Konami Appears to be Teasing Something Castlevania-Related

Over on their official Facebook page, Konami links out to a teaser site that sure seems to hint at something Dracula-related. The site bears the words “The Dragon Returns,” which refers to the linguistic roots of the evil count’s name. Dracul—as in Vlad Dracul—means dragon in Romanian. The site could be hinting at a sequel…

The World Is Under Tetromino Attack In Tetris: The Movie

Hey, if a game as old-school as Battleship can get its own feature film, why not Tetris? That’s the question asked by youtubers Warialasky. Since they couldn’t really come up with a reason why not, they’ve posted this hilarious (fake) trailer that mixes the familiar “alien shadows of doom” beats of Independence Day and Battle:…

Blizzard: Number of Players Claiming Hacked Diablo III Accounts ‘Extremely Small’

In addition to launch-time connectivity woes, Diablo III has also been hit with claims of hacked accounts and missing items, adding a layer of confusion and worry to an already confusing, worrisome launch. Over on the official Diablo III forums, Blizzard has posted a round-up of information that the company has been releasing over the…

So Why Are There Dinosaurs on Pre-Earth Cybertron? Blame Shockwave

In the original Transformers cartoon, Grimlock and the Dinobots are created by Wheeljack and Ratchet after volcanic activity unearthed prehistoric fossils near the Autobot base. High Moon Studios’ explanation for the Dinobots appearance in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron makes a whole lot more sense. The Dinobots’ Fall of Cybertron origin borrows elements from several different…

In Defense of Perfect Scores

You will see, occasionally, the complaint that a video game has been given a perfect score. 10/10. 5/5. All five stars. The complaint tends to be that there are too many of these perfect numbers. These scores must come, the thinking goes, from easily-impressed reviewers who are as full of bias as they are breathless.…

Mass Effect 3‘s Free Rebellion Pack Drops Next Week

Outed earlier this month via Sony Hong Kong, Mass Effect 3‘s free Rebellion Pack adds two new maps and a slew of new characters to the game’s multiplayer experience on May 29 for PC, Xbox 360 and North American PlayStation 3s, with the Euro PS3 version following a day after. The Rebellion Pack extends the…

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I Made Some E3 Predictions, Because That’s What You Do on Talk Shows

Spike TV’s All Access Weekly airs tonight at midnight, but you can watch it right here. Why would you? Because your Kotaku editor-in-chief is on it, chatting with host Katie Linendoll about next month’s E3. We’re talking winners, losers and, uh, we’re doing some guessing. We shot this a couple of weeks back, giving Spike…

This Great Video Game Trailer Is Incredibly Upsetting

Most video game trailers flirt. They tell you: If you play this game, you will feel awesome. The new live-action trailer for Metro Last Light doesn’t do that. It’s here to make you sad. It’s harrowing, wrenching, emotionally-manipulative and captivating. I usually prefer video game trailers that show some gameplay. Not this time. This one’s…

Unfortunately There Are No Rehab Clinics for Addiction To Scramble With Friends

You’re probably at least somewhat familiar with Scramble With Friends. Similar to Zynga’s Words With Friends, you trade knowledge and skill of a wordsmith against your friends, or random online opponents. This isn’t a new game by any means. It’s just one we haven’t featured often here at Kotaku, but one that I’m still completely…

That Red Sand Mass Effect Fan Film Is Shaping Up Nicely

Luke first told us about Red Sand, a fan-made Mass Effect film starring the voice actor—Mark Meer—of Commander Shepard himself, in February. Back in February we got an introduction to Mark Meer’s character and the setting of the film, which is 35 years in the past. We finally get to see another few clips of…

Thursday Watch This, Play This

Watch This: That Red Sand Mass Effect Fan Film Is Shaping Up Nicely Play This: Unfortunately There Are No Rehab Clinics for Addiction To Scramble With Friends

Scammers Behind Fake Version of Angry Birds Ordered to Refund Customers

There is a legitimate, free version of Angry Birds for Android. But one app that appeared on the Android Market (now Google Play) last fall wasn’t it. It was a fake, a piece of malware explicitly designed to part phone owners from their cash. Now, the scammers that took the money have been ordered to…

Minecraft on Xbox 360 Will Edge Closer to Its PC Counterpart With “Difficult” 1.8 Update

When Minecraft hit Microsoft’s game console a few weeks ago, it was readily apparent that the 360 version of Mojang’s popular hit wasn’t going to have quite everything that the original PC game does. But, in true Minecraft fashion, future updates promise to make the game’s sandbox more complex and more creative. According to an…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

There is nothing—nothing, I say—better than the Thursday before a long weekend. Except the Friday before a long weekend. Welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk about new games,…

Why Call of Duty Still Has Single-Player Campaigns

Call of Duty was always popular, but became a cultural phenomenon only in 2007 thanks to a revised multiplayer system that hooked players with a then-innovative ability-unlocking level-based system. That year’s Call of Duty IV: Modern Warfare became the new GoldenEye, the new Halo… the new multiplayer game that it seemed like everyone who had…

One of the Best Downloadable 3DS Games Gets a Little Better in This Week’s Nintendo Download

Last week it was a Mario Kart patch, this week it’s a version update, with new content added to WayForward Technologies’ Mighty Switch Force inching the 3DS eShop ever closer to iTunes territory. Mighty Switch Force is a puzzling platformer that relies on the tried-and-true switch mechanic, in which platforms and such phase in and…

Ron Gilbert’s New Game Mixes Maniac Mansion With a Little Metroidvania

Wait, I’m sorry. I think you just said, “Maniac Mansion and Metroidvania.” Did you say that? Or was I just dreaming? GO ON, I’M LISTENING. Okay well, yes, Adventure game legend Ron Gilbert’s The Cave combines the varied, differently abled cast and single ever-shifting setting of Maniac Mansion with a large, fully traversable world a…

Screenshots From Within The Cave

Can Rift‘s Player-Versus-Player Revamp Save it From the Oncoming Storm?

Trion World’s MMO rift has done well enough for itself, but with Tera underway and The Secret World and Guild Wars 2 looming, they’ve got to be feeling some heat. Can the newly-revamped three-faction Conquest system keep folks playing? I’m not quite sure. I mean, Rift is a solid game with plenty of character options…