XCOM Isn’t Dumbed Down For Consoles, It’s Smartened Up

Every time a classic PC game is moved over to consoles, we tend to hear the same worries: It’s been dumbed down; it’s oversimplifed, rendered toothless and worthless. When XCOM: Enemy Unknown was released on both PC and consoles, it would have been easy to jump to the same conclusions. And in many ways, XCOM…

Obsidian’s New RPG Raises Almost $4 Million, Sets a Kickstarter Record

Earlier this year, Double Fine’s adventure game Kickstarter raised $3.3 million from fans. At the time, it was a record for a video game on the service, but that mark has now been passed by Project Eternity, an RPG from veteran developers Obsidian. The closing bell just sounded on their Kickstarter drive, and it’s raised…

Hacking Killed a Square Enix Online Shop [Update]

Last month, the Square Enix Official Goods Online Shop was compromised as the third-party server, which hosts its online retail store, was breached. Today in Japan, the company announced that its merchandising division’s official goods online store would be ending its internet shopping service. The Official Goods Online Shop specialized in Square Enix’s collectible figures…

She’d Never Played Video Games, But Wound Up Judging A Game Contest

Most video game-players have someone in their life—an uncle, a parent, a cousin, a co-worker—who just doesn’t play video games. Time and again, we try to poke and prod at those people, to better understand where they’re coming from and more importantly, how they view our favorite pastime/livelihood/obsession/etc. And so an article like this one…

Minecraft On Xbox 360 Gets A Big Pile Of Updates, Including Creative Mode

The Xbox 360 edition of Minecraft received a big patch today, to version 1.8.2. There’s a big pile of little tweaks and additions included in the update, from animations to new items to tweaked drops. The most fun, though, is the addition of Creative mode to the console version of Minecraft. In creative mode, enemies…

As You Play Dishonored, Don’t Forget To Listen To Your Heart

There are voices that want to be heard; so much to mention but you can’t find the words. The scent of magic, the beauty that’s been, When Dunwall wasn’t a stinking deathtrap! Those aren’t just (slightly modified) lyrics to Roxette’s 1988 hit “Listen to Your Heart,” they’re also words of advice for anyone who wants…

This Quirky Puzzle-Platformer Sure Looks Delightful

Looks neat, doesn’t it? This is Dokuro, a new puzzle-platformer by Game Arts (the Japanese dev behind games like Lunar). And it’s out for Vita today. Here’s Antonio Cara, community associate at Dokuro publisher GungHo Online, talking about the new game on the PlayStation Blog: As you progress through the treacherous castle, you are gradually…

You Should Go Get The Indie Royale Fall Bundle If You Still Haven’t Gotten To The Moon Yet

The Indie Royale Bundle, er, bundlers are still at it. The new Fall Bundle, announced today, is completely worth it if for no other reason than to get To The Moon, a poignant, powerful game The bundle also includes strategy titles Oil Rush and Reprisal, adventure game The Blackwell Deception, and musical puzzler AVSEQ. Buyers…

There’s No Running in the Next Mobile Sonic the Hedgehog Game

He’s blue. He’s spiky. He’s the fastest character in the video game universe, at least when he’s running. This Thursday Sega releases Sonic Jump for iOS. Today Sega tweeted the first screen for Sonic Jump, a reworking of a game Sega released in Japan back in 2005. It looks like Doodle Jump. It probably plays…

Far Cry 3 Set To Invade Minecraft

In a funny but cool-sounding crossover, the crazy world of Far Cry 3 will be arriving in Minecraft in a free PC download. On October 26, Ubisoft will be releasing a “Map and texture pack” for Minecraft that will open up a bunch of Far Cry 3 stuff in Minecraft From their press release, the…

3 days ago, Kotaku turned 8. Did you forget our birthday, too? No sweat. Thanks, everyone, for your continued support!

Watch A Live-Stream Of Assassin’s Creed III Multiplayer Right Here

If you want to get your eyes on some Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer and its various modes, look no further than the above video. The team at Machinima has early access and is live-streaming the marathon event for your viewing pleasure. It’s worth noting that this is not the final build of the game. How…

Monaco, A Game We Like Very Much, Is Coming to Xbox Live Arcade (and PC)

Monaco is the top-down multiplayer co-op heist game we rave about here from time to time. Finally, it seems like we’re close to knowing when it will come out. What we at least know today, thanks to the game’s creator Andy Schatz, is that it will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade, through publisher Majesco,…

The Walking Dead Social Game Finally Makes it to Atlanta

When last we left the Facebook game based on The Walking Dead television show it was pretty horrible. Shane, Lori and Carl were in a hellish limbo somewhere on the highway to Atlanta, walking endlessly but never getting even a step closer. Chapter 2 is here, allowing them to move on to even more horrible…

The First-Person Medieval Slasher Chivalry Launches Today

Get out your swords and shields, today’s the day that Chivalry: Medieval Warfare finally comes to Steam. We’ve been following this game for a while now, and Luke’s even spent a good chunk of time playing the beta. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the final game works, and how good the mouse-driven first-person…

Four Comics Filled With Unlikely Parings This Week

If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of…

Here’s The Newest Trailer For Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Developers Treyarch revealed a new trailer for Black Ops II today, which you can watch above. Lots of quick cuts, action and things on fire riddle the latest trailer, which they’re calling a launch trailer. Seems a bit early for the November 13th release, but hey. There’s a quick shot of a nifty, spider-like gadget…

A Graphic Novel about Jesus Christ Blood Money Shows That One of Comics’ Living Legends Still Has What It Takes

Some creators are meant to make myth. They’re supposed to stride into humanity’s shared stream of meaning and re-interpret the flow. Or boil it into something elemental. Comics legend Walt Simonson is one of those people. Yes, his acclaimed work on Thor and Orion had the advantage of dealing with deities in the leading role.…

Xbox 360 Gets a $50 Price Cut And a Bunch of New Bundles for the Holidays

The Xbox 360 is getting a set of holiday bundles as well as a short-term $50 price cut, Microsoft announced today. As Kotaku reported over the weekend, the $50 discount promotion applies to the 250GB Xbox 360, the 4GB Xbox 360 with Kinect, and the 250GB Xbox 360 with Kinect. (Not included: the 4GB Xbox…

The Secret to Dishonored’s Stealth, Revealed!

Evan’s Note: There’s nothing like getting a super-sneaky kill in Dishonored, is there? One minute, a City Watch Guard is looking out for trouble. The next, he’s just dinner for a horde of plague rats. Arkane Studios’ acclaimed new game lets players mix up an impressive suite of abilities to eliminate your foes’ in incredibly…