Battlefield 3 has never looked prettier than from this angle. Using a tilt-shift camera perspective, Independent Gamers Production managed to create this array of scenes from Battlefield 3 in a unique perspective.
From the more distant angle and with a sharper look, the trees and water look even more realistic. That same effect that makes nature seem more realistic, though, alternatively makes the cars and tanks toy-like. It's an awesome and interesting juxtaposition, and why I've always enjoyed tilt-shift photography. Video form is even better, though, once you put the video on full screen and realize how hilarious the ant-sized soldiers look while scurrying away in a fast-forward motion.
Did you see a particularly interesting video on the Internet? Know a friend who puts together awesome video game movies? If you have suggestions for Watch This, Play This, drop me a line at tina@kotaku.com and you may just see it featured here the next day.
Comedian Anthony Richardson knows how to make basketball even more entertaining — fill it with hilarious, clueless commentary that seems to be voiced by somebody who has never watched a game of hoops in his life.
Check out this video of him commentating on an NBA 2k12-simulated matchup of last week's NBA All Star Game.
"You would'a thought that they'd get it in every time, but that's why basketball's so exciting, apparently," he notes.
More often than not, it seems that mobile game developers are encouraging you to not take their games too seriously. The art is fun, and the game mechanics are typically quirky. Pizza Vs. Skeletons is maybe the quirkiest of them all.
As the name suggests, you'll be controlling an animated pie of pizza against a building horde of skeletons, and sometimes robots and various bosses. But crushing skulls and collecting coins as you roll around each of the 100 levels isn't the only kind of challenge you're up against. The 2D platformer comes packed with all kinds of bells and whistles. Some levels will be a straightforward brawl against skeletons with spears, but others will have you leaping and crashing over obstacles to save puppies. Your challenges will even take you into space and under the sea.
Getting over the fact that you are a giant, angry-faced pizza combatting skeletons and other nefarious, lifeless creatures, the game itself is very polished. Transitioning between rolling and stopping using the accelerometer to tilt your pizza into submission is an incredibly smooth process. While trajectory gliding through the air, you can tap the screen again to dough-slam enemies as your pizza changes facial expressions to reflect the activity. His :O face when he gets hurt is also adorable.
I love the art in Pizza Vs. Skeletons. I love the fact that you can dress your pizza up in leopard print, or outfit him with a pirate's hat (who doesn't love hats?!). But the most exciting, and most impressive detail in Pizza Vs. Skeletons is the diversity in each level. Developers Riverman Media LLC advertise "insane variety" packed into the game, and they're not exaggerating one bit. Taking even a quick glance at the trailer shows how many different environments there are, and with it the different challenges modeled around those environments that you will traverse. From jumping between moving platforms, to hunting down specific objects, to straight destruction of everything (including pyramids) in sight, Pizza Vs. Skeletons has a longer life expectancy than most repetitive games on the iOS market.
I have a very short attention span when it comes to mobile games. With so many in the app store, it's hard not to want to bounce to a new one every day (hence our daily gaming app suggestions). But Pizza Vs. Skeletons will keep you hooked for quite a bit longer than you will anticipate. If not for the fun, then at least to earn up to the powdered wig. I want to wear it with the pixelated eyes and call myself president Washington Invader.
You can get the whole game, ad-free with a guarantee that you won't have to pay for future installments, for $2.99. If you're not up for that, you can always try the game for free, too. And you really ought to at least do that.
In the eternal struggle between man and lunch, there can be only one victor!
It takes dedication, preparation, and a vat of ketchup to defeat the breaded foe once and for all. The nuggets may fight back, but it is a fighter's task — nay, his silly, funny, comic duty — to FINISH THEM.
U.K.-based retailer GAME will not be stacking any of publisher Electronic Arts's March games, including Mass Effect 3, it said today.
In a statement on its website, the retail chain said it is "not in a position to supply [its] customers with Mass Effect 3," although it "may" stock copies of the game in the future.
Other EA games slotted for March release include FIFA Street, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, and The Sims 3: Showtime.
Eurogamer obtained a copy of an internal memo sent out to GAME staffers that explains the company's decision. According to the memo, GAME could not come to an agreement with Electronic Arts on credit terms for selling the publisher's products.
"We committed to only stocking products on which we could get the right credit terms, regardless of the title or the supplier," the alleged memo says. "We will not stock products if the terms are not right for our business - a position we believe is critical to our long term health as a business - we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA's March releases, including Mass Effect 3."
GAME, one of the largest game retail chains in Europe, says it will refund all preorders and offer £5 worth of reward points to affected customers.
Times have been tough for the brick-and-mortar retailer, which has been losing business to online stores like Amazon and Play.com. Earlier in February, the company renegotiated a deal with several British lending banks that would give it some financial breathing room and help it keep its stores supplied.
However, the retailer has still had trouble striking deals with some of its publishing partners. Until yesterday, GAME was not stocking any of Ubisoft's Vita titles. It still has not reached terms with publisher Nintendo to sell games like Mario Party 9 and upcoming Wii U.K. release Pandora's Tower.
One former GAME employee told me today that he believes the company is in serious trouble.
"They are going broke," he said. "GAME had by far the best developer/publisher relationships of any retailer in the U.K., got all the support and exclusives, and now they can't even get credit for stock."
U.K.-based retailer GAME will not be stacking any of publisher Electronic Arts's March games, including Mass Effect 3, it said today.
In a statement on its website, the retail chain said it is "not in a position to supply [its] customers with Mass Effect 3," although it "may" stock copies of the game in the future.
Other EA games slotted for March release include FIFA Street, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, and The Sims 3: Showtime.
Eurogamer obtained a copy of an internal memo sent out to GAME staffers that explains the company's decision. According to the memo, GAME could not come to an agreement with Electronic Arts on credit terms for selling the publisher's products.
"We committed to only stocking products on which we could get the right credit terms, regardless of the title or the supplier," the alleged memo says. "We will not stock products if the terms are not right for our business - a position we believe is critical to our long term health as a business - we have taken the very difficult decision to not stock EA's March releases, including Mass Effect 3."
GAME, one of the largest game retail chains in Europe, says it will refund all preorders and offer £5 worth of reward points to affected customers.
Times have been tough for the brick-and-mortar retailer, which has been losing business to online stores like Amazon and Play.com. Earlier in February, the company renegotiated a deal with several British lending banks that would give it some financial breathing room and help it keep its stores supplied.
However, the retailer has still had trouble striking deals with some of its publishing partners. Until yesterday, GAME was not stocking any of Ubisoft's Vita titles. It still has not reached terms with publisher Nintendo to sell games like Mario Party 9 and upcoming Wii U.K. release Pandora's Tower.
One former GAME employee told me today that he believes the company is in serious trouble.
"They are going broke," he said. "GAME had by far the best developer/publisher relationships of any retailer in the U.K., got all the support and exclusives, and now they can't even get credit for stock."
What's in a name? To the John and Jane Shepards out there, not much, but to those that prefer customizing their Mass Effect heroes picking the right name can make all the difference in the universe. In today's Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Salari wants to know how you name your role-playing game characters.
With Mass Effect 3 just around the corner, some people will be making new Commander Shepards and some like myself will be carrying theirs over from the first two games. However, I have noticed that when it comes to games where you can name your character, most people tend to stick to particular names, or in an effort to place themselves into the experience, create an avatar of themselves and give it their name.
So what do you do? With role-playing games I generally tend to make my character female because it sometimes offers a different slant on the world and how others perceive your character, and I always tend to name them 'Paige', the name of my second girlfriend and a name I've generally always liked. When going for the male option, I usually name them 'Travis', after one of my favourite movie characters, Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday we'll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.
We won't be able to discuss video games in Kotaku's official forum on February 29 again for another four years, so make it count, people!
Today's TAYpic comes from rabid TAYpic creator Pan1da7, who reminds us that it's time to select the new TAYpic image for March!
That's right, it's time for a new TAYpic base image, and it's up to you folks to provide it! Instead of the usual shops, today we ask that you submit some lovely classical art image to the #TAYpics thread. It's needs to feature multiplayer characters, be public domain art, and be friendly to the 16x9 image format we've got going here. Who knows, you could have a horde of Photoshop aficionados bastardizing your pick all March long!
Now you, too, can drive around your very own Mario Kart-themed Mario Kart. Assuming you're 27-year-old Nathanial Stehley, who won himself a life-sized kart racer as part of a GameStop rewards program.
Nintendo sent out these pictures last night of Stehley receiving the grandiose prize, complete with a comically sized key and a comically sized Mario to deliver the goods. We're quite jealous. Although the kart probably wouldn't last very long if we tried to drive it here in Manhattan. There are red shells everywhere.
U.K.-based retailer GAME will not be stacking any of publisher Electronic Arts's March games, including Mass Effect 3, it said today.
