Michael McWhertor

I Want You To Vote For The Best Kotaku WarioWare DIY Microgame!

Hey! Don’t forget to place your vote for what you consider the best Kotaku-themed WarioWare: D.I.Y. game created by you, the readership. The winner will walk away with some mega-sized Nintendo prizes, so choose your votes carefully. We need you to help us whittle down an impressive 95 WarioWare: D.I.Y. microgames to a more manageable…

These May Be Your Next Left 4 Dead 2 Mutations

We’re only into week one of the rotating list of ‘Mutations’ coming to Left 4 Dead 2, but the code-burrowing Steam forum goers may have already dug up a good portion of the 20-plus game variations coming. We know that “Realism Versus” is legit, as is “Chainsaw [Massacre],” but the list is full of placeholders,…

Kotaku Off Topic: F**** C***

Feels good to be back in charge of Kotaku Off Topic, especially one of the highly coveted Friday editions of the post where anything goes conversationally. So get in here and let’s discuss. My off topic, off work weekend is surprisingly on topic. Tonight, I’ll be going to an event that I guess I’m not…

Left 4 Dead 2 ‘The Passing’ Review: The New Mutants

Valve’s first expansion to post apocalyptic zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2 makes one appreciate the developer’s gift with wordplay and just how important being able to see through walls is when battling the infected. The Passing brings new things to Left 4 Dead 2, including a new three-level campaign set in a wet Georgia…

A Curious Community Cameo For… Modnation Racers?

Chevy Chase, as character Pierce Hawthorne, plays but does not create or share with Modnation Racers on NBC’s Community, as not too surprisingly seen on the Sony Pictures Television produced sitcom. Thanks for the tip, Will!

Castlevania Finally Beaten By Man Using Dance Dance Revolution Pad

It has been done. The bounty of defeating NES classic Castlevania using nothing but a Dance Dance Revolution dance mat controller can finally be collected by one man, Nick Hagman, hot-stepping vampire slayer. Hagman bested the Wii Virtual Console version of Konami’s original Castlevania using nothing more than a Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix controller…

Japan’s Console War Still Even Steven

The battle for hardware dominance in Japan is, once again, kind of a wash, with the PSP and PlayStation 3 sitting atop the country’s weekly console war casualty count. The PSPgo and PlayStation 2 sit at the bottom. Wedged in between that PlayStation sandwich are Nintendo’s offerings, with the Wii taking second to the PS3…

Mario Still Tops Japan’s Game Charts, Travis Touchdown Never Had A Chance

New Super Mario Bros. Wii holds onto its first place position in Japan for another week, outselling every other console game in the nation, including the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 re-release of Grasshopper’s zany No More Heroes. No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise debuted in the top ten, but well below New Super Mario Bros.…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend, I’m taking to the skies with a little After Burner Climax, a series I haven’t really played since my late 80s obsession with After Burner II, and going underground with some Left 4 Dead 2. I had a brief obsession with After Burner II in the late ’80s, when I spent many a…

StarCraft II’s Cool, Sometimes Crazy Single Player Liberties

Blizzard is creating a wildly different experience for those who choose to play StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty’s single-player campaign, adding units, vehicles and upgrades that you just won’t see in multiplayer, from the familiar Firebat to the bizarre Predator. The last time we played StarCraft II’s single-player game, we laid out the unit, base…

Seven Minutes Of StarCraft II In All Its Single Player Glory

For a video companion to our new hands-on preview of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty’s single-player campaign, this seven minute long video of hot SCV on mineral action and giant laser drill management is just what the doctor ordered. Don’t expect drama, spoilers or sexy editing here. Instead enjoy the raw gameplay of StarCraft II…

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty: Once More Into The Campaign

While the rest of you are enjoying multiplayer scraps in Blizzard’s StarCraft II beta, we recently had an opportunity to go hands-on (again) with the single-player side of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. What has changed since last year? Plenty. This time, Blizzard showcased three new spoiler-laden missions from the game’s single-player portion, set about…

New StarCraft II Screens

Kotaku Off Topic: Left 4 Las Vegas

You Kotaku Off Topic talkers won’t have me to kick around tomorrow. You’ll have to discuss whatever it is that strikes your fancy without me, as I’ll be in Vegas where people will be talking about video games. What will I see? Your guess is as good as mine. Go on, guess. Do it in…

My Other Hoody Makes Me Look Like Tron Guy, Only Cooler

Are you wicked psyched for Tron Legacy? Or anything Tron for that matter? Then Threadless’ new t-shirt and hoody combo, inspired by the Disney film and capable of turning any guy or girl into a casually dressed Program, is for you. The “My Other Ride Is a Light Cycle” t-shirt and zip up hoody, designed…

Steam Gets Its Big Overhaul Next Week

Developer Valve is wrapping up the beta for its big changes to the Steam UI this week, promising to roll out the still-in-beta version of its PC gaming service to everyone next Monday. The beta version of Steam’s new UI kicked off in February, bringing with it a slick new interface, future compatibility with the…

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Scores Famitsu’s Latest 40/40

Japanese game magazine Famitsu has weighed in the latest Metal Gear Solid adventure, welcoming the new PlayStation Portable into the coveted ranks of game’s bearing the publication’s highest mark. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker has been rated 40/40. The latest Metal Gear game from Hideo Kojima and crew is the first game of 2010 to…

Is The New Silent Hill A First Person Shooter?

With Konami revealing very little about its all-new Silent Hill game, we’re left to speculate about which direction the psychological horror franchise will go. Will Silent Hill, like XCOM, make the first person shooter switch? Such was the speculation when Czech developer Vatra was pegged as the latest developer on the Silent Hill franchise, taking…

Lord of the Rings Online Team Snatched Up By Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. video game family grows again today, as does the its ownership of things that fall under The Lord of the Rings brand, with the acquisition of developer Turbine, maker of The Lord of the Rings Online. According to Warner’s announcement, that means “all games rights for the Lord of the Rings franchise will…

Project Natal & Its Instruction Manual(!) In The Wild

Looks like the Xbox 360’s motion sensing add-on is already in the wild and, more importantly, in the hands of someone willing to grab spy shots of the thing and the Project Natal hardware set up guide. While we’re trained to ignore video game manuals, the Project Natal set up guide tells us a thing…