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Voodoo Vince, Kazooie and the Crew from Brute Force Not Part of the Xbox E3 2011 Hype
What can a gamer glean from an invitation sent to reporters for Microsoft’s 2011 E3 press briefing? Not much. What can that gamer glean from the stickers that came with it—especially if this gamer’s sleuthing skills were recently enhanced by L.A. Noire? Not much more. You’re looking at a set of stickers mailed received by…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 23, 2011 -
A Rare Video Game Re-Mix of the Bible, in the Form of a Gorgeous Action Game
Lucifer is charming in what is probably his biggest video game appearance of the year. He’s a pal. He’s smooth. He calls God on a cell phone. He wears fashionable jeans. “Lucifer is likable in this game,” Shane Bettenhausen told me as he was recently showing me his company’s next big adventure, El Shaddai: Ascension…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 23, 2011 -
How To Kill a Pedestrian in L.A. Noire
The citizens of Los Angeles, as rendered in Team Bondi and Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire are fleet of fun. It is hard to run them down, as we’ve made clear in video before. But it can be done. I had thought, originally, that L.A. Noire‘s pedestrians were unkillable, that their reflexive repulsion from the approaching…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 23, 2011 -
Are the Next Ratchet & Clank‘s Pre-Order Incentives Cool or are They Just Supposed to Piss Fans Off?
According to the people who want to sell us the next Ratchet & Clank game, “everyone’s favorite Ratchet & Clank weapon” is the Sheepinator, a gun that transforms bad guys into sheep. According to these same game-selling people, the only way for any series fan to get the “classic version” of that weapon in the…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
Will Modern Warfare 3 Skip The Wii?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be out this fall, but whether it’s coming out for the Wii is a shaky proposition. The early indication, if a listing by retail giant GameStop is accurate, is that it isn’t. The gaming chain’s web-page for MW3 lists three versions—Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Wii critics…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
Blip Festival 2011, Photos by Chris Person
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
Blip Festival 2011, Photos by EMi Spicer
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
Macho Man Randy Savage Killed in Car Accident
Randy Poffo, better known as 1980s pro wrestling icon Randy “Macho Man” Savage died today at the age of 58 after suffering a heart attack and losing control of his vehicle, TMZ reported today The news outlet confirmed the death with Savage’s brother, Lanny Poffo. Savage was best known as one of the top stars…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
Rockstar Says Reports of L.A. Noire Locking Up Xbox 360s Are ‘Categorically Untrue’
Rockstar Games has been unable to replicate any Xbox 360 lock-ups while running L.A. Noire, calling any reports that blame the label’s hot new game for 360 freezes as “categorically untrue.” The company’s official blog offers links for tech support, a day after it also shot down fears that PlayStation 3 firmware was meddling with…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
New Gears of War 3 Teaser Shows Who Marcus Fenix is Fighting For
The new Gears of War 3 trailer is short. Vryshrt. It’s just a tease of another trailer that will debut on May 28 during the Champions League Final Match (soccer, right?) and during Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in the U.S. The Gears people say that the full trailer will provide “a…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2011 -
L.A. Noire Looks Quite Nice in its Official Black & White Mode
I wanted L.A. Noire to be in black and white. It seemed fitting, given the 1947 noir feel its creators were going. I even sapped the color out of one L.A. Noire trailer’s last year to see what it would look like. I don’t have to wonder any more. Here’s a look at the game’s…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 19, 2011 -
To-Do In New York: Bring your Ears to the Blip Festival
Blip Festival 2011 starts… tonight! Never mind that it’s almost tonight. If you like chiptunes, if you want to hear music that bleeps and bloops rather than hums and sings, if you like lo-fi electronica, or if you just want to increase your odds of bumping into Kotaku columnist Leigh Alexander, go to the festival.…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 19, 2011 -
Rockstar No Longer Blaming PlayStation Firmware for Rare L.A. Noire PS3 Overheating
After sending mixed signals last night that PlayStation 3 firmware 3.61 was causing some PS3s to overheat while running L.A. Noire, Rockstar Games said today that the firmware isn’t the culprit. “We have received a very small number of customer support questions about PS3’s overheating or shutting down while playing L.A. Noire,” the company said…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 19, 2011 -
Lego Harry Potter Sequel is Official, Ends List of Obvious Lego Video Games
Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7, the expected series-closing sequel to last year’s delightful Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, will be out late this year, according to a Warner Bros. press release this morning. The company has their Lego specialists Travellers Tales on the case again and will be putting the game out on a ton…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 19, 2011 -
The Old Republic, Silver the Hedgehog and a Surprisingly Interesting Rocketeer Revival
There are new comics in comic books shops every Wednesday, plus new ones on the iPad and other portable devices with nice screens. Some of these comics are about video games, some aren’t. I’m here to recommend a few. Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops) Rocketeer Adventures #1 Why is the Rocketeer popular?…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 -
The Difference Between L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto
I enjoy L.A. Noire. I enjoy it for reasons that have nothing to do with why I enjoyed Grand Theft Auto IV. Despite superficial similarities, two games are barely alike, which I’ve carefully explained before But when I put L.A. Noire in the hands of someone who loves GTA, guess what he tried to do…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 -
We Took a Field Trip to the Minecraft School
A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Matt Toder and I visited a second-grade class that is being taught—mostly during school hours—how to play Minecraft. We’d heard about it and read about it. We had to see it. It’s real. And the kids, well, they’re learning in ways we sure wish we could have when…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 -
Resistance 3 is Now the Leading Contender for Box Art of the Year
The PlayStation 3-exclusive Resistance 3 will be up against many other first-person shooters this fall. Maybe some of those games will be better, maybe not. But can they possibly have better box-art? The R3 box art was designed by British artist Olly Moss. It reminds us that, as with Crysis 2 and a certain upcoming…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 -
1,000 Gears of War 3 Beta Bullets Fired For Every Chainsaw Kill
Microsoft is crowing this morning about Gears of War 3 becoming the fastest pre-ordered video game in history, which is one of the silliest-sounding records any marketing team has ever claimed for a game, up there with whenever some suit decides to wrap a game in tin foil and declare it the shiniest game ever.…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011
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