-
The Darkness II Weathers the Hellish Attentions of Game Reviewers
There are plenty of things you can do with a tentacle besides porn, and The Darkness II has them all covered. Jackie Estacado has gone through hell; now he faces an even greater challenge: Critics. There’s something living inside mobster Jackie Estacado, born of the blackest corners of the psyche, eons of human suffering and…
By Mike Fahey Published February 7, 2012 -
ReviewsKingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: The Kotaku Review
The lead designer of The Elder Scrolls III and IV, a New York Times bestselling fantasy author, and one of comics’ most notable creators walk into a development studio to create an action role-playing game based on an entirely original fantasy world. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Former major league baseball pitcher Curt…
By Mike Fahey Published February 7, 2012 -
Mass Effect 3 Demo Includes Free Xbox Live Gold
The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer demo requires you to have a Gold subscription because, well, it’s a multiplayer game and that’s how Xbox Live rolls. Not to worry. Microsoft is giving away ” a limited time Gold access” pass to everyone who downloads the demo, meaning we can all get in on the action. No…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 2, 2012 -
SoulCalibur V Takes a Beating From Game Reviewers
With the past couple of years dominated by Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat-style 2D fighters, it’s nice to see the return of one of the big 3D fighting franchises. That is, unless you’re a game reviewer. Then it’s time to step into the critical ring. Picking up the story of SoulCalibur and the Soul Blade…
By Mike Fahey Published February 1, 2012 -
Game Critics Tear NeverDead Limb-From-Limb
Great games often spring from a single brilliant idea, like a protagonist that can pull himself back together after being blown apart. Unfortunately this is also the case for many really crappy games. Where does NeverDead‘s mangled pile of people parts fall? If you’re any good at reading charts, you probably have already sussed the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 31, 2012 -
Scribblenauts Creators’ Gravity-Defying Xbox Live Shooter Hybrid is Back and Better Than Ever
After making a big splash during its first showing at the 2011 Game Developers Conference, 5th Cell’s dizzying cover-centric 3D shooter Hybrid was dragged back behind closed doors in May in order to make sure it was the “highest quality title possible”. Let’s see what changed the past eight months have wrought. What’s so special…
By Mike Fahey Published January 31, 2012 -
Want to Play Resident Evil 6 Early? Buy Dragon’s Dogma
While Capcom’s open-world action game Dragon’s Dogma has attracted a fair amount of interest, it hasn’t generated even a fraction of the buzz of say, a new Resident Evil game. Capcom helps it along by slipping a token for access to the Resident Evil 6 demo inside every copy of Dragon’s Dogma To further demonstrate…
By Mike Fahey Published January 31, 2012 -
Let’s Get All Prettied Up for the SoulCalibur V Launch
SoulCalibur V is in stores today across the U.S., where players are a lot less likely to dress up as a whip-wielding Ivy or Ezio Auditore de Firenze than the special gamers inhabiting the world of the SoulCalibur V launch trailer. Man, if I had to get dressed up as my favorite character every time…
By Mike Fahey Published January 31, 2012 -
Microsoft Exec Says No New Xbox In 2012
According to Xbox France’s Marketing Director Cedrick Delmas, there’ll be no new Microsoft console released in 2012 to compete with Nintendo’s Wii. “What is certain is that there will be nothing new in 2012” Delmas told Le Point. “If we had to counter Nintendo, we would have to be capable of releasing something immediately, and…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 31, 2012 -
Game Critics Turn Back the Score Clock on Final Fantasy XIII-2
Tomorrow marks the second time in Final Fantasy history that Square Enix releases a direct console sequel to one of the numbered entries in the fabled series. Considering the first time around we got a trio of pop divas playing dress-up, this one has to be better, right game reviewers? We’ve seen how I feel…
By Mike Fahey Published January 30, 2012 -
ReviewsFinal Fantasy XIII-2: The Kotaku Review
In an epic tale of time-traveling heroism, Square Enix travels two years into the future to rectify the mistakes it made with Final Fantasy XIII. Have they found redemption with Final Fantasy XIII-2, or is history doomed to repeat itself? What ever happened to Lightning? Something horrible has happened to the main character of 2010’s…
By Mike Fahey Published January 30, 2012 -
Playing Against Napoleon Dynamite on Xbox Live Needs Less Quizzing, More Tater Tots
Famous people are just like you and me. They put on pants one leg at a time. Some of them love video games and enjoy mixing it up on Xbox Live. But the vast majority of them don’t advertise their superstar online. Though, some celebrities have such recognizable voices, that the moment they open their…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 30, 2012 -
SoulCalibur V Preps a Trio of Launch Month Downloadable Content Packs
While we prepare to beat our opponents into submission using a series of punches and kicks, Namco Bandai prepares to hit your wallet where it hurts with three sets of premium DLC scheduled in the first month of SoulCalibur V‘s release. Who wants to play dress up? Music and customization are the order of the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2012 -
From Grand Theft Auto to Dancing Pudding
Everybody’s got to start somewhere. For fashion blogger turned singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, it was the streets of chic Harajuku where she first made her biggest splash. Like so many hipster Harajuku kids, her fashion was cutting edge—outrageous, even. But unlike so many hipster kids, she didn’t shy from shilling an Xbox 360 game, a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 27, 2012 -
Why an Xbox With Anti-Used Game Tech Makes Perfect Sense
So, we’ve heard from a source that the next Xbox may feature some kind of anti-used games technology. When you first read that, your first instinct was probably to think it’s either bullshit or the worst idea a video game company has ever had. It is, I believe, neither. In fact, if it ends up…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2012 -
An Old Xbox Reveals the Secret Lives of a Good Friend
All my friend wanted was a simple, get-rid-of-it-on-Craigslist estimate for an original Xbox, two controllers, and about a dozen games. He knew that what he had was too common in its time, too obsolete in the present, to qualify as some latter-day Antiques Roadshow jackpot. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to appraise it at $25.…
By Owen Good Published January 25, 2012 -
Threadless Shirts, Now Available for Your Xbox Avatars
Internet standard-issue clothing dispensary Threadless has struck a deal with Microsoft which will see some of the outlet’s shirts made available for its Xbox avatars. Those wondering how the shirt’s creators are thanked (seeing as Threadless is a user-created content site), they’re credited in each item’s description on Xbox.com. I’ve pinged Threadless to see if…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2012 -
This Xbox 360 Controller Dispenses Hot Pockets
It’s…it’s like a dream come true. Master craftsman Ben Heck has built this custom Xbox 360 controller which contains a rather useful add-on: a hot pocket dispenser. Which I guess would work just as well for kebabs, sausage rolls, etc, depending on where you live! You’ll never have to take your hands of the controller…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2012 -
Next Xbox Out In Oct/Nov 2013, Chips Already Being Made
Time for the latest instalment of “shit people are saying/guessing about the next Xbox console”! This week we have two reports, one from IGN and the other from Fudzilla. The IGN rumour says the next console will be out in October or November next year, and that it’s graphics processor will be based on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 24, 2012 -
Rumor: Microsoft Killing Microsoft Points, Will Use Real Money Instead
Good news, haters of arbitrary online currencies! The end for Microsoft’s confusing “Points” system may be near, if a report on Inside Mobile Apps is to be believed. The mobile site claims that Microsoft’s Points will be “phased out” by the end of 2012, with transactions to be listed in a user’s local currency instead.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012