-
Splinter Cell Update: There Will Be Goggles, Bet (Almost) Settled
A certain someone (me) did a guest appearance this weekend on Giant Bomb‘s podcast, where it was my duty to officially settle a Splinter Cell Conviction bet. Giant Bomb editorial institutions Ryan Davis and Vinny Caravella had made a bet — for pride and maybe a nominal amount of money — about whether Sam Fisher…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 6, 2009 -
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time Impressions: Lombax In Space
Let 2009 hereby be known as The Year Of The More Interesting Hub World. The spokes of Wolfenstein emanate from a German city overrun by Nazis; those of Halo 3 ODST to New Mombasa. The new Ratchet? An action-packed galaxy. I got my hands on the outer-space portion of next month’s Ratchet & Clank Future:…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 6, 2009 -
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Multiplayer Impressions: Gaming Without Icons
The draw of Kingdom Hearts is the mash-up of Final Fantasy characters and Disney characters, yes? Hopefully you have a second answer, because the multiplayer demo of the latest game in the series offers neither legendary roster. The Nintendo booth at PAX is showcasing a few DS games, including this month’s Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days,…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2009 -
South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! Preview: Yellow Snowballs Added
The Xbox 360 gets closer to closing its Tower Defense Gap with the PlayStation 3 in October, thanks to a South Park tower defense game. Naturally, it’s tower defense with a twist. What Is It? South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! is an October Xbox Live Arcade game developed by Double Six Games. It…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2009 -
Mass Effect 2 Control Impressions: That’s Better, Shooter [UPDATE]
Maybe they did it for me. If not for last month’s surprise release of the Pinnacle Station expansion to Mass Effect, I may not have been able to appreciate what I just played in Mass Effect 2 this morning. At the Penny Arcade Expo today, I played a demo sequence of Mass Effect 2 that…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2009 -
Bit.Trip Void Preview: The Stick’s Turn
The stylish and always tricky Bit.Trip music series returned with a surprise third entry on display this weekend in Seattle. I believe this is the Bit.Trip game I’ll be good at. What Is It? Bit.Trip Void is the fall-scheduled downloadable Wii follow-up to Bit.Trip Beat and Bit.Trip Core. All developed by Gaijin Games, the three…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2009 -
New Bits Of Brutal Legend, Uncharted 2 Revealed At PAX
Don’t read this post if you don’t want the Brutal Legend demo’s cut-scene spoiled and don’t want to read about a never-before-revealed level of Uncharted 2. Both were just shown at the Penny Arcade Expo. At a Friday evening panel here at PAX in Seattle called Spike Sneak Peeks, Game Trailers TV host Geoff Keighley…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
Scene From PAX: Ron Gilbert Inspires
Wil Wheaton was a hero. Online porn was primitive. His parents got him a computer when he was a kid that had 8K of RAM. Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island co-creator Ron Gilbert is on stage at PAX reminiscing. Choice quotes from the keynote: -“I remember when 16 colors were more than enough and I…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
Contra Rebirth Preview: Surprise, It’s Tough!
I played Contra Rebirth on the Wii today and died. And died. And died. And died, died, died. Then: died, died, died. Could I have been halfway through the game’s first level? What Is It? Contra Rebirth brings side-scrolling Contra back to a Nintendo home console in the form of an all-new Contra that sports…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Preview: Sex Is Not The Motivation
Travis Touchdown returns to the Wii for another wild Grasshopper Manufacture adventure, and this time his motivation is not lust, its revenge. Bonus: he can dual-wield lightsabers this time. Improvement? What Is It? No More Heroes 2 is the sequel to the oddball Wii action game No More Heroes, progeny of colorful game designer Suda…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
GTA: Chinatown Wars PSP Impressions: Minus The Stylus Strain
Rockstar’s surprise PSP installment to the formerly DS-only Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars made more sense in my hands when I played it late last month at the company’s Manhattan HQ. Finally, I can explain why. Chinatown Wars is the new version of Rockstar’s 2009 return to top-down Grand Theft Auto gaming, rebuilt for Sony’s…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
Left 4 Dead 2 Impressions: Jockeys And Swords
I tried two new sections of Left 4 Dead 2 at Valve headquarters on Thursday and found a new best weapon for slaying zombies. I was also looking for enough new material to justify this sooner-than-expected Valve sequel. To my right in a small conference room at Valve was Chet Faliszek. He’s a writer on…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 4, 2009 -
Police Swarm To Bungie On Weapons Call During Kotaku Visit
A report of a person with an assault weapon walking near Bungie Studios sent a team of police swarming to the Kirkland, Washington studio yesterday afternoon. The incident turned out to be a misunderstanding and a surprise interruption of what was supposed to be a less eventful visit by your deputy editor to play some…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 3, 2009 -
The Spectacular, Halo-Filled Bungie Studios Lobby
It’s full of Halo statues, Bungie awards and some commemorative alcohol. It’s the Bungie Studios lobby, shot during Kotaku’s visit to the studio yesterday, before the cops came, and before I tried more Halo 3: ODST. Thanks to Bungie community director Brian Jarrard for showing me and the readers around with this video. Shame on…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 3, 2009 -
Beaterator Impressions: Can Rockstar Make You A Music Star?
The music games designed to make you feel like a guitar hero or a Beatle get the biggest headlines. But game developers have also repeatedly tried to harness gaming technology to help you be a musician. Now it’s Rockstar’s turn. Last week, the studio behind the renowned Grand Theft Auto series and more eclectic fare…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 3, 2009 -
NBA 10: The Inside Impressions: It Gets Weirder
Until my flight today, when the cabin pressure may have been tweaked to make me imagine what I experienced on my PSP, the oddest basketball video game I’d encountered was from Square-Enix, featuring Super Mario. That one now seems plain. It turns out, I’ve been blind to the madness that is Sony’s portable NBA games.…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 2, 2009 -
The Ten Most Avidly-Played Wii Games In America (As Of September 1)
A new month brings a notable re-shuffling of the 10 games most avidly played on the Nintendo Wii. Animal Crossing and Call of Duty climb — and did you notice that only four of these games are made by Nintendo? (click the chart to enlarge it) An explanation of how Kotaku arrives at these figures…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 2, 2009
Stephen Totilo
Stephen Totilo's posts