Xbox

Never Alone: The Kotaku Review

When was the last time a video game told you about a whole other culture? Took you somewhere remote you’d only heard about in passing, and let the people who’ve lived there speak to you in a generations-old voice? Never Alone does that all-too-rare thing and does it very well. A small, independently-produced video game…

Good Child of Light Joke, Assassin’s Creed Rogue

Last year’s Assassin’s Creed included references to Watch Dogs. This year’s Assassin’s Creed Rogue for PS3 and Xbox 360 has a joke about another Ubisoft game, the lovely Child of Light. Check it out, if you don’t mind a tiny spoiler about where part of Rogue takes place. I ran into these guys by accident…

Ubisoft has published a handy rundown of known technical issues with Assassin’s Creed Unity as well as the status of fixes. Framerate’s on the list for all platforms, with the following workaround offered pending more fixes: “If playing single player, we suggest that you disconnect from your internet connection (wifi or network cable). It could…

Microsoft’s Gamble Worked Xbox One Weekly Sales Triple, Exceed PS4

On November 2nd, Microsoft announced that the Xbox One console would see a temporary $50 price cut. The move was a clear attempt to bolster sales going into the holiday season… and it looks like it’s paid off “Sales have skyrocketed since the new price took effect.” Yusuf Mehdi, vice president of marketing for Xbox…

​Assassin’s Creed Unity Just Doesn’t Run Very Well On PS4 Or Xbox One

We’ve been seeing complaints all day about Assassin’s Creed Unity‘s performance on consoles. Here’s what we know from our own experience, and from what others are reporting around the internet. I’ve played a fair bit of the game on Xbox One, and have found the frame-rate to be a real bummer. To my eye, it…

Assassin’s Creed Unity Takes Video Game Kissing To A Whole New Level

Assassin’s Creed Unity may be taking some lumps from critics, but—not kidding—we need to all appreciate how good the game’s kissing is. Don’t snicker. Video games have a tough enough time animating individual characters and tougher times animating the interactions between two. Even at that, they can do violent interactions between bodies fairly well, but…

​Assassin’s Creed Unity: The Kotaku Review

Assassin’s Creed Unity is my least favorite major Assassin’s Creed since the 2007 original. It’s also the first Assassin’s Creed that I didn’t feel better about the more I played it. I didn’t expect to be telling you this. Unity is a gorgeous game, which is just about the only high praise I can offer…

Halo 5’s Multiplayer Is All About Movement

There’s a new trend that seems to be affecting the world of shooters. It’s not enough to simply have powerful guns, challenging levels and enemy formations, and a balanced space to play with others competitively. These days a shooter has to have movement, even a level of grace, to stay competitive. And Halo 5 seems…

Our Watch Dogs 2 Wishlist

Last week brought news that Watch Dogs has now shipped more than nine million copies. (Not sold; game companies don’t talk about that as much). It’s another sign that Watch Dogs 2—and probably Watch Dogs 3—is inevitable. Well, Ubisoft people, if sequels will be made, we have some requests… Figure out what Watch Dogs is…

How To Ride Destiny‘s Sparrow Like A Surfboard

Are you still driving your Sparrow with your butt planted on the seat like a normal guardian? How embarrassing. Freke Out has simple instructions on how to use your Sparrow like a surfboard instead—while dancing, no less. It’s as simple as timing an interruption of your mounting the Sparrow with a gesture. So you can…

13 New Details About New-Gen GTA V

By now, you’ll almost certainly have read about Grand Theft Auto V’s new first-person mode on new-gen consoles and PC. But it’s not the only new detail that has emerged in the past 24 hours. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK Rockstar didn’t invite us to play the new-gen versions, because clearly Rockstar doesn’t…

What A ‘Yak Farm Mission’ Says About Gaming In 2014

I responded to last week’s news about a new pre-order-“exclusive” yak-related mission for Far Cry 4 with a snort. Was this a joke? Was this what gamers are supposed to get excited about these days? So many questions. It’s not a joke. And maybe it’s not even a big deal. Or maybe it’s 2014 pre-order…

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Will Have 450 Achievements

The compilation also has 4,500 gamerscore – a new record for any Xbox title. You’re reading Numbers, a blog on Kotaku that examines games and culture through the lens of math and statistics. To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected] or find him on Twitter @dcstarkey

Camo Xbox One Is Sadly Not For Sale

This special Xbox One / A Bathing Ape console, which I like very much, will sadly never be sold to the public. It was a piece of swag, used only as a “promotional gift” for an event in Hong Kongearlier this month. I mean, I guess it might turn up on eBay, but given the…

Well, That’s One Way To Fix The Xbox One’s Backwards Compatibility

It still irritates me that the Xbox One isn’t backwards-compatible. From Red Dead to GTA V, there are old games I still own and still want to play, but because I don’t have an Xbox 360 anymore (one died and I traded the other in for the XB1), they just…sit there. It’d be OK if…

After successfully reaching the English voice acting stretch goal, Mighty No. 9’s slacker backer campaign is now raising money for a post-release DLC pack consisting of an extra stage with its own boss fight. The planned release window is Summer 2015, provided they can collect another $190,000 by the end of this year.

People Aren’t Crazy About The Latest ‘Fix’ To Destiny‘s Toughest Boss

There’s a long-running joke amongst gamers and developers: it’s not a bug, it’s a feature! Usually it’s a self-aware joke—some bug or glitch disrupts the game either visually or even functionally, but it’s sometimes entertaining enough to keep in or consider a part of the experience. For once, I find myself telling that joke with…

Destiny‘s New DLC Kinda Screws Over Xbox Players

On December 9, Bungie will release The Dark Below, a new expansion pack for Destiny. For $20, you’ll get some new story missions, some multiplayer maps, a raid, and two new strikes. Unless you’re on Xbox. Yep, Sony’s snagged themselves yet another Destiny exclusive: one of The Dark Below‘s strike missions—you know, the ones where…

Here’s What’s New in Destiny’s First Expansion

The Dark Below, as it’s called, will bring new missions, gear, and a level cap increase to the game. Courtesy of Activision, here’s the list of what’s included in the The Dark Below: New weapons, armour and gear to earn, including Legendary and Exotic items Light Level cap raised to 32 and five additional Bounty…

10 Things You Might Not Know About Destiny

I’ve played way too many hours of Destiny, and I still hadn’t pieced together a lot of the intricacies of both its story and gameplay. TerraMantis does a good job of highlighting some really fascinating lore and theories on the lore, as well as pointing to some easter eggs and functional secrets. Here’s a general…