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PSN Down “For Maintenance” During Sony’s GamesCom Press Conference
Sony threw a little notice up on their support site overnight, letting everyone know that the PlayStation Network will be down for a couple of hours on August 18. Say, isn’t that the day of Sony’s GamesCom press conference? My, it is. The outage is expected to commence at 9am PST, August 18 in the…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
A Link For All Seasons
The Design Inspiration has a collection of Legend of Zelda artwork up in the style of their amazing Super Mario Bros. artwork we some some time ago. Sadly, I don’t see any Links that could pass for Daniel Day-Lewis — but there’s one that kind of looks like Jeff Bridges before he went to seed.…
By AJ Glasser Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Free Madden Winner is — Probably Not You
Not unless your name is Taylor H. He was chosen at random from more than 500 correctly answering entrants, the Charger fan living in Eagles country – Lancaster, Pa., to be exact – took home my copy of Madden NFL 10. More than 800 answered yesterday’s trivia question, 300 of them incorrectly. The player on…
By Owen Good Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Cyberpunk and video games
Chances are you’ve heard me mention cyberpunk before, maybe as a tangent to a rant about steampunk — but this article over on GamesRadar explores the concept way better. Joe McNeilly’s “Neuromancer: 25 Years Later” looks at the connection between cyberpunk granddaddy William Gibson‘s work and the video game scene today. It’s a lengthy read…
By AJ Glasser Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
LittleBigPlanet Re-Release Includes 18 New Levels, 7 DLC Packs
Sony will charge $60 for the September 8 Game of the Year re-release of LittleBigPlanet and is adding some content and a limited-supplies-only beta invitation to justify the price. Announced today, the new LBP will include the original game along with 18 levels created by top LBP users and commissioned by the game’s development studio…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Ich Bin Gamer
To: Ash From: Crecente Mike and I are settled in a hotel next to a mammoth cathedral in Cologne today. I popped over to GDC Europe today to see what was going on and sat in on an interesting post-mortem for PS3’s Flower. Hanging out for dinner and drinks tonight we ran into a bunch…
By Brian Crecente Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Elite 360 No Longer Ships With HD Cables
One of the things I appreciated most about my Xbox 360 Elite was that it shipped with an HDMI cable in the box, letting me get the most out of my system’s visuals without the need for further expense. Thing is, I got my Elite years ago. If you plan on picking one up in…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Carmack OK With Id Not Becoming An Epic Or Valve
John Carmack said he’s a reason id Software didn’t become more like Epic. He doesn’t regret his company’s graphics tech no longer being a go-to system for the industry. “There is a lot of good to be said about Epic and Valve and the tacks that they’ve taken,” Carmack told me during an interview in…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Getting Around In Champions Online
The Champions Online open beta is now in full swing, and here’s a look at how you’ll be swinging, flying, and burrowing your way through the new superhero MMO. My favorite feature of Cryptic’s last superhero game, City of Heroes, was the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, teleport about the city,…
By Mike Fahey Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
iPhone Bethesda Project Still Brewing
Back in February, during a panel I co-hosted, one of my very special guests, Bethesda’s Todd Howard said he was cooking up an iPhone game. I asked him last week for an update. The game is “getting closer,” the Fallout and Oblivion game director told me during our interview at QuakeCon in Dallas. “I put…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Table Problem
Ever walk into a room and get stuck on a table? No? How about in a video game? If so, Paul Wedgwood has a solution for you. Yesterday, I posted about the greatest feeling in video games as determined by Splash Damage’s Paul Wedgwood. I explained how he hopes his studio’s next game, the team-based…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Guild Wars 2 Hype Machine Rumbles To Life
Amidst all of the sound and fury surround the impending release of Aion, NCsoft has been quietly gearing up for a big reveal of Guild Wars 2. The teasing has begun, the website is stirring, and the official Guild Wars 2 Twitter is now active, pointing the said web page, where the above image hovers,…
By Mike Fahey Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Don’t Have Time For MotionPlus’ Three Minute Instructional Video?
We’ve shown you the three minute instructional video Nintendo uses to explain how to attach and detach Wii MotionPlus. Recognizing you busy people don’t have three minutes to spare, a GameTrailers user chopped that down to seventeen seconds. WMplus instructions straightforward [GameTrailers]
By Andrew Freedman Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Why Does The EyePet Box Art Look Different From Other PS3 Games?
The box art for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s EyePet recently made its way out to retailers—like Amazon.co.uk—a new branding treatment for PlayStation 3 games that downplays the console’s previous branding. In particular, the “PlayStation 3” portion. While we’re not clear that EyePet’s box art is final, the assets that Amazon UK has features a slightly…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bethesda Clarifies No Elder Scrolls V Statement
Last week at QuakeCon 09, Bethesda’s Todd Howard was quoted as saying the company had “no current plans” for a fifth Elder Scrolls game. According to Bethesda, that’s not what Howard said at all. The developer’s Pete Hines posted a statement on the Bethesda Blog today, clarifying Howard’s comments regarding the future of the Elder…
By Mike Fahey Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Gearbox’s Amazing Offices, The Sights We’re Allowed To Show
On Friday I strolled three of the four floors Borderlands development studio Gearbox occupies atop an office tower in Plano, Texas. Some wondrous sights did I see, including Aliens game concept art I can’t show (sorry!) and all of this… (Click each thumbnail to enlarge) My tour guide was Gearbox co-founder Randy Pitchford, who walked…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Gets To Gamescom, GDC Europe
We’ve touched down in Cologne, already set foot in the Kolnmesse and had a brief taste of GDC Europe. But tomorrow is when the action starts, as Gamescom kicks off in its new location. We’ll miss you Leipzig! Tomorrow, expect big announcements from Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Both companies will be holding…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Champions Online Open Beta Leaps Into Action
Time to put Cryptic’s latest massively-multiplayer online superhero game to the test, as the FilePlanet open beta for Champions Online launches with only a few slight snags. Right now FilePlanet subscribers and those with preorder codes for Champions Online can download the game and start playing immediately, as long as they don’t run into any…
By Mike Fahey Published August 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
PS3’s Satin Silver Dualshock
The Playstation’s Dualshock 3 is getting three spiffy new colors this fall: Satin Silver, Deep Red and Metallic Blue. The silver controller, shown here resting in my knobby hands, is already available at GameStop through September. Then in October all three colors will be available at most retailers.
By Brian Crecente Published August 17, 2009 - Reviews
Shadow Complex Review: Genre Upgrade
Chair Entertainment’s Shadow Complex is a rare entry in the genre trail-blazed by Nintendo’s Metroid, the side-scrolling action-adventure-explore formula later successfully aped by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In Shadow Complex, our hero is Jason Fleming, a hiker who starts ill-equipped on his girlfriend-saving quest with little more than a flashlight and a fancy belt…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 17, 2009