Ben Bertoli

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Vantendo Special Edition

At the beginning of May the house that Mario built and Vans announced they would be partnering to release some special kicks featuring various Nintendo characters. Some look pretty nifty! Others… not so much. Here are some examples And so on. Your ‘shop assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to design the ugliest…

Hoy, Small Fry! We’re Ben and Narelle, and We’re Taking Over Kotaku

We’ve been hiding in plain sight this whole time. You may have seen us around on Kotaku’s Reader-Run TAY Blog as GiantBoyDetective and Zarnyx. But for the next three days, we’ll be your guest editors here on Kotaku. Come have some fun with us! We’ve got your long Memorial Day weekend covered with articles on…

Wahay! That’s all from me, Kotaku folks. Thanks for letting me entertain you this fine Labor Day as guest editor. I hope to see you all again soon. Until then you should check out Kotaku’s reader-run TAY blog (where I can always be found) and give me a follow on Twitter @SuperBentendo.

Early Donkey Kong Country Art Shows ‘Realistic’ Enemies and Animal Pals

Before Donkey Kong Country was the game we all know, it was Donkey Kong and the Golden Bananas. Long time Rare designer Gregg Mayles has been tweeting out all sorts of art and concepts from the early stages of the SNES hit, which Rare developed in the early ‘90s. In the picture above you can…

Mario Tunes and Terrible Disney CGI Make A Horrifying Music Video

You weren’t planning on sleeping tonight, were you? The video titled “MOUSE FAN CLUB” seen above is not a new one. It’s been lurking around the internet for over a year. I’ve known about it for months and somehow I manage to get it out of my head from time to time. Then I hear…

Rocket League Needs To Be The Next Big eSport

You may have seen a flood of highlight reels and slow motion GIFs of Rocket League cars smashing into each other and scoring unbelievable goals lately. There’s a reason for that. Rocket League is insanely fun to watch and play. The world of eSports is currently on the rise and there are plenty of popular…

Pokkén Tournament is The Pokémon Game I Always Wanted

The summer of 1998 found me weeding through my parents’ recycling for a peanut butter jar. Once I had found one and cleaned it out, I scrawled “Pokémon” on the side in permanent marker. I wasn’t exactly sure what Pokémon was, but according to Nintendo Power, it was the next big thing. A butter container…

Nintendo Announces Pikmin 4 In The Weirdest Way

The fourth installment of the popular strategy title is in the works and “close to completion” according to Nintendo head designer Shigeru Miyamoto in an interview that’s over a month old. In a surprising move Eurogamer has suddenly announced what could be one of the biggest upcoming Nintendo games today, though they note the interview…

Here’s Link Showing Off 24 Of His New Outfits

You’ve found the Triforce and rescued the princess before, but you’d never done it looking this good. Tri Force Heroes (yes, there’s a space there) will be out in a little over a month. As the launch day nears we’ve been getting more and more looks at the kind of content we can expect in…

Steven Universe, Explained

With various mature-themed series and the growing number of over-their-heads kids shows, it has never been a better time to be an adult fan of animation. Steven Universe is one of the best shows currently airing, but you might not know that at first glance. S0, let’s talk about this wonderful gem of a show.…

Hey, Kotaku! I’m Ben Bertoli And I’ll Be Your Enthusiastic Guest Editor

Happy Labor Day, people who have Labor Day off! My name is Ben Bertoli and boy do I have a Monday full of fun for you. Depending on your definition of fun, of course. Some (most?) of you may know me better as long-time commenter and Talk Amongst Yourselves commander GiantBoyDetective. My childhood dream was…