• Kotaku East

  A Clearer, Sharper Look at the New Tales Game

  There’s a new Tales role-playing coming out. Last week, Kotaku posted the first concept art images of the game, as well as excerpt from an interview with Tales producer Hideo Baba. According to Baba, “We want players to be surprised at first and think things like, ‘What is this!?’ and ‘I’ve never seen this kind…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  This Pokémon Lady Has Crazy Long Legs

  Okay, so the Pokémon games are not noted for their realism. Young people catch and train monsters. If this anime teaser is anything to go by, Pokémon: Black and White 2 is no exception. Pokémon: Black and White 2 won’t only feature new Pocket Monsters. It will also feature unnatural limbs. As the recent anime…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  First Trailer for Skyfall, the New James Bond Flick

  007 is back. This fall, Daniel Craig James returns as James Bond, along with Judi Dench, Albert Finney, and Ralph Fiennes. Dubbed Skyfall, the movie takes James from overcast England to the glitz and neon of China. Skyfall hits theaters this fall. The Bond theme starts in your head right now. BOND PLAYS WORD GAMES…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  The Hidden Naked “Lady” of Kirby 2

  While 1995 was a simpler time, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a sexier one. Just look at the saucy hijinks Japanese game developers slipped into Kirby’s Dream Land 2. Oh là là! This game’s 5-5 secret stage shows what looks like lady parts in Game Boy pink. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 was re-released earlier this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  China Is Building a One Piece Theme Park

  The coastal city of China’s Dafeng will soon play host to One Piece fans across the country—and perhaps, even the globe. See, China is constructing a new One Piece amusement park. The theme park has a budget of approximately US$76 million and will be built on 133-hectare plot of land. According to news reports, this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Japan Shows the Beauty (and the Craziness) of the Solar Eclipse

  This morning in Japan, kids and adults alike paused momentarily. They wore funny glasses and turned their eyes to the skies. This Monday morning, just as a new week started, a solar eclipse was visible. And Japanese television chronicled the whole thing the best way it could: sometimes serious and sometimes anything but. For several…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Right Now

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Announcing Street Fighter II: Hyper Portal Gun Edition

  As a rule, Portal guns don’t make everything better. But they can certainly liven up a round of Street Fighter II. Poor Blanka. Super Street Fighter II with a Portal Gun [YouTube, via Gamefreaks]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Video Game That’s Also a Rap Album That’s Also a Comic Book

  Raheem Jarbo, aka Mega Ran, aka Random, is one of the more noted video game musicians out there. For his latest album, though, he went a little further than just rapping about video games. With financial help from fans, he’s been able to put together a concept album that includes not just the music, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Happy 25th Birthday, Animated GIF

  Scourge of internet comments sections and saviour of countless rainy days, the humble animated GIF file turns 25 this year, Compuserve having first introduced the file format back in 1987. To celebrate, here’s a ton of the things compiled in a mildly nauseating video. Note: only celebrate if you call it a “giff”. If you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Hot Cosplay From Tekken to Warhammer 40K, and Everywhere in Between

  This week’s cosplay roundup here on Kotaku is mercifully short on Final Fantasy and/or Kingdom Hearts, two series that are a little, let’s say, over-represented in the field. In their place, we’ve got some costumes that are way more interesting, including some stuff from Warhammer, Tekken, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Lord of the Rings and even…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Adventure Game Fans, You’ll Probably Want to Play Journey Down

  Indie adventure game The Journey Down, which has actually been available in various versions for a while now, but today sees the release of a “HD” version which turns the formerly low-fi experience into something a little shinier. If you’ve never played it, but love adventure games, you should see about fixing that. Of all…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Diablo III Can Be Played Outside, On a Laptop, On a Freakin’ Mountain

  For all the concern over Diablo III’s requirement to always be online – and it’s a very legitimate concern, given many people’s twitchy connections – let’s not forget the trivial flip side to that situation: the gamers trying to push the limits of just how connected they can be while playing. Reddit user puttputt has…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2012
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  40,000 Orthodox Jews Fill New York Stadium For Internet Rally

  Sunday afternoon at New York’s Citi Field, and the stands are full to capacity. They’re packed not with New York Mets fans, though. They’re packed with 40,000 Ultra Orthodox Jews, there to attend a rally against the more nefarious aspects of the internet. These amazing images, snapped by Getty photographer Mario Tama, capture the rally…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2012
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  Here’s Three People Coming Back For Mass Effect 3’s Extended Ending

  BioWare’s extended ending sequences for Mass Effect 3, which are looking to give players a little more closure on the series, will feature lines from at least three of the franchise’s main voice actors. Lance Henrisken (Admiral Hackett), Tricia Helfer (EDI) and Raphael Sbarge (Kaidan) have all confirmed they’ve been back in the recording booth,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2012
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  A Few More Beyond Good & Evil 2 Screenshots

  Over the weekend, some supposed new screenshots of Beyond Good & Evil 2 – or at least BG&E2’s tech demo – look to have turned up. Interestingly, while they share the same setting as the last screens (and the tech demo video), these actually have star Jade front and centre, and show sequences not depicted…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2012
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  These Avengers Action Figures Look so Real You’ll Think They’re Tiny Actors

  Bar none, Hong Kong outfit Hot Toys make the most realistic action figures on the planet. So it’s nice to know that, with The Avengers destroying box office records all over the planet, Hot Toys has the license to produce large, expensive and very fancy figures based on the movie. Nearly every major character in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2012
• Uncategorized

  GameStop Becomes…a Mobile Phone Provider

  You buy games at GameStop. You buy games hardware at GameStop. You may sometimes even buy a magazine or action figure. Very soon, though, you’ll be able to add something a little unexpected to the list: mobile phone plans The multinational games powerhouse will soon, in the US at least, turn itself into a telecommunications…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2012
• Culture

  A Force to Recon With

  Ghost Recon: Future Soldier arrives this week, giving Dragon’s Dogma a tough act to follow. PlayStation Move title Sorcery also finally arrives on shelves. Today • Mario Tennis Open (3DS) Tuesday • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (PS3, 360) • Dragon’s Dogma (360, PS3) • Sorcery (PS3) • Men in Black: Alien Crisis (360,…

  By Owen Good Published May 20, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Drive Yourself Nuts Trying to Guess the “3 to 4” Undiscovered Secrets Still Left in Arkham City

  If you thought you had discovered everything in Batman: Arkham City or, if not, it could be found on GameFAQs or in some other corner of the web, well, that’s not so, says the game’s studio. There are still “three or four” secrets in the game that no one has yet found, the game’s director…

  By Owen Good Published May 20, 2012