PlayStation Network, down for maintenance Thursday, will be offline today, too. Good thing the Skyrim DLC is next month.

ChefVille ‘Bello’s Burger’ Quests: Everything You Need to Know

Every ChefVille player knows to cook a few kinds of Hamburgers on their Grill. But a brand new Burger Station will turn your restaurant into a real “Burger Joint,” and Bello is here with a pair of quests that introduce his new appliance. Even with just two quests, you still might have a bit of…

Maybe The People Who Criticize Violent Games Should Play Them. Maybe The People Who Make Them Should Say Something.

IGN editor-in-chief Casey Lynch works on weekends and asked me last Saturday to chime in on the topic of violent video games. He hit up some other folks, too. So if you’d like to know what Adam Sessler, Ben Kuchera, Ben Silverman, Brian Crecente, Dan Hsu, Dan Stapleton, Francesca Reyes, Harold Goldberg, Ian Bogost, Jeff…

Lockout Over, NHL GameCenter Takes to the Ice on Xbox Live

The NHL’s debut on Xbox Live, delayed by the league’s 119-day lockout, finally arrived today when NHL GameCenter became available for download. Though the app itself is free, watching live games (broadcasts outside of your local TV market) requires a $49.99 subscription when play resumes tomorrow . The price was cut by more than half…

This Decade-Old Massively Multiplayer Space Odyssey Wants to Open a Wormhole to Your iPad

Launched into open alpha in 2002 by Milwaukee-based Guild Software, massively multiplayer space sim Vendetta Online has traveled a long way from Wisconsin over the past ten years. Officially released in 2004 for PC, Mac and Linux, in 2011 the game was launched on Android devices, making it the first computer-based MMO to make the…

January 31 is Antichamber Day

I should be playing Antichamber right now, but my preview build of the mind-blowing first-person exploration/puzzle game that you can see in the trailer here is… at home. What’s your excuse? Oh, it’s not January 31 yet! That’s your excuse. If you have a PC and access to Steam, you’ll be out of excuses on…

Heroes, Castles, And One Janky Tower Defense Game

The iTunes description for Heroes & Castles, a new third-person tower defense game that hit iOS yesterday, says it has “incredible console quality graphics.” Really, they should’ve stuck with mobile-quality graphics. Maybe some nice 2-D sprites and backgrounds. Then maybe this game would be more fun to play. Don’t get me wrong—Heroes & Castles is…

Codemasters is laying off 80 workers at its HQ, but says the job losses won’t affect titles like F1 and GRID

Skyrim‘s DLC Is Coming To PS3 Next Month

Finally! Skyrim‘s downloadable content, until now exclusive to Xbox 360 and PC, is making its way to the PlayStation 3. Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn will all be on the PlayStation Network in February. They’ll all be 50% off during their launch week In case you’re a PS3 player and you haven’t been paying attention, here…

How I Feel About Ni No Kuni in 14 Words

Sometimes the simplest, gut reactions are the truest expressions of how we feel about something. Having played a bunch of Level-5’s Ni No Kuni, here are my impressions of the game in 14 words.

Talk Amongst Yourselves is for discussing the games you’ll play this weekend, even if today is Wednesday for some of us.

The 5 (Or So) Board Games To Get Excited About In 2013

Right. For my first ever board game column for Kotaku, the editor-in-chief here suggested I cover the top games coming in 2013. This created an anime-sized bead of sweat on my forehead. You see, board games aren’t like video games. You want to know if a video game’s coming out, you call a guy who…

Zynga Elite Slots is Now Ready to Foster Your Obsession With Colorful Spinning Reels

Mixing the addictive nature of the slot machine with the community spirit of a massively multiplayer fantasy game, Zynga Elite Slots is now live on Facebook. Does it live up to design director Josh Gause’s vision of a collaborative community gaming experience? I don’t know. Not really understanding how today’s advanced slot machines work, I…

Tomb Raider Isn’t Getting a Demo Because ‘We Don’t Want to Spoil the Story’

No demo version is planned for Tomb Raider, said Karl Stewart of the game’s studio, Crystal Dynamics, because doing so would reveal too much of the story before the game’s release. “We’ve weaved such an personal story we don’t believe spoiling it by having you wait a week or so to play on, delivers on…

GameStop Pulls Metro: Last Light From Its Downloadable Service, Citing THQ’s Uncertain Future

GameStop pulled Metro: Last Light from its Impulse digital download service, telling GameSpot that the uncertain fate of its publisher, THQ, is the reason. “Due to THQ’s current financial situation and uncertainty of delivery, in order to protect our consumers we removed the ability to pre-purchase that specific game,” GameStop’s top spokesman told GameSpot THQ…

This Week’s iPad Charts: Temple Run 2 and the NRA Practice Range

On one side we have the sequel to one of the most beloved mobile games in the world. On the other, an app mainly being downloaded due to controversy, morbid curiosity and irony. There’s room for everyone in the weekly free iPad app charts! Thanks to our new streamlined table format for these weekly chart…

SimCity‘s Four-Day Beta is Jan. 25; Here’s the Tutorial Level

The SimCity beta will be from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28, and registration is underway now on the game’s official page, the SimCity Twitter feed said this morning. Perhaps not coincidentally, that video above showed up on YouTube around the same time. It showcases the game’s opening tutorial. The Tweet said that beta users will…

The Yakuza TV Show is Action Packed From Beginning to End

The Yakuza franchise has definitely been one of the most popular video game properties in Japan for the last few years. Not only has there been at least one main series game every other year, but there have been several spin-off titles as well (not to mention a live-action movie). One of these titles is…

Rumor: Monster Hunter 4 Is Headed to the PS Vita [Update]

Oh boy. If this is true (big if!), the PS Vita could be poised for, ahem, a monster comeback. According to Japanese game magazine Game Lab, Nintendo 3DS exclusive Monster Hunter 4 was delayed to summer for a reason other than “improving quality”. That reason is apparently that the game is also being developed for…

Why PC Gaming Is Still Niche in Japan

Cold rain drizzles outside. Inside, everything is pink, round, and frilly. The first floor of this otaku (geek) retailer is plastered with release info for new PC games—adult PC games. A young clerk in glasses near the 18-and-up section taps away on a computer, probably checking inventory. I approach, excusing myself for asking a sudden,…