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  Has Aging Changed the Way You Game?

  Commenter Sumada feels he doesn’t appreciate games as much as he did when he was younger. In today’s Speak Up on Kotaku we explore how aging has changed the way you play and appreciate video games. Lately I’ve been thinking about why I don’t appreciate games as much as I did when I was younger.…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 17, 2011
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  Plants Vs. Zombies Singer Only Wants You Gone

  Plants Vs. Zombies songstress Laura Shigihara was so impressed by Jonathan Coulton’s ending theme “Want You Gone” that she recorded what might be the most adorable version of the song committed to YouTube video. Laura Shigihara takes the musical talent she demonstrated while penning and performing the Plants Vs. Zombies ending theme “Zombies on Your…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 17, 2011
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  First In-Game Teaser for Dead Island Still Playing the Emotion Card

  While it’s certainly not the game-changing first trailer for Dead Island, today’s just-released trailer attempts to give a tug to those same heartstrings with music right out of a Hallmark commercial matched to in-game footage. I’m still on the fence on this one—I just cannot get with Dead Rising at all, which appears to be…

  By Joel Johnson Published May 17, 2011
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  A First Stab at the World’s Premiere Medieval Shanking Simulator

  I’ve been meaning to take a stab at free-form medieval RPG series Mount & Blade for years. YEARS. So it thrills me to say that I’m currently having an incredible time with Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword, the latest game in the series which came out last week. Join me for the adventures…

  Quintin Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun Published May 17, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome to Talk Amongst Yourselves! Whatever game you’ve been thinking about, it’s time to let everybody know. Special thanks to Prof.Gast for today’s image. Wanna get your TAYpic on Kotaku? Submit your pic to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on how to do a TAYpic.)

  By Mike Epstein Published May 17, 2011
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  Old-Fashioned Role-Playing Comes to New-Fangled Phones

  Roguelikes are relatively primitive, cruel types of role-playing games, often intimidating to the newcomer. Legends of Yore, thankfully, is a lot more accessible. It’s a roguelike (definition here) for the iPhone and Android that’s trying to make things a little easier on the mobile adventurer by limiting the number of stats and streamlining things like…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  Nintendogs Made People So Happy

  ROOF ROOF | LEIPZIG, GERMANY: Nintendogs on display in the 2005 Gamescon. (Photo: Daniela Schaar | Getty) Building Better Portal 2 Personality Spheres We’ve already seen our fair share of Portal 2-inspired art around these parts, but this series of miniature personality spheres by Chris Myles certainly takes the, ahem, cake. Life-Sized Gundam Vehicles You…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  Best Buy Getting 3DS Hotspots

  Starting June 7, Nintendo and Best Buy are teaming up to bring 3DS WiFi spots to over 1,000 stores across the country. Besides trailers and exclusive content, the spots will take advantage of the 3DS’s SpotPass feature. [via Nintendo]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  How Long Is Starhawk, the PS3’s Latest Shooter?

  Starhawk designer Dylan Jobe tells Eurogamer: “Shooters these days range between five and eight hours, depending on a play through. We’re going to be in that range.” This is for singleplayer. Multiplayer, of course, is much longer. [Eurogamer]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  Walking to Work Is Cool (Damn Cool)

  YouTube user marki34 took photos every four feet on his way to work at game developer Naughty Dog. Around 1,500 photos were used in his two minute video. The results are stunning. [Thanks Georgina!]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  Street Fighter x Tekken Gets a New Challenger

  No, not Bob Saget (unfortunately). Sagat! According to this image, Street Fighter‘s Sagat is apparently coming to Street Fighter x Tekken The fighting game is a cross-over title between the Street Fighter and the Tekken series. Capcom is developing Street Fighter x Tekken free of Namco’s input, and Namco is developing the rival title, Tekken…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  Building Better Portal 2 Personality Spheres

  We’ve already seen our fair share of Portal 2-inspired art around these parts, but this series of miniature personality spheres by Chris Myles certainly takes the, ahem, cake. Using a 3D printer, he’s built four excruciatingly-detailed models, which aren’t just perfect in their representation, but also swivel realistically, and even have LED lighting should they…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  Avatar Kinect Out “Later This Spring”

  Originally pegged for a May 27 release, Microsoft’s official statement on the release of Avatar Kinect simply states that the new technology/social program (for up to eight people at a time) will be out “later this Spring”. [Microsoft Press Release]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  InMomentum is All About the Joys of Movement

  If you’ve been yearning for more games in the vein of Mirror’s Edge—or, as you’ll soon appreciate, its surreal DLC—then you should probably check out inMomentum. Like, now It’s a first-person platformer (also described by its developers as a “racing” game), which consists of nothing more than basic geometric shapes which you have to navigate,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  Life-Sized Gundam Vehicles You Could Drive

  Spotted at the Shizuoka Hobby Show by Hobby Blog, these are life-sized vehicles that appear in the Gundam series. Mechs don’t ride in these, people do! They’re actually reproductions of Gundam models (UC Hard Graph series). The vehicles are made from real cars (Mitsubishi Pajero and Mitsubishi Ai) and are fan-made projects. GUNDAM UC Hard…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  NBA Jam’s Creator Really Did Set Stuff On Fire

  You hopefully already know this, but a lot of the truly interesting stuff about games development (and game developers) comes not from the PR-managed machine of an upcoming title, but by scouring the medium’s past. Example: the following story about NBA Jam creator Mark Turmell. In a great piece over on Kill Screen, Turmell gets…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  Ten Pounds of Gummy Bears Seems Fun

  YouTube user blankchip18 used ten pounds of Gummy Bears to make a stop motion tribute to Tetris, Breakout, Pac-Man and more. Gaming Goes Gummi [GameInformer]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  China Has Its Own America’s Army

  Sadly, it’s not called Capitalist Running Lackey Pig Dog Army. Nor is it called China’s Army. It’s called Mission of Honor, which for fans of Chinese rip-off naming conventions is still pretty great. It’s been in development for two years, and it has been created in conjunction with the People’s Liberation Army, who see the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011
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  These Guys Will Freak You Out, Then Amaze You

  At the Taipei Game Show earlier this year, event areas had girls on stage dancing to pop tunes. But that’s not where the real action was. Taiwanese otage (dancing idol otaku) turned out a blistering performance of “Megu Megu Fire Endless Night”. Watch what they do 2 minutes in. Something tells me these guys practiced.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2011
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  The Official LEGO Inspired By Gradius

  A new, official LEGO set called “Earth Defense HQ” may look at first glance to be just another space-based LEGO set. Upon closer examination, though, it not only pays tribute to classic shooter Gradius, but something more important. Last year, custom LEGO builder and community member Nate “nnenn” Nielson tragically passed away in an automobile…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2011