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Sex as a Commodity, Women as Achievements
Mass Effect is a sophisticated, acclaimed video game. It took uninformed flak for its sex scene, which gamers defended as a mature portrayal of the act. But it’s not that different from the depiction of sex in many other games. Video games, on the whole, perpetuate a transactional model of sex, argues Alex Raymond at…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
CCP Boss: Dust 514 for Those Who ‘Blow Sh— Up’
DUST 514 takes the prize for most intriguing hybrid – console FPS/RTS/MMO that performs in the persistent EVE Online universe. Here, the CCP Games CEO explains the concept more, including the fundamental difference in EVE and Dust characters. Hilmar Pétursson drew a familiar analogy – EVE Online players are the air force; DUST 514 players…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Art of Calling an Unseen Game
The scene is familiar: Midway through the first period of an NHL game, and the shot knots up the score. Randy Hahn considers the action for a split-second and leans into his microphone. “The Sharks have come right back and tied this one up,” says the television voice of San Jose hockey. “That goal is…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
Weekend Coupons: In Which Owen Damn Near Buys an Elite
Coupon assemblage is, routinely a yeah-yeah task. I mean, really, who the hell wants a pink Guitar Hero guitar. But this weekend, there’s some 360 hardware values you need to see. Hardware • If this is to be believed, Play.com has an Xbox 360 bundle that reads like a Ronco But-Wait-There’s-More ad, except it actually…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Originals: Follow That
Meaty news week here in Kotakopolis. Last week’s PS3 Slim announcement fairly forced Microsoft to do two things: 1) Declare there’s no 360 Slim following suit and 2) announce a comparable price cut is on the way. Reviews of Wolfenstein and Batman helped you decide if you want to play ’em. Ditto the news about…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 -
UncategorizedStar Wars: The Lucasarts Adventure Game
You know, 15 years ago, me and my friends had a a dream. That Lucasarts would get the original movie cast to provide the voices for a Star Wars adventure game. It never happened, but this comes pretty damn close. This is Han Solo Adventures, a fan-made, freeware (it’s not a commercial venture, Lucasarts lawyers!)…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Podcast: Here’s Your Weekend Listening Material
During this week’s Kotaku Talk Radio, listeners called in to debate the Playstation 3, used games and question Fahey about his Ozzy Osbourne interview. The hour long show also has a taste of an upcoming chiptune concert, a word on why PS3 complainers need to put a sock in it and how very, very much…
By Brian Crecente Published August 29, 2009 -
UncategorizedGuitar Hero 5, Ten Playboy Playmates And Hugh Hefner
Another Guitar Hero ad, another Risky Business parody. This Guitar Hero 5 ad has less jiggling, but it does have ten Playboy Playmates, Hugh Hefner and the voice of Matt Pinfield. Matt Pinfield voice, mmm sexy. Guitar Hero 5 commercial stars 10 Playboy Playmates, Hugh Heffner, and a voiceover from Matt Pinfield [Go Nintendo]
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
PAL PlayStation Store Update: Go Do Something Else
Those of you who depend on the late-week PlayStation Store update to provide you with something fresh, new and exciting to enjoy may this week wish to seek alternate means of entertainment. Can’t remember a PAL Store update being this barren in a long time. I mean, you know things are bad when the two…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
Half-Formed Half-Minute Hero Impressions: Why Am I Naked?!
Another game Stephen Totilo got to first that I was curious about was Half-Minute Hero, the game where you really only have 30 seconds to beat a level. The game’s concept sounded simple enough to me – you play as little 8-bit characters that riff on classic role-playing game tenants and have 30 seconds to…
By AJ Glasser Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Week In Comments
Talent Agency: Hans Zimmer Is Scoring Modern Warfare 2 Comment by: FatherFingers Nominated by: trevortibble Wait, how is fiddy going to rap to that?!?! Sit Awkwardly Through Kurt Cobain’s Guitar Hero 5 Performance Comment by: thesircuddles Nominated by: Antiterra There’s a phenomenon that goes on in life, and I don’t know what the name of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Wizard of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road – A Second Look
Not too long ago, Stephen Totilo got his hands on D3 Publisher/Media.Vision’s The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road for the DS. The week I got my own look at the game – mostly for curiosity’s sake, since I read the books as a child and adore the glorified fanfiction that is Wicked…
By AJ Glasser Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
If You Could Own Only One Console, What Would It Be?
We made it. You and me. We made it to Friday. And more importantly, we made it to TELL US DAMMIT. Here’s how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 29, 2009 - Uncategorized
Xbox Live Succumbs To Beatlemania
Microsoft’s Xbox team of executives must be shrieking like teenage girls in the 60’s at the moment, what with the amount of Beatles-related cash-ins on the horizon for Xbox Live. With The Beatles: Rock Band due on September 9, Microsoft have announced a range of ways users can “relive the magic of Beatlemania”, which include:…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Guess Who’s Publishing Modern Warfare 2 In Japan?
Square Enix, that’s who. Known best for Final Fantasy, the Japanese game company is once again attempting to expand its portfolio by bringing eagerly awaited first-person-shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to Japan. The company has yet to make an official announcement, but there’s a teaser site with a large “2” that fades in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bank Deficit Freezes EVE Accounts
From the MMO-as-IRL file, EVE Online’s biggest bank has frozen accounts for anyone who invested any kredits with it, after it was discovered that the bank is 380bn kredits in the hole, without the funds to cover player withdrawals. EBank, the institution in question, was also hit by a naked fraud scheme earlier this year,…
By Owen Good Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
250GB Xbox 360 Looking More Likely
One listing for a 250GB Xbox 360 could be an accident. A typo. But two in two days, on opposite ends of the planet, well, that’s something else. This is an ad from South African retailer BT Games, showing a “Super Elite” Xbox 360 that packs a 250GB HDD. Interesting. Certainly makes the German version…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Preview: Making The Jump To Home Consoles
The Valhalla Knights games (all two of them) have been confined to the PSP since 2006, but now they’re finally making the jump to home consoles. The big plus here is the larger screen size. Back when I reviewed Valhalla Knights 2 for PSP and one of my biggest complaints (no pun intended) was that…
By AJ Glasser Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Cryptic: Microsoft’s Behavior Means No Champions This Year
Jack Emmert, the Cryptic chief creative officer, says Microsoft has a “baffling” issue with MMOs, and it’s holding up the console release of Champions Online. In a VG247 podcast, Emmert says Cryptic has a 360 version of the game “ready to go,” but it’s not likely to arrive this year. “It just takes time for…
By Owen Good Published August 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Ju-on: The Grudge Preview: Hide All But One Of Your Wiimotes
Technically, Ju-on isn’t an on rails shooter – because you’re excruciating slow instead of on rails and instead of a gun, you get a flashlight. Even so, there’s a bit of the nostalgia to Ju-on that you sometimes get form on rails shooters. The Japanese horror movie craze in America seems to have died off…
By AJ Glasser Published August 28, 2009