Try Out Team Fortress 2’s Bots

Valve have quietly been tinkering under Team Fortess 2’s hood for some time now, and today would like you to try and help them test something out: officially-sanctioned, AI-controlled “bots”. It’s to be noted that these guys are in the early stages of development, so don’t expecting them to go pushing carts or pulling off…

Mom Calls 911 When Kid Won’t Stop Playing Console

In Chicago last month, a kid called 911 when the ‘rents took away his Xbox 360. Saturday in a Boston suburb a mom dialed the law when her son wouldn’t stop playing. Oh yeah, Grand Theft Auto’s involved here, too. The Boston Herald reports that Angela Mejia, 49, woke up in the middle of the…

Dante’s Inferno ESRB Rating Sounds Pretty Tame, Boss Penis Physics & All

For a game that features a boss ejecting demonic babies from her nipples and “giant, metal penises” as columns, Visceral Games upcoming Dante’s Inferno sounds somehow more tame when the ESRB describes it. Even considering questionable body part physics. For a game set in Hell that seems designed to court controversy, the inclusion of “unblessed…

Jurassic: The Hunted Review: Punch a Velociraptor in the Face

In their “other” recently released first-person shooter, Jurassic: The Hunted, Activision forgoes over-used antagonists such as aliens, zombies, demons, and Nazis, and puts dinosaurs back where they belong-right in our cross hairs! Remember when dinosaurs were cool? You know, when Jurassic Park ruled the box office, Dino Crisis wasn’t set on a spaceship, and Turok…

Pac-Man vs. Naked, Pole-Dancing Mario, in Russian

If that’s not enough to get you to watch, I don’t know what is. Seen via N’Gai Croal’s Twitter and Patrick Klepek’s tumblr today.

God Of War: Blood & Metal EP Packs In Actual Metal

The impressively ornate—and not exactly cheap—Ultimate Edition version of God of War III will feature more than just the soothing sounds of the God of War trilogy’s original score. The God of War: Blood & Metal digital EP will feature exclusive, sometimes God of War inspired tracks from Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, Trivium, Opeth and…

Creepy Bunnies & Bottles of Booze In Last Window Screens

Hotel Dusk’s sequel, Last Window: Midnight Promise is real and here’s a whole bunch of screens to prove it. A while ago, a listing and box art for the Nintendo DS game were spotted on Japanese retail sites. No word still on a US release, but Japan will see the game soon enough. Enjoy! アパートに隠された二つの過去とは？　DS用アドベンチャー「ラストウィンドウ…

Shadow Complex Is Your XBLA Deal Of The Week

Missed out on Xbox Live Arcade smash Shadow Complex? One of my favorite downloadable games of the year and recent Spike TV VGA award winner is now just 800 Microsoft Points, a deal that lasts only this week. Hurry!

What Is This, A Movie Site?

To: Brian From: Stephen Re: What Is This, A Chain Gang? Poor Luke, sweating through his attempts to act out a real life version of Harvest Moon (minus the dating…. there’s dating in Harvest Moon, right? Married Mr. Plunkett doesn’t need that). What’s the most video-game-like activity you’ve ever done? I think mine is riding…

I have compiled a list of the missing stories: – No nipples on the batsuit in Arkham Asylum. I understand a lot of folks were cut up about that. – The Super Guide in NSMB Wii. Games being hard is SRS BSNSS! – Da Vinci wasn’t Q to Ezio’s James Bond. Get out of here,…

Take-Two Sells Off Jack Of All Games, Goes All In On Publishing

What would make Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive revise its yearly earnings downward by an impressive $290 million for the year, just four days after previous guidance? The selling of its distribution business, Jack of All Games. The company announced today that it was selling off its distribution company to SYNNEX for $43.25 million,…

Missouri Man Serving 10 in the Can for Xbox Live Hookup

A 27-year-old man met a 15-year-old girl over Xbox Live, then drove 30 hours to Central California to have sex with her, and now is looking at 10 years in the federal slammer. The man, from Richmond Heights, Mo., “developed a relationship in April 2008,” with the girl, from Sanger, Calif., writes the Associated Press.…

Crackdown 2 Blows Up First Half of 2010

You’re already likely well aware that 2010 should be a better year for Xbox 360 games and exclusives, but did you know that one of those, Crackdown 2, may be coming sooner than you had expected? On the most recent episode of Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s podcast, Microsoft man Aaron Greenberg listed the Ruffian Games-developed…

EGM Relaunches In March 2010

Magazine racks will be falling over with joy next March when video game print publication Electronic Gaming Monthly officially returns to bookstores and beyond. The all-new but still familiar EGM has inked a deal with Time/Warner to handle marketing and sales. Announced last year, the new Electronic Gaming Monthly will be lead by publisher Steve…

2009 In Review: The Controversies

Looking back on 2009’s many kerfuffles and foofaraws, it may not have been the most contentious year the gaming industry has ever seen. But it certainly was among the most entertaining. Kicking off Kotaku’s review of 2009 are the headlines that generated the most heat, if not light, from the preceding year. The conflicts fracture…

Bayonetta Sneaks Out Early At Retail For Some

Sega’s official street date for the PlatinumGames-developed action game Bayonetta isn’t until January for North America and Europe, but some gamers have found the game already sitting on store shelves. We’ve heard from tipsters here in the U.S. and in Europe—Switzerland, specifically—that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game have already shipped…

Happy Holidays From Fallen Earth

There might not be any snow in the post-apocalyptic world of the MMO Fallen Earth, but that won’t stop the Wastelanders from building Dirtmen while waiting for the Seasonal Arctic Network of Toy-based Altruism to arrive. The Archivist Coalition has finally determined the date for the New Year, and they’re sponsoring a First Night festival…

Kotaku Tekken Contest Winners Announced Right Here

Earlier this month we announced a Tekken cosplay/haiku contest, and readers did not disappoint with their submissions. We have winners to announce! The lucky five need to send me their contact info. Details below. The three winners of the PS3 part of the contest are: Arex, posing as Jin Kazama Bigbadpenguinmaster, also posing as Jin…

Fat Princess Gets Fifth Finger, Release Date For Japan

After suffering a short delay, it appears that PlayStation Network game Fat Princess will be released in Japan on Christmas Day. And the reason for that delay? Previous speculation about a lack of fingers may have been accurate. In newly released artwork for the PlayStation 3 game, the Fat Princess cast is now playing with…

5th Cell’s Jeremiah Slaczka Draws Your Questions During This Week’s Podcast

The very creative creative director behind Scribblenauts and the Drawn to Life is hanging with our own Stephen Totilo this week, taking your calls and answering your queries with a vocabulary of more than 22,800 individual words. Mr. Slaczka will help us ring in the holidays with discussion on 5th Cell‘s line of creative and…