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Reviews
Jurassic: The Hunted Review: Punch a Velociraptor in the Face
In their “other” recently released first-person shooter, Jurassic: The Hunted, Activision forgoes over-used antagonists such as aliens, zombies, demons, and Nazis, and puts dinosaurs back where they belong-right in our cross hairs! Remember when dinosaurs were cool? You know, when Jurassic Park ruled the box office, Dino Crisis wasn’t set on a spaceship, and Turok…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 21, 2009 -
Reviews
2009 In Review: The Controversies
Looking back on 2009’s many kerfuffles and foofaraws, it may not have been the most contentious year the gaming industry has ever seen. But it certainly was among the most entertaining. Kicking off Kotaku’s review of 2009 are the headlines that generated the most heat, if not light, from the preceding year. The conflicts fracture…
By Owen Good Published December 21, 2009 -
High Moon Clears Up All This Gears of War Talk About Transformers
Images of the upcoming Transformers: War for Cybertron have stoked chatter that it will draw heavily on Gears of War motifs. Transformers World 2005 got a talk with Matt Tieger of High Moon Studios and put the question to him. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that we are using the…
By Owen Good Published December 18, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 Fixes “In Test” For These Problems
With a few million people playing and actively trying to exploit your game, some issue are going to crop up. And Modern Warfare 2 has had some issues. But Infinity Ward is tackling them, including that recent infinite ammo thing. IW’s Robert Bowling updated the Modern Warfare 2 masses on the developer’s current plans to…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 16, 2009 -
Latest Transformers Title Officially Rolling Out for Wii, DS Too
We’ve known about it for a week, but today Activision officially announced Transformers: War for Cybertron (planet pictured above) and confirmed that versions for Wii and the Nintendo DS are in development as well. That makes it five platforms for the game – including the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions we already knew about.…
By Owen Good Published December 16, 2009 -
Robotic Hamsters Get Real Activision Games
Activision takes on EA’s Littlest Pet Shop with games based on Zhu Zhu Pets, robotic hamster toys with a life of their own. How was I unaware of robotic hamster toys? Zhu Zhu Pets are, apparently, one of the hottest toys of the holiday season, and I should probably count myself fortunate that I was…
By Mike Fahey Published December 15, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 On 360 Busted, Ammo In Plentiful Supply? [Update]
Now, I’m no scientist. Or console engineer. I don’t know how this is happening. All I know is, there are increasing numbers of people playing Modern Warfare 2 on 360 saying the game’s ammo counters are all busted up. Essentially, we’re hearing that people are joining MP matches, then finding that there are no ammo…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 15, 2009 -
Report: Modern Warfare 2 PC U.S. Retail Sales About 170,000 In November
Infinity Ward‘s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had a monstrous November, moving more than 6 million copies in the U.S. on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The retail PC version also contributed, but to a less impressive degree. According to a new report from Gamasutra on last month’s NPD figures, the PC version…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 14, 2009 -
Tony Hawk Still Optimistic About More Ride, Future Board Support
Skateboarding hero Tony Hawk is still positive on the possibility of more Tony Hawk Ride and more skateboard controller support, despite harsh critical reception and cool initial sales of the Robomodo developed game. We caught up with Hawk this weekend at the Spike TV VGAs to talk about his response to Ride’s reception and future…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 14, 2009 -
Activision Officially Announces, Details New True Crime
United Front Games and Activision are giving the gamers who asked for it a third taste of True Crime, officially unveiling the game at this weekend’s Spike TV VGAs, further detailing the Hong Kong crime drama today. According to official word, the rebooted True Crime will “look, feel and play like a true Hong Kong…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 14, 2009 -
From the VGAs: Sequels Announced for Force Unleashed, True Crime
At the Video Game Awards, Samuel L. Jackson just took the stage (describing himself as a “bad ass motherf—-er”) to announce Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. The trailer featured a Vader vs. Yoda voice over, Starkiller fighting a beast muuuuch larger than a Rancor, but no gameplay, and no release date. Earlier in the…
By Owen Good Published December 12, 2009 -
Who Put Out The Most Good Video Games In 2009? [UPDATE]
On Wednesday, EA CEO John Riccitiello provided evidence — in chart form — that his company published the most well-reviewed games of 2009. Wanting to test his assertions, I dug into the data and found some surprises. The EA chart was shown at an investor’s conference, designed to appeal to people who EA hopes will…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 11, 2009 -
Transformers: War For Cybertron Debut Trailer
Set before the Transformers had contact with Earth, War For Cybertron allows players to partake in the battle between Autobots and Decepticons. The game is being developed by High Moon Studios, best known for the Bourne Conspiracy game. The title’s release date is still TBA, but Transformers: War For Cybertron will be hitting the PS3,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 11, 2009 -
Tony Hawk Ride Grinds Up 114,000 In Sales
Activision and Robomodo’s peripheral-based reboot of the Tony Hawk‘s Pro Skater franchise had what may be considered a disappointing first month on the market, selling 114,000 units in the U.S. in November, according to the NPD Group. GameSpot reports that the majority of those sales were to Wii gamers, with 67,000 copies of Tony Hawk…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 10, 2009 -
Reviews
Call of Duty: World at War Zombies Review: Zombie Nazis!!!
Nacht Der Untoten was a surprisingly fun little addition added on to the end of the otherwise realistic and slightly unsettling Call of Duty: World At War. In the console version of the online mini-game you and up to three others fight off a never-ending horde of Nazis. When it came time to try and…
By Brian Crecente Published December 10, 2009 -
Objection! Activision Now Suing No Doubt
No Doubt suing Activision was one of the feel-good stories of 2009. Mostly because it involved somebody suing Activision. Activision, however, are now counter-suing No Doubt. And things are probably going to get messy. No Doubt’s beef comes from the fact they claim they only signed on to appear in the game singing No Doubt…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009 -
What The Deuce Is Star Wars: Legends?
There’s a listing over on the website of the Australian Classification Board for a game we’ve never heard of. It’s called Star Wars: Legends. And no, before you ask, it hasn’t been banned. The title was submitted for classification way back in June, and earned the game a Mature rating (for “fantasy violence”). Interestingly, it’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009 -
Transformers: The War for Cybertron Puts Autobots In Gears
Activision has an all-new Transformers game on its slate for next year, one that looks like it will be taking gameplay cues from Gears of War. According to the newest issue of Game Informer, Transformers: The War for Cybertron is a third-person shooter that chronicles the Autobot’s battle waged against the evil forces of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009 -
Play Panama Over And Over With The Guitar Hero: Van Halen Demo
Xbox Live Gold subscribers can now download a demo for Guitar Hero: Van Halen featuring three four songs, one two of which are actually by Van Halen! I suppose Activision is trying to show the range of the Guitar Hero: Van Halen product to those of us who didn’t already get it for free via…
By Mike Fahey Published December 8, 2009 -
Sledgehammer Games Goes Online, Needs Help
Activision’s newest studio, Sledgehammer Games, founded by original Dead Space creators Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, has been made extra official today, with the launch of the start up developer’s web site. While there’s not much meat to it yet—no game announcements buried within—job listings offer some clues to what Sledgehammer is working on. It’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 8, 2009