Game Changers: Sequels That Scared The True Fans

Yesterday 2K Games panicked some gamers with news that the turn-based tactics series X-Com will return as a first-person shooter. What other classic video game franchise have had their genres changed, and how did they weather the transformation? We’re calling the phenomenon genre bending. You take a game known as being one of the best…

Kotaku In Your Inbox, On Your Twitter And Up In Your Facebook

Reading Kotaku through a browser is so obvious. Now, we’ve got a handsome e-mail newsletter. Subscribe via the “Get Kotaku in your inbox” on the lefthand column of this site. Plus: Follow us on Twitter? Fan us on Facebook!

A Rash of Kirbys

Observe: a view into a world where Kirby is common and popular. “The 126 Faces of Kirby” by Buci01 at Deviant Art [Via Press The Buttons]

Pokemon Black White

The Lost Kotaku Podcast

No, not that Lost. Just lost. As in technical problems. As in the Kotaku Talk Radio featuring me, Major Nelson and a Madden guy lost due to a a) magnetic anomaly b) plane crash or c) computer malfunction. The bad news from our friends at CBS Radio is that this week’s episode, which was recorded…

This Sure As Hell Isn’t Dragon Quest X

Dragon Quest X, unsurprisingly, was not revealed today by Square Enix. Instead, another Dragon Quest Wii game was, Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory, nary an X in sight. What is Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory? It’s a Wii port of a Japanese arcade game, one that utilizes a trading card collecting mechanic that…

Speak-Up On Kotaku: Too Many Pokémon, Not Enough Gaming Clothes, Closer, And Late Bloomers

Speak-Up on Kotaku triumphantly returns this week, with Celery, Sollipse, Taggart6, and DomesticGoddess2010 sharing their thoughts on getting closer to Mario, Pokémon breeding, gaming fashions, and breaking into video gaming late. Don’t like the gallery layout? #speakup in your comment so we can find it. Every Wednesday we’ll pull the best #speakup posts we can…

Contest Reminder: Have You Made A Kotaku Micro-Game Yet?

If you have WarioWare D.I.Y., if you want prizes, if you must make a micro-game that uses the word Kotaku, then, man (or woman), do we have a contest for you. Details here. Deadline approaching.

A New Crime For Xbox Live: Witness Tampering

We’ve heard of sexual predators using Xbox Live as a means to stalk their prey and threaten the rare school shooting threat made over the Xbox 360 online network. But tampering with a witness sounds like a new one. According to a report from the New Haven Register, Anthony Hayward of Hamden, Connecticut was arrested…

Aerialbots And Stunticons Represent In Transformers: War For Cybertron

Aerialbot Air Raid and Stunticon Breakdown join the cast of warriors in Activision’s upcoming War for Cybertron today, both ditching their gestalt groups for a chance to shine in the solo spotlight. Back when the 80’s cartoon was airing, the Aerialbots and Stunticons were a big deal. Until then (with few exceptions), the Autobots were…

Splinter Cell Co-Op Conquered (Kind Of) By One Man, With Two Controllers

I had a problem. I had to complete the Splinter Cell Co-Op campaign, but my co-op buddy was gone for the weekend. So be it. I turned on the game and prepared to wield two controllers. Let me take you back to last Friday, when I decided to — ugh — work from home so…

Kick-Ass The Game Might Not Live Up To Its Name

Reminding us that the movie based on Mark Millar’s award-winning comic book Kick-Ass hits theaters on Friday is one of the few good things to come from this trailer for the PlayStation Network video game. I’m not generally one to judge a book by its cover, but the trailer for WHA Entertainment’s movie tie-in doesn’t…

Title Update 4 Never Brings Theater, Forge Support To Halo 2

It’s the last day to play Halo 2 on Xbox Live, and Bungie is taking the opportunity to deliver long-time players some thank yous and fake news via the game’s matchmaking message center. Original Xbox game support on Xbox Live dies today, and Halo 2 holdouts like Kotakuite Cmonty06 are taking some time to get…

Alienware M11x Review: Ultraportable Gaming

Gaming laptops are often an oxymoron, a device that either is too expensive or too big to really be a laptop or a computer too underpowered to play games. But Dell and Alienware have been for years trying to find the proper balance between these two seemingly opposing issues. Their XPS was a monstrously large,…

The Voice Of Xbox Live Is Now Taking Your Calls

This week’s episode of Kotaku Talk Radio is now live, featuring none other than Major Nelson, the living embodiment of Xbox Live. Okay, maybe not the living embodiment of Xbox Live, but Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb is the official mouthpiece for the service, bringing fans constant updates through his own weekly podcasts and the Major…

The Rest Of The World Gets Another Month To Reconsider iPad Purchase

It looks like even Apple was caught off guard by the success of the iPad, citing its runaway success in the U.S. as the primary reason everyone else has to wait another month for it. It’s a classic case of bad news, good news for Apple customers outside of the U.S., as the company pushes…

Yet Another Video Game About Chopin

First it was World War II, then zombies, and now 19th century Polish composer Frederic Chopin, with an upcoming rhythm game by Polish studio Bloober Team dedicated to the star of Namco Bandai’s Eternal Sonata. I suppose two video games based around your works doesn’t count as a video game explosion, but I’m still keeping…

Is New York Overplayed?

Apparently a lot of you are sick of playing video games set in the city in which I live. Last week, from the comfort of my desk at the Gawker Media offices in New York City, I reported about an event I attended in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City about a new video…

A Video Game To Keep Children From Being Savaged By Wild Dogs

University of Guelph professor Barbara Morrongiello doesn’t want your children to be eaten by dogs, so she’s created a video game that will teach kids how to avoid catastrophic canine confrontations. Dogs are man’s best friend, but they aren’t all that sure about children. I can relate. Children can be downright terrifying, and while our…

A Shocking Naughty Bear-Style Execution

After months of teaser trailers and bizarre dream sequences, we finally get a chance to see Naughty Bear practicing his murderous ways. It’s like Friday the 13th, only with teddy bears. I think it’s an apt description, judging by what little gameplay we get to see here. Artificial Mind and Movement has created an interactive…