Owen Good

Treyarch Confirms Map Pack 3 for PC CoDWaW

In the Treyarch official forums, Josh Olin, the community manager, confirms that Map Pack 3 for Call of Duty: World at War is coming to the PC, and a patch is also in the works. This is what he had to say: As with the previous two Map Packs, Map Pack 3 will indeed be…

List of Warcraft Expansion Content Leaves No Rumor Unturned

A truckload of details and features, alleged to be included in the as-yet unnanounced World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, has made its way out to the interwebs. This gets both spoiler alert and rumor treatment in the strongest terms possible. MMO Champion has put together this list, saying it comes from multiple sources. One of them…

Weekend Reader: The Themes of 9/11, and After, in TIE Fighter

TIE Fighter was released in 1994, a time in which serving as the instrument of an oppressive, corrupt government against insurgent forces didn’t raise the kind of uncomfortable questions such a game would after Sept. 11, 2001. But, however uncomfortable, there are similarities between the Empire’s prosecution of its war on the Rebellion and hegemony…

Ubisoft Dev Signs Off With a Flash

William David, a former designer for Ubisoft, felt he should finally take the plunge and strike out on his own. This week he left Ubisoft and uploaded this flash game as part explanation, in part thanks to his friends and co-workers. As someone who’s quit a lot of jobs, and part of a generation increasingly…

Madden Launch Returns to Its Roots — for One Weekend Only?

Time was, EA Sports‘ Madden franchise released on the weekend, not a Tuesday. “Madden Football Friday” predated the “Madden Holiday” of the past dozen or so years, and it returned again this week. But is it back for good? No, said Nathan Stewart, the EA Sports Director of Marketing. What took place this year was…

Weekend Coupons: Pencils, Notebooks, a Wii …

It’s August, so marketers will try to hook you for your back-to-school/college nostalgia, or use it to cross sell you some things you really don’t need, but probably want. Let’s have a look. Hardware: • Target’s targeting the beginning of back-to-college migration as a pretext for putting all sorts of study aids on sale. Basically,…

Kotaku Originals: Annual Affairs

They happen every year: QuakeCon, the Woodstock of Gaming. Totilo’s in Dallas, bringing back the peace and love. Madden also dropped this week; with a splurge of coverage and controversy. And console price rumors? Oh, right, they happen every day. The week in original reporting on Kotaku: Kotaku’s QuakeCon 2009 Coverage News Former LucasArts President…

Eat that, ho.

Madden Launch: It Happens Every Year

Last night the Springfield, Ore., Game Crazy treated about a dozen people to tailgate food and a Madden tournament. Despite the hype, the launch memories many of them shared had little to do with the highest-selling franchise of all time. Resident Evil 5 was bigger, said Travis Wade, 27, a store employee. Halo 3 was,…

EA Working on Adding Vick to Madden Roster [Second Update]

Within hours of Madden NFL 10’s midnight launch, NFL pariah Michael Vick was signed to a two-year contract with Philadelphia. Vick’s not included on the retail version’s roster, so an immediate question is, when will he be added? Update: EA Sports Rob Semsey says, pending NFL and NFL Players Association approval, Michael Vick will be…

EA Provides Solution for Aussies’ Missing Madden Codes

EA Sports has come up with a way to get online franchise codes for Madden NFL 10 to anyone who bought the game and didn’t find their code printed on the back of the instruction manual. The glitch came to light yesterday and seems to mainly affect regions outside North America, specifically Australia. This process…

Thousands Attend Iowa Hall of Fame Launch

More than 3,500 people, including U.S. Rep David Loebsack and Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, attended a kickoff event today for the International Video Games Hall of Fame, which Ottumwa, Iowa leaders plan to build in their community. Chris Hoeksema, a member of the Hall’s exploratory committee, said the 3,500 figure represented those who donated…

Aussie Madden Has No Free Online Franchise Codes. Here’s Mine [Update]

Australia, homeland of beloved former Chargers punter Darren Bennett, got Madden NFL 10 a day earlier than the rest of the world – part of that whole day-ahead, winter-is-summer, up-is-down, toilets-flush-in-reverse thing. But they didn’t get free Online Franchise codes. EA Sports spokesman Rob Semsey confirmed that the codes were, mistakenly, not printed on the…

Send Us Your Madden Launch Pics, Stories

This year’s Madden launch is midnight Friday, rather than Tuesday. So if you’re picking it up at 12:01 a.m., if you’re going to a retailer party, if you’re already playing with a broken street date copy, send us your pics. We’ll round them up tomorrow to show sports gamers indulging in their holiest of days,…

Madden NFL 10 Review: Slow and Steady Wins the Game

Madden football is always like a new girlfriend. You spend about four dates wondering where this is going, and then maybe something happens that makes you want to spend all your time with her. Madden NFL 10 turns up the charm this year with its subtlety, hoping you’ll take some time with its gameplay, and…

Fallen Earth Open Beta Begins Next Week

Due for release Sept. 9, Fallen Earth, the post-apocalyptic MMO – and really, what isn’t post-apocalyptic these days – will begin its open beta next week, according to the game’s official website. Players who want a taste of the action, which combines skill-based gameplay with that of an FPS, plus a real premium on crafting,…

iPhone Lite Game Pulled as Full Game Sits in Approval Hell

IUGO Mobile Entertainment’s A.D.D. has a lite version up on the iTunes store, but its full premium version has loitered in review purgatory for nearly three months. As a result, the dev has decided to pull out its free version. Pocket Gamer’s reporting that, while A.D.D. Lite is still up on the U.S. store, IUGO…

Two Minutes of Risk: Halo Wars GameBoardplay

The Halo franchise’s real-time simulator is getting ported into the seminal analog turn-based strategy game RISK, that we knew. This video shows the three factions, three modes of play, and player pieces included in Risk: Halo Wars Collector’s Edition. The vaguely Europe-y map features 42 territories to conquer. Oh look, “Command Room” features “achievements”! The…

World at War is Half Off Through Thursday

Steam’s midweek bonanza is a neat bisection of Call of Duty: World at War‘s retail price. Ordinarly $50, you can grab it for $24.99 until Thursday. The franchise just dropped its third map pack – for the PS3 and Xbox 360 – but the first is still lurking out there for the PC version –…

EGM/Maxim Subscription Swap Not a Hit with Moms

When news passed that Electronic Games Monthly subscribers would have their subscriptions to the folded, venerable mag replaced with Maxim, you just knew something like this was gonna happen. Twelve-year-old Jake O’Donnell of Boston got an eyeful of side- and underbooby when Maxim showed up this past month, and mom Kathleen is – I gotta…