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Sony Looking to Win Big at the 2011 Hacking Awards
The BlackHat USA security conference kicks off later today in Las Vegas, and will be attracting some of the world’s top hackers and online security experts. As part of the festivities, every year an awards night is held called the “Pwnies”. They exist to celebrate and publicly ridicule “the achievements and failures of security researchers…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Voice of GlaDOS Is Back for More Portal Work
The very talented Ellen McLain, a singer by trade but best-known to you lot for her voice-acting work in Valve games, is apparently returning this week to her most famous role: that of bitchy artificial intelligence GlaDOS from the Portal series. A tweet from McLain’s husband, John Lowrie, reads “Ellen is going in Tuesday for…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 3, 2011 - CultureTotal Recall
This Is the Coolest Stuff Nintendo Has Ever Made
You can say a lot of nice things about Nintendo games. Nintendo hardware, too. Wildly successful, iconic and timeless are just three of them. But how often can you say something Nintendo made was genuinely cool? Not very often. Unless you go back to the 1960’s, to a time before Nintendo was making video games.…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Where Have You Been?
Greetings, Kotaku readers. Would you like to engage in some talk that’s not about video games? What if it’s only very loosely related to video games? Good. You’re in the right place then. While you’re free to discuss anything and everything you like, I’d like to cash in on a Themed Tuesday Open Thread, the…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Look, Single-Player People Are Just Better
I’m not denying this is territory I’ve covered before. There’s no disguising that I’m a fan of single-playing gaming over multiplayer. Finally it’s time to just say it. We need to stop avoiding the matter, stop not saying what everyone’s thinking. I’m the man brave enough to do this. I am a valiant man, and…
By Sam Winstrom Published August 2, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Many Faces of Commander Shepard, Kickass Space-Lady
Yesterday, I wrote a piece about the process by which BioWare is choosing an official female Commander Shepard for Mass Effect. In this piece, I went on a flight of fancy about an imagined commercial that would feature a constantly shifting montage of various Shepards, highlighting the customizability that makes Mass Effect so cool. As…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Minecraft Creator Calls Bullshit on ‘Unlimited Detail’ Graphics Hype
Euclideon, a Brisbane, Australia-based tech company, claims it can stuff 100,000 times the amount of visual data into a 3D world with its Unlimited Detail rendering software. It’s visually stunning stuff. But one prominent game developer calls it “a scam.” Minecraft creator Marcus “Notch” Persson accuses the Euclideon team of being “snake oil salesmen,” writing…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why Would Anyone Watch YouTube Videos of Leaked Gears 3 Footage?
It’s something I’ve wondered about. When a game like Gears of War 3 is leaked ahead of its release date, I can understand wanting to play it, but why on earth would someone go out of his or her way to spoil themselves by watching videos of it on YouTube? In a lengthy interview with…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Shoot Ninjas, Pirates, Viruses, and Gorillas in Our Newest Xbox Live Indie Favorites
Every couple of weeks, we recommend some of the best games on the Xbox Live Indie channel. These are the games on the fringe of the Xbox 360 platform, made by average Joes and indie dreamers. They’re peer-reviewed, not Microsoft-approved and thankfully they’re not all about posing your Xbox Avatar or a vibrating controller. Our…
By Max Abrams Published August 2, 2011 -
UncategorizedAngry Birds, Infinity Blade, Fruit Ninja, and Pan’s Labyrinth Converge in The Dark Meadow
Combining the slingshot controls of Angry Birds, the swordplay of Fruit Ninja, the gorgeous Unreal Engine-powered graphics of Infinity Blade, and the dark fairytale them of the film Pan’s Labyrinth, The Dark Meadow is the sort of iOS game nightmares are made of. Last seen working on ambitious super hero games, the ex-Midway staffers at…
By Mike Fahey Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Summer of Gaming
Not A Summer of Gaming for Totilo – Totilo wasn’t a big fan of this summer’s gaming offers. Here’s what was sitting at the top of his desk pile. (Photo by Brian Crecente) The Traveler’s Guide To Quakecon QuakeCon isn’t just a celebration of all things id Software (and a touch of Bethesda) it’s also…
By Brian Crecente Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Metroid‘s Samus and the Exploded Suit
Artist Justin Currie, admittedly an inexperienced Metroid player, gorgeously illustrates the disintegrating armor of Nintendo icon and bounty hunter Samus Aran, a moment before it fully forms around her (or disintegrates, depending on your point of view). “I’ve never really played any of the Metroid games, but the Samus character has always intrigued me,” writes…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo’s President Addresses 3DS Owners Who May Feel ‘Betrayed’ by Sudden Price Drop
After dismal sales of the Nintendo 3DS (and declining sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS), Nintendo issued a massive, uncharacterisitc price cut for its newest handheld. It plans on compensating early adopters, but what of the 3DS owner personally wounded by Nintendo’s cutting? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata colored the announcement of the 3DS price…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
PlayStation Store Update: Galaga’s Legions and Warhammer’s Kill Team
Hey, you like shooting things? Good. Because this week’s North American PlayStation Store refresh has, like, at least three different variations on the shooting things genre, including Galaga Legions DX, Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team and Section 8: Prejudice If shootin’ stuff doesn’t agree with you, there’s something else you may like: the downloadable release of…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
This PlayStation Move Knock-Off Completely Misses the Point
Hong Kong electronics distributor FirstSing claims to have the world’s first third-party PlayStation Move controller for sale, and it might; I just don’t see anyone actually purchasing it to find out. A cursory glance of the FirstSing FS18156 First Third-party Move Motion Navigation Controller suggests that it is exactly what people look for in a…
By Mike Fahey Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Traveler’s Guide To Quakecon
QuakeCon isn’t just a celebration of all things id Software (and a touch of Bethesda) it’s also one of the longest running bring-your-own-computer gaming events in the world. Oh and this year, on top of the keynote, the panels, the gaming rigs, there’s a chance to get your hands on Rage If you’ve never been,…
By Brian Crecente Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
There’s Very Little Time Left to Catch These Pokémon
How do you fit all 151 original Pokémon in one pokéball? Graphic designer Deanlord shows us how in one amazing t-shirt design, available for only a few more hours through TeeFury.com. The humble artist captures the spirit of the original Pokémon games in this gorgeous gathering of 151 pocket monster pals, tastefully silhouetted against a…
By Mike Fahey Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Lord of the Rings Goes to War In The North in November
Our video game November gets more crowded today with the release date(s) of Snowblind’s The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The PS3/Xbox 360/Games for Windows RPG hits November 1 (North America) and November 4 (Europe).
By Michael McWhertor Published August 2, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Hand That Guides the Gears of War Universe
In 2006 when science fiction author Karen Traviss’ editor asked her if she wanted to do a military video game tie-in novel, it was the first she’d heard of Epic Games’ Gears of War. Today she’s responsible for the entire fictional universe, steering the adventure of Marcus Fenix and company to its inevitable conclusion and…
By Mike Fahey Published August 2, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis is Pinball Using Live Human Bodies
In the amazing version of tilt-free pinball shown in this video, one person is the pinball. Other people are the flippers. Or sometimes fences are the flippers. Maybe a manhole cover is the hole down which the human pinball will be lost. This is giant-sized pinball, as imagined by director Aaron Hughes in a terrific…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 2, 2011