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UncategorizedComparing The Witcher 2 on PC and Xbox 360
The Witcher 2, one of the most visually impressive PC games going around, is getting an Xbox 360 port. If you were wondering how many corners needed to be cut to get the game running on a six year-old console, here’s your answer. There’s a lot of fog, and the lighting effects have been all…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedBecause Why Shouldn’t a Toy Helicopter Contain a Nuclear Bomb
I’ve been working my way through the many, many, many games created during last weeend’s 2-day Peter Molydeux Game Jam. Now that there are videos, it’s much easier to share the ones that stand out, so yesterday I gave it a stab A list of five games feels woefully incomplete when placed against the insane…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedYou Don’t Have To Sell Me On Your Kickass Soundtrack, The World Ends With You
The World Ends With You was a game about shopping, so it makes sense that included a sales-pitch with its in-game music. Also, about being a teenager. And… playing Tin Pin games? And ghosts. And general confusion. It was a game about a lot of things, wasn’t it? Part Battle Royale, part Shibuya shopping-simulator… all…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedI Don’t Know If This Mass Effect Rap Is Awful or Amazing
I think I’ve been spending too much time on the internet. I laughed for pretty much this entire video, even though I’m fairly certain it’s the most objectively bad music I’ve heard in a long time. It’s to the point that I don’t really know what to make of it anymore, so I’m putting it…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Great Anthems of Sport Belong in Video Games
Today I wrote about “Augusta,” the theme of The Masters Tournament television broadcast since 1980, and its inclusion in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13’s collector’s edition. The emotional violin, piano and guitar ballad is instantly recognizable, and you’re going to hear a lot of it this weekend as the tournament plays out on CBS. There…
By Owen Good Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Spacious Beauty of the Machinarium Soundtrack
Holy heck, I loved Machinarium. I loved it for its art, and for its difficult puzzles and inventive hint system. And I loved it for Tomas Dvorak’s spacious, hugely evocative musical score. The track above is the first tune to play in the game, and it’s very much the moment when the game “reveals itself”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
Some Video Games Are Better Without Music
I think it goes without saying that I love music in video games. But not all games require a soundtrack, and in fact, some games are better off without one. Music can be a distraction, an unnecessary layer of sound that pulls attention away from a game rather than enhancing it. Sometimes, there’s nothing to…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedGame of Thrones’ Rowdiest Song Gets a Celtic Rock Makeover
If there’s one sone more popular in the Game of Thrones universe than “Rains of Castamere,” it’s the rowdy, boisterous “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.” In bars, at weddings, in taverns and on the road, this song gets sung gets sung about as often as someone gets stabbed in the neck. So it was…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedAn Open Letter To The Creators Of Rock Band
Dear Harmonix, I do not ask for the stars, nor for the moon. I ask only for Call Me Maybe to be included in Rock Band Perhaps you’ve never considered putting this wonderful melody in your music games. Perhaps you’ve never even listened to it. I stand here today asking—nay, begging you to reconsider. Carly…
By Jason Schreier Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedSimCity 2000 Had Some Weirdo Music, Man
Every so often I’ll be going back through classic video game music and a game will sound completely different than I remembered. SimCity 2000 is one of those games. Listen to the music in this clip—it’s… really weird! The melodies are kind of haunting, odd dissonant notes up against lonely, floating basslines… looping over and…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Kotaku Mixtape Vol 5: All The Cheesy Game Music You Can Handle
There is a very sick part of me that loves cheesy music and movies. I blame it on being left alone with basic cable in the 1990’s: You couldn’t change the channel without hearing some schmaltzy song playing in the background! And so today on the Kotaku Mixtape, we’re celebrating at some of the cheesiest…
By Chris Person Published April 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
Meet the NFL’s New Uniforms—Same as the Old Uniforms?
Nike is the new maker of uniform apparel for the NFL, and yesterday saw the unveiling of the new threads for all 32 teams. And they’re … basically the same as last year’s for most teams in this tradition-bound sports institution. The Seattle Seahawks did get a makeover but, as the excellent Uni Watch by…
By Owen Good Published April 5, 2012 - Esports
Watch This Pro Gamer Go Bananas, Live, When He Misses His MLB 2K12 Perfect Game Bid
This is Justin Masterson, the Cleveland Indians’ opening day pitcher, being controlled by Richie Martinez, aka TeRRoRR of Major League Gaming, and the captain of Legacy, the pro Gears of War 2 team. Right now, he’s trying his hand at the million dollar prize in 2K Sports’ perfect game challenge for Major League Baseball 2K12,…
By Owen Good Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Musical Tradition Unlike Any Other Makes Its Way Into a Video Game
It took several seconds for the surprise to register when I started up Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 on Saturday. The music is so familiar, I expect it on my television when I’m watching golf at this time of year. And then I realized I was hearing “Augusta,” one of the most famous themes in…
By Owen Good Published April 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
CSI: NY Tackles the Deadly World of Competitive Gaming in the Cleverly-Titled “Kill Screen”
On tomorrow’s investigation-packed episode of CBS’s CSI: NY, Spengler, Mattock and Lady Minerva attempt to solve the murder of a pro-gaming champion in “Kill Screen”. Gives you tingles, doesn’t it? “Kill Screen”! So menacing. Sounds like the team at the New York Department of Solving Crimes is in over their heads this time. It will…
By Mike Fahey Published April 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
Too Much Time and Money Can Make a Video Game Bad, Gearbox Says
What would games look like if the developers behind them had an unlimited amount of time to work on them? I’m not talking about an unlimited time in development hell, like Duke Nukem Forever. I’m talking about the luxury of not having a publisher breathing down your neck to crank a game out by the…
By Tina Amini Published April 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedPlay Classic Mario Games With a Tennis Racquet in Mario Tennis Open
The coolest feature of the upcoming 3DS game Mario Tennis Open is the ability to play the original Super Mario Bros.… by hitting a tennis ball against a wall. That may sound strange, but it feels very natural once you see it in action. It’s easily the most interesting part of the game, which for…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 5, 2012