Kotaku Off Topic: Rage

Who else has a case of the Mondays? Well get into this nerve-calming edition of Kotaku Off Topic and let’s work out our differences together with a little conversation. I’m going to keep it short and sweet. You do the driving, because I’ve got embargoed stories to write for the early morning and a trip…

Report Says Canadian Hockey League Confirmed for NHL 11

Last week EA Sports declined comment on a rumor that NHL 11 would include all top-flight juniors teams from the Canadian Hockey League. The Canadian Broadcasting Company is now reporting the inclusion as fact. Quoting a team official, the CBC says all teams from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League have been asked to supply…

Famicase

Picross 3D Review: Block The Monkey

The follow-up to the incredibly addictive puzzle game Picross DS, Picross 3D moves the picture finding gameplay into the next dimension, a game of block breaking and brain teasing that’s also one of the best Nintendo DS games of the year. Instead of presenting the player with a blank canvas and numbered clues with which…

Slaps to the Death — and Stop Looking at My Screen!

Honorable people agreeing to the terms of a duel to the death. As this spoof shows, and as any one who’s ever played Goldeneye knows, the negotiations take forever, and the outcome is well more ridiculous than suspenseful. The College Humor gang is back on the video game beat, taking a movie franchise made into…

Consider This Further Notice: Game Room Back On Schedule

After a brief delay (and scary sounding update) in the flow of updates to Microsoft’s Game Room virtual arcade for Xbox 360 and Games For Windows, things appear to be officially hunky-dory. Microsoft spokesman Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb brings good Game Room tidings over Twitter, writing “We’re happy to report the newest #XboxLIVE Game Room…

Map Kit Gives You a High-Level View of Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Much as I want to headline this as a “free map download,” that would be misleading. Because these aren’t playable maps, but they are high resolution overhead shots of the 10 used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2‘s multiplayer. The Battlefield guys made ’em available through the game’s download page, figuring some folks might appreciate the…

EA’s Secret ‘Project Red’ Already Rated

What is EA’s “Project Red,” the mysterious game that was just rated by Australia’s ratings board? It could be the game also known as “Project RedLime” the game also widely believed to be a new Syndicate. The new OFLC rating for the game known as “Project Red” doesn’t tell us much—as OFLC ratings are wont…

Stolen Copy of Assassin’s Creed Costs Man $25,000

One man’s efforts to give away the original Assassin’s Creed to pirates for free will ultimately cost him $25,000 and three months in a halfway house. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Christopher Anzalone of Charlotte, North Carolina pleaded guilty to swiping a copy of Assassin’s Creed from a manufacturing plant and…

Got a Problem? Odds Against You? Download The Equalizer

Tomorrow, two bucks will get you a set of tricked out armor for Mass Effect 2, that turns Commander Shepard into “The Equalizer,” and we don’t mean this guy. Billing the loadout as turning Shep into a one-man army, The Equalizer delivers the “Capacitor Helmet,” the “Archon Visor,” and the “Inferno Armor” to your armor…

Happy Birthday Tristan!

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Hey Look, Nissan Fairlady Z! Today Tristan turned 9. Half the way to 18, or an adult in the eyes of the law. He has maybe two years left of committing felonies and pretty much getting away with it. Then it’s being tried as an adult time, and finally being…

Zeno Clash, Raystorm HD Are Your Arcade Games of the Week

Ready the Microsoft Points, Xbox 360 owner, for this week’s Xbox Live Arcade update promises to be a big one, with first-person brawler Zeno Clash and top-down shoot ’em up Raystorm HD arriving this Wednesday. ACE Team’s quirky Zeno Clash gets its “Ultimate Edition” after a brief delay. The Xbox Live Arcade release brings with…

Tecmo Bowl Throwback Micro-Review: Retro-Rockin’ Football

Today, a sports title without real players and teams has a hard pitch to make. If any franchise can close the deal, it’s the one that started it all: Tecmo Bowl, trading on 20 years of nostalgia with Tecmo Bowl Throwback. Packing new 3D player models and cutscene animations, Throwback bluntly leaves its core unchanged…

This Could Be The Best Street Fighter Film Ever Created

Check out clips and stills from Street Fighter Legacy, an officially sanctioned Street Fighter short film featuring Hollywood talent that could be the most accurate screen adaptation of the World Warriors ever created. Street Fighter Legacy is the creation of actor, filmmaker, and action choreographer Joey Ansah, known for his role as Desh in The…

What Is Ivy The Kiwi? A New Game With A Sonic The Hedgehog Pedigree

Former Sonic the Hedgehog producer Yuji Naka has moved on from Sega to Prope, with his latest creation, Ivy the Kiwi?, coming to the Wii and Nintendo DS this summer, courtesy of XSEED. Prope’s Ivy the Kiwi? puts player in control of vines that help guide the eponymous lady bird to safety and to her…

StarCraft II Wings Its Way To Liberty This July

Blizzard isn’t in the habit of handing out game release dates until they’re good and ready, so when they say StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be hitting store shelves worldwide in late July, they damn well mean it. StarCraft II is possibly the most eagerly anticipated real-time strategy game in the history of the…

Bungie: Halo Reach Is Being Overwhelmed, Repairs Underway

Can’t complain when things go bad in a beta, can we? Word from Bungie is that intense server activity is gumming up the works: “We’re aware and working to resolve slow matchmaking times and inaccessible playlists. As soon as we’re back up and running at full capacity, we’ll make some noise. Stay tuned for more…

First Team Fortress Collectibles Up For Sale, Brace For Sticker Shock

The first offering in Valve’s new line of collectibles, Team Fortress 2’s the Heavy, is now up for pre-order. These lovely limited edition statues can soon be yours, provided you’ve got the scratch to afford it. Gaming Heads is now taking orders for four separate versions of the Heavy. The RED Heavy and BLU Heavy…

Strange Things Are Afoot At The Assassin’s Creed Facebook Page

Fans go nuts as Knights Templar member and Assassin’s Creed I and II villain Doctor Warren Vidic makes a his presence known at the game’s official Facebook page. Templar destiny is at hand! Ubisoft has proven itself more than willing to use social networking site Facebook as a marketing tool for its major releases, so…

The Sequel They Had No Right To Make — Now Has A Surprise Twist

You love a video game and you want a sequel. So you decide, with friends, to make one. A decade passes; your game never gets done. The companies that own the original games have shut you down twice. This is when it might be time for David to agree that Goliath has won. But past…