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It's Kotaku After Dark, which means its time for your regular dose of adult (though nothing NAUGHTY) Silent Hill fan art by a super-talented Russian guy. His name's Mikhail Gluhov, and while his portfolio's worth checking out just for his angry little rabbits, we're here for the aforementioned Silent Hill stuff. Like proactive Pyramid Girl here. Or, after the jump, lesbian nurses.
Ahoy! Pull up a chair, grab a coffee, let's talk. That's right, it's Monday, time for around round of TELL US DAMMIT. How it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interesting in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know fucktons about us -- more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob -- and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your arse. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. Whichever!
Question: Do you having any game purchase regrets?
Lazy sods! Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo have announced that, starting May 26, their customers will be able to buy Microsoft Points over their mobile phone. You know how it is. It's late, you've had a few, you feel like playing Rez, then remember you don't have Rez. And credit card numbers are long, and entering them on a control pad is hard. This would help. It even supports the renewal/payment of your Gold subscription.
Buy Xbox Live Points Through Japanese Cell Phones [Game|Life]
Your Game Consoles Have Hazardous Chemicals
Comment by: Nico8332
Nominated by: cheez
I hear the Playstation 4 is being built from liquid VX8-nerve gas encased in depleted uranium. The controllers are built from baby seals, puppies and two square miles of rainforest.
You sitting down, sci-fi nerds? Halcyon - who now own the rights to the whole Terminator franchise - have secured the option to develop a number of films and games based on the works of Philip K Dick. At this stage, two games are planned. There's no word on just which of Dick's 44 novels and 120 short stories yet to be adapted (obviously people already own the rights to Total Recall, Minority Report, etc) will be picked up, so fans can go right ahead and start pencilling in their own personal top-fives while we wait for a fleshier announcement.
He'll be back, several times - possibly [The Guardian]
Chatting with Shacknews, Valve's Doug Lombardi has given a release date/timeframe for upcoming co-op zombie shooter, Left 4 Dead. Stating the need to give the game the highest level of polish they can reasonably manage - much like they did with Half-Life 2, which was fine-tuned over a 6-7 month period after it was "done" - Lombardi says Left 4 Dead will be out sometime in November.
Valve Interview Part 2: Left 4 Dead Demo Potential, the Evolution of Steam, and More [Shacknews]
Team Ninja's top ninja Tomonobu Itagaki sure has opinions! Lots of them. Previously, he praised Rockstar's work on GTA IV and then crapped on his company's Ninja Gaiden Sigma. And now? Now, he offers his opinion on Devil May Cry and the franchise's creator Hideki Kamiya:
Pissing contest time! The chaps at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research have compiled some lovely graphs highlighting not only the average review score for each major publisher, but one showcasing the range of scores they've received as well. Note that scores only apply to current-gen console titles, so no handheld, PC or PS2 scores count. As you can see, there's a sizeable gap between the top 5 and the chasing pack, and a sizeable gap between the chasing pack and Atari, who don't even make the list. Above are the average scores, click through for the score range, which proves to be a little more interesting.
The official Capcom blog confirms what we posted yesterday, that filthy faced Kristin Kreuk is indeed doing her best Chun-Li impersonation in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. They've killed us in the resolution department though, offering up a massive 4368 x 2912 pic of Kreuk in scowl mode. As the official blog writes, it's "perfect for printing and smooching", as well as determining whether one would "hit it" if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, we have yet to see how sharp her knees are, a very important consideration.
What we did find more interesting than the deep insight into Chun-Li's pores was the (potentially spoiler-ish) jewellery she's rocking.
To: Ash, Owen
From: McWhertor
Re: Shin-chan Explains Proper Poop Etiquette
Sometimes it's fun to play a few rounds of Who's Not Crediting Us Now, don't you think? Sure, I spend a good portion of my day filtering other people's work, in addition to hunting down original stories, but there's always an attempt to give credit where credit is due when someone from 1UP or NeoGAF or Variety or wherever breaks some news. Sometimes there's a slip up and we're sent a polite, occasionally terse reminder that we goofed, but it tends to be remedied quickly. It's curious how often we have to remind our British friends that they accidentally neglected to link back to us on a piece of news, whether it's the odd factoid, white hot Tifa hentai or data-rich quotes from Nintendo execs. Shan't lose any sleep over it, as I'm going into extended weekend mode and can't be concerned with such things, despite it being so common over the past fortnight.
Here are some things you might've missed.
Fahey Invents A Virtual Console Update
Phil Harrison Talks About Alone In The Dark
id Says Bye Bye To The ESA
This again? Yes, this again. The latest batch of rumours to come from EGM's Quartermann dredges up one we've been hearing for as long as we can remember, one that pegs Rare hard at work on a new Killer Instinct. This one, dubbed Killer Instinct 3D: Death, Destruction and Doom, is said to bring the delightfully goofy fighting game that pits boxers against skeletal pirates, lizardmen against werewolves into the world of 3D.
Those supposed Starcraft II system requirements? Lies. All lies. More like speculation really, as Blizzard was kind enough to let us know that the gang at Micromania "pulled their numbers straight out of thin air." We would suggest resting assured tonight that, when ready, and not a minute before, Blizzard will be telling you the exact minimum and recommended system requirements in an official capacity. That will most likely be, I'm guessing, after the company gives us a ship date and come in handy FAQ form.
This is weird. I feel like I don't have anything to play! It's Memorial Day weekend in the US and, in the tradition of takin' it easy to honour the memory of soldiers who have died in military service to their country [Ed.'s note: :( ] I'll be takin' it real easy. I'll play whatever is on the inside of my many consoles already. Taking stock, that's Grand Theft Auto IV in the Xbox 360, Super Mario Galaxy in the Wii, Phantasy Star Collection in the PS2 and Haze in the PS3. Just kidding on that last one. I've had my fill. I'll make sure to put that right back in its case.
We've got some BBQing and pool partying that needs to get done, plus some lazing about, maybe some straightening of the US flag outside Kotaku Towers West. Other than that, just kickin' it. You? What are you playing this extended holiday weekend, should you have one?
id Software confirmed it has left the Entertainment Software Association, joining a growing list of recent departures that includes Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts.
The publisher departures follow decisions made by the ESA board surrounding last year's E3 move to Santa Monica that ultimately cost the association $US 5 million and necessitated raising its membership dues, as Kotaku reported earlier this week.
Both id and the ESA confirmed the departure; while id Software declined to comment, ESA senior VP of communications and research Rich Taylor responded:
"We can confirm that id Software has decided not to renew its membership in the ESA. We admire their creativity and innovation. We also respect their decision," he said.
"The ESA continues to lead the thriving video and computer game industry. We are dedicated to protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire entertainment software industry."
Nexon America, publisher of MapleStory, KartRider and Mabinogi, announced it'll launch a free online FPS called Combat Arms, slated to release later this summer.
The company touted the game's "highly customisable" aspect, from the look of characters to the guns and equipment. Match wins are rewarded with in-game currency in addition to XP, both of which allow players more customisation options. Nexon also said the game weighs the community aspect heavily, with a clan focus and some social network-style features.
Though there's no specific release date confirmed, the closed beta begins May 30th, so if you're interested you can try your luck; full release follows the jump.
What's your high score on Guitar Hero III's sore-finger finale "Through The Fire And The Flames?" At a 24-hour Guitar Hero marathon held by Blockbuster to benefit the nonprofit "Education is Freedom" children's charity, Grapevine, TX native Daniel Johnson blew away the Guiness World Record for a single-song high score.
Playing on Expert, no less, on an Xbox 360. So how many points, now?
In the June issue of Playboy, Rockstar's Dan Houser gave a somewhat rare full-page interview on Grand Theft Auto 4 and violent video games. Why, Houser was asked, don't other entertainment industries offer more support for video games, since their controversial content is often targeted for criticism in the same fashion?
"It's about economics. We take market share and audience from other media - video game makers are challenging the Hollywood hegemony - so they're going to fight us. But I'm not going to fight them. I believe your Constitution protects us."
When interviewer Scott Alexander asked Houser about inequity in the way adult games are treated as compared with film and other media, Houser said:
Just bear in mind that all PC trailers are created using the OverComputer, the mythical computer passed down by the gods that somehow manages to maintain system specs double of recommended settings no matter what game you install. All hail the OverComputer!
The Wii may not be great for high-resolution graphics, but it's perfect for black and white, or so said Madworld dev Shigneori Nishikawa during an interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo last week.
"For consoles like the 360 and PlayStation 3 the level of high-quality graphics is so extreme. I wanted things to be simpler than that." He said he had been told that he needed to make a Wii game. "We thought about 'What can we do that's new on the Wii?' And we came out the white and black graphics."
Ishikawa goes on to talk about where he came up with the game's signature signpost-through-face move, what sort of music will be the backdrop to all of that over the top killing and his take on violence.
Speaking with the Platinum Games guys last week during their day of announcements, I asked them what Nintendo and the ESRB thought of the game. Their answer: So far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way.
'Madworld' Developer Talks 'Sin City,' Wii Graphics And Signpost-Stabbing Vs. Dagger-Stabbing [MTV Multiplayer]
As a means to get a leg up on their busy, busy Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots launch duties, series creator Hideo Kojima and lead artist Yoji Shinkawa will be appearing at the HMV on Oxford Street in London, England next Monday, June 2nd, 19 days before the game releases. Rather than signing copies of the game itself, Kojima and Shinkawa will be signing exclusive HMV sleeves that will slide over your copy of MGS 4, available with your £5 deposit on the full game. Autographs will begin promptly at noon, with sleeves available from 9:00am.
While I suppose it would be much more appealing to have them signing copies of the game on launch day, it is nice to see Kojima and Shinkawa taking the time out of what is sure to be an extremely busy early June schedule to show the UK some MGS lovin'.
My son and I have been playing this for years, and I'm sure we're not the only ones. When we're on a long car trip we'll take turns drawing pictures using Pictochat on the DS, then the other person has to guess what it is.
I'm not sure how much a developer can add to the basic mechanic that already comes with the DS for free, but Sega is certainly trying. The screens and fact sheet they provided with the announcement don't really give me a sense of what you'll be getting when you buy the game that you don't already get with the built-in app.
Reading between the lines I suspect you won't be getting WiFi play which is a down right tragedy. It's the one thing that prevents Pictochat from being truly useful. Yes I know, it's great at big press conferences and events, but I still miss the ability to shoot crudely drawn pictures of penises out into cyberspace.
Seemingly moments after The Escapist released this week's Zero Punctuation video featuring 2004's horror FPS Painkiller, Steam's home page got an updated advertisement for the Gold Edition of the game, utilising Yahtzee's astute insight into the biggest selling point of the title.
If they had originally marketed the game in a plain red box with the line "Includes guns that shoot shurikens and lightning" in big gold letters, Painkiller would have become the bestselling first-person shooter of all time.
Steam Home Page [Valve - Thanks Mascott!]
GameVideos has an interview up with Phil Harrison about the upcoming Alone in the Dark game. He doesn't really shed a whole lotta new light on the game, which is fine because the included in-game videos do plenty of that. If you watch through the entire interview you'll get a look at the game's new DVD menu interface, how the game uses items and weapons together, some nice cut-scenes and a bit of the puzzles. It's definitely worth a watch for fans of Alone in the Dark. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the franchise from back in the day. Even though this game looks pretty slick, I'm still worried it won't live up to my memories of playing the game back in the early 90s.
I cannot imagine that someone who makes at least a part of their living on the internet could possibly be as out of touch as Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson, who posted an article discussing the upcoming movie based on "classic computer game Prince of Persia." Especially considering that simply typing the name of the movie - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - into your browser brings up the video game immediately.
Here's a nice little surprise, I may not be able to write about my hands-on time with Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. quite yet, but I can post these screens that Ubisoft just sent out. Hit the jump to read the full fictional history of High Altitude Warefare and the H.A.W.X. experimental squadron.
Back on May 12th, Nintendo decided to skip their weekly Virtual Console update in order to focus on the release of WiiWare. Having posted just about every VC Update since the service began, I decided to post one anyway, asking our readers what games would make up their ideal update. My choices were Soul Blazer for the Super Nintendo and Tiny Toon Adventures for the NES.
