-
Watch Two Guys Get Robbed From Setting a Long Jump Record in Trials Evolution
Two men, three hands and a pair of rubber gloves may not sound like a recipe for video game victory. But it is! Until a cruel glitch denies them their massive accomplishment. Reader Jeff sent in this profanity-laced video of what’s presumably him and his buddies pulling off an epic vault on one of Trials…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 25, 2012 -
Judge Thinks Xbox 360 Infringes on Multiple Patents
A story that’s been brewing since 2010 just took an interesting turn: a judge from the US International Trade Commission agrees that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 infringes upon five patents held by Motorola, mostly related to video codecs. Note this is just a preliminary ruling, and it’ll take more decisive court action before anything drastic happens.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 23, 2012 -
Ebony and Ivory: The Xbox’s Black and White Buttons, in Imperfect Harmony
Dusting off some old friends on the original Xbox I was given back in January reacquainted me with several happy memories—and the two worst features in the history of console video gaming controllers: The black and white buttons. I realize we’re more than five years removed from their reign of terror, but as the long…
By Owen Good Published April 20, 2012 -
Namco Says You Won’t Pay to Unlock Characters in Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Capcom’s caught a lot of heat for the on-disc locked content that shipped with Street Fighter x Tekken. Fans have loudly complained that they’ll be paying for characters that on a game disc they’ve already paid for once. But Namco—the sometime rival and sometime partner of Capcom—won’t be following in those stumbling footsteps. In a…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 18, 2012 -
Death Comes a Little Later as Darksiders II Release Slips From June to August
THQ has announced a new release window for their fantasy action sequel on the newly-launched official site for Darksiders II. Previously announced for a June 26th launch, the game is now due out sometime in August, with exact dates varying by region.
By Evan Narcisse Published April 18, 2012 -
The Ripping Yarn of the “Xbox Paedophile Predators”
I’m usually loathe to post “hey mainstream tabloids are crazy” stories here, but a piece on the front page of the latest Metro, a free newspaper handed out on public transport in Britain, is too good to ignore. The headline? “Xbox paedophile predators ‘move in on prey within two minutes of contact'” There’s of course…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 18, 2012 -
Goddamn It, Max Payne 3’s Bullet Time Looks Amazing
Bullet time. It used to be the thing that separated the Max Payne games’ operatic gunfights from everything else in video games. Then it got adopted by everybody and became as unexciting and commonplace as jumping. But, this new video shows how the slo-mo shooting gets a major upgrade in Max Payne 3 Rather than…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 12, 2012 -
Here’s Your First Look at Medal of Honor: Warfighter’s Very Dark Gameplay
Really, EA, do you have to make the first gameplay footage for the next Medal of Honor game so damn dark, huh? We know the Frostbite 2 engine that the game’s being built on can do all sorts of wonderful, amazing-looking things but we need to be able to see said things. From what we…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 12, 2012 -
Cortana is Dying, Multiplayer Sounds Very Interesting, and Other Pieces of Halo 4 News
Game Informer’s Halo 4 issue is now out, and inside are details not just on the game’s singleplayer campaign, but what new developers 343 studios are doing with the series’ multiplayer as well. Which is blah blah bullet points whatever. More interesting, to me at least, is that a big part of the fourth main…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 10, 2012 -
I Can’t Read Stories About Gaming Parents Shaking Their Children to Death Anymore
Chicago. Arizona. Tennesee. New Zealand. England. Now a man in Polk County, Florida is accused of murdering his three-month-old son after admittedly shaking the infant for interrupting his Xbox session. I can’t read this crap anymore. 20-year-old Jacob David Hartley, a stock boy at Sam’s Club, was playing on his Xbox on Thursday morning last…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012 -
Skyrim 1.5 Patch Live for Xbox 360, Due Later Today for PS3
The patch Bethesda’s hit RPG that PS3 players have been waiting for—y’know, the one that should get the game working the way it’s supposed to—will be coming later today, according a tweet by VP of PR and Marketing Pete Hines. You’ll also get those upgraded kill cams and a slew of other features in the…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 5, 2012 -
Kinect Star Wars Lures Game Critics to the Dark Side
What a ridiculous, attention-grabbing headline! Everybody knows game reviewers have already succumbed to the dark side; it’s a job requirement. Looking at the scores Kinect Star Wars is pulling in I’m beginning to wonder if there’s an even darker side. The fun thing about Kinect Star Wars (at least from a review perspective) is that…
By Mike Fahey Published April 3, 2012 -
Hollywood Director James Gunn Chokes Up Because of Lollipop Chainsaw’s Zombie-Killing Cheerleader
Gory grindhouse horror movies. Bubblegum pop. The mish-mash of these elements makes it impossible to look away from upcoming action game Lollipop Chainsaw. It’s a balance that the title’s creators need to get just right but James Gunn and Goichi Suda think they’re on the right track I had a chance to sit down with…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 27, 2012 -
$20 Minecraft, New Fable Hit Xbox Live This May [UPDATE]
Indie smash hit Minecraft will mine its way to Xbox 360 on May 9, Microsoft’s Major Nelson said today on his blog. It will be 1600 Microsoft Points, or a whopping $20. You’ll be able to play the sandbox game using Microsoft’s controller-free Kinect interface—in other words, you’ll finally be able to dig things with…
By Jason Schreier Published March 22, 2012 -
Far Cry 3’s Drug-Crazed Pharmacist Will Make Sure You Do Lots of ‘Shrooms
We already know that there’s going to be guns and violence and binge-drinking in Far Cry 3. In this new trailer for Ubisoft’s open-island shooter, you meet Dr. Earnhardt, who’ll be supplying you with a variety of nature’s finest mood enhancers. Appropriately creepy, no?
By Evan Narcisse Published March 21, 2012 -
Reviews
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City: The Kotaku Review
Last week, I spoke to a room full of teenagers at the Brooklyn Public Library about video games and technology. When they asked me what unreleased games I was playing as a perk of my job, I answered that I was getting up to my elbows in an upcoming Resident Evil game. “Resident Evil 6?!,”…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 20, 2012 -
Microsoft Working on a Gaming Helmet, Glasses
Since 2010, Microsoft has been working on a gaming display system so small that it wouldn’t need to be sitting on an entertainment unit or even held in your hands. You could wear it in a pair of glasses. Or in a stupid helmet. The company sees two avenues for such technology: the glasses are…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2012 -
Former PlayStation Exec Taking Over Microsoft Studios Europe
The man who helped usher in the PS3 for Sony will now be the Xbox 360’s chief evangelist in Europe. Microsoft’s announced that Phil Harrison—formerly president of Worldwide Studios for Sony’s PlayStation division—has joined the tech giant’s leadership team. Harrison assumes some of the duties left open by the exit of respected game designer Peter…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 13, 2012 -
The Next Xbox Won’t Have a Disc Drive? [Update]
As Kotaku revealed last month, work has begun on the next Xbox. It’s codenamed “Durango”. Today, website MCVUK reported a source revealed that the next Xbox apparently won’t have a disc drive. Instead, according to MCVUK, the next Xbox “will offer compatibility with some sort of interchangeable solid-state card storage, although it is not known…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 2012 -
Imagining a Future Without Xbox Live Arcade
It’s an established part of the current gaming landscape, for some perhaps even their favourite, but in a recent interview Microsoft’s Michael Wolf reminds us it won’t always be here. Asked by nefarious pirate Brian Crecente whether the service was eventually “going to go away”, Wolf replies “Personally, I’d say absolutely, yes.” “I think digital…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012