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Here Are Your Official Nominations For The Best Games of E3 2012
Every year, representatives of the world’s biggest video game websites (this one included) get together and nominate which games they thought were the best ones they played at E3 (or in the week before E3, at special judge’s events). Note that condition: according to the awards’ rules, in order to be nominated for a major…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall1981 Video Explains Activision’s “Overnight Success”
Activision may be heralded/hated as one of the world’s biggest video game companies today, but in 1981, it was a much smaller company. A very different company, in a very different time. Which is the only reason I can think of to explain this bizarrely wonderful promo video the company put together in 1981, which…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
Serve the Public Trust. Protect the Innocent. Smash up Old Arcade Games.
Hey, RoboCop, you’ve got mechanical arms and a gun in your leg. Why’d you have to go and smash a perfectly good arcade game? And it was pretty good. If you couldn’t make it out beneath all the broken glass and criminal hair, it’s Sly Spy, Data East’s 1989 side-scroller that took more than a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
I’m Not Sure I’d Pay $30K for the Iron Throne, Even Though Joffrey Left a Positive User Review
Greetings, Kotaku, and welcome to the Tuesday open thread. You may have heard that HBO is selling a real, life-sized replica of the Iron Throne for #30,000. What you may not have heard is that the characters from the show have begun to leave user reviews of the Throne. I saw that today on The…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
It’s a Damn Shame This LEGO Movie Never Got Made
A little while ago, LEGO and Blur Studios – you’d be familiar with their work – sat down to talk about the possibility of making an animated LEGO film. So Blur’s Jeff Fowler and artist Sean McNally got to work on a concept for their pitch, which revolved around a young LEGO minifig leaving his…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis is Why Everyone Was Hating on Steel Battalion Today
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “Geez, Evan, you sure made Steel Battalion sound like a terrible experience in your review today.” Damn right I did and deservedly so, might I add. And it wasn’t just me. Over at Polygon, Justin McElroy rounds up a few other game critics who related just how unplayable this Kinect…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 19, 2012 -
UncategorizedWe Are Definitely Getting a HD Version of Okami. Oh Yes. [UPDATE]
Capcom and Sony have just confirmed earlier reports that Clover’s classic Okami will be getting a HD re-release. It’ll be made available as a digital download on the PlayStation Network for $20, and will be out sometime this “Fall” (it’s out in Japan on November 1). Okami HD will boast “HD graphics”, display in 16:9,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Pokémon Conquest Poses Triumphantly Over the Battered Bodies of Game Reviewers
Collecting all the Pokémon in a normal installment of Nintendo’s beloved role-playing series is a daunting enough task for your average game reviewer. Pokémon Conquest asks them to conquer an entire continent while they do it. Man, Nintendo, cut some critics a little slack. Pokémon Conquest combines colorful cartoon creatures of joy and wonder with…
By Mike Fahey Published June 19, 2012 -
UncategorizedCar Races Are More Fun When Tanks and RPGs Are Involved
I mean, look at all the pretty explosions you get as a result! Granted, one RPG carrier’s shot gets thwarted in this Battlefield 3 machinima, but you have to imagine that a few went through, what with all the previously noted pretty explosions. BF3 Death Race | Producer – Mr Kees de Koning , Co-Producer…
By Tina Amini Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Can Portal Lead To Better Educational Games?
Are educational games broken? Can Portal help fix them? Speaking during a Rants session at the Games for Change conference in New York today, educators Scott Kirk (CEO, GameGurus) and Jodi Asbell-Clarke (Director, EdGE ) said perspectives like Valve’s could help shed a light on the best way to make educational games more fun. Asbell-Clarke…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
One New Jersey Mob Boss’ Insanely Ambitious Plan to Kill Max Payne
In addition to my job here at Kotaku, I work very hard on a bestselling, fictional series of video game novelizations. Last year, I published a gripping, lusty novel based on The Witcher 2. This year, I’ve been hard at work putting the finishing touches on my next novel based on Max Payne 3, tentatively…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 19, 2012 -
UncategorizedI Wanted a Good, Reliable Vita Case and That’s Just What I Got
Whenever a new piece of portable hardware comes out, the first thing I want is a good case. But as an early adopter, I frequently wind up in this situation where I don’t quite know what to get. Whom do I trust? How much should I pay? Which cases are good, and which are junk?…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
This Game Designer Is Hopeful About Gay Issues In Video Games
Homophobia and bigotry may run rampant on Xbox Live, but game designer Robert Yang is optimistic about the present and future of LGBT issues in the gaming industry. Speaking during the Rants session of the Games for Change conference in New York Tuesday, Yang gave a brief talk about the experimental, gay-themed games he’s been…
By Jason Schreier Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Tomba, Duels of the Planeswalkers New This Week on the PlayStation Store
The PSN downloadable game Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers is now available for download on the PlayStation store, along the PSone classic Tomba!. Find the full list of updates at the PlayStation Blog
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 19, 2012 -
Uncategorized‘When we are on our deathbeds, will we regret the hours we spent playing games?’
The usually-optimistic game designer Jane McGonigal has been thinking about whether those of us who love to play video games will regret it in the end. She keeps meeting people who think gamers will. She keeps meeting people who doubt any of us will wish we played more games. So…the question she’s been asked: “When…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Four Comics That Will Unmask You 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…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Diablo III‘s Latest Update Blocks Some Players From Gaining XP. Fortunately, There’s An Easy Fix [Update]
The latest update to Diablo III appears to be something of a downgrade for many players of the game. It’s being widely reported by users on the game’s official forums that a bug in the latest update blocks players from getting any experience points and level-caps their followers at level 13. It sounds as though…
By Kirk Hamilton Published June 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Those Max Payne Comics? They’re Pretty Good.
Ever since reviewing Max Payne 3 a while back, I’ve heard from commenters and others that Max “feels” different than he used to in his older games, which were made by Remedy Entertainment. Max’s words sprang from the mind of writer Sam Lake, who also served as a model for the renegade cop. What’s most…
By Evan Narcisse Published June 19, 2012
