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Professor Layton And The Diabolical F Train
Pimple-removal, romance novels and liquor get advertised inside New York City subway cars. This morning, I walked into a car of the F train and, for the first time, saw a video game getting big-time promotion. Despite video games being played constantly on the train — there’s always someone playing on an iPhone, DS or…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 -
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Preview: Better Than A Blue Shell
How is this game different from Mario Kart? Besides starring Sonic and featuring a Billy Hatcher level. That was the key question during a recent hands-on with 2010’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. What Is It? Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a kart-racing game shaped by the mold of the Mario Kart series, with…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 -
John Carmack And The Hideo Kojima Sunset
Famed Metal Gear designer Hideo Kojima once told me that there was something beautiful he’d been striving his whole career to create in video games: The perfect sunset. I recently asked John Carmack what his sunset is. Carmack, ever the programmer, didn’t immediately tell me what his sunset would be. Instead, after I described Kojima’s…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 -
In Moral Debate About Shadow Complex, Both Sides Have Their Say
Kim Wong refuses to buy the new Xbox 360 game Shadow Complex. Revolted by the political views of a novelist associated with the game, the 27-year old gamer’s conscience holds him back. But there’s another side to the story. For the past week or so, some gamers and game reporters online have begun discussing the…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 22, 2009 -
An Excellent Intern
To: Owen From: Stephen Usually the Day Note is for catching up on the big news of the last half-day. And there was plenty of that as you glance down Kotaku’s front page. But I wanted to make this one about something else I hope you didn’t miss, and that’s some of the ways our…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
Notebook Dump: Slim’s Two Seconds, Bill Hatcher’s Return
There comes a time in the week to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? What a week. QuakeCon material from last week spilled into Gamescom and Blizzcon bonanzas this week. Not much got left on the cutting room floor or in my notebook. There…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
Metroid Prime Trilogy Unlockables Dust Off Nintendo History, Detours
PS3 Slims. World of Warcraft expansions. Is there any news for the Wii gamer these days? A copy of Metroid Prime: Trilogy arrived in the office this week. I’ve had little time to investigate it, but did discover this. The unlocks screen for this compilation of the three Metroid Prime games released across the GameCube…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
The Big Changes In WoW Cataclysm: From Spiky Racecars To Underwater Mounts
Via Mike Fahey’s absurdly detailed World of Warcraft: Cataclysm liveblog, here are some of the biggest things to note about the new 2010 WoW expansion: The Cataclysm in question is caused by the reappearance of the dragon Deathwing. One of the two new races, the Worgen, is described as “the Wolverine of the Alliance” by…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
First Official World Of Warcraft Cataclysm Image
Happy, WoW fans? [Via Blizzard]
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
World of Warcraft Expands Again: Level Cap To 85 For Cataclysm [UPDATED]
At Blizzcon today, Blizzard blew the lid off the new World of Warcraft expansion: World of Warcraft Cataclysm. The expansion offers new races: Goblins for the Horde; Worgen for the Alliance. Blizzard showed a trailer witnessed by our Mike Fahey. Level cap up to 85. New playable races include the Goblins for the Horde. Worgen…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
Sony, GameStop Indicate PS3 Slim Available In U.S. Before September
We expected the PS3 slim to reach American gamers on September 1. Wrong. Sooner. A listing on GameStop’s website indicates that the new 120 GB PlayStation slim will ship on August 25, a full week earlier than the September 1 date that Sony ballparked for Kotaku earlier this week while discussing the system’s U.S. launch.…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 21, 2009 -
GameStop: PSPgo Owners Will Trade In UMDs
Sony may not be ready to discuss a solution for PSPgo purchasers looking to figure out what to do with their UMD games on the upcoming no-UMD system, but GameStop has an idea… On an earnings call today to discuss GameStop’s results for its second financial quarter of 2009, the company reported that reservations for…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009 -
Humor Attempted During Wii Sports Resort Guest Spot
I was recently invited to appear on College Humor’s Bleep Bloop video game show to play and discuss Wii Sports Resort. They were funnier than me, but, at least I made a good point? Maybe? See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor. Bleep Bloop: Wii Sports Resort [College Humor]
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009 -
PS3 Slim: The Five Senses Tests
I thought it would be a good idea to test the PS3 slim using each of the five senses. That would entail seeing, smelling, touching, tasting and hearing Sony’s new machine. How about four out of five? PS3 Slim Sight Test PS3 Slim Smell Test PS3 Slim Touch Test PS3 Slim Taste Test PS3 Slim…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009 -
John Madden’s Version of Video Game History
Retired football broadcasting legend John Madden told the LA Times there’s no such thing as a Madden curse, because it never caused him to get injured. He also shared his take on how video games came to be. As part of reporter Alex Pham’s Q&A to coincide with the launch of Madden NFL 10, Madden…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009 -
Can A Bunch Of Names Sell A Game?
You might go to a movie based on the names of the people in its ensemble cast. Recently I was given reason to wonder if we might buy a game based on the roster of the talents behind it. The occasion was my interview last week at QuakeCon with Paul Wedgwood, founder of development studio…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009 -
Wet Preview: It All Happened So Slowly
“I should have played Stranglehold more so I could compare,” the previewer thought to himself, as he made a lady with two pistols jump over a table and shoot two guys on opposite sides of an Asian-themed room in slow-mo. If Wet isn’t going to turn out to be the game action-move master John Woo…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 20, 2009
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