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Culture
Sunday Comics
Penny Arcade published June 16. PvPonline published June 14. ActionTrip published June 14. EXTRALIFE published June 14. Ctrl+Alt+Del published June 16. Dueling Analogs published June 17. Nerf NOW published June 14. Rooster Teeth published June 17. Monday Night Crew published June 14. Virtual Shackles published June 16. Little Gamers published June 14. Dotgif published June…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: A Real Vacation
While I’ve just gotten back from Los Angeles, my folks have hit the road for their first true vacation in years. Dad’s a tennis umpire, so he’s usually officiating tournaments in enjoyable parts of the country, and in the best locations he brings along Mom, since the hotel room’s already paid for. This time, however,…
By Owen Good -
Sins of a Solar Empire Publisher Produces Free Vuvuzela-Buster
We’re two weeks into the World Cup and the obnoxious drone of the vuvuzela hasn’t abated. Fear not, Stardock, which published Sins of a Solar Empire, made a free app that strips the horn’s noise from streaming broadcasts. World Cup fans have no doubt seen other vuvuzela filters and how-tos for driving down the range…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Is This the 3DS? Edition Winners
Putting the Nintendo 3DS’ rumored design to a vote makes for somewhat anticlimactic results a week later, since Tuesday we learned what it actually looks and plays like. But let’s turn back the clock to Sunday, when we didn’t. There were some serious entries that got commenter raves, and they’ve been recognized here. tsozikds merged…
By Owen Good -
Reviews
Sleepmaker Micro-Review: The App That Saved E3
It’s almost axiomatic that the worst snorers I know are also the nicest people. It adds an element of dread to vacations, road trips and working hotel stays one would otherwise look forward to, and it needlessly strains good relationships. I’m reminded of something my comedy friend Kenny said about another buddy of ours, Bruce,…
By Owen Good -
Get Blitzed with Monday Night Combat
Monday Night Combat, the class-based shooter coming soon from Uber Entertainment, is one of the “Summer of Arcade” titles releasing over five weeks beginning in July. Here is the game’s E3 trailer and some new screens detailing its Blitz mode. According to Uber, Blitz mode will face players with various challenges to protect their Money…
By Owen Good -
Microsoft Confirms Kinect Bundles, New $199 Xbox 360
Ask the right questions, get the right answers. An internal marketing Q&A for Microsoft about confirm that Kinect will be bundled with consoles, and a $199 configuration of its new Xbox 360 will be available this fall. In its document, Microsoft said Kinect would be available as a standalone device and as “part of a…
By Owen Good -
A Quiet E3 Foreshadows Sports Gaming’s Biggest Rivalry
Looking back, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s what I didn’t see at E3 that will provide, again, the juiciest story for the year in sports gaming: The showdown between NBA 2K11 and NBA Elite 11 Last year, both games were the closest they’ve been, in critical reception, since 2004, although NBA 2K thoroughly…
By Owen Good -
Win Some Sweet Shank Swag from E3
Who says you can’t get your hands on the best goodies given out during E3? Klei Entertainment, makers of the heavily anticipated Shank, gave us this badass maquette based on the game, and we both want you to have it. Klei founder Jamie Cheng and creative director Jeffrey Agala both autographed the box, which is…
By Owen Good -
Madden NFL 11 Cooperative Multiplayer Impressions: Ready on Three, Teamwork!
Last year, Madden introduced cooperative two-man multiplayer. This year, the gang at EA Sports Tiburon beefed that up to a three-on-three and blended in some features to draw out teamwork and communication among teammates. On offense, the available positions are quarterback, running backs and receivers (including tight ends). Selecting the latter two groups allows you…
By Owen Good -
Box Scores: This Space for Rent
We were either short on games or short on a week, or both, so in the aftermath of E3 we’ll dispense with the usual highlights and get straight to Kotaku’s sports gaming open thread. That’s not to say I played nothing this week. I saw lots, and I’m still writing it up. The big highlight…
By Owen Good -
Halo: Reach Campaign Eyes-On: Skyrockets in Flight
One of the more intriguing reveals of Microsoft’s E3 press conference was a brief glimpse of a spacefighter combat level in the upcoming Halo: Reach. The Bungie team gave a longer look at it during a closed-doors demonstration later. There will be only one spaceflight mission in the game, said Bungie’s Eric Osborne. What we…
By Owen Good -
The Moneysaver: Full Price Does Not Exist in This Dojo, Does It?
This is The Moneysaver, not a knitting class. You don’t come into my dojo, drop a challenge and leave, old man. Now you get your coupons on the mat, or you and I will have a major problem. Hardware • The new Xbox 360 slim console means price drops on old Elite bundles. The Xbox…
By Owen Good -
The Week in Review: Who ‘Won’ E3?
The word “game” implies something with a winner. And the planet’s biggest gathering of video games, and those who make them, fairly begs for one, too. Just like every year, it didn’t take long for a consensus to form on E3 2010’s champion. Sony took high marks for presentation – Kevin Butler’s call to arms,…
By Owen Good -
Lord of the Rings: War in the North Eyes-On Impressions: A Party of Three
Two things described by J.R.R. Tolkein in his Lord of the Rings trilogy haven’t been seen yet in video games: Bloody, brutal violence, and the War in the North. An action RPG due out in 2011 will deliver both. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is the first M-rated game for the…
By Owen Good -
Super Scribblenauts Impressions: One Simple Word
It’s tough to beat the wow factor of the dizzying dictionary of usable words in last year’s Scribblenauts for the DS. This year’s followup: Super Scribblenauts, doesn’t try to outdo that as much as perfect other aspects of the game. For starters, the controls. A loud, frequent request of Scribblenauts devotees, Maxwell gets D-pad controls,…
By Owen Good -
Red Faction: Armageddon Eyes-On Impressions: Opposites Attract, With Deadly Force
Let’s cut to the chase: You’re gonna want to see Red Faction: Armageddon‘s magna-gun in action. Sure, you’re also gonna want to see the game’s LEO suit, which provides that tasty, stompy ass-kicking brute force you’ve come to expect from mechas. But, when it was unveiled about midway through a 10-minute eyes-only demo of the…
By Owen Good -
Shank Hands-On: A Long Chain of (Dead) Fools
First I shanked the guy, then I shot him, then I stuffed a grenade down his throat and punched him in the face, then it exploded, and then he died. That’s Shank, a love note to old-school beat-em-ups and ridiculously long chained-attack sequences. Klei Entertainment’s second published game is coming late this summer for Xbox…
By Owen Good
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