• Uncategorized

  The PlayStation Vita is Locked to AT&T

  When Sony announced that they were teaming up with AT&T for the PlayStation Vita’s 3G service, it was the only time I can remember at a major press conference when there were actual, audible boos. And this shit is exactly why. Turns out that the Vita is locked to AT&T sim cards, with The Verge…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  “Skyrim Mom” is the Only Twitter Account You Need to Read Today

  Bethesda community manager Nick Breckon has asked his 65 year-old mother to sit down and play Skyrim And while she does so, he’s tweeting what she’s saying. Maybe not every word, but at least the good parts. Sounds inane, but really, it’s wonderful Skyrim Mom [Twitter]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Killzone Coming to the PSN

  On January 24, Killzone – the original PS2 entry in the series – will be released on the PlayStation Network. It’ll cost $10. [Game Informer]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012
• 

  CultureTotal Recall

  Say Hello To The Dreamcast Television Set

  The Divers 2000 series CX-1 Dreamcast was the best of its class

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  BioWare Gives Mass Effect Statue a Breast Reduction

  There’s a headline I never thought I’d be writing. In a rare/strange/welcome move, Mass Effect creators BioWare have responded to fan feedback from the initial design for a statue based on the series’ Liara and given the piece a breast reduction. As you can see in the initial shots of the statue here, she was…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Warp Turns a House Party Into a Cute Adventure Puzzler

  Puzzle games over the past few years have focused around physics, and around playing with those physics to accomplish goals. Warp features a cute little alien who dies from one bullet and teleports a couple feet at a time. Yes, this is a video game, not an upcoming kids cartoon. Warp is a simple puzzle…

  James Pikover Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Microsoft’s Explanation For What Caused Xbox 360 Factory Suicide Threats

  Earlier this week, Kotaku told you about how a large number of employees at a Foxconn factory in China had threatened mass suicide having been “denied compensation they were promised”. Microsoft assured us at the time that it would look into the matter, and has informed Kotaku that it has now completed “an independent investigation…

  Luke Plunkett & Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Woah, I Didn’t Know Kindergarten Cop Took Place in Silent Hill

  I always thought of Schwarzenegger’s 1990 film Kindergarten Cop as a feel-good family movie. Little did I know that the film was also a horror prequel, set in the same terrifying school as a section of the seminal 1999 horror video game Silent Hill It’s easy to look at the first of these images (in…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Most TNT Detonated In Creative Mode Of Minecraft

  Most TNT Detonated In Creative Mode Of Minecraft | A world record, as seen on RecordSetter.com Get Ready to Play as a More Brutal—or More Stealthy—Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution Forget everything you know about Agent 47, the bald-headed, bar-coded contract killer of IO Interactive’s Hitman franchise. He does not don disguises, creep in the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 11, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  A Rock Band-Style Game for the Blind

  Music isn’t a visual art-form, and many amazing musicians, from Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles to Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Roul Midón have created incredible sounds despite (or possibly even enhanced by) their inability to see. But music video games are still largely visual—in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, players must follow the colored squares…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Not Everyone Hates Dragon Age II, You Know

  I have a lot of fun ripping on Dragon Age II. BioWare’s 2011 follow-up to their epic and beloved Dragon Age: Origins disappointed and frustrated me in many, many ways. But plenty of people liked it just fine. In fact, some people bloody love this game, to the point that every time I poke fun…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Which of These Five Games Had the Best Writing of 2012?

  Every year the Writers Guild of America awards a special Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing award to the team responsible for the most memorable interactive entertainment script. Which of these five titles will walk away a winner on February 19? You know what I love about the Writers Guild of America Video Game Writing…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO Log Part Four: Revenge of the Sith

  When it comes to epic battles between fictional forces, I generally find myself siding with the good guys. If I were a Transformer, I’d be an Autobot. I’d join G.I. Joe before Cobra. I consider myself more of a Plant than a Zombie. Time and time again I find my light side winning out over…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  There May Not Even Be a PlayStation 4 or Xbox 720, Says Cloud Gaming Company Gaikai

  Brace yourselves, readers! A company whose whole business plan depends on consoles going away says that one of the big platform holders might be getting out of the hardware business altogether. Industry Gamers has Nanea Reeves, chief product officer for Gaikai, saying the following: “Not all of the current console makers will have one more…

  By Evan Narcisse Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Mapstalgia Explores the Strange and Wonderful Ways Memory Changes Video Game Maps

  What you’re looking at is obviously not the official map of The Legend of Zelda; it’s what The Legend of Zelda’s map looks like to themadjuggler, one of the many contributors to Mapstalgia, a website dedicated to reproducing video game maps from memory. Mapstalgia‘s Josh Millard is quickly assembling an impressive archive of video game…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Contest: Write Force-ful Dialogue for This Star Wars: The Old Republic Comic and Win The First Issue Free

  BioWare’s new Star Wars MMO covers a lot of ground when it comes the pre-history of Luke Skywalker’s universe. But, even with all the gameplay and dialogue in The Old Republic, there’ s still lots of stories to be told about the conflicts between Jedi, Sith, Mandalorians and The Republic of the old. Star Wars:…

  By Evan Narcisse Published January 11, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  This GTA IV Terminator Mod Says ‘Hasta La Vista, Bellic’

  When you play Grand Theft Auto games, do you ever feel a bit like The Terminator? Walking forward in an ungainly way, absorbing more bullets than a human ought to be able to absorb, shooting cops in the knee with reckless abandon? YouTube user taltigolt has uploaded this video of the “Terminator T1” mod for…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Unit 13 Proves That the PlayStation Vita Can Deliver a Full-Console Experience in the Palms of Your Hands

  People love Nathan Drake. And it’s safe to say that Uncharted: Golden Abyss will be the premiere adventure title for the Vita. However, it’s looking like Unit 13—from Zipper Interactive, the developer behind SOCOM and MAG—will be the one you’ll want to sate that thirst for Rainbow Six-style antics. Stephen Totilo’s already had one look…

  James Pikover Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Kotaku Cautiously, Optimistically Accepts Its Latest Accolade

  We at Kotaku are proud to have just won The Cautious Optimism Award for Steps in the Right Direction from progressive gaming blog The Border House. Unfortunately, if we say anything nice about them in the future, it’ll look fishy.

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 11, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Lawyers Thought Video Games Could Help Explain Why Man Murdered U.S. Airmen

  On March 2, 2011, 21-year-old Arid Uka walked up to one U.S. airmen outside the airport in Frankfurt Germany and shot him in the head. Witnesses said he boarded a U.S. Air Force bus, shot a second airman to death and injured two more. Uka has already confessed to the shootings, and prosecutors are seeking…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 11, 2012