K Monthly - November 2010

Welcome to the November 2010 edition of K Monthly, a look back at some of the best original video game coverage, including reviews, previews, features, and weekly columns, from Kotaku.

November was full of new releases, from Kinect for Xbox 360 to big blockbuster games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Gran Turismo 5, Donkey Kong Country Returns, GoldenEye and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. Kotaku published its annual video game gift guides in November, a rundown of the best games to give and get for every platform.

Read the reviews, previews, special features and other highlights from November 2010 below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

November 2010

Features

• The New Spoony Bards
  The Surprising Ways Japanese Games Are Changed For Americans by Brian Ashcraft
• Historical Liberties
  Sorting Fact From Fiction In Call Of Duty: Black Ops by Luke Plunkett
• Facts, Figures & Forza
  A Visual Guide To Racing Games by Mike Fahey
• Perspective of the Apes
  Diehard Nintendo Fans Debate Whether Donkey Kong Is Good Or Evil by Stephen Totilo

Reviews

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Redefines Modern Warfare
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Is The Best Assassin's Creed
• Donkey Kong Country Returns Is Hypnotic, Hard Fun
• Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Relives The Glory Days
• Splatterhouse Is Just Bloody Offal
• Gran Turismo 5 Is Premium Class
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Is This Year's Other Great Racer
• Sonic Colors Does Not Suck, It Merely Succeeds
• Cut The Rope Is A Quick Slice Of Fun
• Fighters Uncaged And The Problem With Punching Air
• FlingSmash Nearly Lives Up To Its Name
• Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage Is Bloody, But Not A Good Time
• Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Improves With Age
• The Fight: Lights Out Swings & Misses
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Stupefies
• Hoard Will Set Your Friendships On Fire
• Guwange Is Bullet Heaven
• Shaun White Skateboarding's Path Of Enlightenment
• Dead Nation Justifies The Existence Of Yet Another Zombie Game
• The UnderGarden Is A Relaxing Dip In The Ocean
• Pac-Man Championship Edition DX Is A Spirited Thrill
• Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem Is More Donkey Kong Than 2010's Other Big Donkey Kong Game
• Mafia II: Joe's Adventures - The Third Strike For A Repeat Offender
• Sonic Free Riders Shows How Bad Kinect Controls Can Be
• Power Gig Rise of the SixString
• SingStar Dance
• Bit.Trip Fate
• Kinect
• Kinect Adventures
• Dance Central
• Kinectimals
• Kinect Sports
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved
• Kinect Joy Ride
• James Bond 007: Blood Stone
• GoldenEye 007

Previews & Impressions

• Homefront: A Video Game That Dares To Make Americans Angry
• de Blob 2 Lets Blob Drink Lead Paint, Be A Morph Ball
• The Bold Gamble Of L.A. Noire
• What We Loved, What We Hated About the Xbox 360 Kinect
• Marvel Pinball: From Comics Page To Silver Ball
• LEGO Universe MMO Log One: Some Assembly Required
• LEGO Universe MMO Log Two: Excitement Builds?
• LEGO Universe MMO Log Three: A Dark Hero Rises
• LEGO Universe MMO Log Four: Picking Up The Pieces

Columns

• Video Games Keep Tricking Us Into Doing Things We Loathe by Leigh Alexander
• My Perfect Imperfect Video Game Heroine by Lisa Foiles

Well Played by Brian Crecente

• The Problem With Microsoft's New Way To Play Video Games
• Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft Are Finally Competing on Common Ground
• Killing Castro
• Navigating The Video Games of Black Friday

Stick Jockey by Owen Good

• Far Too Soon For EA Sports To Tap Out
• The Original Violent Spectacle Gets Its First Mature Rating

• Not Its Own Video Game, Not A Real Card Collection, Yet More Than Both
• The Games For All Of Us