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How Would Commander Shepard Himself Play an RPG?
Evil, the first time through, says Mark Meer, the voice of (the male) Commander Shepard in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. But then he gets his act together. “I generally play evil on my first go-through, then switch to good for the second so I can feel like I’m redeeming myself and making amends…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Well, He Does Look Like He Could Work There
Once again, The Onion cuts to the chase: Lane Kiffin, the new football coach at Southern California is rumored* to have been wooed away from the job by the chance of a lifetime: Working at a GameStop. (* – By “rumored” we mean “this is pure bullshit, but funny.”) Kiffin is 34 and looks about…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
MLB 2K10 Preview: Battling Back to Even the Count
2K Sports‘ baseball franchise, maybe more than any other sports title, will have this year’s title judged against and compared to last year’s offering, and not for its good qualities. It’s hard to tell whether last year’s MLB 2K9 – one of the worst-reviewed (and deservedly so) games ever for this class of sports simulation…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Are You Ready for Some Combaaaaat?
Uber Entertainment probably can’t put it that way – ESPN has a legal division after all – but I can. Uber’s sent along three exclusive screens of the classes in its upcoming class-based shooter Monday Night Combat, for Xbox Live Arcade. The game looks like a blend of American Gladiators, Battlebots, Monday Night Football, Team…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
The Problem(s) with Olympic Video Games
Maybe you noticed Vancouver 2010, the official title for the Winter Olympics, released last week. But more than VIII Olympiads since the Activision Decathlon and the Epyx Summer Games, the Olympics still have no real toehold in the sports genre. There are any number of reasons why, but the fact remains: It is the biggest…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Get Your Emblem in Halo: Reach
Much like it did for Halo 3, Bungie is running a contest to get a fan-designed unit emblem in the game. The contest opened yesterday and will run through Feb. 5. Bungie’s rules are pretty straightforward: They want a two-color emblem that’s still identifiable if the secondary color is toggled off. It’s got to be…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
iPhone Jailbreak Pioneer Says He’s Hacked the PS3
Me no speakum hackese, but it sounds like the guy who gave us the iPhone jailbreak claims to have finally hacked the PlayStation 3. Without specifying how (and explaining it to me would be like reading Siddhartha to a dog, in Klingon), George Hotz says he pulled it off after five weeks of work with…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
Weekend Coupons: The Hold Steady
Not too many jaw-dropping deals, as we seem to have cleared not only the Christmas sales period, but also the post-Christmas clearance window. But with the first big wave of new releases coming up, some new values can be found. Hardware • Amazon’s Xbox Elite 120GB plus $50 Gift Card deal for $293.99 ends today.…
By Owen Good Published January 23, 2010 - Uncategorized
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