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Weekend Listening: I went on a couple of podcasts this week: GameTrailers‘ Side Mission Briefing, where host Rocco DeMaro and I talked about next-gen consoles and Gravity, and a Giant Bomb Spoilercast, where Patrick Klepek, Alex Navarro, Polygon‘s Justin McElroy and I did a post-game about Beyond: Two Souls
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 8, 2013 -
Say Hello to World of Warcraft‘s Shiny New Character Models [Update]
World of Warcraft‘s familiar races are changing, and the new versions look pretty good. Update: Now with Gnome and Dwarf females, Undead males, and more from BlizzCon’s Art of World of Warcraft panel. These new models for the Gnome, Orc and Dwarf debuted today at the “World of Warcraft: What’s Next Panel” at Blizzcon. There’ll…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 8, 2013 -
Valve Explains Dota 2‘s Missing Diretide Event, Will Release It Soon
Valve made a lot of people angry this year when they elected not to ship a Diretide event for Dota 2. They’ve reversed course in a new blog post today, explaining why Diretide hadn’t been planned for this year and saying that the event will be included in the game’s next update. Diretide is a…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 8, 2013 -
The Beautiful, Beardy Banner Saga Is Out In January
Vikings and dead gods and crazy gorgeous animation—this trailer’s got everything you could possibly want on a Friday night. The Banner Saga, the gorgeous RPG that was successfully Kickstartered back in 2012, now has an official release date: January 14, 2014 for PC and Mac. Can’t wait.
By Jason Schreier Published November 8, 2013 -
Blizzard’s Chris Metzen Could’ve Been A Heavy Metal Frontman
Blizzard games have always had a little bit of heavy metal to them. So it’s fitting that Chris Metzen, one of their most beloved developers, brought a touch of the rock to his opening keynote today at BlizzCon. Our video editor Chris Person cut together this highlight reel of Metzen’s greatest roars. Sit back, relax,…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 8, 2013 -
World Of Warcraft‘s Coolest New Feature? Garrison Building.
Like Mists of Pandaria’s Pokemon before it, the new Garrison feature in World of Warcraft’s Warlords of Draenor expansion doesn’t have much to do with traditional MMO gameplay, which is probably why I find it so intriguing. That, and the collecting people thing. Garrisons, explained today during the “What’s Next” panel today at BlizzCon 2013,…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Cosplay Brings South Park‘s Most Famous Nerd To Life
Long have we loathed and admired the nameless World of Warcraft griefer at the heart of the classic South Park episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft.” Today at BlizzCon, one noble cosplayer brought him to life. This shot was snapped at BlizzCon by Phil Hornshaw and shared on Twitter by GameFront: For reference: Not bad! It’s…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 8, 2013 -
One Map Ensured A “Battlefield Moment” Every Match
I’ve been playing the Battlefield series since the original game, Battlefield 1942. Any long-time Battlefield player will tell you what makes the series great are the random moments where something happens that you didn’t know was possible. But in Battlefield 3, one map let you re-create that moment every match. So you’re playing Battlefield 3.…
By Steve Marinconz Published November 8, 2013 -
The Definitive Word On This Year’s Next-Gen Boxes
The next generation of boxes is almost here. It’s been a long time coming and we’re almost ready. But we’ve been getting a bit over excited. You’d never see anyone go this mad over a cardboard box. Of course, some still seem less enthusiastic by the onset of these new boxes, preferring to stick with…
By Leo Wichtowski Published November 8, 2013 -
How World Of Warcraft: Warlords Of Draenor Goes Back In Time
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor takes players of Blizzard’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game back to the time of the original Warcraft real-time strategy series. How does that all go down? It’s Garrosh’s fault. During the “World of Warcraft: What’s Next” panel at BlizzCon 2013, Blizzard’s Chris Metzen walked the crowd through how players…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Life With Video Games Has Gotten More Depressing, Funnier
No doubt about it: Life with video games is a hell of a lot different now than it was back in the day. It’s easy to look on the past with rose-tinted glasses, but part of what I enjoy about this latest comic from Dorkly is that it feels pretty honest. Depressing, at times, but…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 8, 2013 -
How The Last Generation Changed JRPGs For The Better
One of this generation’s most controversial JRPG trends might also turn out to be its best. When Team Kotaku first started planning out our Last-Gen Heroesfeature, I started thinking about how JRPGs have evolved over the past generation—a generation that some would argue has been disastrous for the genre. Between a polarizing thirteenth Final Fantasy,…
By Jason Schreier Published November 8, 2013 -
Warlords Of Draenor Brings The Original Warcraft Trilogy To WoW
Before World of Warcraft there was plain Warcraft, the award-winning, genre-defining real-time strategy trilogy. Many players of the MMO have never experienced those classic stories. The next World of Warcraft expansion, Warlords of Draenor, is going to fix that. “What if those dark days could come again?” asked Blizzard’s Chris Metzen on stage at BlizzCon…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Blizzard’s Heroes Of The Storm Looks Spectacular
During the opening ceremonies of BlizzCon 2013, Blizzard showed off the latest gameplay footage for the all-star MOBA they are calling Blizzard: The Game, Heroes of the Storm. That looks spectacular. Almost as good as the cinematic trailer Blizzard opened the Heroes of the Storm segment with. Beta signups for the game should be live…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Way to spoil your own World of Warcraft expansion reveal, Blizzard. Spotted by MMO-Champion in the pre-stream footage for Blizzcon 2013, World of Warcraft‘s next expansion, as expected, is Warlords of Draenor. For more info, check out the free live stream of the convention’s opening ceremony, kicking off at 2PM Eastern.
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Third-Graders Really Don’t Like Video Games Tracking What They Do
By now, most adults are used to the idea that the software and services they use—including video games—record what they do to send feedback to the companies that make them. But when some third-graders found out that games they love have some kind of data-mining, it was a heartbreaking combination of funny and sad. NPR…
By Evan Narcisse Published November 8, 2013 -
Brothers, Plus and LIVE Discounts, Tearaway, Eneloop Pack [Deals]
New deals abound and great deals from yesterday persist. For your weekend gaming fix, pick up the excellent Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, which occupies Game of the Year shortlists for many a game journalist. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [Steam] ($9) | GreenmanGaming | Use code GMG20-P6Y1F-KC19F Don’t forget to put in…
By Shane Roberts Published November 8, 2013 -
GameStop Is Super Helpful, Reminds You To Get Xbox Live For Your PS4
The new consoles are coming, and GameStop’s monthly newsletter for November has several helpful suggestions for launch day accessories that’ll maximize your PlayStation 4 experience, like additional controllers, the new Eye Camera, and a relatively useless small plastic rectangle. Pointed out to us by several readers and appearing in my own inbox (I’m a Rewards…
By Mike Fahey Published November 8, 2013 -
Impressions of the New Zelda, Five Hours In
The new Zelda does not feel like a game to skip, I’m happy to report after having played the game for five hours. Even if you’ve grown tired of Zelda games. I’ll spoil nothing about The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but will share some important findings (!) with you about the November…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 8, 2013