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Listen All Y’all
Hi there, Kotaku. It’s the end of a long week. It’s spring! It’s warm! Let’s go out and have a good time. Before that, maybe you want to engage in some commenting. Being the commentry. Leaving comments. Here is an open thread for you. And here, from the internet, are some things to talk about.…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 4, 2012 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
I inherited this feature from Mike McWhertor, who has been gone from Kotaku more than six months, and who I hope to see again in San Diego at Comic-Con. “Mike,” I would always say to him, “if we get fired, well, we’ll finally have time to play all the video games we never got to…
By Owen Good Published May 4, 2012 -
The Controller Shop’s Custom Kotaku 360 Pad is a Thing of Beauty
The controller customization experts at The Controller Shop asked if we wanted to review one of their magical creations. I said sure. They asked what sort of controller they should send. I left it up to them. Wise decision. Arriving today complete with custom plastic case, this Kotaku-flavored Xbox 360 controller is so pretty I’m…
By Mike Fahey Published May 4, 2012 -
The Week in Evil DLC [Update]
Downloadable content. Everyone hates it—but everyone buys it. Yes, even you in the comments, smart guy. Here’s a look at the latest package of extensions and pre-order bonuses designed to crowbar the last dollar out of your wallet. Can you still respect yourself if you buy it? Saints Row the Third: Enter the Dominatrix Available:…
By Owen Good Published May 4, 2012 -
Black Ops II Chooses Someone Who Failed the Call of Duty
When you face low expectations, falling short of them doesn’t count for much either. And that’s the dirty secret of Call of Duty, which has spent four years solidifying its image as a crass chickenhawk brand thanks to some particularly dumb marketing initiatives. But hiring Lt. Col. Oliver North as a spokesman for Black Ops…
By Owen Good Published May 4, 2012 -
New RPG From The Creators Of Lunar Hitting Vita This Year
Publisher XSEED Games will bring Ragnarok Odyssey to the PlayStation Vita this year, it said today. Ragnarok Odyssey was developed by Game Arts, the company behind the critically-acclaimed (and truly lovely) Lunar and Grandia series. Which makes this delightful news for any and all JRPG fans. Here’s how XSEED describes the game in its press…
By Jason Schreier Published May 4, 2012 -
Black Ops II Gets an Emotional Dubstep Makeover
When we say “Dubstep” most people think of hard drops and grinding wubs. But there is a lot more to the genre than that. When people think Call of Duty, they think of hard explosions and grinding machine guns. But… perhaps there’s more to the genre than that? YouTuber TomahawkTrix thinks so, anyway, with this…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 4, 2012 -
Imperfect Game: Big Problems With Million-Dollar Video Game Contest Lead to Accusations of Cheating
It is now four days since the conclusion of qualifying for the MLB 2K12 Perfect Game Challenge and there has been no official declaration of the final eight contestants. Scott Young thinks he should be one of them. And, he says, someone who is going to New York—for a shot at a million dollars—cheated. Young,…
By Owen Good Published May 4, 2012 -
The Future of Mobile Gaming Begins with One Week in Gaming Apps
It’s not about bringing console games to mobile phones anymore; it’s about transforming traditional console genres to suit the smart phone format. See what I’m rambling on about as you browse the Week in Gaming Apps. Mobile games are beginning to embrace what they are rather than attempt to emulate what they could never be.…
By Mike Fahey Published May 4, 2012 -
The First Screenshot of The Elder Scrolls Online Sure Looks Like World of Warcraft
Game Informer has posted the first screenshot from The Elder Scrolls Online. Sure looks like a fantasy MMO to me! I have to say, the more we learn, the less excited I am about this game. Frowny-face. The first screen and details surrounding the The Elder Scrolls Online [Game Informer]
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 4, 2012 -
Facebook Games are the Worst Way to Tell Stories
The overlap in intended audience between Empire and The Hunger Games Adventures is probably vanishingly small. Both are found on Facebook but, in tone and in content, aim themselves completely different ways. It seems unlikely that very many players would approach both for long enough to realize that the two are, in every way that…
By Kate Cox Published May 4, 2012 -
Cabin in the Woods and the Horror of Video Games
It was a dark and stormy night. (It was a violent and war-torn night.) It almost felt like a horror movie. (It almost felt like a video game.) The cabin in the woods seemed quiet. Too quiet. Surely all sorts of monsters lay within. It seemed like a good time for a spoiler warning. (The…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 4, 2012 -
Four Reasons You’re In Love With That JRPG Character
When I was a kid, I used to spend almost every summer at day camp. I’d ride the bus up across the Tappan Zee Bridge to upper-lowstate New York, where I was unceremoniously dumped on the grounds and told to go hang out with the other kids in my age group. We’d run around fields…
By Jason Schreier Published May 4, 2012 -
Post Your Comment of the Week Nominations Here
Kotaku: Lay upon me your Comment of the Week nominations here, please. I need to know who was the wittiest this week. Who was the funniest. Who was the most handsome. Tell me in the comments down below, and link to their comment. Otherwise tomorrow’s Best of Kotaku will be a lonely, lonely place for…
By Tina Amini Published May 4, 2012 -
Assassin’s Creed III Will Feature Ben Franklin’s Bawdier Side
No, no, no, Ben Franklin won’t be an inventor who gives you gadgets in Assassin’s Creed III He will, however, somehow express his not-well-publicized “love of women,” according to ACIII creative director Alex Hutchinson, as detailed in a new story in the Penny Arcade Report Franklin didn’t just establish the post office and spend much…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 4, 2012 -
“Psychopaths” at LucasArts Led to Cancellation of Star Wars: Battlefront III, Former Studio Exec Says
Star Wars: Battlefront III was once a game well and truly in development, at UK studio Free Radical. Since its 2008 cancellation, it has been supposedly off and on more times than anyone can count. Like many studios, Free Radical had its fair share of ups and downs, hits and misses over the years. But…
By Kate Cox Published May 4, 2012 -
When A Kickstarter Fails
Sometimes video game Kickstarters just don’t take off. In fact, that’s most of the time. For every monumental success like Double Fine or Wasteland 2, there are ten projects that remain undiscovered and unfunded. One of those failures was Class of Heroes 2, a Japanese RPG for the PSP and sequel to a game that…
By Jason Schreier Published May 4, 2012 -
How Multiplayer Bullet Time Works in Max Payne 3
Bullet time! The supernatural act of slowing down time as you either shoot a gun or dodge the bullets of someone shooting at you! It was in Max Payne. It was in The Matrix How in world do you make bullet time work in a multiplayer shooter like Max Payne 3? It makes sense when…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 4, 2012