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BioWare: Hollywood Very Interested in Mass Effect Film
BioWare’s Casey Hudson, the project director for Mass Effect 2, acknowledged a “tremendous amount of interest” from Hollywood in a Mass Effect film but vows such a movie, if done, will be done right or not at all. “Obviously we have a tremendous amount of interest from people in Hollywood to make a major motion…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Originals: Getting Your GOTY
This week we hashed out our arguments for 2009’s Game of the Year and arrived at a semi-consensus on yours. A slew of other awards conferred by Kotaku staff also officially closed out the previous year in video games. The week that was in originals: Kotaku Talk Radio Game of the Year Game of the…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
It’s easy for Washington to dole out the free hits when he doesn’t have to do any of the rowing. Are we there yet? Not yet. Please Talk Amongst Yourselves in this open thread as we get the weekend ready. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Left 4 Dead 2 Adding Zombie Bots, Axing Auto Spawns
Two welcome additions are coming to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Left 4 Dead 2, according to Valve, with the addition of Infected bots in Versus modes and the removal of the dreaded multiplayer auto spawn. Valve’s “L4D Team” writes on the official Left 4 Dead blog that the developer “adding bots for…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Prince Of Persia Figures: Hold Jake Gyllenhaal In The Palm Of Your Hand
As you’d expect, upcoming Hollywood film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – based loosely on the game of the same name – will have merchandising tie-ins. Like action figures. These are those action figures. Due out in May, there’ll be a range of 4″ figures and a range of 6″ figures, along with…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Off-Topic: The Rip Cord
Immediately after I file this I’ll be engaged in an epic beer pong duel, but we hit the ball with paddles, like a man. Not like all you “Beirut” playing weenises who have to throw it in the cup. We also play with a rule modification that I hope catches on. We call it “The…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Metal Gear: Peace Walker Is All Kojima’s Idea
Most game ideas on Earth are the result of collaborations. Many men and women working together to forge games out of a sea of ideas. Except, that is, for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. That’s pretty much all Hideo Kojima. “Well it’s strange, but not so many ideas come from the other staff”, the humble…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Red Dead Redemption: a Western, Under Cover
Firing from cover was a staple of Red Dead Revolver, so we can expect to see plenty more of it, and of situations requiring it, in the sequel Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar’s released four new screens showcasing the feature. Exclusive New Red Dead Redemption Screens: Taking Cover [Rockstar]
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
And The World’s Top-Selling PC Game Of 2009 Was…
The Sims 3 wasn’t just the biggest-selling game at US retail stores for 2009. It was also, according to publisher Electronic Arts, the biggest-selling PC game in the world. Gathering data from North America and Europe, along with “internal EA estimates”, the publisher says this is the sixth time in ten years a Sims title…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
IGN Kicks Off Fund Drive for Haiti Relief
A life-size Lancer replica and an original painting from Bungie are among items IGN will auction next week in a 12-hour “webathon” to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. The fund raiser will be held beginning at noon U.S. Eastern/9 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, and includes contributions from industry luminaries moved to help the…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Best Video Game Costume & Character Design Of 2009
Not having played every game on every platform, I was hesitant to issue genre/platform awards for my “Best Of” individual editor picks. Instead, I opted for one aspect of games that rarely gets award-level attention—costume and character design. For my picks, I went not for the best graphics, story or gameplay innovation, instead focusing on…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
I Guess He’d Already Completed “Violation of Probation”
Guess what game Michael Ray Ekes was playing when the fuzz came to arrest him for stealing a car. Hint: It wasn’t “Possession of Burglary Tools with Intent to Use,” although he was also wanted for that. The Tampa Tribune had a big ol’ time informing us Ekes, 30, was playing hisself some Grand Theft…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedWill Crysis 2 Be Able To Render New York City Like This?
The recently revealed New York City setting for Crysis 2 was met with just a touch of disappointment. “What of the open environments?!” commenters cried. Well, if Crysis 2 uses this tech, I don’t think openness will be an issue. Reader Jay tipped us off to this “Structure Procedural System” tech demo, which can generate…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 22, 2010 - Reviews
Serious Sam HD Review: This Time It’s Really Serious
Developer Croteam has ported its 2001 first-person shooter Serious Sam: The First Encounter to Xbox Live Arcade with Serious Sam HD. The game is a time capsule. A really, really shiny one. Covered in bloody body parts. Plot-wise, Serious Sam follows Sam as he travels back in time to save humankind from the evil Mental…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Mega Man 10 Achievements are Typically Unreasonable
Cheevers looking for a quick 200 Gamerscore should steer clear of Mega Man 10, because the achievements it offers will be, per the usual, hard won. Of 12, all but three or four seem impossible to me. And the top payoff, “Mr. Perfect” – beat the whole game without taking any damage – delivers a…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Mixed Mutts
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Hey, I Got A Magic Mouse I think we finally figured out what Ginger, our recently adopted 6-month-old puppy is. She appears to be a dachshund-rat terrier mix. There’s a whole kennel club dedicated to all of these strange dog crossbreeds. It’s pretty cool. My favorite pic (above) is of…
By Brian Crecente Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Rock Band Messin’ With A Sonofabitch Next Week
MTV Games and Harmonix are bringing cowbell classic “Hair of the Dog” from Nazareth to Rock Band next week alongside a batch of classic and arena rock from Hawkwind, Motörhead, Blue Öyster Cult and more. Rock Band and Rock Band 2 owners can enjoy seven new tracks and double the umlauts starting on January 26…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 22, 2010 -
UncategorizedThe Best iPhone Games of 2009
While it’s a bit peculiar to give GOTYs for a single mobile device, none had as robust a library of games offering as Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch did in 2009. There are almost too many out there to offer an authoritative comparison of them all. But here are the ones I enjoyed – and…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
Samurai Shodown Sen Coming To Europe
Rising Star Games has snapped up publishing rights to SNK Playmore‘s fourth 3D installment of Samurai Shodown, releasing it in Europe this spring as Samurai Shodown Sen. Already released in Japan as Samurai Spirits Sen, the latest 3D installment of the classic series was supposed to hit North America sometime last November, last we had…
By Mike Fahey Published January 22, 2010 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
“Say, isn’t that BioShock?” you may be rhetorically asking. “Why, yes it is,” I would respond, for that will be the game I’ll be playing through this weekend, a three-day weekend for me. “Why are you playing BioShock one this weekend?” you’re probably not asking, but might upon reading that a copy of BioShock 2…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 22, 2010