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Turmoil In The Land Where Your Consoles Are Made
This year, a rash of suicides at the factories of manufacturing giant Foxconn has focused attention on working conditions. Improvements were apparently made, but a recent report suggests otherwise. Foxconn assembles the Xbox 360, the PS3, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone, among many other electronic devices. A recent report features interviews with over 1,700…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Make Your Own Wii Hard Drive With This
It’s always fun seeing random Chinese hardware manufacturers with a sense of humour. Case in point: this hard drive case, shaped to look just like a Nintendo Wii. One of the Wii’s biggest drawbacks has long been its lack of internal storage space, so this would be a cute purchase for anyone who felt like…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 -
UncategorizedPokemon Animated With 3D Computer Graphics Looks Like This
The weekly Pocket Monsters anime program is typically a 2D affair. But the opening credits for the latest series, Pokemon: Best Wishes!, shows off some fancy computer-generated 3D graphics. For comparison’s sake, this is what the opening for the previous Pokemon series looked like. Below is the current opening for the new Pokemon: Best Wishes!…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Zerg Are Starcraft II’s Least Popular Race
Blizzard has released statistics showing how popular each of Starcraft II’s three races are amongst the game’s multiplayer users. And it’s the poor Zerg coming in last. Of course, that headline and intro could easily have said “Protoss are most popular!”, but I’ve never liked the Zerg, so felt like drawing attention to that instead.…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
How I Met Your Kinect
The most recent episode of American comedy program “How I Met Your Mother” featured not one, but two cameos. One of them was talk show host Maury Povich. The other? Microsoft’s forthcoming Kinect motion control system. The show is actually a series of flashbacks narrated by Bob Saget of Full House fame about how he…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 -
UncategorizedThis Is Why People Play Minecraft
Minecraft is a game that’s difficult to really sell with words. It’s something you have to play to get a feel for. Or watch, in this case, as people do inspiring things. This video runs for 3:23. It’s sped-up for convenience’s sake. For information in how the clip was made, as well as what upgrades…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Dead Rising Producer Hates His Job, He Wants To Retire
In a recent interview, Capcom’s Keiji Inafune (of Dead Rising and Onimusha fame) talks about the impossible, doing the impossible and how that makes game developers grow as people. He also says he hates his job. After Inafune talks about challenges and daunting tasks, the interviewer says that the Dead Rising producer seems like he…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Life After People (On Halo’s Reach)
When sci-fi shooter Halo: Reach ends, so too does humanity’s presence on the planet. This gallery of environment art for the game shows what the place would look like with everyone gone. That’s not its point, of course; it’s just a collection of in-game art showcasing the talents of Bungie level artist Anthony Vaccaro (with…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Super Mario Bros. Makes Its Creator Embarrassed
Super Mario Bros. was originally released in 1985. Televisions were different then — blurry and fuzzy-like. Thus, seeing the game on a HDTV makes Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto feel slightly embarrassed. “When I see this [Super Mario Bros.] so clearly, it’s a little embarrassing,” Miyamoto tells Earthbound designer Shigesato Itoi. “Back then, with tube televisions,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Great PlayStation Car Chase
Darren Suchon, a 42 year-old unemployed man from Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania, likes video games. He likes them so much that when somebody tries to take them away, it results in a car chase, road rage and the cops. Suchon’s girlfriend, Colleen Frable, had last week gotten so fed up with his bum lifestyle that she…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Does Japan Think The Nintendo 3DS Is Over-Priced?
The forthcoming Nintendo 3DS will cost ¥25,000. That’s US$305! That’s… a lot of cabbage. The handheld does not yet have a price point outside of Japan. But what does The Land of the Rising Sun think? Website GetNews.jp has the results of a poll that asked over 1,000 folks whether they think the Nintendo 3DS…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Is Blizzard Banning Starcraft II Players For Cheating In Singleplayer? [Update]
It’s fine to take drastic action against somebody cheating in multiplayer. Those people are scum. But what happens when people begin to be banned for bending the rules of a game’s singleplayer component? Gamer gm0ney is accusing Blizzard of suspending his Starcraft II account for the use of “unauthorized cheat programs”. The thing is, gm0ney…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
EA Cancels Steven Spielberg Game
For years now, Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg were supposed to have been working on a project called “LMNO”. We’d long thought it was dead. Now EA has finally confirmed it. Jake Kazdal, a former EA developer who worked on the game, told the 8-4 podcast “I don’t know exactly what was the thing that…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 12, 2010 -
UncategorizedA Look at Black Ops’ Single Player Gameplay and Story
This latest Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer gives us a much better sense of what we can expect from the upcoming shooter, both the story and gameplay. Treyarch and Activision’s debut of the trailer on ESPN tonight couldn’t have been timed better with Medal of Honor due to hit store shelves tomorrow morning.
By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010 -
ReviewsReview: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Gabriel Belmont will have his revenge upon the Lords of Shadow, venturing to the very depths of hell to find retribution against those who have corrupted the ideals of the Brotherhood of Light and murdered his wife. While this Belmont’s fight against the forces of evil may sound somehow familiar, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow bears…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 11, 2010 -
UncategorizedFinal Fantasy XIV MMO Log Three: Strength In Numbers
Does the Final Fantasy XIV experience change greatly once you have a group of like-minded individuals to share the game with? Find out in this week’s installment of the Final Fantasy XIV MMO Log. Kotaku’s MMO reviews are a multi-part process. Rather than deliver day one reviews based on beta gameplay, we play the game…
By Mike Fahey Published October 11, 2010 -
UncategorizedThe Making of an Epic Yarn Kirby Room
Last month game journalists gathered to check out Nintendo’s upcoming game Kirby’s Epic Yarn. This is the room in which they played. This timelapse gives you a sense of everything that went into creating this fantastic setting. Who was behind it? You guessed it: I Am 8-Bit
By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010 -
UncategorizedTaking Pictures, Watching Movies, Typing and Playing Games on Windows Phone 7
This morning Steve Ballmer filled a New York “meeting space” to capacity to unveil the specifics on the November launch of Windows Phone 7. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect from what appears to be the only mobile phone that will support Xbox Live. This is how Microsoft put it today: “Windows…
By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010 -
UncategorizedXbox Live Indie Clips: Explosionade
When life gives you explosions, you make Explosionade. Someone gave Mommy’s Best Games a huge pile of explosions, and they made this. For a mere 80 Microsoft points, you too can have this much fun running around a mutant-infested warehouse with an extremely powerful prototype mech, collecting gold and kick ass. Explosionade is what we…
By Mike Fahey Published October 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
iTunes Chart Toppers: Angry Birds Knocked From Its Perch
Well, well, well Angry Birds, how’s the number four spot treating you? Here’s the full list of games for both platforms: iPhone Position Title Price Weeks Last Week 1 Cut the Rope (Chillingo) $0.99 1 — 2 Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus (Gameloft) $6.99 1 — 3 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega) $1.99 2 4…
By Brian Crecente Published October 11, 2010