I work with Gravity Bear and I can tell you that, for us, Achievements are important and we wouldn’t give them away like candy. 🙂 I understand you’re asking a larger question and it’s not specifically about Battle Punks or Gravity Bear. But I just wanted to comment to make sure it’s clear that it…

Street Fighter Maker: Arcade Gamers and iPhone Gamers Are Very Similar

The iPhone version of Street Fighter IV drew inspiration not from the console, but from arcades, the game’s producer told Kotaku in an interview. Takeshi Tezuka got his start at Capcom working on arcade titles, he told me. Street Fighter II, the seminal fighting and Capcom game, hit right after he started and he later…

DJ Hero: Me Versus JAY-Z Versus Eminem

DJ Hero’s track lineup expands by three this Thursday with the JAY-Z vs. Eminem Pack. Bear witness as I mutter through an exciting mashup of “Can I Get A…” by JAY-Z mixed With “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. DJ Hero is a game that’s a little tricky to pick back up after spending five or so…

Donkey Kong Country 2 Inspires Three Disc Music Remix Album

Two and a half years ago, the enormously talented community at OverClocked Remix set about creating the ultimate Donkey Kong Country 2 remix album. Featuring 1.25GB of amazing free music, the end result is definitely Serious Monkey Business. Donkey Kong Country 2: Serious Monkey Business, available now as a free download, compiles the work of…

Play Need For Speed World For Free… and a Little Work

Do you feel the need to speed constantly with a whole bunch of other people? Black Box Studios has kicked off the closed beta test for Need for Speed World, adding thousands of testers over the next few months. Need for Speed World is a persistent-world racing game where you’re always connected to thousands of…

Sony: Bright Light, Wii Similarities Won’t Deep-Six PlayStation Move

Sony’s new PlayStation Move controller made headlines last week as it added Wii-like controls to the PlayStation 3. But a key difference in the tech, one lauded by Sony, could hurt the device. So could a lack of innovative software. Kotaku brought both of these topics up with Scott Rohde, vice president of worldwide studios…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

It’s time to talk about video games. Amongst yourselves. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

How To Break into the Video Game Translation Business

I often get questions from aspiring translators about what kind of job I have and how to break into the translation industry, so I thought I’d write a FAQ-style post answering these questions once and for all. If there is anything else you are curious about, feel free to leave a question in the comments.…

God of War III Review: Olympic Glory

Bombastic, titanic, brutally imaginative and even occasionally subtle, God of War III is the latest, best reason for a gamer to save money and skip action movies. The better thrills are on a disc on my PlayStation 3. Just five years since the first God of War comes God of War III, a game that…

Why Can’t I Find Heat On Video?!

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Backstage Access with Kotaku, Ko, Ko, Ko-taku Heat, you know Heat. The first cinematic pairing of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino since The Godfather II. The movie that Michael Mann remade from his own TV-movie LA Takedown. Heat Heat’s a great movie. I co-interviewed Tom Sizemore back in the late…

Yakuza 4 Makes Porn Star Nervous, Pure Popstar Sexy

For Japanese gangster game Yakuza 4, SEGA held an open casting call for wanna-bes to appear in the game. Among those selected was adult video actress Rio, star of films Squirting Young Wife and Let’s Have Sex at School. Decked out in evening wear, Rio appeared at the SEGA press event in Tokyo for the…

Rumor: Final Fantasy XIII PS3 Has Freezing Issues

In the West, role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII is a multi-platform game, getting a release on the Xbox 360 and the PS3. While the PS3 version might look better, individuals are claiming that there are freezing issues. “For me it happens in the exact same spot (1st level, right after 3rd group of enemies, while…

How Jeff Bridges Prepared For Tron

The original Tron was released in 1982. That was the golden age of arcade gaming. Arcade games and arcade culture were central to the film. And to the making of it, too. “I remember I couldn’t believe it we showed up the first day at work and around the walls of the studio — this…

The Great Battlefield Crossover Experiment

With public interest in free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes at critical levels following EA’s controversial changes to the game’s pay structure, the publisher is trying to light a fire under the game with a Battlefield Bad Company crossover. Starting March 16, there’ll be a month-long “tribute” event in the PC shooter, which will see new items,…

Brits Build Real Life Modern Warfare 2 Level

The team from Britain’s FiveFWD gadget show were feeling crafty the other day, so went and built themselves a full-scale replica of “The Pit”, Modern Warfare 2’s training area. That in itself would normally be good enough, but for next week’s program, presenter Jason Bradbury will go one better and race a real special forces…

Rumor: Street Fighter IV Characters Get New Costumes

These apparently leaked shots of a Super Street Fighter IV theme for the 360 are a bit more interesting than they ought to be, showing off a new range of alternate costumes for the game’s fighters. If legit, they’re certainly interesting. M. Bison’s new mecha suit looks great, as does Jamaican fighter Dee Jay, who…

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd Coming To the PSP

Monster Hunter, the game series that lets players hunt…monsters, is getting another installment. At a press conference today in Tokyo, Capcom announced that Monster Hunter 3rd would be arriving on the PSP this year in Japan. Good news for MH fans. Better news for the PSP, because the million-plus selling series actually moves PSP units…

There is Yet Another New Yakuza Game

Like clockwork, SEGA churns out a new Yakuza game almost every year. With Yakuza 4 coming out in Japan this March, it’s time for…another new Yakuza game. SEGA announced the new title in the Yakuza series at a press event in Tokyo with a new trailer and concept art. The trailer featured the words “Project…

Star Wars Strippers We Never Want To See Again

If you were to name which Star Wars characters you like to see in a burlesque show, Slave Leia might be at the top. Heck, a Stormtropper-getting-naked might make the list, too. Boba Fett? Sure, why not. How about Chewbacca? Or C-3PO? Or Jabba the Hut? Eh… These characters most certainly would not. Too late!…