock 4 up against a DualShock 3.Read more...

It may not have the official name (that's lost somewhere in Activision's archives), but upcoming PC adventure game Precinct is, from the designer down to the fundamentals, trying to be something fans of the classic Sierra series will be very interested in.Read more...

Tottenham superstar Gareth Bale shares the UK cover of FIFA 14 with boxart-everpresent Lionel Messi, essentially notching the most lucrative UK soccer accolade behind the Players' Association and Football Writers' gongs, which he greedily gobbled up last season.

The news could be big for other reasons; with Bale a widely speculated transfer target of Euro-giants Real Madrid, his cover appearance in a Spurs shirt might suggest he's staying at Tottenham for a while longer. Or it could just be a big old platform for embarrassment when he does make the move.

We'll know either way when the latest FIFA reaches North America on September 24, and Europe on September 27, hitting the net-backs of Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. For a lookie at the full UK cover, head on past the break.

Heading into Flowers of Evil, I was excited. I had heard good things about it through the grapevine, and the fact that it was using rotoscope animation was already getting the series a lot of buzz. But by the time the season hit its halfway point, I had no problem putting it on the list of four anime you could skip. Still, even then, I was hopeful. The series had six episodes left to change my mind. It didn't. Good – Accurately Conveys a Realistic World of Teenage Angst If Flowers of Evil does one thing well, it's the setting of its world. After all, in the self-centered world of middle school teenage angst, every little problem seems like it’s the end of the world; and both friendships and relationships can be as fickle as a weak breeze. Moreover, teens at that age think they are something special, that they understand the world in a way no one else can. This anime excellently portrays the thought process of the main character in a way that reminds older viewers with brutal clarity of that time in their. But that raises the question, does anyone who has already lived through it seriously want to remember and re-experience the emotional and social turmoil of puberty? Certainly not me. Bad – No Stakes, No Tension Flowers of Evil is the story of a middle school boy struggling through puberty that finds himself blackmailed by the school's resident female deviant student into doing minor acts of perversion and destruction. The series treats each of these deviant acts with suspense tactics taken straight out of a horror film. The problem is, the stakes are hardly life and death. In fact, the stakes are practically non-existent. Over the course of the anime, their deviant acts range from the embarrassing to the messy. And being that they are 14-year-olds, the absolute harshest punishment they are likely to get would be a verbal scolding and being forced to clean up their mess. Embarrassing? Sure. But nothing likely to have a lasting negative impact on one’s adult life. Unfortunately, without stakes, there can be no tension. And without tension, every scene that's supposed to be building tension becomes a long, drawn-out waste of time—killing the pace of the entire anime. Of course, even the lowest stakes can feel big if you care enough about the characters involved. But sadly, Flowers of Evil has... Bad – A Thoroughly Unlikeable Main Cast Flowers of Evil follows three main characters in a pseudo-love triangle: Kasuga, a weak-willed boy who likes to read; Nanako, the girl he idolizes; and Nakamura, the deviant girl who blackmails him. All three are thoroughly unlikeable. Kasuga manages that amazing trick of teenage nerds (I was one) of feeling superior to everyone else yet being a total doormat in life. Nanako, on the other hand, is a blank slate of a girl, eager to define herself by the first boy who shows an interest in her. And Nakamura is just an angry teenager, eager to cause pain wherever she can. None of them really have any redeeming virtues which makes it next to impossible to care about them—much less empathize with them. Bad – The Limits of Rotoscope Animation While many people disliked the rotoscope animation style of Flowers of Evil on a purely aesthetic level, I have no problem with it as an artistic choice. Frankly, the backgrounds, flowing water, and generally any stationary object look more vibrantly realistic than in traditional style anime. Unfortunately, rotoscoping has major problems getting the small details of objects—especially if they are any distance away at all from the camera and/or are moving. This means that people's faces are, in general, little more than pink blobs. When they reach the middle distance, they may gain glasses or a line for the mouth, but it's not until the camera is in close-up territory that faces truly become recognizable as such. Flowers of Evil is supposed to be an emotion-filled drama. Yet because of the limits of rotoscope animation, we are completely unable to see the emotions of any character not blessed with its own close-up. And even when said close-ups occur, the lack of facial detail is such that it is hard to read which emotion is which—as nearly every expression looks like some kind of smile. This, again, makes it hard to connect with the characters in the story. Because their faces aren't clear, neither are the emotions they're trying to convey. Bad – A Lack of Music The role of music is vital in any film, TV series, or anime. Simply put, the music tells you how you should feel about the images you are seeing. In an action film, the score swells with big triumphant notes as the hero mows down the villain's army of minions—making you feel pumped up, rooting for the good guy. But the same scene with slow calm music can evoke sadness at the futility of war and all the lives being lost. Flowers of Evil, on the other hand, doesn't use either of these musical tactics for the most part and, instead, rarely has any music at all. This is a terrible idea. Music is a huge part of how we connect with characters on screen on an emotional level. So while a rare lack of music at a critical moment can make you unsettled and unsure how to feel, a near total lack of music leaves you at first confused and, later, emotionally detached from the characters you are watching. And given how thoroughly unlikeable the main leads are, they needed any amount of help they could get. Random Thoughts – Foreshadowing I made it through the series of Flowers of Evil in a perpetual mixture of boredom and apathy—except for a single short scene in the final episode. As I've stated time and time again in this review, the biggest problem I had with the anime was that I was unable to become emotionally invested. The characters were too unlikeable and the stakes were far too low. But in the final episode, we are shown a foreshadowing preview of things to come: broken windows, a burning book, a bat dragging across the pavement, and blood conspicuously running down the inside of a female character's leg. These are disturbing, shocking—and captivating—images. And as I watched them flicker before my eyes, I couldn't help but wonder, “Why wasn't this series about those moments!?” Seriously, this one short scene was more interesting and engaging than the entire preceding anime. Final Thoughts Flowers of Evil is easily one of the most unpleasant viewing experiences I have ever had. It is a boring, unengaging series filled with questionable story and character choices that only amplify the anime's major directorial problems. Simply put, to enjoy a slice-of-life story, you must empathize with the characters—feel what they are feeling. Everything about this anime seems aimed to prevent that connection. It's just an utter train wreck of a series. I recommend it to no one. Flowers of Evil aired on Tokyo MX in Japan. It can be seen for free and with English subtitles in the United States at Crunchyroll. 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.

Responding to Polygon, SCEA senior producer Tsubasa Inaba said that there's a chance The Playroom, Sony's tech-demo-slash-sandbox which was used to demonstrate the new PlayStation Camera at E3, would be available on the console at launch. "We hope to have a more definitive answer in the next month or two," he added.

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are launching a satellite for next-gen rain and snow observation for the entire globe. This is an important mission and will help us better understand our planet's water cycles. And it needs an important mascot. NASA decided to hold a contest to select a mission mascot. Since NASA is teaming up with JAXA, it decided to make this an anime-themed contest. Fair enough! After receiving over forty submissions, NASA scientists (NASA scientists!!) selected their favorites. Here are the grand prize winners: This is "Mizu-chan" by 14 year-old Sabrynne Buchholz from Hudson, Colorado. "Mizu" means "water" in Japanese. This is "GPM" by Yuki Kiriga from Tokyo Japan. "GPM" stands for "Global Precipitation Measurement" and is the mission's name. Below, you can see a high school and a middle school runner-up. The image at the top of this story was one of the adult runner-ups. There's something truly wonderful about NASA scientists taking a break from a global precipitation satellite to judge anime drawings. You can learn more about the winning mascots in the link below. Winners of the GPM Anime Challenge [NASA.gov via It's Okay To Be Smart via Neatorama] 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.

This summer, famed anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is releasing his latest film, Kaze Tachinu. According to reports, little kids are finding it "dull". You don't have kids, do you? Kaze Tachinu is a fictionalized animated biography of Jiro Horikoshi, who created the iconic World War II fighter plane, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Recently, there have been previews for the film in Japan in which members of the general public have been checking out the film. Something like over ten thousand people were invited. As MSN Japan notes, people have been making their opinions known on Twitter. Certainly, there are those who adored the film, calling it "Moving," "Beautiful," and "Ghibli for adults." One Twitter user even called the film the "most deeply heart-wrenching Ghibli film in recent years." Another said this was the most beautiful Ghibli movie ever. Hey, all this sounds pretty good! Then, there were many who said they found the film "difficult to follow" or that they "didn't understand the film" or "got sleepy with boredom." The stickler for parents who were planning on taking kids to see Kaze Tachinu this summer (hello! that's me!) is that many preview attendees said the movie was not exactly kid-friendly. "It was an excellent movie," wrote one Twitter user, "but I think it was difficult for small children." Another Twitter user even went as far as saying, "This isn't a movie kids can have fun watching." According to MSN Japan, others said that little kids got squirmy in their seats and that they told their parents they didn't understand the picture. Some parents were even upset, saying, "Even though it's Ghibli, there aren't any characters like Ponyo or Totoro!" In Japan, Studio Ghibli is synonymous with children's entertainment. Kids are now raised on Studio Ghibli. That's why some parents in Japan might be surprised to see that Kaze Tachinu isn't exactly kiddy fair. Then again, that might not necessarily be a bad thing. 「子どもは飽きて走り回り……」ジブリ宮崎駿最新作『風立ちぬ』に賛否両論 [MSN] 風立ちぬ一般試写会を一足先に観た人の反応・まとめ [Togetter] 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.

In order to develop a series of animated shorts based on his Alice universe, series creator American McGee, following the cancellation of his most recent Kickstarter campaign, has now launched a new Kickstarter campaign. Asking for $200,000, McGee seeks to create "animated short films inspired by the "Alice: Otherlands" concept," with the ultimate goal of "[developing and producing] a feature length film version of Alice's story." Like The Animatrix, each short would be animated in a different style and written by different people. According to McGee, "World famous directors and writers have already expressed their interest in helping develop, write and produce the "Otherlands" animations." Should this campaign succeed, McGee says we'll get "at a minimum, an animated adventure into Otherlands." If you like the sound of that, you can check out the project here. Alice: Otherlands by American McGee [Kickstarter] Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com.

You didn't think it could happen. Not again, you said. Well, yes, it's happening. Again. That's right, the "Hentai Woody" (aka "Creepy Woody") figurine is once again going on sale. Kaiyodo's Revoltech Woody figure launched back in 2010 and became infamous online for its highly expressive mug. Back in spring 2013, Kaiyodo launched yet another Revoltech Woody figure, but it was missing the face. This Woody was to replace everyone's favorite Woody figure. That same summer, however, Kaiyodo put the original Hentai Woody on sale again, letting fans snap up any remaining inventory. Kaiyodo just announced via Twitter that the Hentai Woody is returning to retail and going back on sale. According to Kaiyodo Hobby Lobby Tokyo, the figure isn't a limited edition and will be available per usual at retail. Kaiyodo Hobby Lobby Tokyo said it will go on sale November 16 and should be priced the same as when the figure originally went on sale (¥2,850 or US$28). Good news for those who have yet to pick up this iconic figure. To mark the occasion, let's look back at some of Hentai Woody's unsettling antics, with photos from grey90, TheOneCam, and other DeviantArt members! Note that the pics might not be safe for work. Or your childhood. Hail To Crazy Woody [DeviantArt] TheOneCam [Official Site] Photos: red1justice, red1justice_2, Garivel, Dr-Syn, grey90, grey90_2theonecam, SalemCrow 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.

I've already mentioned how great the London Film & Comic-Con looked as an outsider, but this video is only making me wish I'd actually been there. It's a nice vid! It's got some terrific cosplay! And it's got Danny Glover in it! And Lena "Cersei Lannister" Headey! London Film & Comic Con - July 2013 - Cosplay Music Video [sneakyzebra, via Laughing Squid]

Fans of 90s rasslin' can recruit The Ultimate Warrior into their WWE 2K14 rosters with a pre-order on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The supporting retailers are GameStop, Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, Toys R Us and the WWE shop.

Though the Ultimate Warrior may be a calculated move in garnering additional sales, it's not the first one made in the game's journey to stores.

Former license holder THQ owed WWE $7.6 million for marketing and royalty expenses at the time of filing bankruptcy, and between $15 and $20 million to longtime series developer Yuke's. WWE 2K14 was then acquired by Take-Two, which is pushing the game into the retail ring on October 29.

The Mario Warfare series continues after a few months rest/preparation. It continues to be the best place to see Mushroom Kingdom characters fighting with barrels and assault rifles. If you haven't caught an episode before, you can start catching up here. Mario Warfare 3 [Beatdown]

So, the Famicom turned 30 today. In honour of that, let's look at one of the coolest accessories ever made for the console, one that sadly never made it out of Japan. In 1984, Nintendo released the Famicom Data Recorder, a tape deck peripheral for the console. Yes, cassette tape. The Data Recorder was a pretty handy piece of hardware! It could be used to run homebrew games programmed by users, but even cooler, Nintendo opened up some of its own games for use with this editing capability, meaning players could create their own Excitebike tracks then save them to a tape (explaining why the original NES version of the game in the West had options to "save", even though you could do no such thing). Perhaps the best thing about it, though, at least for Japanese kids of the 80s, was that it doubled as a regular tape deck, right down to the fact it had a built-in microphone (for recording) and its own external speaker. Sadly, the Data Recorder was expensive and didn't sell that well, the experiment replaced -and greatly improved upon - a year later with the release of the Famicom Disk System.

You're alone in the woods, and you find yourself face-to-face with a bear. He looks pissed! What do you do? According to one reporter, you spaz right the hell on out out. Here's Rhode Island reporter Julie Trammel demonstrating some excellent tips for surviving a bear encounter. Apparently the answer is, "Put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care." Nice! I will keep those tips in mind the next time I go camping. Everyone good? Have a good weekend? Talk bears, video games, or whatever else, here or at TAY. (Via Geekologie)

A selection of Hasbro's San Diego Comic-Con 2013 exclusives arrived on my doorstep today, officially making Fortress Maximus the world's second tallest Transformer. You don't have to be a dick about it, Metroplex. Much better. Now kiss. The San Diego Comic-Con Metroplex is just like the one hitting retail next month, except for the chrome accents, extra gun for two-handed shooting, and several bags filled with red and purple mini-bots to do his bidding. He's not nearly as flimsy as the mis-transformed early product shots made him out to be. Just never transform him into any other mode and you'll be okay. More on the Hasbro exclusives tomorrow — I've got to do laundry and pack for the show. How many extra bags should I bring?

Today is the 10th anniversary of BioWare's classic Star Wars role-playing game Knights of the Old Republic. Happy birthday, KotOR! Thanks for having such great Star Wars. Let me back up and explain what I mean by that. Last winter I was in New York talking with my boss Stephen about the animated Star Wars TV show The Clone Wars. He was telling me to check it out, and that while it has flaws that cause a lot of people write it off, it still "has some good Star Wars." I really liked that term, because I instantly, instinctually knew what he meant. It has good Star Wars. As it turns out, "Good Star Wars" is much easier to say than it is to define. I brought the idea back up a little while ago in Kotaku group-chat, which led to all manner of discussion and disagreement about which games had "The Best Star Wars." We didn't reach a consensus, but we saw a lot of the usual suspects tossed around: Dark Forces, Jedi Knight II, X-Wing, and of course, Knights of the Old Republic. Owen put in a vote for Jedi Outcast, and Evan and Owen both offered the opinion that while the game itself had problems, The Force Unleashed had some great Star Wars, particularly in the back half. Luke maintains that Dark Forces had the best Star Wars of any Star Wars game. (I totally see what he's saying there.) We're in murky territory here, given that we're talking about a phrase that I haven't defined all that well. It's not really the same thing as being a good game, right? But I know in my gut what it means to have good Star Wars, and my gut tells me that KotOR had the best Star Wars possible. I replayed about 10 hours of KotOR a couple of months ago for the first time since I initially played the game five or so years ago. It's remarkable just how well-written and interesting this game is, particularly given how much hysterical Star Wars garbage had been thrown at us starting right around the time the game came out. It's a sign of how far we've fallen that, as I replayed, it felt like a miracle simply to see characters on screen showing believable emotions, learning to overcome their traumatic pasts and trust one another. Sure, the main narrative was based around a typical Lights Side vs. Dark Side Jedi battle, with the fate of our heroes and the rest of the galaxy hanging in the balance. But it also let us go deep into the nooks and crannies of previously unexplored areas of George Lucas' beloved universe, from the underbelly of a Sith-controlled city to the jungles of the Wookiee homeworld. If that's not good Star Wars, I can't say what is. But there are still so many points of contention. Can KotOR have good Star Wars if it takes place so far in the past that it's almost irrelevant to the original trilogy? Does Republic Commando have good Star Wars despite the fact that the Force doesn't show up? Mike says that "Republic Commando is more Band of Brothers than Star Wars." Okay, but what about Dark Forces, then? Battlefront is a pretty straightforward game, but you get to take down an AT-AT on Hoth. That's gotta be good Star Wars, right? And what games don't qualify? I'd say kids' games, as well as most stuff based on the prequels, most of the newer junk that treats the Force less as a moral test and more as a competition to see which side has the better magic. That pod-racing game… that didn't really have good Star Wars. Is it possible for a game to have both good and bad Star Wars? When it comes down to it, the best definition I could come up with was this: It's not so much about whether or not the game is good (though that helps). It's about whether the game makes you feel like, as a fan of Star Wars, you're getting to do and learn some cool Star Wars shit. So thanks, KotOR, for having some of the best Star Wars I've ever seen in a video game. I just bought the sequel on the Steam sale, and I'm curious how it stacks up. I hear it has pretty good Star Wars, too. (And don't worry, I'll download all the requisite patches and mods.) In the meantime, I'm just going to take this primed thermal detonator of a topic and set it here for you guys to defuse in the comments. Which games had the best Star Wars? What does that phrase mean to you? And what's the one thing you hope the new Star Wars keepers at Disney can learn from the successes and failures of the past? To contact the author of this post, write to kirk@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @kirkhamilton.

Google and Motorola's upcoming smartphone could launch apps and perform functions with just the sound of your voice.

It's difficult to watch the endless Oculus Rift videos without a tinge of envy—it's not an experience most of us can have yet. Once it releases, the developers are aiming for a $300 pricepoint—which also makes the headset inaccessible to many people. That may not always be the case according to Edge. Speaking to the developers of the virtual reality headset, Edge discovered that the developers would love to one day just give the headset away for free. “The lower the price point, the wider the audience,” CEO Brendan Iribe stated. “We have all kinds of fantasy ideas. We’d love it to be free one day, so how do we get it as close to free as possible? Obviously it won’t be that in the beginning. We’re targeting the $300 price point right now but there’s the potential that it could get much less expensive with a few different relationships and strategies. “You can imagine if Microsoft and Sony can go out and subsidise consoles because there’s enough money to be made on software and other areas, then there’s the potential that this, in partnership, could get subsidised. Let’s say there was some game you played in VR that everybody loved and everybody played and we made $100 a month – or even $10 a month – at some point the hardware’s cheap enough and we’re making enough that we could be giving away the headset. We’re not there yet, but we’re sitting there thinking all the time, how can we make this free?” Obviously, all of this might be nothing more than a fantasy—or if it's possible, it won't be something we get to enjoy just yet. Still, it's encouraging to hear that one of the most exciting developments in gaming right now may also be one of the most accessible experiences, too. Oculus VR wants to release its headset for free [Edge]

Ultimate Warrior has been confirmed as a playable character in WWE 2K14 exclusively for players who pre-order.

This past weekend's EVO Championship Series saw fightin' folks from all over the globe engaged in fierce competition. Check out a compilation of the grand finals for just about each game after the break, along with a summary of who came out on top in games like Super Street Fighter IV AE, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and, of course, Super Smash Bros. Melee.

In a sea of Akumas and fireballs during this year's EVO, any change-up in character selection was welcome. Even so, you don't expect one of the "worst" characters on the Street Fighter roster to suddenly make an appearance in a top 8 match. Thank god it did, because Infiltration pulling out Hakan to go up against PR Balrog was one of the best parts of EVO. You hear the crowd getting hype when Infiltration just picks the character midway through this video by PS3GamingHD, right? That's because, despite being a very interesting character on a conceptual level—Hakan is based on real-world Turkish wrestlers, and he has to oil up mid-match—it's not a character you often see people play. So as a viewer, you're left wondering both if the Hakan player knows what they're doing, and if the Balrog player knows how to deal with Hakan. It's a gutsy move for Infiltration to pull, to change to Hakan on his last bout with PR Balrog, but one that made for a fantastic match. Hakan, after all, is a good counter for Balrog. So you've got a lot of tense moments here, with Balrog trying his best to stop Hakan from oiling up—as that's a move that powers Hakan up—which requires Balrog to keep pressure up...and that requires Balrog to be up close. Thing is, Hakan is a grapple character. So you either get up close and fall prey to Hakan's grapples, or you keep your distance and let him power up. It's fascinating and intense to watch. I couldn't help but cheer, and I don't even follow fighting games particularly closely. Kind of makes you think twice about tier lists, eh? Then again, Hakan wasn't the only notable character here: the final itself was won by Gen. Gen! Not what you'd expect at all—not exactly a popular character—but the usage of unlikely characters was one of the many things that made this year's EVO so great. I'm curious: what was your favorite EVO moment this year? The Multiplayer is a weekly column that looks at how people crash into each other while playing games. It runs every Monday at 6PM ET.

One of my favorite scenes in Pacific Rim didn't involve robots or monsters. It involved a brief exchange in Japanese. Spoilers follow for Pacific Rim. I saw Pacific Rim for a second time last weekend. I'd worked my way into an advance press screening a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to come back and see it again alongside the opening weekend crowds. I also hadn't seen it in IMAX, and I wanted the robots to be as humongous as possible. (IMAX did not disappoint in this regard.) I was surprised to find that as (literally) awesome as the Jaeger vs. Kaiju fights remained the second time around, I actually liked all the human drama a lot more than I did the first time through. On my first viewing, I was distracted by how thin the characters were, how Charlie Day shouted all his lines, and how cheesily Top Gun-meets-Evangelion the interpersonal conflicts felt. The second time around? I bought into all of it, probably because I knew what was coming. I could look past the hurried, broad-strokes character development and focus on how optimistic and surprisingly humanistic the movie is, despite the fact that it's a blockbuster CGI-fest starring a bunch of giant mechs. I was also struck by how respectful Pacific Rim is of its roots. When Metal Gear maestro Hideo Kojima wrote of it, "Who are you, if you are Japanese and won't watch this?" he was almost surely reacting to the film's underlying respect for its origins. "I hope you would accept this inspirational love letter that had traveled across the Pacific," Kojima wrote. That respect is summed up in an early scene in the film: Marshall Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) introduces fallen hero Raleigh to his eventual co-pilot, Japanese prodigy Mako Mori, played wonderfully by Rinko Kikuchi. Mako sizes Raleigh up and voices her disappointment to Pentecost in Japanese. Sick Burn! But Raleigh grabs her attention and wryly asks if he's not what she was expecting… also in Japanese. It's a great moment, both for the characters and for the film. As Raleigh surprises Mako by demonstrating that he's taken the time to learn Japanese, director Guillermo Del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham do a quick bow to all the Japanese films that came before them. In two lines of dialogue, Pacific Rim conveys that it isn't just another dumbed-down, westernized take on Japanese Kaiju movies—this film takes its cultural genealogy very seriously. It's a small but lovely show of respect, and a perfect encapsulation of Pacific Rim's welcome global sensibility. Toward the end of the movie, Pentecost sacrifices himself to give Raleigh and Mako one last chance to get a bomb into the rift, thereby sealing the dimensional gateway and, y'know, canceling the apocalypse. We knew Pentecost wasn't going to survive the moment he stepped into the Jaeger, but his death was still affecting—surprisingly so, given all the clanging and robot-punching that was going on. Just before her protector and adoptive father blows himself up, Mako cries one last goodbye into her radio. It's in Japanese, and it's left untranslated and without a subtitle. Pacific Rim screenwriter Travis Beacham translated the line on Twitter, for those of us who guessed the gist but weren't quite sure of the particulars: Oh, man... What Mako says is — — Travis Beacham (@travisbeacham) July 15, 2013 "Sensei, I love you." — Travis Beacham (@travisbeacham) July 15, 2013 Aw. See you in the drift, Stacker. Here's some great Mako fanart by Quillery, also via Beacham: (Cheers, Robyn.) To contact the author of this post, write to kirk@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @kirkhamilton.

F1 2013 is hurtling toward Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this fall, complete with a new mode, "F1 Classics." The new sees players race classic 1980s cars on legendary circuits, against drivers like Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi and Gerhard Berger.

The game comes in a standard edition and as F1 2013: Classic Edition, which includes two more content packs, one of which is a 1990s homage with more classic cars and drivers.

Both additional Classics packs will be available for purchase after launch. F1 2013 is integrated into Codemasters' RaceNet, a free online community platform.

Starting tomorrow, new freebies and discounts will appear on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Here's what to expect.