Review: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Improves With Age

Sure, you’ve weathered plenty of ninja storms in your day, but are you prepared to face the Ultimate Ninja Storm… 2? Developer CyberConnect2 has been telling the story of the absurdly popular Japanese martial arts anime Naruto through the Ninja Storm series since 2003. Part adventure game and part fighting game, each successive title fleshes…

The 20 Most-Loved Wii Games, Breaking The 80-Hour Barrier

Every month we dig into the numbers to find out which 20 Wii games are played the most by the average person who has them. For November, one game finally breaks the 80-hour barrier. That game, of course, is Monster Hunter Tri, the newly-crowned most-played/most-loved Wii game. This is the latest chart we’ve pulled for…

Mafia Wars Is Partially Responsible For The New Shenmue

If you’re still rooting for Sega’s ambitious Shenmue series, you may, someday, have Mafia Wars and Farmville maker Zynga to thank. Yu Suzuki, creative force behind games like Outrun, Space Harrier, Virtua Fighter and Shenmue, tells Famitsu in a new interview that he was in part inspired to create social game Shenmue City after playing…

Keeping The Cosplay In The Family

If you’re going to dress up as Final Fantasy X’s Lulu, you either need a moogle doll or a baby. This Youmacon 2010 cosplayer covers both angles, as seen at artist and photographer Kyle Mistry’s website Gameface is a photographic celebration of the people who make, play and love video games.

Should You Buy an iPhone or iPod Touch For Gaming?

The iPhone and iPod Touch may not be the most successful smartphone and multimedia devices in history, but they’re certainly the ones with the biggest buzz. [UPDATED for the holidays.] Since their release in 2007 there have been countless upgrades, new models and of course those thousands and thousands of applications. This is our best…

Diablo III Could Also Come To Video Game Consoles [Update]

Could the Diablo series make a return to consoles? A handful of new jobs seeking fresh Blizzard talent with console experience sure makes it look that way. The studio that normally sticks to PC and Mac may be making a console version of Diablo III, according to new job listings spotted by Gamasutra. Blizzard is…

The Nintendo Download: DSiWare Feels The Need For Speed

As Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii owners prepare for Hot Pursuit tomorrow, DSi gamers can download Need for Speed: Nitro-X right now. Need for Speed: Nitro-X is a light version of Need for Speed: Nitro, the colorful candy installment of the franchise that hit the Wii and DS last year. It features 16…

To-Do In New York: Play Spy Party On Thursday

If you’re in New York City this Thursday, you can play Chris Hecker’s incomplete but already-excellent two-player game Spy Party. The game pits one player as a spy, who has to walk their avatar through a cocktail party, secretly planting bugs and doing other subtle spy things. The other player is a sniper who views…

Convert Information into Energy, Just Add Demon

Researchers in Tokyo have taken a physics law-breaking thought experiment from an 18th century Scottish theoretical physicist and made it a reality, converting energy into information using Maxwell’s Demon. James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish mathematician and theoretical physicist who wanted to prove that the second law of thermodynamics only held statistical certainty, and could…

Kotaku’s 2010 iPhone Gift Guide

With just two weeks until the busiest shopping day in the U.S. hits, it’s probably a good time to start thinking about what sorts of gifts you want to give and get this year during the holidays. And don’t think that digital platforms like the iPhone and iPad don’t warrant game gift giving too. Now…

Is This Bulletstorm Or The Actual Duke Nukem Forever?

The new trailer for Bulletstorm features a man yelling, in frustration, the phrase “Son of a dick!” [NSFW language warning, obviously.] The upcoming game may not have the sexuality of the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever, but it sure seems like it could be the new king of gleefully inappropriate violence. Duke, the longtime king of…

She-Hulk And Zero Join The Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Brawl

It’s the battle of the alternate characters, as the Hulk’s female counterpart and Mega Man X’s mentor and partner join the struggle for the fate of two worlds in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. With no major video game trade shows occurring until the new year, Capcom is forced to go to the old exclusive video…

Spider-Man Musical Pics

‘Something Around Assassin’s’ Coming In 2011

The next Assassin’s Creed is out on Tuesday. But people already want to know about the next one — will there be one in 2011? The official reply they’re getting is a cagey one, of course. “There will be something around Assassin’s,” Yves Guillemot, the CEO of Ubisoft, the company behind the Assassin’s Creed series,…

Prince of Persia HD Collection Coming to North America in Pieces

The Prince of Persia HD Collection is a European-exclusive Blu-ray collection of Ubisoft’s original Prince of Persia collection remastered in high definition, but that doesn’t mean North America won’t be able to play them. We’re just not getting the Blu-ray. Nestled within the press release for Ubisoft’s first half 2010-2011 financial results are upcoming release…

New Driver, Ghost Recon Games Delayed

Two big sequels will be out later than expected. Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Driver: San Francisco, both showcased this past E3, now won’t be out until between March 2011 and April 2012, according to an update from publisher Ubisoft.

Fable III DLC Travels Under Bowerstone With An Afro

The world of Albion expands on November 23 with the Understone Quest Pack, adding an entire new town for you to explore, while the Exclusive Hair Pack adds afros, corn rows, asymmetrical bobs, and a dog buff. That’s right, for 160 Microsoft points come November 23, you can sport a lovely afro, rock the corn…

This Is The Simplest Halo Video And One Of The Best

The scenery is lovely. The wind whistles. It’s quiet. And then something happens. This is the latest in the wonderfully minimalist “Things You Won’t Expect” clips made by YouTube user Chris101b. He makes them from Halo Reach, and while all aren’t as postcard-perfect as the new Things You Want Expect #11 (above), Chris deserves credit…

Marvel Pinball: From Comics Page To Silver Ball

A red and blue figure twists and spins through the skies of New York. Crimson and gold streaks through the clouds. Primal fury is unleashed. Darkness hunts darkness in the shadowy streets. This is Marvel Pinball. That’s a rather dramatic introduction to what amounts to four Marvel-themed pinball tables coming to the PlayStation 3 and…

Fans Add New Content To LEGO Universe

Starbase 3001 is open for business in the LEGO Universe, giving players access to three new mini-worlds created by some of the most talented LEGO fans in the world. It’s not exactly a large chunk of new content, but it’s a start. Starbase 3001, located conveniently off of Nimbus Station in LEGO Universe, gives players…