- Culture
Gods and Heroes
Two heavy-hitters step up on Tuesday—Civilization V and LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. Others of note include the Avengers Chronicles suite of four Marvel-themed tables in Pinball FX2 and Marvel Pinball, and Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Monday • Pokemon Conquest (DS) Tuesday • Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles (PSN) • Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Gods…
By Owen Good -
UncategorizedCall of Duty‘s Next Two Maps Could be Modern Warfare 2 Throwbacks
According to this video, the map names “Shipbreaker” and “Terminal” briefly appeared in the map selection list of Modern Warfare 3‘s private match menu, apparently tipping off the names of two maps to come in the game’s next DLC drop this month. The enthusiast site CallofDutyMapPacks.com speculates that “Shipbreaker” could be a new Face Off…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Grand Theft Auto‘s Boss is Skeptical of Wii U’s Appeal to Core Titles
Whatever you think of Take-Two or its boss, the company’s principles are clear and they don’t deviate from them. Titles like Max Payne and BioShock and Spec Ops: The Line get delayed because the publisher won’t put out anything before it’s truly ready. And it’ll walk from high profile licenses like Major League Baseball because…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Playing a Video Game to Remember an Historic Day in Sport—or to Forget It
We’re all familiar with the conventional wisdom that at halftime of a championship sporting event, the local water system is strained by fans’ long-postponed evacuations of a beer or three. Well, after full time of a major fixture, FIFA‘s Internet pipe is likewise overflowing with teeth-gritting angst and cathartic release, too. Probably the best example…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Ubisoft Movie Plans May Include Splinter Cell and Watch Dogs
Fresh off a rumor saying Paramount is considering a Splinter Cell film comes word that several domains have been registered for a movie version of Watch Dogs, the surprise sensation of E3 after a strongly positive debut. Fusible, the domain watch dog watching Watch Dogs, says that just this week Ubisoft registered Watch-Dogsmovie.com and Watch-Dogsthemovie.com,…
By Owen Good -
UncategorizedI Want to See The Amazing Spider-Man—and Spider-Man on a Budget, Too
From the same demented minds that gave us The Avengers—on a Budget now comes the summer’s next thriftily made blockbuster—The Amazing Spider-Man—on a Budget It’s another (mostly) shot-for-shot recreation of the upcoming film’s trailer, featuring loads of super string and, once again, a shirtless guy in green body paint. Gwen Stacy’s totally not hot but…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Pika-Chewed
I’m not the world’s biggest Pokémon expert, but I do know that half a dozen schoolchildren fisting a Pikachu is an image too rich to pass up for this week’s Shop Contest. Really, you need me to explain what’s going on here? OK well, actually, I can’t. Bash, our Japanese speaker, can’t, either. In his…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Reader ak-blanc sends this postcard from Liberty City as an unorthodox Father’s Day greeting. Good morning and welcome to Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is your space to discuss anything on your mind about the subject of video games. Of course, we hope you’ve called your pops or sent him a card and wished him…
By Owen Good - Culture
Sunday Comics: Chews Your Poison
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published June 12.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published June 14.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
EA Honcho Doesn’t Want to Piss Off Dead Space Fans, Still Wants to Scare the Crap Out of Them
Viewing the gameplay demonstration of Dead Space 3 at Electronic Arts’ E3 keynote, my immediate reaction was “Well, that looks like a game I can play without dookieing on myself.” Others didn’t have such a positive reaction. Frank Gibeau, the president of EA Labels told CVG that he’s heard the noise and that they “definitely…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Forza Totilo: The Winners
My boss’ ride in a Ferrari promoting Forza Horizon at E3 provided us with material for more than 150 ‘Shop entries this week, plus many more to come as it will assuredly become a meme. Or so one hopes. For now, we have 20 winners inside, including overall No. 1 indysgille! Let’s go ahead and…
By Owen Good -
UncategorizedSee Life as a Team Fortress 2 Character with this Augmented Reality Smartphone App
Cam Fortress doesn’t really “do” anything, but it does let you pretend to sneak up on someone on the subway platform with your Spy switchblade drawn, or carry Pyro’s flamethrower to a gas station. Developed and launched on Google Play for Android phones, Cam Fortress launched last week, and is free to download. You may…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Oh, Good Grief, CBS is Gonna Do a Draw Something TV Show
CBS, the network that once made a show out of a Twitter feed, has picked up the pilot for one based on a Zynga game. Draw Something figures to be a celebrity-infested reality/gameshow hybrid that reeks of the old “Win, Lose or Draw” more than it showcases the game or its features. Per CBS: “Teams…
By Owen Good -
UncategorizedJimmy Fallon Thought the Wii U was a Wii Peripheral
This morning we ran a roundup of clips from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon‘s big post-E3 “Video Game Week,” highlighted by his hands-on time with the Wii U. Fallon’s opening monologue, however, is where the entertainment is, really. Nintendo can’t be too pleased that its Late Night close up begins by describing the Wii U…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Leak or Hoax, a 56-Page Manifesto Does Get Some Things Right About the Next Xbox [Update]
An apparently two-year-old document, purporting to be an internal overview of Microsoft’s plans for the Xbox 360’s successor, surfaced overnight, and while many rightly cast doubt on its authenticity, the claims it makes are not too farfetched. Some have even been reported before. The document, evidently a PowerPoint slide presentation, is at best an official…
By Owen Good -
UncategorizedReggie Shows Jimmy Fallon How to Flick Throwing Stars with the Wii U Controller
This week, Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night provided a kind of victory lap for video gaming’s heavy-hitting brands coming out of E3. “Video Game Week” on the show wrapped up last night with Reggie Fils-Aime, the boss of Nintendo of America, giving Fallon some hands-on time with the Wii U. Sure, it’s a hype appearance, but…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
All My Rowdy Super Friends
I haven’t picked up a LEGO title in years but I have to admit LEGO Batman 2 has my attention. A bonus credit on the purchase of that game, plus savings on Steel Battalion and The Secret World headline this week’s roundup of deals in The Moneysaver. Software • June 19 release Lego Batman 2:…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
The Best of Kotaku, This Week
Oh, man. It’s all of Grand Theft Auto fame, in one room with a PlayStation 3 playing friggin’ Grand Theft Auto V. I guess it’s only fair that they get first dibs. Can you imagine all the shit talking that must be going on in that room? Luke posted it earlier this week, but I…
By Tina Amini