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Don’t Get Too Excited About Zelda Universe
A lot of people are getting hot under the collar over a listing on the ESRB website for something called Zelda Universe. It’s down as an “online” title, which considering the publisher and the franchise sounds interesting Only, it’s not. Zelda Universe is listed as “online” because, as is pointed out here, it’s a website,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011 -
Sony’s Boss Wasn’t Told the PSN Had Been Hacked In 2008
While it’s important to remember Sony (and all PlayStation Network users) are the victims of a crime when we talk about the PSN attacks, it’s also important to know why Sony has come in for criticism over the affair. It’s been accused of acting too slowly in alerting customers, but perhaps just as damning is…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallIt’s OK, Everyone, It’s Time to Talk About the Wing Commander TV Series
Yesterday, we waded through a lot of painful memories talking about the awful (and mercifully forgotten) Wing Commander movie. So let’s make amends today, and cheer everybody up by talking about the awesome Wing Commander cartoon series instead. A few years before the movie, and right about the time the game franchise was coming off…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011 -
Culture
When Japan Does Star Wars, Things Change
In 1987, Namco released Star Wars in Japan for the Famicom, a title that took more than a few liberties with the movie trilogy’s storyline. Sounds outrageous, but one look at the game’s manual art and everything was suddenly OK. Why? Because the lizards, scorpions and pterodactyls you’re fighting—and that aren’t exactly canon —are so…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Rumor: Read a Bit of the New Syndicate’s Script
Siliconera claims to have gotten its hands on part of the script for the rumoured, upcoming Syndicate revival. So, a rumour within a rumour. If you feel like jumping down that rabbit hole, here’s your ticket in. [Siliconera]
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Holy Shit, Somebody is Remaking Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion, if you don’t know, is a classic adventure game from Lucasarts (then known as Lucasfilm) that spawned en entire generation of titles like its sequel Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max and Fate of Atlantis. And now it’s getting a remake! A group of devoted German fans calling themselves “Edison Interactive” (cute…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Dress Up as Your Favourite Disney Star in This Adorable New Platformer
LittleBigPlanet is popular. The LEGO games are even more popular. And then we have Disney, the entertainment giant figuring it must be onto a good thing making a game combining the two. It’s unveiled a new multiplayer platformer called Disney Universe, which uses things like cute characters, a combination of co-operative and competitive play and…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Dwarf Goo? Tifa Is a Vinyl Fan? It Must Be Anagram Time.
Anagrams can be fun if you’re into that kind of wordplay. Maybe a little more fun if you’re into that kind of wordplay and video games. These remixes on game titles were done by Dueling Analogs. What I like is that, in the case of BioShock‘s denizens, Dead Rising‘s wardrobe options and Final Fantasy VII’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
BloodRayne Is Doing Its Best Castlevania Impression
When BloodRayne: Betrayal was announced so close to April 1, we met the reveal with a healthy dose of scepticism. A 3D brawler turned into a 2D platformer? Seemed a little weird, since it normally works the other way around. But here it is, in all its 2D, cel-shaded glory. A comment on the clip’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
The PSP Is Trying to Go Out with a Bang
With the PlayStation Portable on the brink of total irrelevance in the US, Sony is beginning the process of putting its last bundles together, which for anyone who hasn’t yet got a PSP and won’t be in the market for the upcoming NGP, aren’t too bad a deal! The first of these is the “Limited…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Minecraft Links Help Indie Game Sell 200,000 Copies In Nine Days
Terraria is a 2D game that has often (and somewhat unfairly) been called “Minecraft in 2D”. Not that the four developers care, since they’ve just sold 200,000 copies in a little over a week. Spurred on by word-of-mouth, much of it stemming from the game’s supposed similarity to Minecraft, the $10 game was first released…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Microsoft is (Not) Helping an Xbox Live Hacker “Develop His Talent” [Update]
Around a month ago, Xbox Live users were alerted to a phishing scam on popular online title Modern Warfare 2. You’d think this was the work of nefarious group, but no, it was a single perpetrator. Who Microsoft is now working with? According to Microsoft’s Paul Rellis, the culprit responsible has been caught, and discovered…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Dragon’s Dogma Gameplay Footage Is All About Killing Giant Animals
You know, I only just realised that Dragon’s Dogma is Capcom finding an excuse to put its Monster Hunter expertise to work in a game like Dragon Age This gameplay clip starts off fairly ho-hum, a few arrows here and there, and then WHAM, GIANT GRIFFIN. And then things get really interesting. Dragon’s Dogma is…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallSorry, Everyone, It’s Time to Talk About the Wing Commander Movie
When people look back on films based on video games, they tend to skew towards the good (Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia) or the bad (Mario, Double Dragon). They don’t talk about the greats because there haven’t been any. And they don’t talk about Wing Commander because it’s just too damn painful. Wing Commander, if…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011 -
Culture
The Epic Video Game Art of Young-june Choi
As you may have noticed, Fine Art is a new feature here on Kotaku where we celebrate the work of video game concept artists. Today, we’re looking at the very talented Korean artist Young-june Choi, and his work on the upcoming Kingdom Under Fire II The game, which has been in development for over three…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2011 -
Nexuiz is the Prettiest Shooter You’ve Never Heard of
Nexuiz is a free online shooter that began life as a humble Quake mod all the way back in 2001. It’s since…grown up a little. Ever since the first standalone version of the game was released in 2005, its creators have been continually updating the title, a process which will reach new heights this summer…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2011 -
This Version of Ocarina Of Time Comes With an Actual Ocarina
While only French gaming press were given real, working instruments to go with their copies of Ocarina of Time 3D, in Australia, anyone can get one. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Edition 3DS, available only at EB Games, includes a copy of Ocarina of Time 3D along with a plastic ocarina, which even has sheet…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2011
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