- Uncategorized
Valkyria Chronicles To Expand In 2010 [Update]
Sega announced today that, come next year, Valkyria Chronicles owners will be able to dust off their copy of the game and play through some new content. A brief statement issued by Sega’s PR said “Today, Sega announces new downloadable content for Valkyria Chronicles on PS3. ‘Challenges from Team Edy’ will test your strategy skills…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
All-Female Phoenix Wright Musical Sequel In Photos
Take that! Again! The all-female Takarazuka Revue troupe is best known its musical stage shows where women actresses play both male and female roles. The Revue’s shows range from the traditional (Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!) to anything but (stage versions of Oliver Stone’s JFK, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby). Takarazuka star Ranju Tomu is once again…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
How Did The Giant Gundam Affect The Environment?
You are looking at a photo from a little over two months ago. Savor that lush green grass. It’s beautiful. This is a photo of the Gundam statue from a week ago. Drink in that brown dirt and the odor of human sweat. Oh the humanity, so real. The kicker? This 1-1 scale Gundam project…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Paul McCartney Hasn’t Played Beatles: Rock Band
A big fuss was made of the mere fact Paul & Ringo were at Microsoft’s E3 presser, but less fuss was made of the fact they looked awkward and out of place. Almost as if they couldn’t give a shit. Now, that may be true, it may not be true, we’ll probably never know. But…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Delving Into The Darkest Of Days
During PAX 09 I got a chance to play through a few levels of Darkest of Days, 8monkey Labs time-travelling first-person shooter that marries futuristic technology with great moments in history. Three levels were available in the demo that 8monkey had up and running at their PAX booth, which was festooned with period weapons and…
By Mike Fahey Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Free-To-Play DDO Unlimited Already Thriving
Days away from opening up to the general public, Turbine is already overwhelmed by the positive performance of the newly free-to-play Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited. Announced earlier this summer and opening to the public on September 9th, the new Dungeons and Dragons Online relegates subscription fees to VIP members, allowing anyone to play for…
By Mike Fahey Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Mike Didn’t Like Making Video Games, But Jerry Did
Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, better known as Gabe and Tycho, the characters in their Penny Arcade just finished hosting a massive expo they like. But making video games? They have mixed feelings. Holkins and Krahulik took time out of their hosting duties at the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo to talk to Kotaku this weekend.…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Meat Bun’s 50% Off Labor Day Sale Means Cheap Video Game Ts
For today and today only, we’re marking down anything and everything Meat Bun. That means 50% off every tee, from old stuff to new stuff to deluxe stuff as we make way for even newer, equally good stuff! Head on over to the Meat Bun online store to grab whatever it is we have left…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Time Warp: Inside the Turtle Van
The outside of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles PAX display was laregly about the new TMNT: Smash-Up game, but the inside was a trip back in time to the late 80s/early 90s. Inside the Turtles Tour bus (modeled to look as much like the Turtle Van as spray paint would allow), there were all kinds…
By AJ Glasser Published September 7, 2009 - Reviews
Guitar Hero 5 Review: Do The Evolution
Activision returns to a simple numbering scheme for the Guitar Hero series with the fifth entry in the core-focused, band non-specific entry, Guitar Hero 5. That’s reflective of its largely gimmick-free gameplay as well as the series’ evolution. Guitar Hero 5 doesn’t offer as much in the way of new, innovative features as, say, Guitar…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy XIII Dated For December 17
Embedded in a flash site is apparently the Japanese release date for Final Fantasy XIII. That release date is December 17. Thank URL twiddling. The flash site’s URL had “_Before_” in it, and typing “_After” seems to bring up this image, which clearly states that the game goes on sale December 17, 2009. Previously, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Who Lurks In Microsoft’s Xbox Hallways?
Kotaku captured this scene during a visit to part of the Microsoft Xbox offices in Washington state last week. This hall leads to the offices of the third-party gaming team. Can you see what’s at the end? How about a closer look? And just a little bit closer… Why, yes, it’s a baseball-loving Big Daddy!
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
PAX Swag Report: The Good, The Bad And The WTF
Well, it turns out that Poogie I was eying at the Capcom booth went for like $40, so I settled for all the free stuff you see here. You tell me — did I make the right decision? Actually, not all of the PAX swag this year was completely “free.” To net the majority of…
By AJ Glasser Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
After Splosions Comes Comic Jumper
The makers of The Maw and Splosion Man announced their next game at PAX 2009: Comic Jumper, The Adventures of Captain Smiley. Watch the trailer and try not to laugh. Twisted Pixel people aren’t saying much about the game other than 1) It’s so early in pre-production that there is no release date and 2)…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Mass Effect 2 Is More Than What Meets Our Eyes
The build-up for BioWare’s Mass Effect 2, still not planned for release until next year, has been one of gaming’s more mysterious. Hints of Commander Shepard’s possible death in trailers and demos confuse ever more. What’s going on? Kotaku asked. “We have been saying it’s the dark middle act, so the tone is definitely darker,”…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 -
UncategorizedStop Telling Me What To Do!
Bob Dylan once told a journalist that the first time he heard a recording of Elvis Presley singing “That’s All Right”, he realized that no one would ever again be able to tell him what to do. I personally had a similar moment as a ten-year-old, playing Super Mario Bros. 3: I managed to use…
Tim Rogers Published September 7, 2009 - CultureSplitscreen
Can Blur Bring Split Screen Back?
In the five years I have been covering video games professionally there’s one thing a video game company had never asked me to do until Activision did last week: Play their new game in four-player split screen. We might as well have been back in 1997 playing GoldenEye or something at Activision’s PAX-week event in…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Could Gaming Soon Overshadow Music in Seattle?
This Labor Day weekend two giant shows took over Seattle: One dedicated to music, the other to video games. But only one of them is growing. Bumbershoot, Settle’s annual international music and arts festival, has been drawing a crowd to the Seattle Center since 1971 when 125,000 visitors showed. This year attendance appears to be…
By Brian Crecente Published September 7, 2009 -
UncategorizedAt Last, An Easy Pokemon Game
Pokemon experts may snicker. They may laugh at me the way they laugh at a pale blogger caught next to a flexible cos-player. But can they deny that Pokemon games are confusing to newcomers? And that simplicity might help? I’ve always been able to remember that water Pokemon are good against Fire, but I’m not…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009