Brian Crecente, Author at Kotaku

Charity Computer Game Pack Rakes in $1.8 Million

Despite tough times and a nasty U.S. recession gamers continue to come through, this time for a collection of games discounted in the name of charity. The second Humble Indie Bundle managed to pull in $1,823,301.66, topping the first Humble Indie Bundle which brought in about $1.2 million. That works out to 232,849 purchases of…

By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2010

The Luckiest Non-Gaming Moments Ever

We’ve posted our share of absurd Call of Duty: Black Ops tomahawk throws, Halo: Reach grenade sticks, and physics-bending mishaps. But lets not forget insanely lucky things happen in real life too. For every crazy trick you pull in a game of Skate, for every car wreck you can’t believe happened in Gran Turismo, there…

By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2010

iTunes Chart Toppers: Doodle Jump is Back… BE WARNED

There was a time when Doodle Jump was the Angry Birds of the iPhone, but then the game disappeared… until this week when it bounced back to the top ten. Surprise! Here’s the full list of games for both platforms: iPhone Position Title Price Weeks Last Week 1 Angry Birds (Clickgamer.com) $0.99 31 2 2…

By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2010

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Hope you had a fun break, welcome back to a short week of happy discussions. Start one now! Verno77 created this wonderful TAY Holiday Card. There are six chances each week to get your handiwork featured on Kotaku. Just shop up this image and submit it to the #taypics hashtag. Confused about commenting on Kotaku?…

By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2010

Tips & Guides

The CityVille How To: A Guide to Building the City of Your Dreams

With about 68 million players worldwide, Cityville blends the best of Sim City and FarmVille into a Zynga Facebook game that actually plays like a game. Kotaku went straight to Zynga’s CityVille team for some tips and tricks on how to turn your one-horse town into a bustling metropolis. I spent a few days tinkering…

By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2010

iPhone’s Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light Is a Spectacular Action Shooter

I was a big fan of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light when it came to consoles and, it turns out, I’m just as big a fan of the iPhone version. The game translates surprisingly well, using twin digital thumbsticks to let players control Croft’s movements and in which direction she fires her twin…

By Brian Crecente Published December 25, 2010

A Video Gamers’ Christmas

It was the winter of 1980. My brother and I, wrapped in blue robes, ran down the stairs to be greeted by a brand new Atari 2600 and bevy of games under the tree. It was my first Gamer’s Christmas. What was yours? Since that cold Maryland winter 30 years ago I’ve had many other…

By Brian Crecente Published December 25, 2010

Prima Says Happy Holidays With Two Decade’s Worth of Guides

Always ahead of the game, literally, Prima Games sent us a card to wish us not a happy holiday, but a happy New Year. The fold-out card includes 20 years worth of covers. Impressive! Can you spot your favorite?

By Brian Crecente Published December 24, 2010

Risk: The Official Game Is Great Board Game Fun

I’ve always said that the iPad would be a great solution for bringing board games to the digital era, Risk: The Official Game HD proves it. Electronic Arts’ version of the official Hasbro board game doesn’t add a lot new to the classic strategy board game, but it does deliver a polished board game experience…

By Brian Crecente Published December 20, 2010

A Gift Guide to Father and Son Gaming

Video games aren’t just a wonderful present for children, they’re also a wonderful opportunity to bond. Playing side-by-side with your son or daughter gives you a chance to interact in ways typically off-limits to parents. You can see you child lead, make decisions, problem solve and team up together to defeat the bad guys. It’s…

By Brian Crecente Published December 20, 2010