Michael McWhertor

PSP Go Hands-On Impressions

Sony introduced the PSP Go at today’s E3 media briefing, a smaller, pricier alternative to the already available PSP-3000. That new model was available on the E3 show floor, attached to new PSP games. We got to go hands on when the show opened. The PSP Go is much more narrow than the original, a…

First Metroid: Other M Screens

Nintendo is partnering with Team Ninja, not Retro Studios, for the newest outer space adventure starring Samus Aran, Metroid: Other M. The Wii game is a mix of first and third-person action. It looks spectacular. Team Ninja looks like it will do wonderful things with the Wii hardware, giving Metroid fans who crave a return…

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Hits Nintendo DS This Fall

Nintendo of America is bringing Mario & Luigi RPG3!!! for the Nintendo DS to the West as Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the latest role-playing game to star the dynamic plumbing duo. The “inside” in the game’s title is quite literal, as you’ll travel through the guts of Mario and Luigi arch-nemesis Bowser in…

Sony’s E3 Expo Live Blog

The third and final major console keynote is about to begin, as Sony takes the E3 stage to talk about everything PlayStation: PlayStation 3, PSP, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Network. Not expected? Chewbacca. Sony’s E3 media briefing may still hold some surprises, despite early reveals of the PSP Go, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the…

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, Flipnote Studios Coming To DSiWare

Nintendo’s DSiWare downloadable service is about to get a new Mario game, as Nintendo has announced Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! for the Nintendo DSi. And it’s coming next Monday. The third installment in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong franchise will follow the same puzzle solving gameplay made popular by its predecessors, but…

Nintendo’s E3 Expo Live Blog

Get your faces ready, because Nintendo is about to deposit a big, fat smile on it this morning, as it holds its E3 2009 media briefing. Remember, this year, Nintendo is all about the games. That could mean that we’ll hear more about Nintendo’s plans for a Super Mario Bros. game for the Wii, see…

Tecmo Surprises Us With Fret Nice, The Guitar Controller Platformer

Fret Nice, the indie platformer that you play with a Guitar Hero a controller—or possibly with a Rock Band guitar controller—is coming to a console near you, thanks to Tecmo. The surprising addition to Tecmo’s E3 2009 lineup—which also includes Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Quantum and Undead Knights—is coming to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live…

Rapid-fire Forza 3, L4D2, Halo ODST Impressions Now Being Tweeted

Brian “Mr. Manager” Crecente and Stephen “Deputy Dog” Totilo are at Microsoft’s E3 VIP get together, playing the latest and greatest Xbox 360 games, including Forza Motorsport 3, Halo: ODST and Left 4 Dead 2. They’re offering their hands-on impressions in 140 characters-or-less bursts, including Totilo’s take on Halo: ODST‘s new “Firefight” gameplay option, described…

APB E3 Trailer Full Of Cops, Criminals

Electronic Arts is bringing Realtime Worlds‘ massively multiplayer cops and robbers game APB to a PC near you. Take one part MMO, one part GTA, add tons of tattoo ink and you get this. The Crackdown developers are giving thousands of players the opportunity to side with either the Criminals or the Enforcers, both of…

Kojima Taking On Castlevania With Lords Of Shadow

The reins of Konami’s Castlevania franchise may be handed to Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions, as the developer is listed as partly responsible for a new game in the series Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Lords of Shadow was actually announced at last year’s Games Convention, a title to be developed by Madrid-based Mercury Steam and…

Metal Gear Solid: Rising Destined For Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Hideo Kojima sneaked onto stage at Microsoft’s E3 2009 press briefing today to let the world know that the Metal Gear Solid series was coming to the Xbox 360. That new game is definitely multi-platform. Since Microsoft didn’t make mention of Metal Gear Solid: Rising being exclusive to its console, we had a pretty good…

Kojima’s PSP Metal Gear Is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker?

Metal Gear Solid is coming to the Xbox 360. We know that. But another Metal Gear Solid is also coming to the PSP. Oh, we knew that too! Here’s what we didn’t know until now. That new portable Metal Gear game is more than likely called Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, as GamesPress is listing…

All You Need Is The Beatles: Rock Band Debut Trailer

.html I may not be the biggest Beatles fan, but it was hard to deny the appeal of the first trailer for The Beatles: Rock Band. It looks fab. This career-spanning look at The Beatles first video game shows off the variety of visual styles that will be highlighted in The Beatles: Rock Band, as…

Forza Motorsport 3 Screens Zoom Into View

If there’s one word that Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios thought best described Forza Motorsport 3 five separate times, it was “definitive.” As in Forza 3 will be the definitive racing game of this generation. Turn 10’s competition Polyphony Digital may take issue with that, should it ever get Gran Turismo 5 out the door,…

Alan Wake Story Details, New Screens

Xbox 360 exclusive psychological action thriller Alan Wake is hitting Spring 2010, telling the story of a bestselling author’s battle with writer’s block. Obviously, that battle gets a little more interesting when shotguns are involved. Developer Remedy, responsible for the Max Payne series, is bringing “multilayered character interactions, unique problem-solving and intense combat against terrifying…

Meet Left 4 Dead 2’s New Survivors, See First Screens

Valve is turning a sequel around in record Valve time, announcing today that Left 4 Dead 2 will be hitting the Xbox 360 and PC later this year. Meet the new zombie apocalypse Survivors. Since Left 4 Dead 2 takes place roughly at the same time as the events of the original and far away…

Facebook, Twitter Coming To Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 will be added Twitter and Facebook to its list of web services, Microsoft announced today, with some of those social networking services interact with the console’s game library. Microsoft’s Facebook implementation on the Xbox 360 looks to offer much of what’s available via a regular web browser: status updates, photo sharing, email…

Xbox 360 Avatars Getting New Outfits, Props, Marketplace

Microsoft announced today that the Xbox 360 Avatars will be getting an upgrade, with new items, known as Awards and Props, coming soon to add further personalization to your New Xbox Experience character. That includes free items, add-ons and outfits that you can win, as well as Avatar items that you can purchase from the…

Kotaku Party Tonight

Final warning! Kotaku’s pre-E3 party is happening tonight. So come out, have a drink with us, enjoy the company of your fellow Kotakuites and party semi-responsibly. Don’t make us liveblog with hangovers! The Kotaku crew is heading to the lovely and historic Golden Gopher in downtown Los Angeles for a night of drinks, chit chat,…

Report: New Mario Game, Online Wii Fit Plus For 2009

Nintendo will release Wii Fit Plus, recently trademarked in Japan, and a new Mario game later this year, both for the Wii, according to a report from Japan’s regularly reliable Nikkei newspaper. According to the report, the follow up to the 18 million unit selling Wii Fit will come with online functionality, allowing Wii Fit…