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Sony’s Motion Controller Will Be Out Spring 2010
Sony’s motion controller has neither a name nor a finalised form. Which means, yeah, it’s still a work in progress. And that means it won’t be out until, oh, Spring 2010. PlayStation boss Kaz Hirai has told The Times “we are slating it for spring of next year”. “It” being the motion controller. “One of…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kid Napped in PSP Deal Gone Bad
What’s it they say, “You never hear about a drug deal gone good?” Same for selling games. In this case, an unhappy customer took a Utah teen for a ride when the PSP that changed hands didn’t work as advertised. The suspect’s now in custody, so, this ends well. But it began badly, on Saturday,…
By Owen Good Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Elemental: War of Magic Impressions: There’s More To Might Than Magic
Elemental: War of Magic is a PC turn-based strategy game with a sweet map and a marriage alliance system that sounds like something from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. That’s no accident because developer Stardock’s CEO & President, Brad Wardell is way into A Song of Ice and Fire –…
By AJ Glasser Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
iPhone Madden to Arrive by Opening Day
Well, well. Now we know why Gameloft was in such a hurry to get NFL 2010 for the iPhone out the door this month. EA Mobile says Madden NFL 10 will release to the iTunes store by opening day. Although the news release says only “September 2009,” (October ’09 in the rest of the world),…
By Owen Good Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Stardock Updating Impulse, Rolling Out Ready-to-Play
Even if you’re a Steam loyalist, PC gamers, you’ve got to admit it’s nice to have options. But Stardock’s digital distribution service, Impulse, and its latest update aim to provide more than just competition. Phase IV of Impulse rolls out a new service called Ready-to-Play that functions as a sort of Facebook for PC gamers.…
By AJ Glasser Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Red Steel 2 Hands On: Now With Ninjas!
Ubisoft had a newly playable copy of Red Steel 2 at Gamescom, its cowboy-samurai western now full of ninja and 360-degree Wii MotionPlus-powered sword swingin’. And I nearly had my delicate wrist snapped off playing the thing. After getting a brief overview of what’s new in Red Steel 2—including ninja, some fancy new moves like…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Back From Germany
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Has Anyone Seen Inglourious Basterds or District 9? I’m safely ensconced back in Denver. I flew back Sunday from Cologne after spending a week with McWhertor hustling to cover the surprisingly fun Gamescom. I managed to nearly miss all of my connections, but still get on board the train and…
By Brian Crecente Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Batman Spike Special Tonight Includes Kotaku Cameo
Thank you, Spike TV, for making me look tall. And for labeling my fellow games reporters as “the most evil villain of them all.” It’s all part of the channel’s new Batman: Arkham Asylum special. Batman: Arkham Asylum Launched premieres tonight on Spike at midnight eastern and pacific. The half-hour show features just one soundbite…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Gamescom’s Halls Of PC Hardware, Nintendo And Sad
You’ve seen the best of what Gamescom’s varied halls had to offer, now see the rest—the PC gaming focused Hall 9, where NCSoft, Razer and numerous MMO vendors set up shop, and Hall 8, featuring Nintendo. Let’s take a quick journey through Halls 8 and 9, far faster than one could do it during one…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Dev Time “Comparatively Faster” Than FFXIII
Sick of looking at these same Final Fantasy Versus XIII screen shots? Yeah. Me too. Well, the good news is that development on Final Fantasy XIII is doing wonders for that other Fabula Nova Crystallis entry, according to the developer. Square Enix’s Yoshinori Kitase told us at Gamescom this week that development time on Final…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Obama Almost Got A New Wii From Joe Biden
All that Gamescom, Quakecon and Blizzcon news last week distracted from a key story reported by the LA Times: Why Barack Obama didn’t get a Wii for his 48th birthday on August 4. The Times ran a story last week about how America’s vice president, Joe Biden, has been trying to strengthen his relationship with…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
World Of Warcraft: The Lands Beyond The Cataclysm
Check out this tour of the zones of World of Warcraft: The Catacylsm, for a look at Gilneas, The Lost Isles, and how Deathwing’s reappearance will forever change the face of Azeroth. New lands are all well and good, but seeing places where I’ve spent countless hours over the past five years completely changed is…
By Mike Fahey Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Heavy Rain Eyes On: Meet Scott Shelby, Private Eye
Quantic Dream’s Guillaume de Fondaumièr offered us our third official look at the developer’s PlayStation 3 game Heavy Rain at Gamescom, showing us just a few of the many possibilities that await us in the hi-def choose your own adventure. Since Quantic Dream had already thoroughly teased the adventures of newly revealed character Ethan Mars…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Professor Layton And The Diabolical F Train
Pimple-removal, romance novels and liquor get advertised inside New York City subway cars. This morning, I walked into a car of the F train and, for the first time, saw a video game getting big-time promotion. Despite video games being played constantly on the train — there’s always someone playing on an iPhone, DS or…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy XIII’s Paradigm Shift, Gestalt Mode & More
We’re just a few months away from Final Fantasy XIII’s release—in Japan anyway—giving Square Enix good reason to reveal more about the role-playing game’s battle system. We got a look at FF XIII’s goods this week at Gamescom. Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama walked us through a brief demo of…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
StarCraft II Can Be Played Offline
Troubled by the Battle.net login screen that appears upon first launching StarCraft II? Does it mean that StarCraft II requires an internet connection? Not so, says Blizzard’s Rob Pardo. Some of our readers were a bit put off by the suggestion that the single player portion of StarCraft II would require logging into Battle.net, as…
By Mike Fahey Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Preview: Better Than A Blue Shell
How is this game different from Mario Kart? Besides starring Sonic and featuring a Billy Hatcher level. That was the key question during a recent hands-on with 2010’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. What Is It? Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a kart-racing game shaped by the mold of the Mario Kart series, with…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 24, 2009 - Reviews
Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition Micro-Review: Learning to Read With Zombies
Resident Evil 4 may have come out more than four years ago, but all it takes is a new platform to make the game feel fresh. The third-person survival horror game from Capcom hit the iPhone earlier this year as Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition, promising to deliver key moments of the original game in…
By Brian Crecente Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Hands On With Diablo III’s Monk
Though the Diablo III kiosks in the BlizzCon pressroom were swamped all weekend, I did manage to squeeze in a little time with the game’s newest class – the Monk. To give you folks a little background information, the BlizzCon press room is a place of joy and wonder. They line two walls with kiosks…
By Mike Fahey Published August 24, 2009 - Uncategorized
Minis Impressions: Fieldrunners on the PSPGo
I am a Fieldrunners devotee on the iPhone, getting sucked into the tower defense game way more than I like to admit. I was excited to hear that the title was going to make its way to the PSPgo as part of the Minis program for the portable announced at Gamescom last week. Sony didn’t…
By Brian Crecente Published August 24, 2009