Portal 2 Beats Out a Lot of Other Games for Kill Screen‘s Game of the Year

Over at Kill Screen, they’ve done their yearly “High Scores” poll in which each of their contributors send in a ballot of games, assigning points to any game from 2011. The results of the vote are in, and Portal 2 is the clear winner. Bastion, Dark Souls, El Shaddai, The Binding of Isaac, and Jetpack…

The Entire Year in Gaming Apps, Technically

Here it is, our massive guide to every mobile game featured in our daily Gaming App of the Day segment during the year 2012. Are you ready for a veritable flood of (three) games? Thrill to the awesome Pitfall-esque running adventures of Temple Run! Defend your bedroom from the forces of not particularly good using…

Microsoft Refunds Money Lost in Xbox Live Phishing Scam, Promises Better Customer Service

Microsoft said it has intervened to restore the Xbox Live account of a customer hit by an overseas phishing scam, and refunded all unauthorized charges the scammers were able to make as her complaint got lost in customer support and was never properly locked down. Further, a Microsoft spokesman tells Kotaku that the company is…

PushMo Invaded By Evil Robot Masters

Nintendo puzzle platformer PushMo is the hottest game to hit the 3DS eStore. Twitter user CushionLotion makes it even better with a set of custom levels crafted to resemble the evil robot masters and lead character of Capcom’s classic Mega Man 2 Seriously, PushMo is the best money I’ve spent in the 3DS eShop thus…

Q.U.B.E. Delivers the Good Kind of Blocking on Steam Today

At first blush, the environs and first-person perspective of puzzle platformer Q.U.B.E. might look familiar. The game tasks you with manipulating a series of colored three-dimensional cubes that have various effects on the environment. It looks to me like living inside a Rubik’s Cube and Stephen Totilo liked it when he laid eyes on it…

Ah, So That’s Where Skyrim Bugs Come From

Ever wonder how such a highly polished game as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim wound up with so many bugs and glitches? Dorkly has uncovered a completely fictional series of letters between Bethesda’s Todd Howard and the lead developer that may explain the situation. All it takes is one fussy lead programmer and a slightly…

Is the Force Strong in Razer’s Star Wars: The Old Republic Gaming Gear?

When BioWare delivered my copy of their latest game last month they used some rather novel packing material: Razer’s officially licensed Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming mouse and headset. I excitedly set the two packages aside and started playing the game. A few days later I finally got back to the side of the…

This Shank 2 Teaser Takes on the Military and Wins

Klei Entertainment’s sequel to the stylish stab-em-up I—and many others—loved is scheduled for an early 2012 release. The clip above shows off new enemies and moves but the game still looks like the bloodiest Saturday morning cartoon never made.

A Much-Improved Version of Gran Turismo 5 Hits Stores January 17

If you were one of those driving fans that passed up Gran Turismo 5 at launch in favor of waiting for a more complete edition of the game at a lower price, your patience pays off January 17 with the Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition The XL Edition of Gran Turismo 5 is the ultimate…

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I Finished These 28 Video Games In 2011

For the sixth year in a row, I have tallied the number of video games I played in the last year. For the sixth year in a row, it’s an absurd amount. But this year, my numbers have plunged. I played some 161 games but finished a mere 28 of them, down from 52 in…

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus Gets Motion and Touch Controls for Its PlayStation Vita Debut

Sony’s official rundown of titles had Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus as a launch window game for PlayStation Vita but Tecmo Koei’s announced today that the action title will be available on the same day as the new handheld. And Ryu Hayabusa’s notoriously difficult PS3 game will be getting a bit of makeover when Tecmo Koei…

Three New Hall & Oates Tracks in Rock Band? I Can Go For That

Call me out of touch, but I can think of nothing I’d rather go for than three classics tracks from rockers Hall & Oates coming to Rock Band on January 10. Some might call them the most important band in the history of music. Then they’d sober up, take a nap, and forget they ever…

Batman’s Kill-Crazy Son Runs Away in This Batman & Robin #5 Preview

Batman’s a character often portrayed as the ultimate loner, but giving Bruce Wayne an actual, biological son has been the best thing to happen to him in recent years. A few years ago, writer Grant Morrison introduced the character of Damian Wayne—the result of the dysfunctional romance between Batman and Talia, daughter of archenemy Ra’s…

Avenger Controller Company Announces $10,000 Donation to Child’s Play

Some good may be coming out of the “Ocean Stratagy”/Paul Christoforo customer service debacle. N-Control, the company that makes the Avenger controller formerly repped by Christoforo, announced that they’d be making a large donation to Child’s Play. Child’s Play is, of course, is the charity organized by Penny Arcade, the popular video game website where…

Steam Sales More Than Double For the Seventh Straight Year, Valve Looks at the Big Picture

Disproving the power of packaged goods once again, Valve’s Steam digital download platform saw another year of massive growth in 2011, with sales more than doubling and the number of simultaneous users surpassing the five million mark. What gets five million people on Steam all at once? You can blame those damn Steam holiday sales…

An Angry Exit From Online Multiplayer

Commenter Seivewright has completely fucking had it with online multiplayer games, and he isn’t going to take it anymore. Find out why in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. I’ve totally decided now. no more fucking online multiplayer whatsoever. No more “maybe this will be different…” No more “maybe if we work as team…” No more…

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Demo Incoming

RPG fans will get a chance to test drive Square Enix’s upcoming Final Fantasy XIII sequel weeks ahead of it’s release with a demo due January 10 for the PlayStation 3 and January 11 for the Xbox 360. [Square Enix]

How to Fix Pro Gaming: Forget TV and Change the Commentary

Television is an odd medium. It is traditionally designed to appeal to the widest range of people, the greatest common denominator. It’s no surprise, then, that the televised competitive playing of video games hasn’t taken off worldwide. Gamers, as a whole, fancy themselves wise to the tactics of most marketing ploys and thus carry around…