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Reigning King Of Kong Goes After Own Record
After Steve Wiebe reclaimed the world record high score in Donkey Kong in September, the Seattle teacher said there still was “room at the top” left for future challenges. He’ll try to beat his own mark in about two weeks. Wiebe, whose 1,064,500 in Donkey Kong is currently the top mark, thinks a score of…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedThe Year, NSFW
Some year-end retrospectives play out to the accompaniment of a tinkly piano. Others to a cheese-cloth montage. Our subject here plays out to strains of bow-chicka-bow-bow and the censor bars. It’s Kotaku’s Year, NSFW. (Warning, NSFW, duh.) Heavy Rain is Light on Clothing: Midway through the PS3 thriller Heavy Rain, Kotaku reader kuroner declined a…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 - Reviews
From the Mouths of Babes, Withering Criticism
Tron: Legacy has been, at best, a critical disappointment. At worst, well, “a Dora the Explorer movie would be more interesting.” Who said that? The eight-year-old daughter of noted video game academic Ian Bogost. Bogost, whose “Cow Clicker” Facebook application this year masterfully blended his talent for games criticism and design, today received a four-paragraph…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedDead Rising Mobile Is Little More Than a Reanimated Corpse
There’s a difference between dead and lifeless, as this iPhone port of Dead Rising unfortunately demonstrates. Tedious mission design, bad frameskip and close – I mean very close – redraw distances, plus a slapped-on social networking feature, don’t do the Dead Rising brand any favors in Dead Rising Mobile. Its sludgy virtual stick controls are…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedLet It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Some Things I Like About America Sweet Baby Rays! I love that stuff. But how could you, a Texas guy, leave out barbecue. You know that means you’re going to Texas Hell… El Paso. What you missed Review: The World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Mouse Caters Shamelessly Do Cheap Tactics…
By Brian Crecente Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Platform That Plays Together Unlocks The Bad Company: Vietnam Map First
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 wanted to see a team spirit on its new Vietnam DLC package before unlocking a remastered Operation: Hastings map. PC players have answered the call first, passing the 69 million “team action” threshold required earlier today. By comparison, the Xbox 360 community is about halfway there (37 million team actions), and…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
Rock Band 3 Rings In 2011 With The Man In Black, Old Tracks
One of your resolutions for 2011 should probably be “play more Rock Band 3.” Harmonix is encouraging that kind of behavior with a long list of new additions to its full band music game, including an injection of Johnny Cash. The Man In Black will lead off Rock Band 3’s list of downloadable songs with…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
Activision Rips Lawmakers’ Fixation On Postal
When the mainstream debate turns to violent video games, it’s inevitable that someone will dredge up Postal. It’s like the triple dog dare, or comparing someone to Hitler, a completely bogus trump card with no real argumentative value. George Rose, the chief public policy officer for Activision Blizzard, finally called bullshit today in a guest…
By Owen Good Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
Get A Good Look At The All-New Tomb Raider
The rebirth of Lara Croft, simply known as Tomb Raider, may be the prettiest entry yet—even if Lara herself looks like she’s gone through hell. If you haven’t already seen what the new Tomb Raider looks like in the pages of Game Informer magazine, the outlet has published a big gallery of screen shots, concept…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
The PSP Had A Very Good Year (In Japan)
Sony’s six-year-old PSP may feel in need of an update, but the portable PlayStation managed to still be the bestselling platform in Japan this year, where Monster Hunter (and its clones) made 2010 great for the PSP. That’s according to a report from ASCII Media Works, publisher of Dengeki game magazines, which pegs the PSP…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Amazeing Sunset
Check out the Amazeing Sunset / Pac-Man artwork by Phil Jones! This shirt design will be up for vote at Threadless very soon. Enjoy the view until then. Amazeing Sunset by Phil Jones (Tumblr) (Flickr) (Twitter) Need your daily fill of geek eye candy? If so, head over to Justin Page’s Rampaged Reality and get…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedLittleBigPlanet 2 Does Windows XP
For a game that’s not even officially out yet, LittleBigPlanet 2 has already impressed us with its game-making capabilities. User ingenuity, as seen in this “Windows LBP” creation, is just as impressive. This Windows XP homage, built in the LittleBigPlanet 2 beta, won’t run a copy of Excel or PowerPoint, but it does do a…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Year in Controversies
It was a controversial year for gaming. The past 12 months saw the in-game assassination of Castro, playable Taliban, a Freedom of Speech shaking Supreme Court case and the call for a ban on Blood Minerals in gaming consoles. From a “fun” concentration camp game, to a lawsuit packed with accusations of intrigue, backstabbing, secret…
By Brian Crecente Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
It’s Not Easy Being Deaf In World Of Warcraft
Earlier this year World of Warcraft player Unwelcome suffered an accident that permanently robbed him of his hearing. Feeling alienated and shunned by his real life friends, he returned to World of Warcraft for some online alienation and shunning. The loss of one’s hearing is a tragic and traumatic event, but it doesn’t necessarily mean…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedThis Is The Best Doritos-Themed Xbox Live Arcade Game Of 2010
The voting is over and Doritos Crash Course comes out ahead of Harm’s Way as the winner of the 2010 Doritos Unlock Xbox Challenge, earning Jill Robertson of Raleigh, North Carolina $50,000. Earlier this month the two finalists of the 2010 Doritos Unlock Xbox Challenge had their designs brought to life and uploaded to the…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
Do Cheap Tactics Ruin Online Multiplayer?
In the final daily Speak-Up on Kotaku of 2010, commenter RascalkingTK wonders if cheap bastards tarnish other people’s online multiplayer experience as much as they do his. One of my favorite things about this generation of consoles is the multiplayer experiences. I own both an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 and play them on…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010 -
UncategorizedYou Will Believe That Cthulhu Can Save The World
Cthulhu Saves the World is an old school turn-based roleplaying game starring the high priest to the Great Old Ones, now available on Xbox Live Indie Games from Zeboyd Games. Such glory must be chronicled in song. The music is “Hey There Cthulhu” from The Eben Brooks Band, a lovely little parody of that song…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
CNN’s Picks for The 10 best video games of 2010
Scott Steinberg, Kotaku friend and video game consultant extraordinaire, writes up his personal selection of top ten video games for 2010 on CNN. Topping the list? Heavy Rain. Steinberg calls the Playstation 3 exclusive an “interactive thriller that raises the bar for adventure gaming by injecting genuine choice and emotion into its suspenseful nonlinear narrative.…
By Brian Crecente Published December 30, 2010 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Gotta spot em all, all fifteen of em. And then talk about it, below. Thanks,
By Brian Crecente Published December 30, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: The World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Mouse Caters Shamelessly
While millions of World of Warcraft players do just fine with your standard two-button mouse, SteelSeries reckons they could do better with the extra twelve provided by the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse. Are they right? Specs Price: US$99.99 Platform: Mac, PC What’s in the box: Mouse, Instructions (Driver software is downloaded via…
By Mike Fahey Published December 30, 2010