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A Riotous Beginning for the New Mutants of X-Men: Destiny
How does one go from being a displaced teenager with a dickhead father one moment to being an unofficial member of the world’s greatest mutant fighting force the next? Let’s ask X-Men: Destiny Whatever may happen later in the game, at least X-Men: Destiny starts strong. Professor Xavier is dead, humans and mutants are on…
By Mike Fahey Published September 28, 2011 -
In Moneyball, Activision’s Bobby Kotick Plays a Familiar Role
To call Bobby Kotick’s appearance in Moneyball a cameo is a bit of a misnomer. The Activision boss has two significant scenes in the sports flick and plenty of lines as Stephen Schott, the former co-owner of the Oakland Athletics. It’s not to say Kotick plays much of a character, but he doesn’t have to.…
By Owen Good Published September 26, 2011 -
Turn Those Empty Calories Into Double XP with Modern Warfare 3 Mountain Dew & Doritos
Snack enthusiasts will have a powerful advantage over their non-snacking multiplayer rivals in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, thanks to Doritos and Mountain Dew’s “Rank Up Your Game” scheme. It turns the consumption of nacho cheese flavored chips and carbonated beverages into cold, hard experience points—twice as many, 15 minutes at a time. The…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 26, 2011 -
Respawn Entertainment’s Post-Modern Warfare Game “Getting There”
The latest Modern Warfare game is coming out this fall. The game designers who spearheaded Call of Duty‘s move from World War II to modern combat left long ago to work on a new title at new studio. Back in spring 2010, Infinity Ward co-founders Vince Zampella and Jason West ran into a spat with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 26, 2011 -
Check Out the Greatest Misses of Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012
This reminds me of the old Foster’s spots where Paul Hogan would mention the fact American beer ads can’t show anyone drinking beer. Similarly, Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012 can’t show any big game getting shot. Marketing staff don’t care, marketing staff will show you shooting and missing. It gives just as good a look…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2011 -
The Toys”R”Us 2011 Holiday Hot Toy List Has a Video Game Ringer
While a set of Angry Birds plushies made it onto this year’s Hot Toy list, the only proper video game to make the cut is an Activision game that has Toys”R”Us as a marketing partner. Earlier this year when Activision announced Skylanders: Spryo’s Adventure, Toys”R”Us was right there at the game publisher’s side. The press…
By Mike Fahey Published September 20, 2011 -
Call of Duty Elite Beta is Go on PlayStation 3
Activision is rolling out the beta version of the Call of Duty Elite service on the PlayStation 3, allowing selected Black Ops players try out video sharing, stat tracking, custom groups, and competitive events. Sign up now!
By Mike Fahey Published September 19, 2011 -
There Will Be No Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3
In late August, details leaked about a Modern Warfare 3 “Hardened” special edition, but none for a “Prestige,” a more deluxe package that notoriously included night-vision goggles for Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. There are no details yet on a Prestige edition because there will be no Prestige edition for Modern Warfare 3 Infinity Ward’s…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 -
The New Ultimate Spider-Man Debuts Just in Time for Edge of Time
Hitting comic book store shelves today, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 introduces the world to Miles Morales, the African America / Latino replacement for the deceased Peter Parker, and while you can’t play him in Spider-Man: Edge of Time you can definitely dress like him. Ah, the Ultimate universe, Marvel’s way of making sweeping changes to…
By Mike Fahey Published September 14, 2011 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Rezurrection’ Add-on Hits PS3 & PC Next Week
The fourth and final add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Rezurrection, hits the PS3 and PC September 22, kicking off a double XP weekend. Rezurrection’s all-zombie maps include Moon, Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese.
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
A Kotaku 4-Player: Pre-Order In The Court!
Joel J. Got an email from West and Zampella’s PR firm talking about how they’re getting ready to go to court against Activision. They sent a quote they said we could use: “I’m really looking forward to having our day in Court”, said Zampella. Zampella and West formed Respawn Entertainment last April, 2010 and now…
Kotaku Staff Published September 9, 2011 -
Modern Warfare 3 Courting Hardcore PC Gamers With LAN Support
Perhaps seeking to amend some past errors as far as supporting their PC userbase is concerned, Modern Warfare developers Infinity Ward have revealed that the third game in the series will feature something many contemporary games feel they can do without: LAN support. While many other big multiplayer PC games (and former LAN heroes) like…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2011 -
Activision Seizes “ModernWarfare3.com” from Battlefield 3 Fanboy
Two months ago, after discovering that the owner of “ModernWarfare3.com” was first using the site to spew some fanboy hate about the game, and then redirect visitors to Battlefield 3‘s official site, Activision moved to seize the domain. Yesterday, it won. Domain watchdog Fusible reports that the National Arbitration Forum ordered the name transferred from…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2011 -
Punch a Fish Right in Its Smug Little Face with Rapala for Kinect
When your trailer depicts a young man delivering a furious rain of punches down upon a potential seafood platter and the words “Incredibly Fun Fish Battles” your marketing is pretty much complete. I’m almost completely serious. Having tried fishing at various stages in my life with the only constants being a complete failure to catch…
By Mike Fahey Published September 8, 2011 -
Culture
This Concept Art Features X-Men, Jedi Knights (and Jedi Outcasts!)
Most of the time on Fine Art I look at new stuff, or at least somewhat contemporary art. Sometimes, though, I like to look a little further back. Today is one of those days, and it’s a real treat. Today we look at the art of Jeffrey Moy, who among other things did concept art…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
It Takes a Studio of Millions to Make a Call of Duty Game
Technically, that’s a slight exaggeration, but from the perspective of most other development teams, the sheer number of bodies Activision assigns to making Call of Duty games still boggles the mind. According to Activision’s executive vice president for studios Dave Stohl, the publisher has at any one time around 500 people working on the Call…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2011 -
New Multiplayer Details, Sumo Wrestling, and the Price of Being Elite: All the News from Call of Duty XP
Badges awarded at Call of Duty XP [above] give an idea of the activities that expo attendees enjoyed over the weekend. Kotaku spent the past two days the inaugural gathering for fans of Activision’s combat shooter, where the publisher revealed more details about the premium Call of Duty Elite subscription, we spent time with the…
By Owen Good Published September 5, 2011 -
How You’ll ‘Connect’ to Others in Call of Duty Elite
Activision’s social network and stat-tracking service for the Call of Duty enthusiast, Call of Duty Elite, may become your preferred way to meet and play against your fellow first-person shooter fans. It does a whole lot more, but let’s take a look at what Elite’s Connect feature suite is all about. Connect is where Call…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011 -
Call of Duty XP ‘Juggernaut Sumo’ Pits Grandpa vs. Grandson
One of the many activities on hand at this weekend’s Call of Duty XP event—activities that earn attendees badges of honor—is Juggernaut Sumo. The game? Put on a bulky fat suit gussied up to look vaguely like a Juggernaut from Modern Warfare 2‘s Spec Ops mode and… fight! Lines are long, rounds are short. You…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011 -
Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish Is More Explosive Than Your Average Call of Duty Fan Film
Operation Kingfish is the sequel (of sorts) to Find Makarov, the fan-made short film based on the Modern Warfare series—the mini-movie that fooled us into thinking a Modern Warfare 3 announcement was imminent in February. (Oops!) Not sure we can call this over-the-top action packed short a fan film, though, as it has the official…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 3, 2011