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Battlefield 3 Still Can’t Dethrone Black Ops
The latest Xbox Live activity list—the first covering a full week of Battlefield 3 availability—shows that more people are still playing 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops online. BF3 is second, then Modern Warfare 2
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2011 -
30 Seconds of Skyward Sword: A Masterpiece of a Forest
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has beautiful graphics, despite the fact that it runs on dated hardware. In this game, artistry repeatedly trumps technological limitations. I want to show you one example of the game’s great look in one of the first areas you can reach in the game. This is the game’s forest,…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2011 -
These Are the Most Interesting New Comic Books This Week, $125 Fantastic Four Included
The most expensive comic collection I’ll buy this year is out today, plus a batch of other new comic books that you can buy in shops or (legally!) for download. As always, I have recommendations. This time, our own Evan Narcisse lends a hand, too… Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops) Avenging Spider-Man…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2011 -
This is Super Mario 3D Land‘s Zelda Tribute Level, 5-2
The new Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda with a tribute level. The Nintendo creators working on the game showed a glimpse of the level in June. We just played it today. Take a look. It’s world 5-2, and while this may spoil it a…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 9, 2011 -
30 Seconds of Skyward Sword: A Clever Musical Trick
The music of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is delightful. The musical trick the game’s creators pull in the game’s main shopping area, the bazaar, is one of the first things I discovered in the game that made me smile. Lisen to the clip here to hear how the music changes as Link walks…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2011 -
XCOM Delayed past March 2012
The first-person shooter reinvention of PC classic X-COM has been delayed past its March date to some time in publisher Take Two’s 2013 Fiscal Year. It will be out between April 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2011 -
This is What Happens If you Stink at Super Mario 3D Land
If at first you don’t succeed at Super Mario 3D Land, try again. If you fail a second or a fifth time, Nintendo will help you out. Despite the relative ease of the first several worlds of Super Mario 3D Land I struggled enough in one level to find out how Nintendo helps players who…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2011 -
Waiting for a Crash Bandicoot Comeback
Spyro the Dragon made a comeback this year, co-starring in Activision’s ambitious Skylanders series, but what about Spyro’s PlayStation contemporary, that loud-mouthed anti-Mario called Crash Bandicoot? Crash hasn’t had a new console game since 2008. He’s fallen off the map, and he’s probably not going to come back as a Skylander. We asked Activision CEO…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2011 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves of the Year
Is this the best Talk Amongst Yourselves pic of the year? It might be. Admire it and then please talk here about video games. Thanks to Shadoroch for today’s amazing image. You outdid yourself! Take a crack at being featured atop TAY some time this month simply by making a hilarious Photoshop or some other…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2011 -
So Far, Super Mario 3D Land is a Breeze, But There’s Something Special Here
You can jump over the flagpole in Super Mario 3D Land. Nothing special happens. I figured that out this morning, while riding the F train in New York City and balancing myself just right so I could keep playing without falling over my fellow commuters. On that same train ride I learned that I can…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 7, 2011 -
The Man Who Wants to Re-Invent Toys Before Video Games Destroy Them
A few years ago, Paul Reiche and his team of game developers in Northern California were given a purple dragon and asked to make something cool with it. They were being asked to make a new game about Spyro the Dragon, an old PlayStation favorite created by a different group of California developers who had…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 7, 2011 -
‘The Video Game Industry Have Profited From Fear and Anxiety About Terrorism,” Professor Says
Suffolk University Professor Nina Huntemann is probably not calling in sick tomorrow to play Modern Warfare 3. She’s no fan. Amid all the hype for the release of this year’s huge first person shooter, she wants anyone who will listen to know what’s wrong with Modern Warfare, Battlefield and the rest of video game’s interactive…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 7, 2011 -
30 Seconds of Skyward Sword: Link’s Indiana Jones Moment
I’m 25 hours into The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword I can assure you that there are some cool moments in the game. At least a few! Over the next few days, I’ll share some short ones. I won’t give much away, but they’ll provide you a flavor of what’s in Skyward Sword from someone…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 7, 2011 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Do a barrel roll and then talk about video games. Do it all right here in the comments section of Kotaku‘s one and only open forum about video games, Talk Amongst Yourselves. Thanks to pan1da7 all-star for today’s image. Take a crack at being featured atop TAY some time this month simply by making a…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 7, 2011 -
We Have 10 Minutes of Super Mario 3D Land to Show You
Super Mario 3D Land will be out on November 13, but I have it now. I’m in a sharing mood. Not enough of a sharing mood to lend you my copy, but enough of a mood to show you 10 minutes of World 1. In this video, you’ll see me perform mediocre run-throughs of Worlds…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 4, 2011 -
Nintendo’s Delivery of Super Mario 3D Land Didn’t Embarrass Me. Nope. Not at All.
Earlier this week, Nintendo FedExed me a copy of their next Zelda game. FedEx wasn’t good enough for their next Mario game. No, to deliver Super Mario 3D Land they went the extra ridiculous mile. This was shot today at Kotaku’s New York City offices. You can contact Stephen Totilo, the author of this post,…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 4, 2011 -
Gears of War 3 Creator Explains Why They’re Charging To Unlock Content that’s Already on the Disc
The $10 worth of new content that went on sale digitally for Gears of War 3 this week is mostly already included on the Gears of War 3 disc that gamers bought for $60. It’s fair to charge extra for content that is already on the game disc you bought, one of the game’s lead…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 4, 2011 -
This is the Pretty Facebook Game from People Who Made Age of Empires and Halo Wars
Once. Twice. Three times. The folks at Zynga kept telling me the same thing, because they want me to know it. And they want you to know it: The next big game from Zynga, the one that follows FarmVille, FrontierVille, and CityVille has been created by people who used to work at Ensemble Studios. They…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 4, 2011 -
The next Alan Wake Will Indeed be an Xbox Live Downloadable Game
Mr. Xbox, Major Nelson, confirmed some rumor and speculation today, saying that the Alan Wake game that will be shown at this year’s Spike Video Game Awards will be a downloadable game. We’ll know more in the coming weeks.
By Stephen Totilo Published November 3, 2011
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