The Ghost Of id Software’s Past

John Romero haunts game developer id Software. Yes, he co-founded the studio and thus more than earned his place in id history. But Romero only worked there between the years of 1991 and 1996. Yet, there Romero remains, like a ketchup stain on the carpet. When you think of id, you think of Romero. Whether…

The Indie Battles Of An Endless Universe

As a lover of games like Homeworld and Sins of a Solar Empire, I’m intrigued by Star Ruler, an upcoming indie strategy title that promises the world. Well, the universe. Boasting a procedurally-generated universe with a massive scale (“you are limited only by the speed of your cpu”), the game combines strategic management of your…

Plants vs Zombies vs Chinese Kids

This isn’t mere cosplay. It’s straight-up re-enactment of in-game footage from Popcap’s Plants vs Zombies. Mouse pointer and all. You’ll need to skip to around 2:30 in the below vid to get to the main attraction. Or 3:00 if you’re feeling lazy. Click to view [via tuduo, thanks Mark!]

Video Shows Gran Turismo 5 Has Painfully Slow Load Times [Correction]

The realistic driving simulator isn’t out until this November. Heck, the game isn’t even finished. But a video of a recent demo shows sluggish loading times. According to this video of a Nurburgring demo, GT5 takes over a minute and a half to load. This track is quite long, so that might be a factor…

The Ignominy Of Defeat

Cheer up buddy, I know how you feel. As seen on Reddit

EA Tried To Make An Iraq War Game?

So, EA made a game about the war in Afghanistan. Did you know they also tried to make one about the war in Iraq? Danny Bilson, who used to be an executive at EA before leaving to join rivals THQ, says “When I worked at my former company [EA], I had to go to the…

Catch All This Pokemon Info

A Week In Comments

NFL Player Returns From Games Addiction Comment by: midoridorito Nominated by: Kellen Dunkelberger Wow. In the comments below I already see this guy being called a pussy, a loser, and a shithead. I remember that there was an incredible consensus of support when Fahey made a similar—though more detailed—admission of his struggles with gaming addiction…

Medal Of Honor’s “It’s Just A Game” Argument A Missed Opportunity

The ability to play as the Taliban forces in Medal of Honor could have been a defining moment in the history of video games. Sadly, it won’t be. Last year, a promising war title from Atomic Games that was set in the current conflict in Iraq ended up in development limbo, as publishers Konami backed…

Rumor: Valve Releasing New Version Of Warcraft III Mod

Having hummed along quietly for around a year now since being picked up by Valve, IceFrog – developers of the popular “Defence of the Ancients Allstars” scenario for Warcraft III – seem to be making progress on their latest work. Actor Jon St. John, who you’d know as the voice behind Duke Nukem, took to…

Let’s Talk About First Person Shooters On… The Bonus Round!

Last week, I hit up GameTrailers HQ for a taping of The Bonus Round to talk about the fall’s biggest shooters. That includes Halo: Reach, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty: Black Ops. Joining me were Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter and Shacknews’ Garnett Lee. See if you agree with a sleepy version of me…

Works Every Time

Well, today has been a learning experience, hasn’t it? Come and tell us what you’ve learned about things Kotaku-related and beyond in our nightly open thread. This weekend, I learned the proper way to pronounce Björk’s name—it’s like “jerk.” I also did a good deal of reading about the Great Depression, the Great Debates and…

“Become Legendary” Mode Unveiled For NBA Elite 11

As tipped last week by a preorder bonus on GameStop’s site, the “Become Legendary” mode for NBA Elite 11 is indeed the game’s singleplayer career, the first for the series. This video gives a taste of what to expect. NBA Elite 11 Become Legendary Mode Introduced [Pasta Padre]

Kinect Beta Invites Going Out, Are You In?

Microsoft is offering a “limited audience” of Xbox 360 owners an opportunity to beta test Kinect and changes to Xbox Live before they’re scheduled to hit in November. Check your e-mail to see if you’re on the list. Because if you are, you may be receiving pre-release software and hardware early, without the need to…

Does “Net Neutrality” Mean a Golden Highway Paved By Gamers?

Though today’s much-discussed proposal was long on talk of transparency, there are two loopholes in Google and Verizon’s plan for “Net Neutrality” rules, and, yep, one of them covers “gaming options.” The Google/Verizon statement is long on airy principles and does a good job genuflecting to the idea that all consumers have access that isn’t…

See Dozens Of Guitar Hero Controllers Die In A Volcano

The makers of Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, the rhythm game that uses a real electric guitar as its controller, want plastic guitar peripherals to die in a fire—or the molten lava of an active Icelandic volcano. At least, that’s what we’re inferring from this publicity stunt in which dozens of Guitar Hero guitar…

Sixteen Fighters Make Up EA Sports MMA’s Heavyweight Division

Madden launch week is probably not the best time to drop pre-release hype for your sports game, unless you’re EA Sports MMA. Those guys will take on anyone, anywhere, anytime. EA’s mixed martial arts title, also developed by EA Sports Tiburon, will include sixteen fighters in its heavyweight division. By comparison. UFC Undisputed 2010 had…

One Video Game Outlet Managed To Crack The Top 20 U.S. Magazines

Print is dying to the tune of a 5.6% drop in magazine sales in the United States for the first half of 2010, but one video game mag is still going strong. What game publication is able to hang with the Good Housekeepings and Woman’s Days at the newsstands? Game Informer, that’s what. According to…

Xbox Indie Clips: So Many Girls, So Little Time

Do you want to date all these women? What the hell is wrong with you? No, you do not want to date all of these women, but Silver Dollar Games’ latest Xbox Live Indie Game assumes the answer is yes, plunging you into the sort of hell you’ll encounter if you do decide to date…

I’ll Be Me, You Be Ron Gilbert

To: Brian From: Stephen Re: Holy Crap The U.S. Dollar Is Weak! Sorry our dollar is weak! Maybe we should all switch to using Microsoft points or trade-in-able copies of Need For Speed. You’re a movie guy. Let me bounce this off you. Last week, game designer Ron Gilbert Tweets: Why do so many more…