#culturesmash
In late September, an incident involving a Chinese fishing vessel caused a strain in Sino-Japanese relations. Even as tensions still run high, one thing brings them together. That thing is Gundam. More »
With a few simple additions, artists Benedetto Bufalino and Benedict Deseille turned Geneva, Switzerland's Festival Arbres et Lumières ("Festival of Trees and Lights") into a festival of trees, lights and ... ghosts. The artists added giant Pac-Man characters to an existing string of public pellets lights, creating an installation that requires no extra energy consumption.
Pac-Man, of course, looks to be in dire need of some power -- in power pellet form -- in this chase scene, also from the festival, photographed by DeviantArtist Attila-le-Ain.
#xbox360
Microsoft's "Xbox Live Rewards" program, which began testing over a year ago, looks set to finally be about to open to the public, with a page turning up on Xbox.com devoted to the service. More »
Flying Lab Software's piratical MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea has officially made the transition to free-to-play -- you can now download, install and play the client with nothing more than a free Station account. Revenue is generated via an in-game store that sells extra inventory slots, ship insurance and premium missions to play, or players can fish up $14.99 a month out of Davy Jones' locker to join the Captains' Club and get all of the goodies that come with it. Former members of the game are now known as "premium members," with access to some of the premium content.
The free-to-play transition was originally delayed, as Flying Lab did a fair amount of work upgrading the servers and the game's content. But the wide open seas are apparently up and ready for you to set sail, at no cost at all. Competing MMO developer Turbine was able to double the revenues of not one but two MMOs by transitioning them over to a free-to-play system, and so we'll have to see if Flying Lab Software can do the same with PotBS.
It seems like some people are finding that their Epic Mickey controller skins are too small to fit on the actual controllers! Is this just a random issue, or are more of you finding the same thing? Thanks to Adrian for the heads up!
#pc
In September, thousands of cheaters were busted messing around with Starcraft II. This week, with many players obviously not having learnt from the last wave of action, developers Blizzard had to swing the hammer again. More »
- Not a port of the PS3/360 versions
- Made specifically for Wii
- Over-the-top cartoonish graphics
- Focuses on Wiimote gameplay
- High Voltage is the developer
- Takes place during World War II
- Captain America is infiltrating a castle that Hydra has made into a base
- Enemies from the comic books in the game including Lady Hydra
- Aim [...]
#military
Remember how the US Air Force bought a ton of PlayStation 3 consoles then strung them together? Ever wonder just why the military would do a thing like that? Well, it's not for playing Killzone on. More »
The Xbox Live Indie Game development community's attempt to separate the platform's wheat from its chaff, aggressively named "Indie Games Winter Uprising," begins today and will run throughout the first week of December. To showcase the 14 titles which will either be released or discounted during the promotion, the official Uprising website has released a trailer showing off a few quick gameplay clips from each.
It seems like the promotion's organizer's couldn't wait to get things off the ground, as the first Winter Uprising title, a roguelike RPG titled Epic Dungeon, is due to arrive on the platform today. Keep an eye on the official Winter Uprising site to stay abreast of the other games' arrivals.
#onlyinjapan
It may belong to the Nintendo DS game based on Japanese science program "Tobidase! Kagaku-kun," starring the skinless Mr. Science, famous geek spokesperson Shoko Nakagawa and comedian Naoki Tanaka, who hunt animals for scientific purposes and make amazing box art. More »
#adventuresinazeroth
Before the Cataclysm, The Barrens was one of the most important Horde zones in World of Warcraft. Now it's two of them. Check out what's new and different in the land of endless Chuck Norris references. More »
We're noticing a trend here. Stuart Black comes to a studio, helps to get a shooter off the ground, then silently vanishes into the night as he heads off to help the next studio in need -- at least, that's what we'd like to imagine happens, as the prominent designer of Criterion's Black now has a new gig at City Interactive working on yet another shooter. Evidence points to a game running CryEngine 3, as the company recently licensed the engine for two first-person shooters it's currently developing.
According to Gamasutra, Black will head up a studio in London and work on what he calls an "exciting new story-driven WWII shooter" that will "emphasize high adventure in a genre that's become bogged down in reverence and historical accuracy." Hey, you're totally preaching to the choir, bud! Why, if we had a nickel for how many times the facts got in the way, we'd be millionaires right now and not -- uh, well, Dollar Menunaires.
Back in March, we linked a Japanese-language demo for Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Now, you can play that Flash demo in English, not only allowing you to experience the introduction to the DS puzzle adventure, but to know what the hell you're experiencing!
#roundup
What video games should you give this year? What 2010 highlights should you bring to Santa's attention in your harshly worded letter to him this year? Let Kotaku help you choose the best of the best video game gifts. More »
Square Enix has already proven itself entirely capable of creating compelling collectible card games within the virtual worlds of its Final Fantasy franchise -- in fact, occasionally, those mini-games became more engrossing than the adventures which surrounded them. That's why we can't wait to see what Square and CCG manufacturer Hobby Japan can do with the recently announced Final Fantasy Trading Card Game when it launches February 25, 2011.
Potential players can start bolstering their collections by picking up the Japanese version of The 3rd Birthday, which will include a promotional card. Though a handful of samples have been revealed (pictured above), the actual rules of the game haven't been detailed. We're going to assume that you have to play it over and over and over again until you're strong enough to win. Also, playing summon cards will take three to six minutes, depending on the strength of said summon. Also, Chocobos have gots to be up in the mix.
Sure, once the bell rings, Fight Night: Champion comes down to punching dudes and punching dudes alone. But don't underestimate the power of promotion, er, "human drama" woven through the punches. Enter the new single-player Champion mode: Spin the tale of aspiring pugilist Andre Bishop.
Eric Ruth Games' Pixel Force DJ Hero is no longer just an idle YouTube distraction, something to load up in the background so you can listen to chiptune Joan Jett/Queen mashups while you write Joystiq posts (or whatever it is you do while listening to chiptune mashups). You can now actually download and play the NES-style rhythm game "demake" for yourself!
Even better news: Ruth also released a new video, featuring an awesome chip mashup of the Ghostbusters theme and Huey Lewis & The News' "I Want a New Drug." So you have something to listen to a few dozen times if you have some more posts to write (or, again, whatever your job may be) before checking out the actual game.
#xbox360
Halo: Reach got a fresh injection of new maps earlier today courtesy of the Noble Map Pack. Why many of us are content to play within the confines of Bungie's three new maps, others would prefer to explore. More »
You didn't really think that work was finished on Gran Turismo 5, did you? Car-obsessed creator Kazunori Yamauchi has been fielding questions from fans on his Twitter feed (translated at GTPlanet), revealing that a variety of fixes are in the works -- but also shedding light on some features we'll probably never see.
Yamauchi confirms that his team at Polyphony Digital is working to implement mechanical -- not just cosmetic -- damage in GT5 sometime in early December. Less time-consuming fixes include nixing the game's odd-looking "blocky" shadows, adding more online functionality (the lounge is mentioned) and possibly offering the option to disable the HUD overlay. Work to support Logitech's G25 and G27 racing wheels in still underway, he adds.
As for what we won't be seeing, it sounds like face-tracking in GT mode and YouTube uploading of replays are out due to memory constraints. We'll also never get a chance to experience the cut "free roam" mode, in which players would have been able to drive around the gameworld, obeying traffic laws and stopping to get out of their cars to explore on foot. We imagine this was referred to internally as the "We Need Another Year of Development Time" mode.
