Here’s what’s going on Talk Amongst Yourselves, our reader-written blog: contributor Odin kicks off a new TAYCribz feature, where he shows off his shrine to your favorite hobby. Jump into the comments and let everyone see your collectibles, too. And GiantBoyDetective writes about gaming nostalgia and fond memories of his grandparents. D’awww. And you can…

The Madden Class-Action Settlement Triples Its Payout to Gamers

If you bought EA Sports’ American football products between 2005 and mid-2012, good news: An adjustment to its settlement of a class action lawsuit has elevated the pittance of a payout gamers would have gotten into something a little more substantial. You have a month to claim it. To recap, in July, Electronic Arts settled…

Here’s the First Episode of Defiance. Don’t Miss the Musical Number.

The televised aspect of SyFy and Trion World’s crossmedia experiment launched last night, giving players of the Defiance MMO a chance to get a little background info without having to rescue any factory workers or deactivate generators. There’s nothing quite like classic country and crazy alien contact lenses. I watched this first episode about a…

Some Don’t Like BioShock’s Forced Baptism. Enough To Ask For A Refund.

Before you can step into Columbia—before you can find out about Elizabeth and Comstock, before you know about “tears” and the Vox Populi, BioShock Infinite requires the player to do one thing: accept a baptism. There is no way around the religious sacrament which uses water as a means of ritual purification. The only way…

The Real Legend of Zelda Gale Boomerang Flies Much Further

You could probably deal more damage with this replica of the Gale Boomerang from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess than the one in the game, which is more a tool to cut ropes and put out fires than weapon. YouTube user Victor Poulin is really into making boomerang replicas, and he’s got a really…

These Real Totoro Catbuses Will Delight You

In the anime My Neighbor Totoro, the Catbus is a large, furry cat that is, well, a bus. But the Catbus isn’t only the stuff of fantasy. There are a handful of real catbuses. While there was an impressive one at Burning Man (apparently, a Subaru!), let’s take a look at the catbuses spotted around…

Magi’s Second Half Starts Weak But Ends Strong

Back when I looked at the first half of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic earlier this year, I was impressed by the amount of creativity present in the anime—in everything from its art design to how it re-imagined a literary classic. While much of the adventure and creativity finds its way into the second half,…

In Fantasy Life, There Are More Ways To Be a Hero

Level 5’s newest game Fantasy Life is a whole new take on the JRPG genre. In the vast majority of RPGs, you play as either a magic user or a melee/ranged fighter killing every living creature you come across. But while you can still play as combat classes like a knight or a mage in…

And now, courtesy of a recently released trailer, have a small glimpse of Grid 2’s “Redefined” multiplayer gameplay. Codemasters’ arcade racer is coming out on May 28, with Europe getting it three days later, on May 31.

Know Lots about Internet Pornography? Here’s a Job for You!

A recent job listing in China is causing quite a stir. The gig promises a good salary and loads of benefits to those able to surf the web and quickly locate porn. Heck, millions already do this for free! The job listing appeared on the website for Anquan Lianmeng, which as ChinaSmack explains, literally means…

Here’s almost eighteen minutes’ worth of awesome-looking, insanely fast multiplayer footage from Interceptor Entertainment’s remake of Apogee’s 1995 shooter, Rise of the Triad. The game’s coming out this summer.

Another update to Nintendo of Korea’s Twitter controversy: Nintendo has apologized. Read more in the original story.

How Valkyria Chronicles Got Me Addicted to a Japanese Social Game

Before last year I had never seriously played a social game. I was never interested in Bejeweled or Farmville (as the later just seemed to be a lazy version of Harvest Moon to me) or any other Facebook/mobile game. Then last year I wrote about Valkyria Chronicles 3. If you have read those articles, you…

Here Are Japan’s Silly Internet Pictures

Japanese dumb picture threads often start with a request. Maybe someone hasn’t laughed in a while and needs a pick-me-up. Thus, he or she asks for silly or stupid pics on 2ch, the country’s biggest forum. Others chip in and contribute goofy images to elicit a chuckle or two. Today would be a good day…

Designing A Facebook (Of Sorts) For Gamers

Facebook can accommodate discussions about video games, yeah, but Facebook is also Facebook. As in, there are privacy concerns, and it looks like we’re still in 2006. So I’m interested in Brink, a concept (this isn’t a real thing) for a “social network for critics”, which in crude terms looks to be a cross between…

Duck Hunt: The Pinball Machine

It’s a custom build, of course, as this isn’t exactly something Nintendo falls over itself to license, but whatever. It’s still a beautiful thing to look at, and being a custom build, we can really admire the work that’s gone into it, especially the obstacles and artwork. [Kevin Kulek, via Geekologie]

Macross/Robotech LEGO That Transforms. I Can Die Now.

Builder daikoncat is the genius behind this LEGO piece that, were it released commercially in the 1980s, would have been the only toy a boy would have ever needed. LEGO? Check. Giant robot? Check. Fighter jet? Check. The ability to transform between giant robot and fighter jet? Yes What’s impressing me most about this modular…

Mass Effect Cosplay is Like A Real-Life Director’s Cut

Sadly, they just missed the bus for Mass Effect week, but this cosplay extravaganza was too good to not share, regardless of what day it is. Propped Up Creations emailed us yesterday with these shots of a Mass Effect fight that, while spoken of in the game, was never actually shown. It’s the toughest fight…

In case it’s one of those weeks where you’re short on wallpaper – or, like me, live in a hemisphere on the brink of winter – here’s a couple of sun-soaked new pieces of art for Grand Theft Auto V.

The Man Behind Blood Dragon’s 80s-Drenched “Box Art”

The unveiling of Far Cry 3’s bizarre expansion, Blood Dragon, was one of the most low-key in memory. Ubisoft haven’t really bothered. Just put some art out, a few trailers, and bam, that’s it. That’s all it needed, though, because that art said more than 1000 developer diaries could have hoped to. And it’s the…