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An Ovation for the Ovechtrick
Playoff hockey has brought back Verizon’s “Ovechtrick” commercial with the requisite saturation. For those not in the know, that would be nine goals in a game. (The NHL record is seven). One simulation pegs its real-world likelihood at 2 in 10,000. On the eve of the NHL playoffs opening in real life, Kotaku reader THEAnderson…
By Owen Good Published April 30, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo, Wary of Bargain-Binned Spirit Tracks, May Give Ocarina of Time a Small Shipment
When the DS’s The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks showed up in bargain bins four months after release, for less than the price of lunch at McDonald’s, it was rather embarrassing for Nintendo. Rumor has it the 3DS’ Ocarina of Time will get a small shipment to avoid such a fate. The comes from Sinobi…
By Owen Good Published April 30, 2011 -
UncategorizedPuttin’ on the Deals Heah, Boss
There’s no playing grab-ass or fighting in the building. You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. First bell’s at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight.…
By Owen Good Published April 30, 2011 -
UncategorizedMicrosoft’s Execrable “Clippy” Returns in Gamified Office Tutorial
Microsoft Word’s loathsome Clippy, the Crazy Crab of application mascots, is making a comeback. Yes, really. Killed off in 2007, Microsoft is now using him as the tutorial host introducing you to the wonders of the latest round of whatever useless bloatware they’re heaping on Office. Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy’s Second Chance – a video…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
A Compendium of Cave Johnson Quotes from Portal 2
It goes without saying that this site constitutes one gigantic spoiler, so don’t go there if you are still interested in discovering for yourself anything about Portal 2 or the founder of Aperture Science, whose recorded messages of accelerated dementia have made the character another cult hit from Valve. “Cave Johnson, Here!” has thus far…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Buried Treasures
You know what a good way to start off one’s weekend is? Well, for you it might be stimulating conversation between you and fellow game-loving enthusiasts in this here very post. This open thread is all yours to do with what you please. Well, how I’m starting my weekend is with the good news that…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis Portal 2 Cube Wizard Must Have Such A Supple Wrist
I’m fairly comfortable tossing a Weighted Pivot Cube or Companion Cube around an Aperture Science test chamber, but some Portal 2 players make cube-handling look like, well, a science. Some liberties are taken with the physics of the recently released Portal 2, specifically a “re-portaling technique” that offers a nice little velocity boost, but in…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Cliffy B Implies No Master Chief/Gears Crossover Because Microsoft is ‘Kind of Squeamish’
Epic Games characters have appeared into other games before – Lost Planet 2, for example. The studio’s willing to consider any reasonable tie-in with its own games, too, so you’re not the first to wonder how awesome it’d be to have a Master Chief skin in Gears of War The problem, as Epic Games design…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
PlayStation Network Attack Now Has the Attention of U.S. Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has joined the FBI, Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys general in investigating last week’s PlayStation Network breach. That “malicious intrusion” into Sony’s online network and its Qriocity service forced PlayStation owners offline and threatened the security of some 77 million accounts. Homeland Security says it is “aware…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Keep That Anti-Madden Feelin’ Alive With All-Pro Football 2K8‘s Editor
A newly released roster editor for All-Pro Football 2K8 refreshes that pro football alternative for the NFL 2K5 diehards and conscientious objectors to the NFL’s seven-year exclusive license of the Madden franchise. Released today, the editor is by Operation Sports’ FlyingFinn, who also built a roster editor for the venerated 2K5. This application, however, only…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard Sends Duke to WWII for His First Comic Book Series
If more story is what you’re looking for from infamous alpha dude Duke Nukem, you’re in luck. Duke’s getting his own comic book mini-series courtesy of IDW Publishing, the same folks responsible for Mr. Nukem’s four-color adventure in the Duke Nukem Forever “Balls of Steel” Edition Coming this July is Duke Nukem: Glorious Bastard, a…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
iTunes’ Approval of Flash Game Ripoff Raises a Troubling Question for Gamers
A blatantly copied flash game currently offered on the iTunes App Store will likely be removed quickly if Apple’s whack-a-mole approach to content moderation is any guide. But this new twist in App Store plagiarism raises a troubling question for game developers and conscientious consumers. How do you know that 99-cent App isn’t someone’s stolen…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedShadows of the Damned Dev Diary Has The Best Dub Job Ever
Normally, I’m not one for watching “developer diary” videos, but when it comes to a game like Shadows of the Damned and developers like Shinji Mikami and Goichi “Suda 51” Suda, consider me interested. Plus, when a developer is dubbed this spectacularly, it makes watching worthwhile. This four-minute-long look at June’s Shadows of the Damned…
By Michael McWhertor Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Poster of the Dead
BRAAAAIINS | Activision’s movie poster send-up for their upcoming Call of the Dead zombie expansion pack to Call of Duty: Black Ops. (Photo: Brian Crecente) Just How World of Warcraft Is Order & Chaos Online? Gameloft has finally turned its uncanny game mimicking powers to World of Warcraft and the result is a surprisingly enjoyable…
By Brian Crecente Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Week in Gaming Apps
This week our gaming apps had the rhythm of PaRappa the Rapper‘s creator, the controversy of illegal immigration, and the dubious honor of being the iPhone’s first true World of Warcraft clone. This week’s gaming apps were all iOS-centric, but we’ve constantly got our eye out for important games on other mobile platforms. Considering my…
By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Don’t Download That Fallout: New Vegas Update Just Yet, Says Bethesda
A title update to the Xbox 360 version of Fallout: New Vegas, to prepare the game for the upcoming Honest Hearts DLC should not be accepted until a replacement update goes live later this evening, Bethesda Softworks said. The update currently being served freezes gamesave data, making it unplayable. That’s kind of a bitch, especially…
By Owen Good Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
Captain America Weighs in on Wikileaks
Given that he used to be frozen in ice for a few decades, we should not be surprised that Captain America has been a little slow in addressing the Wikileaks scandal. That silence was cracked in this week’s Secret Avengers issue no. 12.1 (recommended on Kotaku earlier this week). Spoiler: Captain America is not down…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 29, 2011 -
UncategorizedIt’s Time to Join the Super Hero Squad
While details are still being hammered out for Gazillion Entertainment’s more mature Marvel MMO, its family-friendly, free-to-play Marvel Super Hero Squad Online is now open for business. Head over to HeroUp.com to get started.
By Mike Fahey Published April 29, 2011 - Culture
This Week In The Business: “A Nightmare.”
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Definitely affects our bottom line.” – PixelJunk developer Dylan Cuthbert on the financial impact the PSN outage is having on developers QUOTE | “PS3 sales won’t be impacted at all.” – Belief of analyst Michael Pachter that Sony’s PSN fiasco actually won’t…
James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published April 29, 2011 - Uncategorized
They Make Video Games For Nerds, And They’re Damn Proud Of It
Fredrik Wester can actually name a computer game that was too hardcore, too out there, for his company to publish. That’s a surprise, considering how (putting it kindly) obscure (?)… specific (?) … for-nerds (!) the games that Wester’s Paradox Interactive puts out there. Naval combat simulator set in the Arctic Circle? Too hardcore for…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 29, 2011