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Reset Glitch May Wipe Out Gotham City Impostors Data
A glitch coming when a user updates Gotham City Impostors‘ trial version to a full game is causing reset of some players attributes and statistics, developer Monolith has said, which is particularly troubling since some players have boosted their attributes with paid upgrades. Monolith, answering a lengthy (and upset) thread on the game’s official forums,…
By Owen Good Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Insomniac Programmer Michael Kuehl Passes Away
Michael Kuehl, a programmer with Resistance developers Insomniac – and who had also worked at Infinity Ward and Electronic Arts – has tragically passed away at the age of 32. Kuehl was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle, and died from his injuries. Our thoughts go out to his family and colleagues.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
His Creations Come to Life
For Reals | COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: Minecraft creator Notch witness his work made real through the magic of Lego. (Photo: Imagur) Gameplay and Story Are Exactly Like Music and Lyrics Look, okay. Let’s press “pause” on the debate. You know the debate I’m talking about, right? That endless disagreement in the video game world about gameplay…
By Mike Fahey Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedLooks Like the Persona Fighting Game is Coming to the West
Earlier today, Atlus teased an announcement for it loyal fans in North America by sending an image of a giant black rectangle. A little PhotoShop work reveals that image to be a teaser for what looks like Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena Or, as most people call it, The Persona 2D Fighting Game…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedWhy the Chrono Cross Soundtrack is My Favorite
I think I know part of the reason Chrono Cross is less acknowledged than its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. It’s because it’s a sequel in spirit only, keeping some conceptual commonalities and a sparse few plot ones. On the most basic level they’re about the same thing: The deeply disorienting idea of a world exactly like…
Leigh Alexander Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedFallout 3‘s Tunnel Snakes Rule, and So Does This Amazing Classic Remix
Who could forget the Tunnel Snakes, the dorkiest, least menacing group of post-apocalyptic greaser wanna-be gangsters to ever grace a role-playing game? I sure couldn’t. And who could forget this classic video, which though it’s a few years old, still holds up remarkably well? Not Jenn Frank, anyway, who was kind enough to remind me…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Mind-Numbing Music of the PlayStation Vita
Every time I boot up my Vita, I get into an elevator. This elevator takes me to all kinds of cool places—fun games, great graphics, really cool online features, and a highly functional and enjoyable PSN experience. But there’s a catch: on this elevator, they’re playing incredibly tedious background music. It loops over and over…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Check Out the Wicked-Grooving New iOS Game Beat Sneak Bandit
Today, Simogo’s rhythm-puzzle game Beat Sneak Bandit arrived on the Apple App Store. Our own Evan Narcisse already wrote it up for us, but I’ve been playing it too and it is terrific. I highly recommend checking it out.
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedA Lovely Video Game Ballad To Invigorate Our Jaded, Shrunken Hearts
Last year’s To The Moon was an emotional game, a throwback storybook that really wore its heart on its sleeve. I liked it a lot. A big part of the game’s emotional oomph came from the music, which was composed by its creator, Kan Gao. But the song that many people will associate with it…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedGameplay and Story Are Exactly Like Music and Lyrics
Look, okay. Let’s press pause on the debate. You know the debate I’m talking about, right? That endless disagreement in the video game world about gameplay versus story. “The two things are incompatible,” say some people. “Video games are not a narrative medium! Video games are games! Why do you think most video game stories…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedAvishai Cohen, One of the Great Composers of our Time
Who says that all the music we listen to during Kotaku Melodic has to be video game music? No one, that’s who. For this “listen here,” I want to highlight one of my all-time favorite musicians, the Israeli bassist, pianist, and composer Avishai Cohen. Avishai got his start playing in the pianist Chick Corea’s band…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
What do Robocop, Washing Machines, Dilbert & Lil B have in Common?
The answer? A song. In 1989, the British developer Ocean created a tie-in video game for the movie Robocop. The game was released on many platforms and featured an eerie yet serene theme song totally unlike the Basil Poledouris theme featured in the movie Fast forward a few years: The washing machine brand Ariston needed…
By Chris Person Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis Noble Theme Will Get You in the Mood for Psychic Heroism
Look, no one really knows what’s going on with this whole Notch-Tim-Schafer-Psychonauts 2 thing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t sit back and listen to what might be my single favorite piece of music from the original Psychonauts! The Psychonauts soundtrack was composed by Double Fine mainstay-maestro Peter McConnell. While no soundtrack may ever replace…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
UncategorizedFrom Far Cry 3 to It’s a Wonderful Life, Dubstep Makes Everything Better
Far Cry fans the world over have gotten a fresh taste of Ubisoft’s coming open-world shooter via a trailer that was released yesterday. It looks… well, as a known Far Cry 2 obsessive, I’m not quite ready to say how it looks. But I can talk about how it sounds, and it sure sounds dubsteppy…
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Melodic Starts Here
And welcome to Kotaku Melodic, your Thursday night spot for all things musical and video gamey. We’re going to get to listen to a lot of good stuff, so plug in your stereo or headphones. Two-drink minimum, please no flash-photography during the show.
By Kirk Hamilton Published February 16, 2012 -
ReviewsUFC Undisputed 3: The Kotaku Review
UFC Undisputed tried to come back too soon. Following a breakout season in 2009, it returned with a good-but-not-great sequel in 2010. Publisher THQ recognized the franchise didn’t deliver enough and shifted it to two-year production cycle. So is UFC Undisputed 3 the game mixed martial arts fans should have gotten last May? Or is…
By Owen Good Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Futurama, Street Fighter and Last Airbender Leap onto SoulCalibur V‘s Stage of History
We already knew that SoulCalibur V‘s character creator is powerful enough to allow you to create all sorts of messes, but this ups the ante one notch more. From recognizable characters of other famous fighting franchises to completely random (but equally recognizable) characters like Zoidberg or the cast of Community, the gallery of characters fans…
By Tina Amini Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Penny Arcade’s Game Ratings PSAs Make Learning Fun
You come to Kotaku every day, right? So it stands to reason that you know all about the E through M ratings that grace the boxes of video games in America. But if you’re not a regular reader of this fine site—say, one who buys video games for a younger lifeform—you may not even know…
By Evan Narcisse Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Why a Former Nintendo Developer Loves the Vita
One of the most interesting parts of reaching one’s thirties is seeing how impermanent, flexible, and downright unexpected someone’s career path can end up being. Such is the case with Motoi Okamoto Previously having worked on a decade’s worth of Nintendo titles, including Pikmin, Super Mario Sunshine, and Wii Play, Okamoto left Nintendo in 2008…
By Kate Cox Published February 16, 2012 - Uncategorized
Activision Boss Bobby Kotick Has a Coca-Cola Board of Directors Position and a Smile
President and CEO of Activision Bobby Kotick joins the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company today, applying his business talents to the makers of the most popular carbonated beverage in the world. Can flavor-based DLC be far behind? [Coca-Cola – Thanks, Tal!]
By Mike Fahey Published February 16, 2012