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Red Dead Redemption: a Western, Under Cover
Firing from cover was a staple of Red Dead Revolver, so we can expect to see plenty more of it, and of situations requiring it, in the sequel Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar’s released four new screens showcasing the feature. Exclusive New Red Dead Redemption Screens: Taking Cover [Rockstar]
By Owen Good -
IGN Kicks Off Fund Drive for Haiti Relief
A life-size Lancer replica and an original painting from Bungie are among items IGN will auction next week in a 12-hour “webathon” to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. The fund raiser will be held beginning at noon U.S. Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, and includes contributions from industry luminaries moved to help the…
By Owen Good -
I Guess He’d Already Completed “Violation of Probation”
Guess what game Michael Ray Ekes was playing when the fuzz came to arrest him for stealing a car. Hint: It wasn’t “Possession of Burglary Tools with Intent to Use,” although he was also wanted for that. The Tampa Tribune had a big ol’ time informing us Ekes, 30, was playing hisself some Grand Theft…
By Owen Good -
Mega Man 10 Achievements are Typically Unreasonable
Cheevers looking for a quick 200 Gamerscore should steer clear of Mega Man 10, because the achievements it offers will be, per the usual, hard won. Of 12, all but three or four seem impossible to me. And the top payoff, “Mr. Perfect” – beat the whole game without taking any damage – delivers a…
By Owen Good -
The Best iPhone Games of 2009
While it’s a bit peculiar to give GOTYs for a single mobile device, none had as robust a library of games offering as Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch did in 2009. There are almost too many out there to offer an authoritative comparison of them all. But here are the ones I enjoyed – and…
By Owen Good -
MLB 10 Offers Six Classic Ballparks as Pre-Order Bonus
Six venues from baseball’s halcyon days will be offered as downloadable content for preorders of MLB 10: The Show, through GameStop and Amazon. Interestingly, Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, perhaps the most pined-for, long-since-demolished stadium in baseball lore, is not on the list. Nor are more recent casualties such as Tiger Stadium or Comiskey Park, which would…
By Owen Good -
MAG Makers Call Xbox Live “More Juvenile” than PSN
One would expect the developer behind a PS3 exclusive with an enormous online component to talk up the PlayStation Network. Ben Jones of Zipper Interactive went a smidge further, calling Xbox Live the “more juvenile” of the two services. Jones, speaking to GamerZines at an event in London, praised PSNers for being more willing to…
By Owen Good -
Uncharted 2 Leads Nominees for AIAS Awards
Uncharted 2’s 15 nominations lead all games up for honors at the Interactive Achievement Awards, given by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Assassin’s Creed II and Batman: Arkham Asylum also are among the multiple nominees, announced Thursday. Assassin’s Creed II got 10 nominations; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 nine; Batman: Arkham Asylum…
By Owen Good -
Borderlands Level Cap Raise Confirmed by Gearbox
About an hour ago, a Gearbox designer popped into the studio’s official forums to confirm that Borderlands’ level cap will be raised in the next DLC offering, which is “the biggest DLC we have made.” “Hopefully we can get a full announcement out to you guys soon,” said Jason Reiss, a level designer. He also…
By Owen Good -
Tiger Woods Confirmed for Console Release as EA Opens Online Beta
At risk of stealing its own thunder, EA Sports confirmed today that its next console golf simulation will feature beleaguered superstar Tiger Woods in the title; EA’s announcement came right as it opened the beta for its online golf game. Woods is currently on a leave from professional golf as he manages a very public,…
By Owen Good -
Super Mario Bros., with Fake Boobs and Fake Bakes
To satirize self-styled guidos (and guidettes) who better than Mario and Luigi? Dr. Coolsex, the group behind Mario Kart: The Movie, give us this send-up of TV fad Jersey Shore, and introduce to our lexicon the phrase “star-stealing koopa f***er.” [via Gay Gamer]
By Owen Good -
Visual Effects Society Announces Video Game Nominees
Uncharted 2, Fight Night Round 4 and Star Wars: The Old Republic are among eight nominees for awards recognizing outstanding achievements in video games and video game trailers, to be given by the Visual Effects Society in late February. The nominations, announced Saturday, are for “Outstanding Real-Time Visuals in a Video Game” and “Outstanding Visual…
By Owen Good -
Report: Tebow Likely for Cover of NCAA 11
Citing nothing deeper than industry chatter, a newspaper says the departing Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is close to finalizing a deal to appear on the cover of NCAA Football 11. EA Sports gave an expected no-comment to Kotaku, regarding the report in the Jacksonville Business Journal. But the selection of Tebow would be wholly unsurprising.…
By Owen Good -
The Lawyer-Mans Can’t Help a Gamer Out
A New York personal injury firm employs reverse psychology in this humorous TV spot, but it suggests that a power outrage forcing you to start over a level you were just about to beat doesn’t constitute pain and suffering. I wonder how law offices of Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman feel about the case of the…
By Owen Good -
EA Sports Now Taking Nickname Suggestions for NCAA Football
Kotaku’s in-depth pursuit of how and why NCAA Football 10 recognizes weird created-team nicknames – like Fightin’ Planets, Ingots and Orange Psychos – created enough fan reaction that EA Sports is accepting new nickname submissions through an official forum thread. Since the publication of Saturday’s Stick Jockey, I know I’ve been swamped with queries regarding…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Every Kiss Begins with Uranus
You might think you got your girl a nice sized rock when you popped the question, some gas giant at the edge of the solar system just blew the curve for the rest of us guys. Plenty of chatter today about games. Too much, even. Let’s take a break with some officially sanctioned off-topic discussion.…
By Owen Good -
Trendy Mario Bros.
Half of this seems about as hamfistedly hip as a Mentos ad, but a team of design students at a Milan university identified five top global trends – guerrilla gardening, couch-surfing, carpooling – and used Mario to illustrate them. I guess by planting trees on the sly you bring a Fiat dealership to town, turn…
By Owen Good -
U.S. Army Trains with “SimCity Bagdad”
Army officers are practicing counterinsurgency strategies for Iraq with using a video game plainly inspired by SimCity. In fact, a frustrated officer unprepared for the fall of Baghdad asked for such a thing by name years ago. UrbanSim is the name of the training program, profiled in an item in the current issue of The…
By Owen Good -
Unpaid Internet Bill Leads to Game-Blamed Stabbing
Game-blame news from Romania: a 15-year-old boy said to be “dependent” on video games stabbed to death his adoptive mother, after she refused to pay the Internet bill in hopes the disconnection would put an end to his Counter-Strike addiction. In the narrative of the attack the boy, Ionut Savin (pictured), stabbed his mother (on…
By Owen Good -
The Long Hello: Games ‘Arrive’ as a Threat to Network TV
Anyone old enough to remember RF switchers knows that video games and network television have long competed for the same eyeballs on the same TV set. Only recently does it feel like games are getting credit – or blame, rather – for contributing to the decline of prime time programming. This discussion has reconstituted itself…
By Owen Good
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