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Deus Ex: Human Revolution Puts the “Fun” in “Funicular”
I learned a lot of things while playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I learned that it is always better to stun than to kill (unless I’m fighting a boss battle), I learned that the easiest way to get from a rooftop to street-level anywhere in China is to jump, and I learned that if I…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedCardboard Warfare II
Greetings, Kotaku. If you’re sick of reading about or talking about video games, this is the post for you. Everything’s open for discussion here, regardless if it falls outside the video game, sci-fi, comic book and snack circles. For instance, I’d really like to show you Cardboard Warfare II, which you can see in the…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Week In Dangerous Games: Skyrim Binge Drinking, Kirby Rump Shaking and Diablo III‘s ‘Flesh-Impact Sounds’
How are new and upcoming video games potentially offending us now? In mostly the same old ways: with excessive violence and gore, earfuls of foul language, smoking, drinking and “suggestive themes,” sometimes known as sex Thankfully, the people of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board often provide us with clear, concise and colorful descriptions of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
In Moneyball, Activision’s Bobby Kotick Plays a Familiar Role
To call Bobby Kotick’s appearance in Moneyball a cameo is a bit of a misnomer. The Activision boss has two significant scenes in the sports flick and plenty of lines as Stephen Schott, the former co-owner of the Oakland Athletics. It’s not to say Kotick plays much of a character, but he doesn’t have to.…
By Owen Good Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedOrder Renegade Ops on PC, Get Gordon Freeman’s Half-Life 2 Buggy
It’s a far cry from a Half-Life 3 announcement, but PC gamers around the world will get a free bonus in their Steam version of Avalanche’s downloadable blast-em-up Renegade Ops: Gordon Freeman’s iconic buggy. The buggy is cool-looking, but its best feature is surely its ability to summon Ant-Lions and sic ’em on enemies. Don’t…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedWhat Is PlayStation’s Mysterious ‘Long Live Play’ Teaser All About?
The PlayStation folks are promising we’ll “See beyond the doors”—the doors at the tail end of the above teaser clip—on October 5, 2011. What brand of video game hype is this? And should we be expecting something amazing next week? Well, let’s see what’s in the above mystery clip. There’s Sweet Tooth’s van from Twisted…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
In Game Design, Sometimes You Have To Fake It ’till You Make… The Gunstringer
Some of the best ideas are born of strange, stressful circumstances. Case in point: Twisted Pixel’s inspired and highly enjoyable new Kinect game The Gunstringer. To hear Twisted Pixel CEO Mike Wilford and chief creative officer Josh Bear tell it, the two of them came up with the idea for the game… during their pitch…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
(Teeny Tiny) War!
Warhammer –This weekend marked my return to table top miniature gaming. I starting to dig into Flames of War, but I suspect a return to Warhammer is inevitable. Taking the Taboo Out of Mature Gaming It’s like clockwork; Moments after popping open any game that has a mature rating, my 10-year-old son seems to appear…
By Brian Crecente Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
Turn Those Empty Calories Into Double XP with Modern Warfare 3 Mountain Dew & Doritos
Snack enthusiasts will have a powerful advantage over their non-snacking multiplayer rivals in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, thanks to Doritos and Mountain Dew’s “Rank Up Your Game” scheme. It turns the consumption of nacho cheese flavored chips and carbonated beverages into cold, hard experience points—twice as many, 15 minutes at a time. The…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
25 Years of Zelda on Display at Nintendo World
I’m one of the biggest Zelda fanatics around. So imagine my excitement when my Lords and Masters here at Kotaku said it would be a good idea for me to visit the 25th Anniversary display celebrating The Legend of Zelda that Nintendo World recently set up. Pop up to the second floor to see all…
By Nick Partyka Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis Trailer Is Black, Bloody, and Hopeless, and That’s Just the Way The Darkness Likes It
The Darkness comic book has been around since 1996, but you don’t need to worry about fifteen years of continuity in order to understand 2K Games’ The Darkness II. You just need three minutes with Johnny Powell. Powell here gives us the low-down on The Darkness, from the beginning of time up to the death…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
Rumor: Dead Space 3 Trades Total Darkness for Blinding Light on a Frozen Planet
If EA is making another Dead Space—and it’s starting to appear that it is—it may be a radical rethink of the sci-fi horror series. Gone may be the dark corridors of space ships and far-flung planetary settlements, replaced by an icy wasteland inhabited by an all-new strain of monster. Siliconera reports that it has first…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Pros and Cons of Playing Futuristic Tetris
Nintendo 3DS will let you play augmented-reality Tetris. Augmented reality. Do you know what that means? Tetris on your desk. Tetris just floating out there in thin air for you to play. It works…okay. Take a look at our first playtest of AR Tetris in the video we shot at Kotaku HQ in New York…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
No One Told El Universal Gears 3 Was an Xbox 360 Exclusive
One of Mexico’s largest newspapers apparently turns to Google image search for its graphics as much as the next guy, as evidenced by this lovely picture of Gears of War 3 for the PlayStation 3 found inside today’s issue. I suppose some editor somewhere wanted to keep things PlayStation 3 centric at the top of…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
Is It Weird to Get Excited About Beta Shots of Battlefield 3‘s Menus?
At the risk of sounding overhyped about DICE’s Battlefield 3, the latest batch of unofficial screens from the game’s ongoing beta are (mostly) about its UI, which are beautiful and even a little bit informative. Screengrabs from Battlefield 3‘s beta, courtesy of Battlefieldo forum goers, show off some multiplayer options, win/lose screens and the myriad…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
How Many Clicks Does It Take To Get To the End of the Diablo III Beta?
“All you do is click!” “It’s a total click-fest!” “Don’t make me click your ass!” Yes, we’ve heard the criticism over the Diablo franchise for its simple mouse-driven mechanics, but is it really a million mouse-clicks to victory? Why don’t we ask wise old Mr. Owl? Oh yeah, because wise old Mr. Owl has proven…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2011 -
Uncategorized
Drake’s In the Desert in Gorgeous New Uncharted 3 Footage
Nathan Drake will be gorging on sun, guns and fun in the Rub’ al Khali desert, one of the many destinations featured in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. First footage of Drake’s (potentially spoiler-ish) desert-going adventure is now in the wild, excavated from the recent Eurogamer Expo. PlayStation 3 owners looking to go in completely fresh…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Latest Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Story Trailer Doesn’t Leave Ezio Hanging
In this extended version of the stunning, music-backed story trailer from E3 earlier this year that left Ezio facing the wrong end of a hangman’s noose, the hangman now finds himself on the wrong end of an Ezio. Gone is the trendy music of the original video, replaced with a voiceover from Ezio himself, which…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
The First 50 Pages of the Second Elder Scrolls Novel
I’ve got a copy of The Lord of the Souls, the second Elder Scrolls novel, sitting on my night stand. It’s buried under a few other books I’ve got to read first. I’m hoping to eventually write something about what I thought of the book. But if you’d rather not wait and want to see…
By Brian Crecente Published September 26, 2011 - Uncategorized
When Plants Vs. Zombies Meets the NHL, Horrible Tattoos Happen
42-year-old hockey fan Mike Schaaf was in the market for some more permanent body art to demonstrate his passion for the pastime, but wasn’t sure which artistic direction to go in. Then he saw someone playing Plants Vs. Zombies Some art is carefully planned over a period of years, painted over and over against in…
By Mike Fahey Published September 26, 2011