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Indie Games Summer Uprising Schedules Its Releases
Despite the title, the Indie Games Summer Uprising for the Xbox Live Indie Games Channel won’t be some spontaneous revolt. The eight games in its lineup got their marching orders yesterday, and will begin rolling out in a week, to be joined by two fan-voted titles at the end of the 10-day event. Monday, Aug.…
By Owen Good Published August 13, 2011 - Uncategorized
‘Incidental Punishment’
You spend fourteen years in this tank, you begin to understand that you’ve only got two thing left they can’t sweat out of you or beat out of you. Your balls. And you better hang onto them, because they’re about the only thing you’re gonna have when you get out of here. Football returned with…
By Owen Good Published August 13, 2011 - Uncategorized
You’re Gonna Have to Buy Rage New If You Want to Crawl Through a Sewer
Plenty of publishers are walling off certain game content behind an “online pass,” a one-use code that’s included free with a retail copy but likely burnt up in that used disc you just bought for a lot less. In most cases, it covers something like online multiplayer. Not Rage Speaking to Eurogamer, Tim Willits, the…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Are We Doin’ This Or What?
Kotaku, readers. Give yourselves a hand. Against insurmountable odds, we’ve made it through another workweek. Tonight, the open thread’s on me. No cover charge, but there is a two conversation minimum. Please have your IDs ready. I’ll leave you to it, talkers. Go ahead and talk amongst yourselves. And if you haven’t done so already,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Real Details on the New Counter-Strike from Pros Who’ve Played It
Valve Software revealed the existence of the newest Counter-Strike today, but the company seemed a bit shy on specifics, saying that next year’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive would bring new weapons, gameplay modes and maps to the extremely popular competitive shooter. Thankfully, some of Counter-Strike‘s most dedicated players, the professionally competitive type, are going hands-on with…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Lookin’ for Love? Notch’s Wedding Means You Can Give a Free Minecraft to Your Soulmate
Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson is getting married tomorrow (which may be today come to think of it. Anyway …) and in celebration of such, he’s giving out a free copy of the game to all who buy it. The idea is to enjoy Minecraft and then give a code for the game to a…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain Doesn’t Want You to Know About His Pokémons
You’ve gotta hand it to Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain. One minute the guy is proposing a three-page limit on bills in Washington, then he’s calling Jon Stewart a racist, and now… well, now he’s breaking out the inadvertent Pokémon references. In his closing statement during last night’s Republican Primary debate, Cain got all deep…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Oh Look, Another Multizillion-Spacedollar Scam Hit EVE Online
Only in an MMO is a gigantic financial crime a) subject to absolutely no punishment and b) a sign of the community’s health because hey, it’s all role-playing, right? Once again, we’re looking at EVE Online. An intergalactic space Ponzi scheme fleeced investors of 1 trillion spacebuxx or whatever that currency is called, which the…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2011 - Culture
This Week in the Business: ‘Graphics will always matter.’
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Graphics will always matter.” – id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead reinforces the motto started by John Carmack, noting that games are nowhere near reality and id still makes graphical trade-offs QUOTE | “Total exaggeration.” – Sega West boss Mike Hayes says that…
James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
This Kotaku editor has some serious gaming to do… next week. We’re departing for Cologne, Germany and Gamescom 2011 on Monday, so I’d better warm up the old thumbs. Maybe with a little Toy Soldiers: Cold War? Perhaps! I’m still catching up on (and completing) many of the Xbox Live Arcade “Summer of Arcade” titles.…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Seeks to Patent the Massively Singleplayer Online Game
Back in 2010, Nintendo filed a patent application for something called a “massively single-playing online game,” something whose interactions don’t take place in real time and what sounds a little Animal Crossing-ish (above). According to GameSpot, which found the filing, the MSO(?) would be an environment where players’ actions and choices affect the world they…
By Owen Good Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Gamescom!
Gamescom – It’s coming… next week. Gamescom 2011. We’re leaving Monday, feet on the ground Tuesday. See you there? Why You Need to Play Age of Empire Online… And Believe My Lies Be warned: I am a strident fan of classic computer real-time strategy series Age of Empires and when finally given the opportunity to…
By Brian Crecente Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Terrifically Tactical Frozen Synapse Gets Demo, Half-Price Weekend on Steam
I’m only just now getting around to Frozen Synapse, which was released back in May and about which a bunch of people I know have had only nice things to say. So far, it’s like some glorious combination of X-Com and Tron with maybe a touch of Rainbow Six and Ubisoft’s fantastic 3DS game Ghost…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
From Snot-Shooting to Eyeball Eating, The Best Gaming Apps of the Week
Shooting your own mucus at phlegm-hungry monsters? Destroying ice sculptures with multicolored bombs? Attacking a dolphin-headed mad scientist from the inside? It’s definitely time for this week’s Gaming App of the Day round-up. It was a week filled with the sort of touchy-feely games you’ll only find on today’s advanced mobile gaming devices, otherwise known…
By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2011 -
UncategorizedDoes This Sound Like the Year 2027 to You?
To capture the sound of the year 2027 for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Eidos Montreal recruited a man with hair so glorious the music composer had to be bald to balance it out. While the graphics folks are busy working on textures and such, the sound folks are busy trying to create the aural identity…
By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
MelVille is like FarmVille With Much Better Writing (And a Whale)
Herman Melville was born well ahead of his time, wasting his writings on paper when the great Moby-Dick deserved a more impressive platform: Facebook. History has been bent in a corrective direction by Zynga-weary game designer David Fox. The brave Fox has finally brought Melville’s great novel to Facebook in the form of Melville, a…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet Takes You on a Weird, Wild Tour of Metroidvainia-land
The recently released XBLA side-scroller Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet wears each of its various influences proudly on its sleeve. You’ll probably see them if you play it, but if I had to list them all, I’d take a deep breath and say: A moderately tripped-out short from Fantasia grafted onto PixelJunk Shooter through the lens…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Watch Playstation’s Gamescom Press Conference Live
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe says they’ll be providing a live video stream of their press conference at Gamescom next week. Of course we’ll be on hand too covering it from the floor. You can catch the stream ( Tuesday 16 August 2011 at 19:00 CET / 18:00 BST / 03:00 Sydney (Wed) ) on the…
By Brian Crecente Published August 12, 2011 -
UncategorizedGet Wasted, Bomberman Style
Because today is Friday, and because while we know the entire Kotaku community enjoys video games, we also know a few of you might also enjoy consuming alcohol with friends—we thought it would be a good idea to share a way for you to combine those interests. It’s called Sake Bomberman. I really don’t think…
By Joshua Rivera Published August 12, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why You Need to Play Age of Empires Online… And Believe My Lies
Be warned: I am a strident fan of classic computer real-time strategy series Age of Empires and when finally given the opportunity to play a new take on the game I will go to great lengths to make sure it sticks around. Usually that wouldn’t be a problem. But Age of Empires Online’s survival faces…
By Brian Crecente Published August 12, 2011