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ReviewsQuantum Conundrum: The Kotaku Review
Let’s just get this out of the way: Yes, Quantum Conundrum is a first-person puzzler, just like Portal. Yes, it was designed by Kim Swift, the project lead on Portal. And yes, it shares some of Portal‘s core traits: there’s a physics-altering arm device, a goofy omniscient narrator, and an alarming number of buttons that…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2012 -
If You Buy Diablo III Online, You May Have To Wait 72 Hours To Play The Whole Game [UPDATE]
In a bizarre decision presumably made to reduce server overload fight credit card fraud, Blizzard said last night that new Diablo III players may not be able to play the entire game. Here’s what Blizzard Support Forum Agent Medearn says: As of patch 1.0.3, when purchasing a digital version of Diablo III through the online…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2012 -
Ninja Gaiden 3 Was A ‘Japanese Hamburger,’ Creators Say
The folks behind poorly received action game Ninja Gaiden 3 tried too hard to make it appeal to Western tastes, says Yosuke Hayashi, head of developer Team Ninja, the studio behind the game. In a new interview posted by Gamasutra yesterday, Hayashi talks a bit about what he thinks went wrong, calling the game a…
By Jason Schreier Published June 21, 2012 -
The Best Diablo III Forum Thread You’ll Read Today
This Battle.net forum thread by user Furiant has been making the rounds on the Internet today. It’s pretty entertaining. Give it a read: First, thank you for addressing so many of the important issues in this patch. After playing a couple of quests tonight, however, I’ve realized that the fight against exploiters will never truly…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2012 -
Why StarCraft II Still Doesn’t Support Local Multiplayer
In StarCraft, you could play multiplayer games with your friends on local area network connections. In StarCraft II, you can’t. It’s online or bust. This is a decision that has driven some fans crazy, and over the past couple of years, developer Blizzard has received no shortage of flack from infuriated gamers. Sometimes they don’t…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2012 -
I Really Hope This Action-RPG Comes To The U.S.
Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has some screenshots for the newest Ys game, Ys Celceta: Sea Of Trees—a remake of Ys IV that is slated for PlayStation Vita in Japan this September. Looks pretty, no? Hopefully U.S. localization house XSEED brings it over to U.S. shores. They’ve brought over some of the other Ys games (including…
By Jason Schreier Published June 20, 2012 -
Can Portal Lead To Better Educational Games?
Are educational games broken? Can Portal help fix them? Speaking during a Rants session at the Games for Change conference in New York today, educators Scott Kirk (CEO, GameGurus) and Jodi Asbell-Clarke (Director, EdGE ) said perspectives like Valve’s could help shed a light on the best way to make educational games more fun. Asbell-Clarke…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2012 -
This Game Designer Is Hopeful About Gay Issues In Video Games
Homophobia and bigotry may run rampant on Xbox Live, but game designer Robert Yang is optimistic about the present and future of LGBT issues in the gaming industry. Speaking during the Rants session of the Games for Change conference in New York Tuesday, Yang gave a brief talk about the experimental, gay-themed games he’s been…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2012 -
Blizzard Says StarCraft On Wii U ‘Might Work’
The lead designer of StarCraft II says there are several ways the popular real-time strategy series could make its way to consoles—and that under the right circumstances, Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U might be a good fit. Blizzard has traditionally focused on PC-only titles, but the brains behind massive franchises like Diablo, Warcraft, and StarCraft are…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2012 -
Six Tips To Improve Your StarCraft II Skills, From The Designer Of StarCraft II
Want to be a better StarCraft II player? Want to boost your APM? Want to know what APM means? While chatting with StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder last week, I asked him to send over a few basic tips to help Kotaku readers master the challenging real-time strategy game. Since his APM (actions-per-minute, a…
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2012 -
This PlayStation Strategy-RPG Is Looking Pretty Neat
You might have heard of Rainbow Moon when it was announced late last year, but now that it finally has a release window—late July for U.S. PlayStation Network users—I’m starting to get psyched to play it. Rainbow Moon will run you $15 on the PlayStation Network. Check out the game’s official Facebook page for more…
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2012 -
Blizzard Says StarCraft: Ghost Revival Is As Likely As Lost Vikings 3
The people behind StarCraft say that while nobody’s currently working on the infamously-delayed StarCraft: Ghost, there’s a chance that could change in the future. It’s now been a decade since Blizzard first announced StarCraft: Ghost, and it has since become the poster child for indefinitely delayed video games. The game sounded fantastic. It was to…
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2012 -
Can You Find The Director Of Diablo III?
Check out this Diablo-ized take on Where’s Waldo?, created by a Spanish Diablo fan site and tweeted on Blizzard’s official account today. Can you find Diablo III director Jay Wilson? Or Blizzard community manager Micah “Bashiok” Whipple? Or Wilson’s pendrive? Full-sized image after the jump. Drawn by Albert Palahi
By Jason Schreier Published June 18, 2012 -
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Is 99% Complete
StarCraft II‘s next expansion doesn’t have an official release date yet, but its creators say it’s almost crossed the finish line. Speaking to lead designer Dustin Browder in a phone interview this afternoon, I asked how close the team was to completing the game. “We are 99% done,” he told me, “but that last 1%’s…
By Jason Schreier Published June 15, 2012 -
The Surprisingly Simple Story Behind What Might Be The Last Great Wii Game
Nintendo has an annoying tendency to keep games all to themselves. Over the past few years, the Japanese company has sat on the rights to much-requested series like Mother, Fatal Frame, and Fire Emblem, stubbornly refusing to translate and ship them over to U.S. shores. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Mario makers…
By Jason Schreier Published June 15, 2012 -
Valve’s Hat-Based Economy Now Has Its Own Hat-Based Economist
The creators of Team Fortress 2 have hired their very own economist to help out with their various crazy hat-based projects. Writing on his new blog over at Valve’s website, newly-minted consultant Yanis Varoufakis discusses how he met with Valve chief Gabe Newell and put a deal together “Within hours, an agreement was reached: I…
By Jason Schreier Published June 15, 2012 -
Here’s A Friendly Tease For All You RPG Fans
If you’ve kept up with my regular column about Japanese role-playing games, you likely know that one of my favorite games of the past few years is a charming RPG called Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky The problem with Trails in the Sky, released last year for PSP, is that it ends on…
By Jason Schreier Published June 15, 2012
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