Michael McWhertor

Valhalla Games Focusing On One Title, Itagaki Focusing On Sake Intake

Former Team Ninja lead Tomonobu Itagaki has set up shop at Valhalla Game Studios, aligning himself with numerous ex-developers of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden games, all working together to focus on just one game… for now. Itagaki tells 1UP that “Valhalla will compete in the field of mainstream, packaged games so it wouldn’t…

Nintendo’s First Wii Game Powered By Google

The Wii is getting a new family-friendly party game—at least in Japan—dubbed And Kensaku that features an unusual partner: Google. Nintendo and developer Shift will be releasing the Google search-powered game next month. According to details from Siliconera, And Kensaku taps into some 10,000 Google search terms and trends, with the option to download additional…

The Last Story Has Ships That Travel By Water, Not By Air

Nintendo recently revealed The Last Story, the first Wii game from role-playing game specialists Mistwalker, but instead of showing actual screens, it’s focusing its energy on highlighting concept art. This time, we get a preview of the game’s ships. While we’ve already basked in the conceptual glory of The Last Story’s islands, cities and NPCs,…

Darksiders Puts The PC Back In Apocalypse

THQ’s apocalyptic adventure Darksiders isn’t forgetting about the PC gaming crowd, with a slightly late port of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game coming to Windows users at some point in the future. Wait, make that “June.” The official reveal of Darksiders for the PC doesn’t offer much in the way of details, just…

A Super Sweet Super Mario Bros. Peep Show

Super Mario Bros. recreated in marshmallow Peeps form, for the Washington Post‘s annual Peep Show competition. Thanks, Allison!

The Grinder For Wii Will Still Be A First-Person Shooter

Just because High Voltage Software’s horror shoot ’em up The Grinder is making the leap to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, transitioning from first-person perspective to top-down shooter, doesn’t mean the original Wii version is dead. Far from it. According to High Voltage’s CEO Eric Nofsinger, the Wii version is still a going concern,…

Finally, Some Metroid: Other M Gameplay

Don’t let the first 30 seconds of this new Metroid: Other M trailer fool you. Wedged in the middle of more pre-rendered Samus Aran action is actual gameplay of the new Wii adventure (and *ahem* Zero Suit Samus footage). Not only does Metroid: Other M look fantastic in motion, it looks fast—Team Ninja fast, at…

First Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Details Go Beyond Amazing

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-man is going on a spectacular multi-dimensional adventure in his next outing, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which sends old Web-head to realities both “amazing” and “noir.” Let’s hope the two remaining mystery realms don’t include a “suck” dimension. The previously teased Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will toss Spider-Man into four separate Marvel universes, according…

Sega Channels Conduit 2 To Wii This Fall

High Voltage Software will give fans of its original shooter The Conduit another opportunity to enjoy first-person shooting thrills on the Wii. The latest issue of Nintendo Power unveils the sequel, Conduit 2. That’s Conduit 2, not The Conduit 2, it appears, for reasons that are still unclear. But what is clear is what Sega…

After Burner Climax Comes To Xbox Live, PlayStation Network In April

It’s blue skies and barrel rolls for After Burner fans, as Sega puts a date and price on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network release of arcade dogfighter After Burner Climax. On April 21, After Burner Climax touches down on XBLA for 800 Microsoft Points ($10 USD, give or take). One day later, it…

Kotaku Off Topic: Basket Case

Wipe away that case of the Mondays, Kotaku readers, and do so with a little off topic conversation that can be cleansing and cathartic. The comment thread in this post is yours for the taking. Of course, if you want to talk about bunnies and Cadbury Creme Eggs and Easter basket grass, that’s your prerogative.…

LittleBigPlanet Gets Incredibles In April

It may not be the timeliest of additions to the LittleBigPlanet virtual closet, but Sackboys and Sackgirls will get some Pixar-designed clothing choices this week. Nine new costumes from The Incredibles hit the PlayStation Store this Thursday. The Incredibles costumes pack features the five costumes you see above, plus a “Retro” Mr. Incredible get up,…

The Insanely Good Looking Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet Is Coming To Xbox Live Arcade

Artist Michel Gagne’s stunning Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will be coming to consoles, thanks to developer Fuelcell Games and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade service. Why is this important? Because this game looks amazing. The confirmation of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet’s platform likely won’t come as much of surprise to those who have closely followed the…

The Grand Theft Auto ‘Hot Coffee’ Payout Checks Are In The Mail

If you ever owned a copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, specifically the naughty version that contained the crude, digital doggy-styling mission known as “Hot Coffee,” you may already be five U.S. dollars richer. Publisher Take-Two is sending out checks. Those checks are part of publisher Take-Two Interactive’s efforts to “voluntarily fulfill all properly-submitted…

The Best Way To Brick Your Console (And Have It Still Play Pong)

Guus Oosterbaan’s dedicated Pong console, encased in cement, as seen on the creator’s blog, via Make and Gizmodo.

Green Day: Rock Band Full Of Dookie, American Idiot

Retailer Play.com is apparently confirming—and re-confirming—27 tracks from the upcoming Green Day: Rock Band, noting that two of the punk band’s albums, 1994’s Dookie and 2004’s American Idiot, will be included in the game “in their entirety.” MTV Games and Harmonix have officially confirmed a handful of songs from the albums Nimrod, American Idiot and…

Enslaved May Have The Prettiest Post-Apocalypse Yet

Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory’s next game, Enslaved, may offer the most pleasant looking post-apocalyptic environment ever, as new screen shots of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game illustrate. Sure, the environments in Enslaved definitely look dilapidated enough, but they don’t have that post-nuclear feel that its end of the world peers have. Namco…

Expect More Extreme Violence When The Fist Of The North Star Heads West

Koei’s latest massive beat ’em up—known as Hokuto Musou in Japan, simply Fist of the North Star for the West—will get a little something extra when it comes westward: the extreme violence that we so desperately need. While the newly released Fist of the North Star game with Dynasty Warriors mechanics is already bursting with…

BioWare’s Secret Countdown Ends On A Bazaar Note

The maker of Dragon Age and Mass Effect has ended its online countdown clock teasing, revealing something that isn’t a new game, isn’t a batch of fresh downloadable content and isn’t a port of Mass Effect 2. It’s the BioWare Bazaar. The BioWare Bazaar isn’t a new game feature, it’s simply a chance for fans…

Enslaved Artwork