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Gears of War Board Game Still In The Works
The people who have turned the video game Civilization into a board game are continuing their improbable quest to make a Gears of War board game. They don’t have anything to show of the game here at Boston’s PAX East other than a banner. No boards. No pieces. No gameplay details. A company rep said…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 13, 2011 -
Let’s Learn How To Play The Wonderfully Complex Civilization Board Game
Civilization: The Board Game from Fantasy Flight Games is no mere global Monopoly, no svelte Catan. It is a complicated affair and one that’s not so easy to capture on video. The game came out in November, but I’d not seen it played until this weekend at PAX East. One of Fantasy Flight’s employees was…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 13, 2011 -
PAX East Cosplay Day 2: The Castle Crasher, The Little Sister, And A Lego Master Sword
On the first day of PAX East, we got some good video game cosplay, but day two trumped the day one efforts. A Zelda sword made of Lego pieces? A Team Fortress 2 / BioShock mash-up? Professor Layton teaming up with Uncle Sam? Congratulations, all around PAX East day 2 cosplayers. You did some fine…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 13, 2011 -
Toy Soldiers: Cold War Adds Co-Op And… Is That Rambo?
We here at Kotaku loved the first Toy Soldiers, a downloadable Xbox 360 tower defense game set during World War I. The new one, Toy Soldiers: Cold War, is debuting at PAX East in Boston, where I saw it on Saturday. It looks like a fantastic upgrade. The game’s creators at Signal Studios have added…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2011 -
Star Trek Fan Dances His Ass Off To Kinect
This man is playing Dance Central, a dancing video game for the Xbox 360’s Kinect sensor. He’s at Boston’s PAX East gaming convention. He is dancing to Bell Biv Devoe’s Poison, a song that taught children of the 90s never to trust a big butt and a smile. The song teaches us a new lesson:…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2011 -
Warp Is My Favorite Scientist-Exploding PAX East Discovery, So Far
I keep asking people who I run into at PAX East to tell me which games I should check out. Thank you, to whoever told me to try Warp. I think it was Eka, hype man extraordinaire for Monday Night Combat. I’m glad I went. Warp lets you be an alien who can warp through…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2011 -
Call of Juarez: The Cartel Creators Argue Their First-Person Shooter Is No Celebration Of The Mexican Drug War
The creators of the upcoming video game that pits United States law enforcement agents against a Mexican drug cartel deny that they are ripping their subject from today’s headlines. It’s a hard position to understand, given that Call of Juarez: The Cartel is set in modern times, casting its bad guys as a vile Mexican…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2011 -
PAX East Cosplay Day 1, From Assassins To Valkyria Chronicles
People dressed up as video game characters for PAX East here in Boston (I think most were supposed to be video game characters). Some tried harder than others. Some just stood inside giant mech suits. Some were paid to cosplay, and some did it for the love. There was even someone cosplaying as a reporter…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 12, 2011 -
This Is BioShock Infinite, How It Used To Look, And How Impressively It Should Play
At PAX East today, the makers of BioShock Infinite, the big 2012 sequel from Irrational Games, shared what they said would be their cutting-room-floor material. They showed what won’t go into BioShock Infinite, but that will help shape the game. Of course, their cutting room floor material is fascinating. So stop looking at this already-released…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 11, 2011 -
Four Minutes That Prove Child Of Eden Is The Prettiest Kinect Game
Child of Eden, spiritual successor to Dreamcast classic Rez is the most colorful, trippy Xbox 360 Kinect game I’ve ever seen. It’ll be out on June 14. Coming to PS3 too. Here it is, played live, at PAX East.
By Stephen Totilo Published March 11, 2011 -
Valve Plans To Bridge Portal And Portal 2 With A Surprise, Keep Gordon Freeman Out Of It
Portal 2 takes place after Portal, long after enough for Aperture Science to be wrecked and covered with plant-life. What happened? Valve plans to explain some of that gap in the coming weeks, before we can play Portal 2 on April 18. “We’re actually going to release something that we’re not talking about yet that…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 11, 2011 -
If Running For Charity Is Too Exhausting, There’s Always Virtually Running For Charity
When I was a kid we had charity walkathons at my school. We walked around the playground, making money each lap for a cause I’ve forgotten. When I worked for MTV, Second Life was popular, so someone was doing a walkathon in that virtual world, for cancer research. Today, games in which you might be…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 10, 2011 -
There’s No Doubt Anymore. Apple Has Spooked Nintendo.
Nintendo’s top people don’t use the word Apple. They don’t say iPhone or iTunes, not voluntarily, not if they can avoid it. And maybe that’s because when they’ve been lamenting the problems with the “value” of games lately — they like that word better than “price” — they don’t just mean Apple. They might also…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 10, 2011 -
Minecraft Is Also A Musical Instrument That Can Play Movie Theme Songs
We know that hit game Minecraft could use some long-term goals. You learn to play it, you survive the monsters, you build a palace and then what? Treat it like a musical instrument, perhaps. The January addition of musical blocks to Minecraft encouraged someone to create a block arrangement that could play the theme song…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 10, 2011 -
These May Not Be The 10 Best Video Games Of All Time
We’re never going to know what the 10 best video games of all time are. But we sure can try. Since early 2010, my friend N’Gai Croal and I have been trying in the most semi-serious, pseudo-scientific way possible to deduce the 10 top games ever. Our way is surely the best. On Friday, in…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 10, 2011 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Come here, one and all, to talk about video games, be they Killzone 3, Killzone 1, Killzone 2, Killzone Liberation or even not at all related to Killzone. Thanks to FiveSpeed for today’s pic. Submit your image to #TAYpics. We’re running low, TAY readers. Now’s your chance to get yours features. (Read this thread for…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 10, 2011 -
Shoot Many Robots Is Supposed To Be Our Modern Metal Slug
The people at Demiurge Studios, itching to make a game of their own after years of making video games for other companies, have decided to make an homage to the old gun-crazy side-scroller Metal Slug. They wanted to make it more analog, let you shoot everywhere. And they want you to run and jump and…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 9, 2011 -
What It’s Like To Be Notch, The Man Who Made Minecraft
If you’re the guy who made Minecraft, you’ve got it good. Your game’s a hit. You’re getting lots of money for it and winning lots of awards. But what’s it like to be Notch? His New Peers And Old Friends When you go from being some random game-maker in Sweden to the guy who created…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 9, 2011 -
This Week In Comics
Game Developers Conference blocked me from recommending comics to you last week, but nothing stands in my way this time. Here are some picks for the week… Comics You Should Consider Buying Batman Inc. #3 The long-delayed third issue by writer Grant Morrison, chronicling Bruce Wayne’s efforts to build a Batman franchise. We’re going to…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 9, 2011
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