Michael McWhertor

After Burner Climax XBLA Screens Barrel Roll Online

The reality of After Burner Climax making the leap from arcade to consoles becomes that much more clear, thanks to a new batch of screens from the game, reportedly of the Xbox Live Arcade version. While we’d heard about the newest After Burner game coming to the PlayStation Network, according to new shots of the…

Gamer Comes Home To Blu-ray, DVD

You can now own (OK, rent) last year’s video game turned mind-controlling futuristic bloodsport, Gamer on handy DVD and Blu-ray formats, giving you a chance to enjoy the movie that Crecente called “more Second Life than Counter-Strike.” Before you go ahead and buy this thing—or more likely, add it to your Netflix queue—you can see…

2009 Game of the Year Finalist Debate: Demon’s Souls

The brilliantly immersive Demon’s Souls, unfortunately known better for its brutal difficulty than its rebellious game design, is my choice for the title most deserving of the accolade “Game of the Year.” From Software’s original role-playing game is admittedly challenging. The constant cycle of death and rebirth is not the escapist entertainment that’s often expected…

Kotaku Off Topic: Bonus Round

Earlier today, I hauled it over to MTV’s Santa Monica offices to tape an episode of GameTrailers’ Bonus Round, joining Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter and Shacknews’ Garnett Lee for a rousing debate about the games of 2010. That means I’ve had plenty of game related talk today, thank you very much. So let’s talk…

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days: Eyes-On With The Best Worst Camera Ever

Kane & Lynch’s raw and grimy aesthetic extends to something rarely expected in IO Interactive’s sequel—the camera. In a game full of unlikable and unattractive characters, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days’ damaged goods visuals fit right in. After sitting in on a hands-off demonstration of two of Kane & Lynch 2’s levels at Square…

Quantum Theory Gears Up For March Release On PS3, 360

Tecmo’s third-person shooter Quantum Theory has a release date (okay, window) for North American Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners looking for, well, I guess something new to play. The newly multiplatform “TPS” follows the Gears of War gameplay and aesthetic closely, adding in an AI-controlled co-op partner and an organic shapeshifting tower as the…

Nintendo DS Outsells Game Boy Advance In The U.S.

Nintendo had a very happy holiday in the United States, shattering sales records by selling more than 7 million hardware units in December 2009 between the Wii and Nintendo DS. But Nintendo has a few more records to brag about. The company announced that lifetime U.S. sales for the Wii have surpassed 27.2 million units.…

VVVVVV Micro-review: AAAAAAH!!!

Gravity flipping intergalactic platformer and death by spike simulator VVVVVV has already resulted in heavy casualties at Kotaku. My first playthrough of the game ended with my character dying more than 900 times. Such is the torment of VVVVVV, an old-school platformer from developer Terry Cavanagh featuring simple controls and a smartly explored mechanic. Unlike…

You Will Download PS3 Firmware 3.15 And Like It

PlayStation 3 owners, you must download the latest firmware for the console, whether you want to play PSP minis on the thing or not. The previously optional firmware update (v3.15) has been upgraded to mandatory. Download now! [PlayStation.com]

Kingdom Hearts Does Wonders For PSP In Japan

The release of Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep has given the PlayStation Portable a sales boost, while other platforms faltered this week. The PSP sits atop (and at the bottom of) this week’s hardware chart. The PSP moved nearly 150,000 units this past week in Japan, likely aided by the solid sales of…

Phoenix Rises, Tom Petty Lives Next Week On Rock Band

Rock Band expands next week with a batch of live tracks from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, plus a smattering of new tunes from French rock darlings Phoenix and Southern flavored rockers Silvertide. The following new additions to the Rock Band library of songs will be available on Xbox 360 and Wii starting January 19…

Quantum Theory Screens

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’ll be basking in the soothing voiceover work of one Nolan North this weekend as I play an obscene amount of both Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin’s Creed II. I have Game of the Year research to do, arguments about Demon’s Souls to make and opinionated Kotaku editors to debate. Having not had much…

The Tekken Movie Trailer Does Not Disappoint

Oh, I don’t mean from a quality perspective, because the movie adaptation of Namco Bandai’s popular fighter looks deliciously awful. But the fighting game movie bar has been set extremely low for Tekken. The first trailer for the live action flick is heavy on reminding you that someone competing in the Iron Fist tournament is…

Kotaku Off Topic: No Bucky

Look, I’m in a big hurry, so you’re going to have to drive tonight’s Kotaku Off Topic while I have dinner and a meeting. So let’s start with the non-video game related conversatin’. Not much in the way of interesting links during my travels through the internet, and I won’t bore you with the details…

R.I.P. Calling All Cars! Online, 2007-2010

Today marked the end of online support for Calling All Cars!, the debut PlayStation Network game from David Jaffe‘s Eat Sleep Play studio, leading the outspoken developer to eulogize the game and express his thoughts about its cool reception. Jaffe wrote about Calling All Car!’s success, or lack thereof, in his typically frank fashion last…

PlayStation Store Update: “Update” Edition

Technically, the North American PlayStation Store has been updated, but unless you’ve been dying for some Vampire Weekend for Guitar Hero 5 or that Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 table for Zen Pinball, this week’s update just barely qualifies. Sure, we’ve been spoiled! Normally, we’d expect to see something like an UNO demo at the end…

NPD: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Stomps The Competition, More Than 2.8 Million Sold

In December, New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold another 2.82 million copies to U.S. consumers, pushing the game past the 4 million mark in the United States, according to the NPD Group. That’s the start of good news for Nintendo. Nintendo also sold another 2.4 million copies of Wii Fit Plus and 1.79 million copies…

Nintendo Hardware Sells More Than 7 Million To Win December ’09

Nintendo hardware dominated the holidays last year, with the Wii and Nintendo DS crushing the hardware competition, according to new sales figures from the NPD Group. The Wii alone outsold the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP and PlayStation 2 combined, moving 3.81 million units in the United States last month. It was followed closest by…

IGDA Condemns Alleged Rockstar Work Conditions As “Exploitative, Harmful”

The International Game Developers Association has weighed in on accusations from the anonymous blogger(s) alleging unfair working conditions at Rockstar San Diego, calling the practice of “excessive crunch” during Red Dead Redemption‘s development “deceptive, exploitative, and ultimately harmful.” The statement from the IGDA does not solely focus on the rumored work conditions at Rockstar San…