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Explorer Richard Garriott Didn’t Expect NASA’s Discovery, Not In His Lifetime
Richard Garriott created the blockbuster game Ultima Online, paid his way onto a Russian rocket and has traveled deep beneath Antarctica. So, yeah, he’s pumped about today’s NASA news. “People should not underestimate the data associated with proving that life can be built in new ways,” he said during a telephone interview with Kotaku today.…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
How A Big Video Game Was Killed
The last-minute cancellation of EA Sports’ NBA Elite 11 this fall isn’t supposed to happen to any video game. How? Why? Kotaku learned the unusual story this week from EA boss John Riccitiello. “I’m not sure I’m going to give you a good explanation,” Riccitiello told me when I brought up the topic of Elite…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
The Next Ghostbusters Game Is A Throwback
Last year’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game was practically Ghostbusters 3, a reunion of the main cast from the 1980s movies in virtual form. The next one is more like a Gauntlet or Robotron sequel. Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime will be a download-only four-player cooperative action game, according to a USA Today story about the game.…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
A Great New Way To Make A Halo Movie
What if the Halo movie was like Who Framed Roger Rabbit starring Master Chief and some real actors? Wonder no more. This is it. It’s called “You Will Never Get the Power Core.” The film popped up on Vimeo today. It was made by Alan Marsala and Chance McManus, using Halo Reach for the video…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
FarmVille People Now Own Words With Friends People
Zynga, the company behind FarmVille and the brand-new CityVille loved the 23-person company Newtoy so much that they said today that they’ve bought them. Newtoy? They make Words With Friends, just about the best game on iPad. The news was made in a conference call today that started with Zynga executive David Ko saying that…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
Buy These Three Xbox Games And They’ll Cross Over
We’ve seen deals before. Buy this game and get that one free. Buy these games and get money back. But… buy these games and they’ll blend into each other? The Xbox 360 people are trying something different. In late December, Microsoft will start selling the first of a trio of Xbox Live Arcade downloadable games…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
Thor Video Game And Thor Movie Will Star The Same Guy
Chris Hemsworth, star of May 2011’s Thor movie, will virtually be Thor in this spring’s Thor: God of Thunder video game. Games publisher Sega said so today and released screenshots to prove it. The movie’s Loki, Tom Hilddleston, will also be featured in the game. In both cases, the actors faces and voices will be…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 2, 2010 -
Why Is Video Game Sleep So Boring?
To: Brian From: Stephen Re: The Child Seems Tired Yeah, your kid looked tired in that picture this morning. But I bet he had a delightful nap after that. Why is sleep never delightful in games? I hate sleeping in games. I always feel like I’m missing stuff, except in Bully, which enforced healthy sleep…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
When Spartans Die, They Go Here
College Humor’s latest animated short makes me feel a little less bad about all the times I get killed in Halo. I’m just letting my Spartan see the Spartan afterlife. It’s intentional. Halo Spartan Heaven [YouTube’s CollegeHumor.com channel]
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
U.S.A. Leads Lucky Part Of The World In Slaying Zombies
The PlayStation 3 video game Dead Nation was created in Finland but nevertheless shows that the United States is the world’s top country in destroying the undead. The game’s global rankings also inadvertently show the worldwide divide between those of us privilieged to live in countries where PlayStation 3s are officially sold and those where…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
Skateboarding ‘Has Run Its Course’ As A Top Video Game Format
The heyday of skateboarding games is past, the head of EA, the company that makes Tony Hawk rival franchise Skate, told Kotaku in an interview this week. EA chief John Riccitiello, whose company’s Skate series has been regarded as the better skateboarding video game series in the last few years, sees skateboarding as part of…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
PlayStation Minis, I Can No Longer Ignore You
PlayStation Minis are little iPhone games, except no one talks about them (and they’re playable on a PlayStation Portable, not an iPhone). Sorry, but I’ve got to change that. According to the official PlayStation blog (in Europe, sigh), Pac-Man Championship Edition — possibly the best Pac-Man game ever made — and Mobigame’s Edge — a…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves
This is the December image for Talk Amongst Yourselves. Let it inspire you as you discuss video games in the comments below. The 17th century painting is by David Teniers The Younger. It’s called the Temptation of St. Anthony, and comes recommended by reader Hisilarn. You all know what to do, right? Throughout the month,…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
The New Way To Play The Wii
“Yes, I do realize the TV is off,” writes Caitamie, who posted this on Flickr
By Stephen Totilo Published December 1, 2010 -
Drinking Game
To: Ashcraft From: Totilo Re: Guess I Shouldn’t Drink This… By all means, drink that North Korean booze you’ve got. May I suggest you partake in a drinking game? Maybe a Kotaku Drinking Game! I’m sure the readers can suggest some rules (responsible rules). Stories you may have missed since you were last working unless…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 30, 2010 -
One Man’s One-Word Dead Space 2 Review
John Riccitiello runs EA, the company that makes the Dead Space sci-fi horror games, so he’s biased. Nevertheless, he just finished playing through Dead Space 2. I don’t even have it yet. As Riccitiello wrapped up an interview with me this morning, he couldn’t suppress his excitement as he mentioned he’d recently completed a playthrough…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 30, 2010 -
True Dead Rising Fans Know Why This Boring Screenshot Is Exciting
A man is taking a photo in a video game. Yay. But, no! This is Frank West in the new Dead Rising 2 downloadable expansion. This is the return of photography. The beloved photography system from man-vs.-zombies game Dead Rising didn’t make it into this fall’s Dead Rising 2. But it it is back, as…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 30, 2010
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