Michael McWhertor

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This long Memorial Day weekend, I’ll be asking myself the following question: how much better or worse is this than Split/Second? Yep, this weekend shall be a Blur. Of course, there are still plenty of strangers to befriend, wild mountain cats to slay and flowers to be picked in my copy of Red Dead Redemption.…

de Blob Goes Underground

One of the rare third-party successes on the Wii, de Blob, is getting a sequel. What color does de Blob: The Underground add to THQ’s burgeoning franchise? According to the new issue of Nintendo Power, the additions include new moves, new foes, and, perhaps most interesting, “new 2-D platforming segments,” taking away a dimension from…

Kotaku Off Topic: What The Duck

Let’s not talk about video games right now. Let’s instead take this opportunity to talk about things like Howard the Duck. I mean, really, there’s no Howard the Duck video game! Oh wait. There was. Regardless, Howard the Duck is a terrible movie and I feel equally as terrible for subjecting my poor parents who…

Put A Naked Pink Snake In Your Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Pink is the new camouflage, at least according to the newest batch of downloadable content for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, a chance to show off Snake’s more fabulous side. Japanese players are already enjoying the latest Peace Walker fashion, in both pink and shirtless Snake outfits. We think it really brings out Snake’s bulging…

See Insomniac’s Canceled Game, Girl With A Stick

With Resistance and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games going multiplatform, bringing an “all-new franchise” to the Xbox 360 and PS3, a look back at one of its canceled original games seems timely. Meet Girl With A Stick. Insomniac reveals the canceled PlayStation 2 game in its latest video podcast—they call it by its code…

The Next Guitar Hero Will Send You On A Legendary Quest

Guitar Hero is changing course with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, a music game with some unexpected additions, including a story-driven quest mode that involves a group of heavy metal warriors seeking a legendary guitar and a battle with The Beast. The newest issue of Nintendo Power reveals Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, in development…

Lost Planet 2 Finds Its Way To Into Japan’s Hearts & Charts

The recently stagnant Japanese game charts have been injected with a massive dose of new games, including this week’s biggest seller, Lost Planet 2. The PlayStation 3 version of Capcom’s big alien hunting game sits comfortably in the top spot, its Xbox 360 counterpart managing to land just a few spots lower. The top ten…

What To Do With 44 Million Stolen Online Game Accounts

Anti-virus software maker Symantec recently uncovered and analyzed a cache of stolen online accounts—many from games like World of Warcraft and Aion—an impressive collection of 44 million swiped virtual credentials. What does Symantec find so interesting about this? It’s not the volume. Sure, it’s 17 gigabytes worth of compromised user data, but Symantec’s investigation into…

FarmVille Makers & 7-Eleven Giving Away Bulletproof Vests With Hot Dogs

You may already know about 7-Eleven buddying up with Zynga, the maker of Farmville and Mafia Wars, for farm flavored ice cream, but are you aware that purchasing one of the convenience store’s hot dogs gets you a bulletproof vest? In Mafia Wars, that is. 7-Eleven products like Slurpees and Big Bites now come with…

Killzone 3 Hands-on: Bigger, Better & More 3D

Killzone developer Guerrilla Games and Sony showed off the first playable version of the PlayStation 3’s next entry in the series, a Killzone that feels familiar, but much improved, a bigger world with smarter enemies. Oh, and stereoscopic 3D. The playable demo, available in both 2D and 3D versions at Sony’s Killzone 3 showing, started…

Killzone 3 Screens

Killzone 3 Eyes-On: Chance of Flurries & Brutal Melee

We just got our first look at Killzone 3, Guerrilla Games next dark, bloody and frosty looking first person shooter. For our hands-off, eyes-on impressions, read on. Many Helghast died to bring you this information. Guerrilla’s Hermen Hulst showed off video of a section of the fourth level of the game’s single player campaign. It…

Half-Life 2 Comes To Mac, Gets New Graphics, New Achievements

As promised, Half-Life 2 has come to the Mac as part of Valve’s weekly updates to the Steam library. PC gamers are also in for an update, as the classic first-person shooter gets a few new tweaks. Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One and Half-Life 2: Episode Two are now available via Steam on Mac,…

Report: Project Natal To Cost Too Much Money

Would you pay $149 USD for Project Natal? According to a report from Edge, that’s what current Xbox 360 owners should expect to pay when the much-hyped motion sensing camera from Microsoft launches later this year. Edge, citing a “trusted source,” the same individual who fed the outlet details on Gears of War 3’s coming…

Red Dead Redemption Spawns Short Film For Fox

Rockstar’s latest gets a little late night air time this weekend, courtesy of Fox. Red Dead Redemption’s 30-minute short, directed by John Hillcoat (The Road), using nothing but in-game assets. See how that works on May 29 at midnight. [Rockstar]

Kotaku Off Topic: Aht

It’s Tuesday. That means Kotaku Off Topic, a place to talk about things video game related or not, a chance to proudly note that something’s not news and not get banned for it. Let’s make this one short and sweet. I’ve got a birthday celebration to sprint to and a trip to see [unspecified PlayStation…

Critics Accuse Prince of Persia Movie Makers Of ‘Whitewashing’ Roles

Fans of perfectly sculpted pecs and Jake Gyllenhaal are no doubt ecstatic about the upcoming release of Disney’s new Prince of Persia movie, but the casting decision to put Chesty Jake in the starring role isn’t sitting well with everyone. Gyllenhaal as Dastan in the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which hits U.S.…

PlayStation Store Update: Miley Cyrus or Pantera Edition

It’s a big week for music on the North American instance of the PlayStation Store, with a new Green Day: Rock Band demo joining all new Guitar Hero tracks from Miley Cyrus and Rock Band songs from Pantera. There’s also plenty of ModNation Racers to go around, with new content for the PlayStation 3 version…

UFC Undisputed 2010 Has Secret Shaq Fu

THQ’s new mixed martial arts fighter UFC Undisputed 2010 features a surprising cameo, the only known practitioner of the Shaq Fu arts, basketball player and Kazaam star Shaquille O’Neal. MMA site Middle Easy has the particulars on how to unlock the Pepsi spokesman and part-time rapper, who can now add virtual mixed martial arts master…

Prince of Persia, Now With More Assassin

Want to put the fear of a fancy and fashionable assassination into your foes in Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands? Then get thee to the nearest Ubisoft game and sign up for their Uplay scheme. To make the Prince of Persia look a lot more like Ezio from Assassin’s Creed II, you’ll need to…