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The PlayStation Network Inevitably Fails in PSN Protector
If Dutch game designer Kenney Vleugels’ Flash interpretation of the PlayStation Network security system were anywhere near accurate, PSN would have been down for the count years ago. PSN Protector is a tower defense variant based on Sony’s recent troubles keeping the PlayStation Network hacker-free. Hack attacks styled after the PlayStation controller buttons attack from…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sorry, There Will Be No Valve Games at E3 2011
Hoping for the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman and the long-awaited revelation of Half-Life 2: Episode Three at this year’s E3? Well, hope a little less today. Valve has said it’s not bringing any games to this year’s expo. “Lots of folks have mailed asking about appointment times with Valve,” reads an e-mail from the…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
7th-Graders Make a Paper-Mache Video Game You Can’t Play
Elisabeth Willis is my kind of art teacher. She’s encouraging her students to create their own video game characters in real life. Her 7th grade class assignment was so popular this spring that she’s already been asked to put together a panel for the National Art Educators Association—and she’s not even a full-time teacher yet.…
By Joel Johnson Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Witcher 2 is Blurry in All the Right Places
Amidst all of the nudity and subtle gags lurking in CD Projekt Red’s latest PC role-playing adventure, the aspect of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings that has impressed me the most so far is how blurry it is. I’m not talking muddy graphics, but rather the purposeful motion blur effect seen when the camera…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedCity of Heroes Dragged Kicking and Screaming Into the Steampunk Age
Steampunk: it’s everywhere you want to be, especially if the place you want to be is Paragon City circa June 1, 2011, when the City of Heroes Steampunk pack goes live. Are you sick of Steampunk yet? There’ll be nowhere in the City of Heroes or City of Villains to escape it come the first…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why are watermelons exploding in China?
Watermelons are bursting at the seams in farms throughout southeastern China, and no one is quite sure what’s causing it. Is it chemicals? Freak weather conditions? Or maybe it’s just time to prepare for a full-on attack of the watermelons. So far, the exploding watermelons have been localized around Danyang City in China’s Jiangsui province.…
By Alasdair Wilkins Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedMonster Hunter Stalks the Mighty iPhone
The race to bag the biggest game of all gets small in Japan this June, when Capcom launches Monster Hunter Dynamic Fighting, the furiously popular franchises first foray onto the iPhone. Taking a cue from Epic’s one-on-one fighter Infinity Blade, Monster Hunter Dynamic Fighting sees players facing off mano-e-monstoro against some of biggest, baddest monsters…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedWe Took a Field Trip to the Minecraft School
A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Matt Toder and I visited a second-grade class that is being taught—mostly during school hours—how to play Minecraft. We’d heard about it and read about it. We had to see it. It’s real. And the kids, well, they’re learning in ways we sure wish we could have when…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Some College Kids Get to Play Portal for Class Credit
“Enduring Questions” is a mandatory class for freshmen at Wabash College. The syllabus? Gilgamesh, Aristotle, Goffman, Donne…and Portal. That’s because it’s taught by Michael “Brainy Gamer” Abbot, profiled in this piece by Patrick Klepek that’s certainly worth reading on Giant Bomb When it came time to talk about the experience, there were surprising responses. Who…
By Joel Johnson Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedThink L.A. Noire Has Impressive Facial Animations? Check This Out
It’s true that work that Team Bondi has done animating the faces of real life actors in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire is nothing short of astounding, but Janimation’s facial recognition technology creates virtual faces so real you can almost smell their stinking breath. Kotaku reader and Janimation employee Trevor Hykes passed along this incredibly impressive technology…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Resident Evil Movie Director Spends Days Watching Other People Play Resident Evil
How does director Paul W.S. Anderson keep coming up for ideas for new entries in the Resident Evil film franchise? According to his wife, series star Milla Jovovich, “professional video game players” do his research for him. Paul Anderson doesn’t have time to play through the Resident Evil games himself. He’s far too busy doing…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Resistance 3 is Now the Leading Contender for Box Art of the Year
The PlayStation 3-exclusive Resistance 3 will be up against many other first-person shooters this fall. Maybe some of those games will be better, maybe not. But can they possibly have better box-art? The R3 box art was designed by British artist Olly Moss. It reminds us that, as with Crysis 2 and a certain upcoming…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Do You Enjoy Reading Your Video Game Dialog?
In today’s episode of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Korio8 wonders if anyone else prefers subtitles in their video games, even if they can hear every spoken word perfectly. Do most of you people have the subtitles turned on when gaming? It has become my habit to watch movies or play games with subtitles since…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Report: Sony PlayStation Network Password Reset Page Exploited, Customer Accounts Potentially Compromised
According to reports on Nyleveia.com, Eurogamer, and NeoGAF, Sony’s PlayStation Network password reset system-the one just put in place after the PSN hack-has been compromised, allowing hackers to change a PSN password if they know your email and date of birth. Exactly the sort of information that was released in the original hack. Sony has…
By Joel Johnson Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Another day, another round of Talk Amongst Yourselves. Lets talk about videogames! Prof.Gast is on a roll this week! Thanks for a really neat image. Wanna get your TAYpic on Kotaku? Submit your pic to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on how to do a TAYpic.)
By Mike Epstein Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
1,000 Gears of War 3 Beta Bullets Fired For Every Chainsaw Kill
Microsoft is crowing this morning about Gears of War 3 becoming the fastest pre-ordered video game in history, which is one of the silliest-sounding records any marketing team has ever claimed for a game, up there with whenever some suit decides to wrap a game in tin foil and declare it the shiniest game ever.…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
An iPhone Game You Can Win, Even If You Can’t See
Close your eyes and play an iPhone game. With Stem Stumper, a game made for both blind and sighted gamers, you can do that. Play it by sound, and you can win. Stem Stumper is a puzzle game made by Ananse Productions, a small game-making outfit in Massachusetts driving toward the goal of making video…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Whenever New Hardware Launches, People Get Excited
All Systems Go | MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: The PlayStation 2 launched Down Under on November 29, 2000. (Photo: Robert Cianflone | Getty) Shoot Targets to Get Duke Nukem Girls Topless Putting new meaning in “flash game”, Duke Nudem is a browser title in which players shoot targets in a game of strip shooting. Winning peels clothes…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Super Robot Wars OG Ready to Destroy the PS3
There’s a yet another new Super Robot Wars OG game, and this one is heading to the PS3. Battle scenes will feature 2D characters against 3D backgrounds, that aim to improve the visual experience, making it not only look better, but smoother. Super Robot Wars: Original Generation was, ahem, originally released in Japan in 2002.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 18, 2011