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First-Graders Are Learning How To Write Video Game Reviews Now
My friend John found this hanging in a first-grade classroom here in NYC. It’s for the kids’ writing workshop. I think we’re going to start using it as the Official Kotaku Review Guide from now on. The best part? No mention of review scores.
By Jason Schreier Published March 4, 2013 -
The Journey Composer Walks You Through His Entire Soundtrack
Journey wasn’t just one of the best games of 2012, it also had easily one of the best soundtracks. Composer Austin Wintory assembled a remarkable collection of instruments and tonalities, the sort of holistic musical concoction we rarely get in games. With this new video, you can listen to the entire Grammy-nominated soundtrack and follow…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 4, 2013 -
He Worked on Call of Duty, And Now He’s Making a Game About Dreams
Check out The Adventures of Dash, a puzzle-platformer where you control a narcoleptic boy. Every dream has a different art style. The game is from former Infinity Ward (Call of Duty) creative strategist Robert Bowling’s new development studio, Robotoki. Here’s the Kickstarter.
By Patricia Hernandez Published March 4, 2013 -
At Least One Gamer Is Pissed At Sony For A Small, But Misleading Vita Description
Earlier this year, Kotaku reader Lewis bought a PlayStation Vita. He bought two 32 GB memory cards: one for games and applications, and the other for music. “I figured I could use it as an mp3 player as well as a gaming console,” Lewis told us. “Unfortunately, that is not the case.” As Lewis soon…
By Jason Schreier Published March 4, 2013 -
Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC Gives Commander Shepard a Glorious Send-Off
The newest single-player add-on for Mass Effect 3 comes out this week and it assembles characters from the previous ME games for an all-new adventure. Here’s the official description: When a sinister conspiracy targets Commander Shepard, you and your team must uncover the truth, through battles and intrigue that range from the glamour of the…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 4, 2013 -
Skyrim‘s 1.9 update adds a new difficulty setting to the hit action/RPG and fixes a ton of bugs.
By Evan Narcisse Published March 4, 2013 -
Every One of Us is Dead at the Beginning of The Silent Age
Plenty of video games have toyed with a desolate future in which an extinction level event has wiped humanity from the face of the Earth. The Silent Age isn’t about the future. It’s about right now. Bang, you’re dead. Well, maybe bang, possibly whimper. Discovering the how and why is the mission of a mustachioed…
By Mike Fahey Published March 4, 2013 -
Remember: It’s Not Just the NFL’s Exclusive License with Madden; the Players’ Union Has One, Too.
Gamers, including those who don’t even play sports video games, love to hate the exclusive license the NFL sold to EA Sports in 2005, making Madden the only NFL video game on consoles. Let’s not forget the NFL Players’ Association is a part of this, too. With just one exception (GameLoft’s NFL 2010 for iPhone,…
By Owen Good Published March 4, 2013 -
Yes, The New Assassin’s Creed Is Like That Lovely Zelda Game
They don’t make many games that let you sail wherever you want to go on the sea, battling other ships, discovering islands, hunting for treasure. But they do make some games like that. In fact, Nintendo made a Zelda all about that: 2002/3’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for GameCube. Naturally, if you…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 4, 2013 -
SimCity Won (and Broke) My Heart in Just Three Days
This is the story of how the new SimCity hooked me in three days. This is also the story of a bustling city on the banks of the Chickville river. A place filled with hard-working folk not afraid to get their hands dirty, plucking riches from the depths of the Earth and sharing them with…
By Mike Fahey Published March 4, 2013 -
A Planescape: Torment Sort-of Sequel Gets Ringing Endorsement from the Guy Who Wrote the Original
InXile’s already got one follow-up to a beloved old-school RPG underway, in the form of Wasteland 2. And now they’re getting ready to answer the dreams of fans everywhere by teasing a Kickstarter for Torment: Tides of Numenera, a game that’s the spiritual successor to acclaimed 1999 role-playing experience Planescape: Torment . Promising the same…
By Evan Narcisse Published March 4, 2013 -
Gears of War Judgment Isn’t All-Prequel, After All
Most of this month’s Gears of War Judgment on Xbox 360 takes place before the three existing Gears of War games. But there will also be a short campaign called “Aftermath” that takes place concurrently with the near-final moments of Gears of War 3. The brief two-hour-or-so campaign follows two series regulars, Baird and Cole,…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 4, 2013 -
Your Sunrise Can’t Be Compared to These Time-Lapse Captures
Real-world sunrises get more intense as we get closer to spring—but they pale next to what we can find in games. The lovely time-lapse moments you can see above, from Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto IV, among others, create living, breathing worlds that you just can’t wait to dive into. Video Game Sunrises [YouTube]
By Gergo Vas Published March 4, 2013 -
A poll shows that only 29% of core gamers want to buy a next-gen console at launch. What about you guys? [via Techspot]
András Neltz Published March 4, 2013 -
Watch a Shirtless Man Get Tased By the ‘Taser Sword’
Someone over on Reddit uploaded this video of his buddy’s “Taser Sword,” which is a double bladed sword wrapped in electrical tape with a taser built in. It’s truly terrifying. That same someone has created a video showing what it’s like to be stunned with the Taser Sword as well as how you can sword…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2013 -
Bootleggers Explain Why There’s So Much Video Game Piracy in China
Piracy is a huge issue in China. Enterprising lawbreakers have loads of ways to make money off piracy, one of which is selling pirated DVDs of movies or games. So it always surprises me when I talk to purveyors of pirated video game hardware and software who tell me that they, the pirates, want to…
By Eric Jou Published March 4, 2013