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The Year We Make 3-2-1 Contact
To: Ashcraft From: McWhertor Re: Ten Years, Man, Ten Years. Crap. You sound about as excited as I do to enter “The Year We Make Contact” with Jupiter-sized space fetuses. I remember seeing 2010 in the theater back in 1984, a theater going experience that induced a very strange panic attack in me as a…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Transformers: The War for Cybertron Puts Autobots In Gears
Activision has an all-new Transformers game on its slate for next year, one that looks like it will be taking gameplay cues from Gears of War. According to the newest issue of Game Informer, Transformers: The War for Cybertron is a third-person shooter that chronicles the Autobot’s battle waged against the evil forces of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Programming Reminder: Talk Live With Uncharted 2’s Amy Hennig On Wednesday
As noted yesterday, Amy Hennig, creative director of PlayStation 3 blockbuster Uncharted 2 will guest-host tomorrow’s live Kotaku call-in podcast. Show time’s 11am MT, 1pm ET. Call-in and listening details will be live on the site just before show time.
By Stephen Totilo Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Valve: Team Fortress 2 Mystery Update ‘Not A New Game Mode’
The most recent update to Valve’s two-year-old shooter Team Fortress 2 did more than just fix bugs, it added a bunch of new sound files for the game’s Announcer, newly referencing friendships, betrayals and mercenaries. So, new game mode? Nope! While some Team Fortress 2 players are left scratching their heads, some have already heard…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Yakuza 3 Trailer Is Full Of Hot Yakuza Action
Sega confirmed earlier today that the rumors of Yakuza 3‘s Western release were true, announcing a March 2010 release date for the PlayStation 3 gangster game. This new trailer, with English peppered throughout, offers further proof. The new trailer for the game released in Japan earlier this year both pans across and zooms in on…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Speedy Gran Turismo 5 Impressions: Bumper Falls Off, Heads Theoretically Turn
Just got back from a Sony showcase a few blocks from Kotaku’s NYC office. Heading back over there post-haste. Had a few minutes to try to wreck a car in Gran Turismo 5 and learn about the game’s head-tracking. A Sony representative was showing Polyphony Digital’s upcoming PlayStation 3 racing game, and let me drive…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Andross, Emperor of The New York City Subway System!
Street artist Posterchild—installer of Super Mario Bros. question blocks and Portal companion cubes in the real world—has let loose Star Fox nemesis Andross in New York City. Fear him, subway riders! Super Smash Bros. Brawl fans may recognize this version of Andross as he appeared in the original Star Fox for the Super NES, but…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Play Panama Over And Over With The Guitar Hero: Van Halen Demo
Xbox Live Gold subscribers can now download a demo for Guitar Hero: Van Halen featuring three four songs, one two of which are actually by Van Halen! I suppose Activision is trying to show the range of the Guitar Hero: Van Halen product to those of us who didn’t already get it for free via…
By Mike Fahey Published December 8, 2009 - Reviews
Flight Control Review: Strategy Vs. Scribble
Nick Denton, who runs this whole network of blogs of which Kotaku is a part, has one 2009 game he really likes. Since we’re catching up this month on 2009 games we missed, we asked him to review it. Fans of the iPhone and iPod Touch game Flight Control are everywhere. My 7-year-old nephew runs…
By Nick Denton Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Metal Gear Solid 4 Music Man Joins The New Halo Team
Microsoft’s internal Halo team, 343 Industries, has a new member. Sotaro Tojima, formerly of Kojima Productions and credited with Metal Gear Solid 4‘s sound direction, has joined the Halo publisher. The official Halo Waypoint Twitter account brings word of Tojima’s hire, the second—that we know of—former Kojiima Productions staffer to join Microsoft in its Halo-expanding…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Extended Spirit Tracks Commercial Has Twice As Much Hallucinating
The 60-second version of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks‘ television commercial displays in more vivid detail why you should probably put down the DS and sleep once in awhile. The 30-second version was nice, but I love the little details Nintendo threw in for the extended cut of the commercial. The passenger paying the…
By Mike Fahey Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Saboteur Developer Draws Line Between In-Game Nudity, In-Game Sex
The Saboteur, EA’s game about aiding the French resistance against the Nazis, has optional in-game nudity, but only alludes to actual sex. It’s an obvious distinction, but not one often discussed by those who discuss mature content in games. But that distinction did come up during an interview between Saboteur lead designer Tom French and…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sledgehammer Games Goes Online, Needs Help
Activision’s newest studio, Sledgehammer Games, founded by original Dead Space creators Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, has been made extra official today, with the launch of the start up developer’s web site. While there’s not much meat to it yet—no game announcements buried within—job listings offer some clues to what Sledgehammer is working on. It’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Colbert Report Touts Xbox 360’s “Family” Ties
Last night’s episode of The Colbert Report featured a special shout-out the Xbox 360 during the Tip/Wag segment. I guess we should thank the Jonas Brothers for bringing it to Mr. Colbert’s attention with their public support for the console. Colbert presses the point with a look at a couple of the games that highlight…
By AJ Glasser Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Win A DSi Signed By Zelda Director, $1000 Shopping Spree (And More!)
If you’re a Zelda fan you’re going to want to sit down before reading this. We’ve got an amazing prize pack to give away to the biggest Kotaku Zelda fan: A copy of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, a Spirit Tracks t-shirt, a $1,000 Nintendo World Store gift card, a Zelda’s “biggest fan” trophy…
By Brian Crecente Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Dead Space 2’s Isaac Gets A Minor Makeover
Visceral Games’ follow-up to the original Dead Space was only recently announced by EA. Today, we have our first look at Necromorph dismemberment expert Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 2 and maybe some of his new talents. The newest issue of Game Informer offers new details on Dead Space 2, but none that have been…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Forza 3 Drives A Million Sales
Forza Motorsport 3 has sold more than a million units worldwide, and Turn 10 celebrates by selling you even more in the form of the Hot Holidays car pack. More than a million racing fans snapped up copies of Turn 10’s Forza Motorsport 3 during its first month at retail, with players logging more than…
By Mike Fahey Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
EA CEO: “I Think Of Pirates As A Marketplace”
John Riccitiello, the gaming-savvy head of Electronic Arts, doesn’t want anyone to pirate games. But those who do, he told Kotaku, present a new market that EA needs to make money from. How? By selling people who grab games digitally — without paying for them — post-release downloadable content. “They can steal the disc, but…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Create Your Own Tiny Dark Void Levels
Create, share, and play custom-made levels of a Dark Void-like flash game, with Capcom’s Jetpack Attack. Fly around, collect weapons, and shoot at things. It doesn’t get much more simple than that. Well, I suppose just standing and shooting, or simply standing, but that wouldn’t be fun, now would it? If that’s too simple for…
By Mike Fahey Published December 8, 2009