Box Scores: This Space for Rent

We were either short on games or short on a week, or both, so in the aftermath of E3 we’ll dispense with the usual highlights and get straight to Kotaku’s sports gaming open thread. That’s not to say I played nothing this week. I saw lots, and I’m still writing it up. The big highlight…

Halo: Reach Campaign Eyes-On: Skyrockets in Flight

One of the more intriguing reveals of Microsoft’s E3 press conference was a brief glimpse of a spacefighter combat level in the upcoming Halo: Reach. The Bungie team gave a longer look at it during a closed-doors demonstration later. There will be only one spaceflight mission in the game, said Bungie’s Eric Osborne. What we…

The Moneysaver: Full Price Does Not Exist in This Dojo, Does It?

This is The Moneysaver, not a knitting class. You don’t come into my dojo, drop a challenge and leave, old man. Now you get your coupons on the mat, or you and I will have a major problem. Hardware • The new Xbox 360 slim console means price drops on old Elite bundles. The Xbox…

The Week in Review: Who ‘Won’ E3?

The word “game” implies something with a winner. And the planet’s biggest gathering of video games, and those who make them, fairly begs for one, too. Just like every year, it didn’t take long for a consensus to form on E3 2010’s champion. Sony took high marks for presentation – Kevin Butler’s call to arms,…

Wait, There’s A 120GB Xbox 360 Slim? [Update]

At E3 earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled a new 250GB Xbox 360. According to a report on Giant Bomb, there’s also a secret 120GB version available. Popping down to a local Best Buy to pick up one of the new consoles, Tested.com’s Will Smith was charged $279 for his 360, not the $299 it should…

The President May Get The Authority To Kick Us All Offline

As weird and scary as it sounds, there may be a time when you’ll be able to blame your server going down on the current U.S. President instead of your internet provider. A new U.S. Senate bill known as the “Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset” Act, would enable the president to access a “kill-switch”…

Shogun 2 Total War: The Difference A Decade Makes

Artists from The Creative Assembly have spent more than a year learning ancient Japanese ink brush and wood block techniques, just to create transition art for Shogun 2: Total War. Imagine the work going into the actual game. The original Shogun: Total War intrigued me so much that I actually purchased it. I harbored a…

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Hands-on From E3 2010

A multiplayer Castlevania? Series designer Koji Igarashi’s latest off-the-wall idea for the 23-year-old vampire slaying franchise might just be crazy enough to work. After playing Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, I’m on board. Way more on board with Iga’s new Xbox Live Arcade game—a multiplayer action-adventure and exploration game for up to six players, starring Castlevania…

Shogun Concept art

How Does The New Xbox 360 Perform Compared To The Old One?

In broad terms, the new Xbox 360 “S” model is the same as the previous console; it plays the same games, does the same stuff. But under the hood, there have been changes, and mostly for the better. AnandTech have put the new Xbox to the test, comparing it to three previous iterations of the…

The Real Metal Gear

Kotaku Off Topic: Reboot

The Kotaku Off Topic post generator was offline the whole week. How come no one told me? I came back to the tower and found that our random conversation reserves were dangerously low. Help! What’d you guys think of E3? I found it personally exhausting and I barely spent any time playing tiring motion control…

Left 4 Dead 2 Gets Headshots-only Mode, Versus Changes

Valve is “mutating” Left 4 Dead 2 with a new headshots-only campaign variation this week, as well as instituting some substantial changes to the Jockey and the AI Director in the game’s Versus mode. [L4D Blog]

Pac-Man Might Get A New Cartoon Series

There was a Pac-Man cartoon series in the 1980s. All things considered, it wasn’t that bad! Now, Namco Bandai wants to make a new series. For the 21st century. Avi Arad, former Marvel Studios CEO, has a pitch to reinvent the arcade hero in a new 3D series, which would see Pac-Man – a high…

Report: Metal Gear Creator Has ‘Massive’ PS3 Exclusive Game In The Works

Hideo Kojima was at E3 this week to show off his team’s latest project, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but a report from CVG says the game developer has a “massive PS3 exclusive” to unveil at Tokyo Game Show. If CVG‘s “senior US publishing source” is right, the supposed PlayStation 3 exclusive will “own the show”…

Sonic Colors Sends A Hedgehog Into (Mario’s) Space

The creators of Sonic the Hedgehog are borrowing a more current page from Nintendo’s Mario, giving the speedy blue mascot a galactic adventure and some super powered suits of his own to wear in Sonic Colors. Why is Sonic the Hedgehog going to space in Sonic Colors? To check in on his arch nemesis Dr.…

How Did We Miss A Toy Story 3 Flash Mob?

At some point during E3, this happened, but we were far too busy working to see it. I’ve always wanted to see a flash mob in action, even if it is just a marketing tie-in. It seems I’ve missed my chance. From the YouTube description: Attendees at E3 2010 were surprised with an Alien Invasion…

echochrome ii Looks Like The Right Move For PlayStation Motion Control

It may not have gotten the same attention as the original echochrome did at E3 2007, but the sequel looks like one of the more promising games coming to the PlayStation Move, Sony’s new motion controller. Similar to WiiWare game Lost In Shadow, echochrome ii puts an emphasis on solving puzzles with light and shadow…

The Wii Returns To Glorious Second Place In Japan’s Weekly Console War

Thanks to first week sales of the new Wii role-playing game Xenoblade in Japan, Nintendo’s motion-controlled console managed to outsell the PlayStation 3 in Japan this week. The two consoles have been battling for second place behind the PSP for months, with Nintendo pulling ahead this week. That gives the Wii and Nintendo DS maker…

Dead Nation Will Pack Record Numbers of Zombies on Screen

Dead Nation producer Damion Pinnock has thrown down the gauntlet. He says that the upcoming zombie game, from the creators of Super Stardust HD, will have the most zombies on screen at the same time ever seen in a game. Did you hear that Dead Rising 2? The most! Click to view