Activision

Pitfall!‘s Creator Likens His Fame to Being a Child Star

There were a lot of one-hit wonders in the 1980s, but David Crane isn’t one of them. The Activision programmer was behind Decathlon for the Atari 2600, Ghostbusters, one of the first great film-to-game adaptations on PC, and later, A Boy and His Blob. But he’ll forever be known as Pitfall!‘s creator, almost typecast as…

Black Ops II Is So Classified It Won’t Run On Windows XP

You knew it was coming, XP users. Every operating system has to call it a day sooner or later, and 2012 – the year Windows 8 is released and DX11 becomes mainstream – looks like it’s the end for perhaps Microsoft’s best-loved gaming OS. I say this now because Call of Duty: Black Ops II…

Console Gaming’s Oldest, Still-Standing Record Was Set 30 Years Ago Today [Corrected]

Many video game records are thought to be extremely difficult, if not theoretically impossible to beat. There’s one out there that may in fact be physically impossible to surpass. It’s the fastest time in Dragster, an Activision title by Pitfall! creator David Crane, and the mark was set 30 years ago today. [Correction] Video game…

Here’s Your Final Helping of Modern Warfare 3 Downloadable Content

Coming September 6 to the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the five new maps of Content Collection 4 (two previously exclusive to Elite Premium members) brings the content season to a close, paving the way for Black Ops 2 You know the drill by now, kids. The Xbox 360 version…

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron PC’s Got Problems. High Moon Has Solutions (in the Works)

The single-player portion of the PC version of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is pretty great, capturing all of the action and adventure of the console versions aptly. The online multiplayer, on the other hand, isn’t so hot. High Moon and friends are working to make it better. Connecting to multiplayer is hard. Getting together with…

Black Ops II Hardened and Care Package Editions Offer Compelling Arguments for Spending More Money [Update]

As it does every year, Activision is stepping up to the plate to represent Call of Duty fans so dedicated that spending merely $60 on a video game does not properly express their love and devotion. A pair of images appearing on NeoGAF in advance of an official announcement demonstrate two ways to pay significantly…

Here’s How Activision Justifies Charging More For Angry Birds On Console

Pretend (?) you run a gaming company. If you could bring the biggest mobile game there is purchasable in stores, would you do it? If you’re the largest game publisher in the world, then it’s not such a tough question. Surprise surprise, Activision is publishing Rovio’s Angry Birds for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and…

Seven Game Critics Combine to Form a Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Frankenreview

What’s the most power combiner team in the Transformers universe? The fierce and relentless Predaking? The cool and calculating Computron? The eagle-elephant-lion Magnaboss? As far as Fall of Cybertron is concerned, it’s Reviewertron, guardian of Metacritic. Like any combiner team, this one is made up of several wildly disparate elements united under a common cause,…

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron: The Kotaku Review

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron tells the story of the last days of a dying planet. It’s the tale of two warring factions reaching out across the cosmos for the sake of survival. To fans of the franchise, this is a historical account of a fixed point in time, the outcome of which is predetermined. We…

Cybertron Falls Tomorrow. You Might Want to Wear a Hat or Something.

The official launch trailer for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron signals the end of the planet of the robots, at least for a few million years, depending on the continuity you follow. I can’t tell you if Fall of Cybertron is good or not; not until tomorrow morning, when our full review of the next game…

Black Ops: Declassified Has A Promising Gamescom Debut, But The Jury’s Still Out

Still aching to scratch that FPS itch at school, work, on the bus, or anywhere that isn’t home? And not with virtual controls? Sony’s handheld Vita, with its twin analog sticks, should have been the device to scratch that itch. Sadly, though, the handheld has been light on first person shooters even after six months…

Check Out Black Ops 2‘s CODcasting in Action

In a live demonstration streamed direct from Gamescom in Germany earlier today, Activision and Treyarch showed off Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s exciting new multiplayer broadcasting tools. Finally a way for an unskilled loudmouth like me to enjoy Call of Duty! I can imagine my first broadcast bout already. I’ll pick an overlay, set…

The Gamescom Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 streaming live multiplayer event has started! Watch it here

My Favorite New Skylander is the Most Human. Also, She Throws Narwhals.

Once the sworn protector of the SnowQueen, Chill lost her charge to the Cyclopean forces and has been attempting to atone for her failure ever since. She is a pink-skinned humanoid awash in a world of colorful creatures and towering giants. I identify with her. Her fragility. Her humanity. Her ability to toss horned arctic…

Black Ops II Multiplayer Blowout: Scorestreaks Replace Killstreaks, Livestreaming Goes Big-Time, Leagues, and More

So much for Call of Duty being gaming’s safely predictable 800lb gorilla. The people making the new Black Ops II are changing multiplayer. A lot. Adios, Killstreaks Black Ops II is still a first-person shooter (set in the high-tech future of 2025, mind you) and players will still be able to spend endless hours virtually…

Pitfall! on iPad Is What You Expect and a Little Bit of What You Don’t

If you’re old like me, you played the original version of Pitfall! on the Atari 2600 way back when. Sequels to David Crane’s iconic side-scrolling adventure have come and gone but none have quite captured the tense feel of the 1982 release. Yet, the 30-year-old classic seems like it’d be great as a mobile gaming…

This Unconfirmed Campaign Breakdown of Black Ops II Is Making the Rounds

This is going to sound like one of those stories in which a friend of a friend heard something from a janitor’s mother-in-law. This isn’t like last year, when we had the story of Modern Warfare 3 dead to rights in May, six months before the game’s release, thanks to some chatty sources. But we’d…

Thank you, LA Beat, for getting a top man at Activision to explain how to get the most out of a shower. Plus other tips!

Gwen Stefani’s Band is Still Pissed Off About Guitar Hero, Still Hellbent on Suing Activision

Activision may have dusted its hands of Guitar Hero, Band Hero and everything else from that played-out lead mine, but lawsuits from upset pop stars continue. No Doubt, featured in Band Hero, still plans on taking Activision to trial, saying the publisher has illegitimately delayed the lawsuit and made insulting settlement offers. No Doubt, an…

This Stupid Controller That Looks Like a Sex Toy Helped My Brother Win a Silver Medal

Hurry! There are only two days left until this auction for “Le Stick” closes. You can have this hunk of junk for $29.99, but I warn you, it’s practically useless. Except for one video game, that is. Rewind: It’s 1983. My brother and I live next door to a guy who is an electronics buyer,…