• 

  Uncategorized

  Your Computer and My iPad Are Not the Best Bejeweled-Playing Machines. This is.

  Bejeweled 3 is an excellent video game. Normal people play it on computers. But special people—people who work at PopCap, the studio behind the Bejeweled series—get to play it on a massive touch-sensitive TV right in the lobby of their headquarters. Lucky them. Giant Bejeweled 3 Touch (my name for it) is irresistible, as my…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Warco Looks Like the Unlikely, Fascinating Marriage of Battlefield and Pokemon Snap

  Warco is the most captivating first-person shooter concept of the year. That’s because Warco arms its players with nothing more than a flak jacket and a video camera, capturing the violence of Middle Eastern and African conflicts not as a super soldier, but as a combat reporter. This unexpected blend of first-person shooter and journalism—part…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Generations Plumbs the Darkest Corners of Sonic‘s History

  The problem with mining the rich and varied history of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Sonic Generations is that history includes this red and black jerk-off right here. For some, Shadow is a welcome addition to Generations. For others, he still signifies the looming death of a beloved series. Shadow will appear as one…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Rezurrection’ Add-on Hits PS3 & PC Next Week

  The fourth and final add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Rezurrection, hits the PS3 and PC September 22, kicking off a double XP weekend. Rezurrection’s all-zombie maps include Moon, Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese.

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Selling the Zombie Apocalypse the Don Draper Way

  The reviews are in for Techland’s open-world zombie role-playing game Dead Island. Reviewers are talking about immersion and HUDs, PC bugs and control issues, and whether it is possible to love a game for the cool moments it provides while accepting that it has significant flaws. But from review to review, there is one constant:…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Have A Seat and Enjoy 20 Minutes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  Lock the door. Have your secretary hold your calls for the next 20 minutes. Grab a beverage. Settle in for a nice 20 minute chunk of gameplay from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, informatively narrated by game director Todd Howard. If you attended E3, QuakeCon and/or PAX Prime this year, this may be old hat…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Deals on Deus Ex ($35) and Madden ($50) Start the Week

  August’s two biggest games, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Madden NFL 12 both got discounts through Amazon. Previously Madden was offered at full price with store credits as an inducement. Today’s deal is a straight discounted price. Deus Ex now is nearly half off. • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3, Xbox 360) is $34.99, free…

  By Owen Good Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  You’ll Never Guess the Name of this Painting (And, Yes, There’s a Video Game Connection)

  I was in Turkey for the past week. Saw some sites. Hung out with cool people. Went in a hot-air balloon. Stayed in a cave hotel (in this cave room). And I went to some museums, including Istanbul’s Pera Museum, where I checked out a great exhibit of student art. There was this one painting…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  GameStop Officially Wants Your iPhone, iPads, and iPods

  Video game retailer GameStop officially gets into the Apple business today with the launch of its long-rumored iPhone, iPad, and iPod trade-in program. How much will they pay for your old Apple crap? Time to dig through your things for those old Minis, Shuffles, and Nanos; GameStop wants them, and it wants them bad. The…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  The Street Fighter X Tekken Battle We’ve All Been Waiting For

  It’s a battle so titanic that only Tokyo, birthplace of giant mutated monsters, could possibly hope to contain it! This isn’t about Street Fighter X Tekken anymore. It’s all about Rufus X Bob Seriously, they could have just released Rufus X Bob and I would have gladly paid $60 for it. Just look at how…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Mass Effect’s XXXL Cosplay Comes With an XXXL Price Tag

  It may not come with a pair of useless-in-space aviator sunglasses, but the official Mass Effect N7 Flight Suit does come with a five-pack patch kit. Oh and it will set you back $100. Order now and you’ll get the poly/cotton, zippered flight suit with the full color patches by Halloween. The patches it comes…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  When Mega Man Overcharges, Reality Pays the Price

  Mega Man’s Mega Buster arm cannon will never break the shell of those little hard hat critters, but charge it long enough and it just might rip a gaping hole in the fabric of reality. I remember as a kid holding down to charge button far longer than I ever needed to, just in case…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  What the New Counter-Strike Is and Isn’t, According to Valve

  The next Counter-Strike, the one coming out early next year called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, won’t be called Counter-Strike 2, because that game would be “something different”, two of Valve’s top people on the new game recently told Kotaku “A lot of Counter-Strike: GO is taking Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 and melding it into a…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  GameStop Launching its Own Android Gaming Tablet

  Still not convinced that mobile and tablet games are real video games? Gamestop doesn’t agree. The largest retailer of video games in the world today said that they are prepping to launch their own brand of Android gaming tablet next year, something they are calling a “GameStop certified gaming platform.” What’s that mean. We’re not…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  ‘Blizzard Music’ is Your Nostalgia Time-Waster of the Day

  Do you love Blizzard games? Any of them? The new Blizzard Music site, launched today, lets you listen to snippets of every song on the official soundtracks for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, StarCraft II, Diablo II and so much more. And then, after listening to the clips, you can click through and buy them on…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Tokyo Game Show Soldiers On Despite A Looming Identity Crisis

  Japan may not be the birthplace of video games, but it is the heart of video game culture. Later this week, gamers from around the world will make their annual pilgrimage to the Tokyo Game Show to take in not just the news and games, but also the culture that surrounds gaming. This year, though,…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  If You Have No Willing Friends, This is How the New Ratchet & Clank Will Play

  Ideally, you’ll play next month’s PlayStation 3 exclusive Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One with three other people, online or offline. That’s what it was made for. But in case you can’t—in case you refuse—you can solo it. This new trailer shows what that looks like. As you play solo, controlling Ratchet, Clank, Dr. Nefarious…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011
• Reviews

  Tell Us About the Official Wireless PlayStation 3 Headset, PoweredByHentai

  Warning: Today’s Speak Up on Kotaku might send you to your local video game retailer with $100 in hand, as commenter PoweredByHentai goes hands-on with Sony’s recently-released wireless PlayStation 3 headset. So my Sony wireless headset for the PS3 arrived at my house this morning. It has a built-in rechargeable battery that is charged up…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Did Angry Birds Help Tackle Political Corruption in India?

  India’s decision to take tough steps against political dishonesty may have had a little help from a flying, angry bird. Angry Anna, a political riff on popular game Angry Birds, helped to spread the word about Indian activist Anna Hazare’s campaign to rid the country’s government of graft, CNN reports. In free-to-play Angry Anna, players…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Flying, Invisibility Removed from Red Dead Redemption

  Cowboys won’t be able to turn invisible, fly or otherwise emulate the Fantastic Four, thanks to a new automatic patch just released for Rockstar’s hit Western Red Dead Redemption. Details on the anti-cheating changes and bug fixes at Rockstar’s site

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011