- Uncategorized
Some Dead Rising 2 Gameplay
Know what I like about this Dead Rising 2 clip? It’s rough. Presentation isn’t its strong-point; rather, it’s in showing the possibilities inherent in leaving a man alone with sharp things and some zombies. Just like the game itself. Click to view
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Box Art Shootout: Halo: Reach, Crackdown 2 & Alan Wake
Lots of Microsoft news today, and where there’s news, there’s box art. Here’s what you’ll see staring back at you when you go into a game store and spy Halo: Reach, Crackdown 2 and Alan Wake. You’ll notice two Alan Wake boxes; the normal one, and the giant fake book one. The collector’s edition features…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers [Update]
In addition to sackings at Neversoft and Luxoflux, Kotaku has learned today that publisher Activision has also laid off employees at RedOctane and internal studio Underground Development. We’ve heard that RedOctane, the publisher of the original Guitar Hero and creator of the franchise’s plastic instruments, has been completely shut down. Those responsible directly for the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2010 - Uncategorized
Back Pay Is Hell: Viacom Wants Refund From Harmonix
I’m just a simple caveman lawyer, and your world of finance frightens and confuses me. However, it sounds like Viacom wants a refund on a substantial bonus it paid to Harmonix’s founders. Long story short, Harmonix was bought by Viacom, the parent company of MTV Networks, in 2006 for $175 million plus “earnouts,” which is…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Off Topic: Booze Hounds
It’s been a day. A long day. So let’s relax in a warm bath of off-topic conversation while I enjoy a cold beer or three, a half bottle of wine and Demon’s Souls. We can talk booze if you want. What’s your poison? I’ve rarely met an alcohol that disagreed with me, with the exception…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
2K Makes It Official: No Gamepad Support in BioShock 2 PC
It didn’t sound likely that 2K Marin would go back and accommodate gamepad support for BioShock 2 on the PC, a complaint that quickly arose after release this week. But now the studio’s made it official. “I talked to the dev team about controller support for BioShock 2, and I want to let you know…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Sweat or Shadow: You Make the Call
I’ve never thrown a 102-mph fastball in any inning of any game, let alone the ninth, but I’m guessing it requires effort. And Justin Verlander’s pit stains in this vid would seem to confirm that. OK, I know that’s most likely shadowing, but seriously, when Verlander starts his windup at 0:28, he’s not exactly a…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
PlayStation Store Update: The Heavy Rain Demo Is Here Edition
Intrigued by the prospect of Heavy Rain? Still not sold by our review of the story-driven PlayStation 3 adventure? Then download the demo, which leads this week’s North American PlayStation Store update. The decision to download or not to download has been made easier for you by this week’s additions. It’s largely comprised of new…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
What Colorblind Hackers See In BioShock 2
As Kotaku’s resident Pissed-Off Colorblind Gamer, I have yet to play BioShock 2, but I already knew the hacking mini-game would be bad news for mutants like me. Here’s a comparison of what colorblind gamers are up against. Negative Gamer took a screengrab of the hack terminal and ran it through a color contrast analyzer…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Halo 2 Maps, Original Xbox DLC Returns To Xbox Live
Microsoft’s plans to end Xbox Live support for original Xbox games had an unfortunate early affect — the removal of all downloadable content from Live for those older Xbox titles. The good news? That DLC is back. That means that your old Splinter Cell or Halo 2 downloadable content is once again accessible, the data…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Day The Gamers Took Over Reselling
When it quietly went online for pre-launch testing early last year, Glyde was a reseller marketplace built with a midwestern, middle-aged book or music lover in mind. Then the gamers found it, and practically took over. “Even though we weren’t really aiming at gamers, one found it somehow, told someone else, and they told even…
By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
This Post Was Written While It Was Dark Outside
To: Our Man In Japan From: Our Man In New York Re: This Is It Should there be more sunshine? What you may have missed during this very newsy day: Mile Marker 28: Trauma Dev Eyes Call of Duty: World at War for iPhone Married By Master Chief, One Year Later Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
NPD Instant Analysis: Things You Should Note
Danger. You are at risk of discussing January’s U.S. video game sales data without the proper analysis at the ready. Grab a marker and consider scribbling the following cheat-sheet notes on your hand. For the raw data, check out the NPD’s U.S January video game hardware sales and video game software sales. Fact: The PlayStation…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Fable III’s Three Big Innovations: Touch, Weapons And Kingly Responsibility
Three major shifts in gameplay mechanics will make Fable III the most innovative entry in the popular role-playing game franchise, developer Peter Molyneux told a gathering of journalists today at Microsoft’s X10 event. Fable III will present three key changes in play: In-game touching, highly-customized weapon morphing and the challenge of ruling a kingdom. Molyneux…
By Brian Crecente Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again
Wii fever swept the United States in January, another 465,000 units of Nintendo’s white wonder snatched up by consumers. Hey, when you’re selling that many copies of New Super Mario Bros. you’re gonna need a Wii to play it on. Nintendo once again took the top two spots in the hardware race in the U.S.,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
New Super Mario Bros. Wii Was January’s Biggest Game In The U.S.
Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii had a big January, following its 2.8 million copies sold in December ’09 with another 650,000-plus copies to Mario-hungry Wii owners in the United States. The one game that came closest to Nintendo’s super popular platformer was BioWare’s Mass Effect 2, moving more than 570,000 copies on the Xbox…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta Starts May 3
Halo fans, make sure you have your copy of Halo 3: ODST handy in May, as Bungie and Microsoft have announced the official date you can start playing the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. You probably already had May—or the entire spring season—booked, but put May 3 in your calendar as the day you’ll start playing.…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
Activision Takes Axe To Guitar Hero’s Neversoft, Shuts Down Luxoflux
Prototype developer Radical Entertainment isn’t the only studio that got the axe from parent company Activision today. Sources close to and within developers Neversoft (Guitar Hero) and Luxoflux (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are also being gutted. Luxoflux, also responsible for True Crime and Kung Fu Panda games for Activision, is said to have been…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010 - Uncategorized
New Crackdown 2 Screens Show Off Shiny Preorder Armor
As far as purchase incentives go it’s no Halo 3 multiplayer beta, but Crackdown 2’s preorder bonus armor is definitely…okay, I’ve got nothing. While the inclusion of access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta definitely pushed sales of the original Crackdown, I think the game proved itself to be a worthwhile purchase on its own.…
By Mike Fahey Published February 11, 2010