Stephen Totilo

News that the next Batman Arkham game will be the first to get an M rating isn’t a huge surprise, given the series’ propensity to push the limits of T ratings. In 2012, the ESRB ratings group was surprisingly forthcoming with us about the oddness of Arkham games getting T’s while Halos got M’s. [UPDATE]

My Five Favorite Kotaku Stories From Last Week

We publish hundreds of stories per week, and I like quite a few of them. Here are my five favorites from last week: A Chronicle Of Buggy, Broken Telltale Games, 2012-2015 | Kotaku featured a semi-intentional theme about quality control in gaming last week. We kicked it off with this horrifically thorough rundown by Kirk…

Kirby And The Rainbow Curse: The Kotaku Review

Tip: you might want to scroll down…. way down. Keep scrolling down…!

Assassin’s Creed Unity Finally Drops App, Web Requirements For Unlocks [UPDATE]

The latest major patch for Assassin’s Creed Unity will free players from the need to connect the console or PC game to the game’s companion app or Initiates website to unlock some special items in the game. From a statement on the company’s website: “We will be unlocking all content exclusive to Initiates and the…

Nintendo Explains Where Tingle Came From

Tingle, map-seller in The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask, is a man in his mid-30s who wears a green fairy suit. Presumed by some—incorrectly, it turns out—to be gay, he is one of Nintendo’s most unusual characters. I recently asked Nintendo’s top Zelda creator what Tingle’s origins were. “I guess the heart of the character…

How A Zelda Dungeon Is Made

Eiji Aonuma has overseen the development of many of the major Zelda games, from Majora’s Mask to Wind Waker to Skyward Sword to A Link Between Worlds. So I figured he probably knows how to make a Zelda dungeon. Last week, I asked him. He was in Japan. I was in America. But through the…

What’s So Great About Metroid Prime

The Metroid Prime trilogy, arguably the best gaming trilogy ever, has just been re-issued as a $20 download on the Wii U. That’s a good reason for Kirk “never played a Metroid Prime” Hamilton to try them out. I had to see how that went. What follows is an early report of Kirk’s findings, an…

The New 3DS XL Is Nice, But Not A Must-Have Yet

For a couple of years we at Kotaku have deemed Nintendo’s 3DS as an essential piece of gaming hardware. And for decades, new iterations of Nintendo hardware have immediately rendered older units obsolete. Things are different this time around. Get it if you don’t have one. We still think you should have a 3DS in…

Tips For Playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D

You may have heard that The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is the most challenging Zelda game, or the most stressful, weirdest, and saddest. Most of that is correct. It’s also a great game that has now been remade for the Nintendo 3DS. If you decide to play the very good remake (you should!), here…

We’ve Had The New 3DS XL For Weeks, And This Is What We Think

We’ve had a couple of New 3DS XL systems in the U.S. for the last couple of weeks, one in my hands in New York City and one with Patricia out in San Francisco. We like the system, though we’re not blown away by it. We have discussed this for your reading pleasure. Patricia and…

Current Obsession: Apotheon, A Metroid On Mt. Olympus That’s A Tad NSFW

I was going to finish Watch Dogs, start Dying Light, get back to Transistor, maybe finally try Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes. That was my PS4 plan last week. Then I started playing Apotheon and discovered I have a weakness for Metroid-style games set on Mt. Olympus. You might, too. Above, I’ve narrated about 12…

Shadow Of Mordor Won A Best Story Award, Which Actually Makes Sense

Dragon Age Inquisition may have taken Game of The Year at last night’s 18th annual DICE Awards, but how about Shadow of Mordor winning for Outstanding Achievement In Story? The scripted story wasn’t so hot, but if they were judging by the stories that emerged as players sparred with enemies who became tougher through the…

DC Comics is doing yet another overhaul of their comics line, canceling books, launching many more (full list here). The headliners: American Born Chinese author Gene Yuen Lang will be writing Superman, Ultimates artist Bryan Hitch drawing and writing Justice League, Preacher writer Garth Ennis writing a new series.

Joystiq, an essential read for many years for gamers interested in gaming news, shut down today, a victim of cost-cutting by parent company AOL as it gets folded into Engadget. All of us at Kotaku wish the entire Joystiq team the very best. Read Joystiq editor Ludwig Kietzmann’s farewell.

A pretty good idea in Battlefield Hardline’s new beta: A mode in which your team captures cars instead of checkpoints—and has to drive above certain speed to earn points. Explained and shown over atKotaku UK

That New Fantastic Four Movie Trailer Looks So Familiar…

Fantastic Four trailer? Hmm. Haven’t I seen that scene before? Oh, yeah! Mass Effect 3! Or was it Halo 3? We’re going with coincidence here, right? No one’s got a trademark on pillars of light and leaning towers. Though, imagine if they did..

The WWE is already weaving its latest controversy into its storylines. For more on that, check out a long update at the bottom of yesterday’s “We want refunds” Kotaku TMI article.

‘We Want Refunds!’ – Why Pro Wrestling Fans Are So Angry Again [UPDATE]

You’d think that the first weather-related cancellation of an episode of Monday Night Raw in the show’s 1000-plus episode history would be bad news for the WWE. But the many inches of snow aimed at Hartford, Connecticut, the location of tonight’snow-scuttled Raw taping, are a sprinkle of luck that will spare WWE the heat of…

Kotaku Editor-In-Chief Here. Any Questions? [Q&A’s Done!]

It’s been a long time since I did one of these on-site Q&As, but let’s get one of these in for 2015, shall we? I’ll be answering questions here for the next 90 minutes or so. Fire away.

The one and only GB “DocSeuss” Burford wants to know which fascinating game level he should analyze for Kotaku next. He’s looked closely at classic levels from Half-Life, Mirror’s Edge, Modern Warfare, Dishonored, The Witcher, and Halo. Please recommend specific levels that you want him to break down. Thanks!