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Xbox Live Brought Down by “Human Error”

Earlier this morning, at around 9am Pacific, Xbox Live went down for a little while. What’s interesting is not the downtime itself (it was brief), but the cause: human error. A Microsoft statement issued later in the day reads: The root cause of this outage was human error. A change resulted in an interruption to…

By Luke Plunkett Published October 4, 2011

Should You Buy Rage? Yes.

id Software’s Rage is out there ready to be purchased, or rented, and played. But should you invest the time and money? Here’s Kotaku‘s Gut Check: Evan Narcisse: Buy it to see whether ID can make a game with modern sensibilities, or how appealing their old-school approach still is. Buy it to see where the…

By Brian Crecente Published October 4, 2011

Why Is Disney Trademarking Mickey Mouse’s Castle of Illusion?

Early Sega Genesis adopters remember Sega’s Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse as one of the system’s initial highlights, a platformer bursting with charm and gorgeous level design. So Disney trademarking Castle of Illusion more than 20 years later is certainly cause of cautious excitement. Siliconera spotted Disney’s a new trademark for Castle of Illusion…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

Taste The Happy

Hey, Kotaku [said in Buster Bluth voice]. You ready to wrap up this Monday with a little off topic conversation? Good, because this open thread is just kind of sitting here unused. Will somebody do something with this thing? As you’ve probably heard over the past 24 hours or so, that Arrested Development movie is…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

There’s A World of Goo For Your Android Device Too

World of Goo, already a hit on WiiWare, PC and iOS, is building a gooey bridge to Android. Yes, that means phones and tablets, says 2D Boy, which is “working out the final kinks in the machinery.” [2D Boy]

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

This Pac-Man Musical Makes Me Weirdly Hungry

I’ve seen mock musicals for a good number of video games, but still I enjoyed this excerpt from Pac-Man The Musical entitled “A Pacapella Song.” (Though if I’m being a stickler, it’s not technically a cappella, since the song has instrumental musical accompaniment.) In the song, the ghosts from Pac-Man sing about how excited they…

By Kirk Hamilton Published October 3, 2011

Skyward Sword‘s Motion Controls Feel Fine, Just Fine

Ever since Nintendo announced the Wii’s upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, there has been much debate and consternation over its control scheme. Skyward Sword will be the first Zelda game to use Nintendo’s more advanced Motion Plus controls for the Wii—players will either have to buy the MP add-on for their standard Wii…

By Kirk Hamilton Published October 3, 2011

The Week In Dangerous Games: Fish Punching, Erotically Engraved Cannonballs and Some Light Treason

You know, video games will rot your brain. They’re filled with nothing more than gratuitous fish abuse, LEGO toilet humor and references to pornographic cannonballs—or so this week’s most potentially offensive video games might lead us to believe. Those warnings of erotic ammunition and trout slapping come courtesy of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, the…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

Less Than One Hour Left to Bid on This Porny 1980’s Sierra Game

A copy of the On-Line Systems’ 1981 Apple II game Softporn Adventure is about to sell on eBay, and you could still be the one to walk off with it! On-Line would go on to become Sierra, and Softporn Adventure is commonly held up as a precursor to the publisher’s more well-known sexytime adventure Leisure…

By Kirk Hamilton Published October 3, 2011

A Young Gamer’s Closet

Hats and Square Heads –A view inside Tristan’s closet today revealed that he likes fancy hats and video game characters with square heads. We’re going to be rich when he grows up! Your Cable Box Is Dying. Long Live the Game Console! Your cable box is headed for obsolescence. It may not be within the…

By Brian Crecente Published October 3, 2011

It’s Total Voxel Carnage in the Latest Look at Voxatron, Going Alpha Soon

It’s been a while since we looked at Voxatron, the Robotron-esque shoot ’em up with blocky, voxelated visuals. The good news? It still looks as sharp as the corner of a voxel. Not that there’s really any bad news to offset that. In fact, the game’s due for a “very playable alpha” build soon, says…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

Get Your RISK: Metal Gear Solid Limited Edition Before It’s Too late

The tactical espionage action of Metal Gear Solid meets the world-conquering strategy of Risk for Australia-nuking, Outer Haven-occupying fun with RISK: Metal Gear Solid. You can get it now. And now might be a very good time to do so. RISK: Metal Gear Solid, detailed right here and here, turns the conflicts of Metal Gear…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

Notch Offered to Give Up “Scrolls” Trademark, Bethesda Sued Anyway

Markus “Notch” Persson, the maker of Minecraft, says his company Mojang volunteered both to drop the trademark request for the title of their upcoming game “Scrolls” and to add a subtitle in order to to avoid being sued by Skyrim juggernaut Bethesda, but that Bethesda refused. He shared this fact in response to a piece…

By Kirk Hamilton Published October 3, 2011

The Life-Changing $20 Rightward-Facing Cow

The past year has been one of the strangest ever in the life of game designer, lecturer and author Ian Bogost. It started with the launch of the most successful game he’s ever developed, and ended with him bringing it to a strange, cathartic end. That game was Facebook title Cow Clicker, a now-infamous satire…

Leigh Alexander Published October 3, 2011

Who Wants to Be a Facebook Serial Killer?

Barely skipping a beat after releasing a Facebook game that lets players grow and sell marijuana a ‘la Showtime’s popular show Weeds, Ecko|Code returns with a social game about stalking and murdering people. Don’t worry, they’re bad people. Dexter: Slice of Life is a pleasant place for fans of the Showtime serial killer and his…

By Mike Fahey Published October 3, 2011

Metal On Metal Violence in the Merry Marvel Style

Iron Man, Tron Bonne and Mega Man Zero team up to lay waste to Galactus and his army. Intense Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fan art by Kai Lim! Related Rampages: Heavy Rockman | Star Wars: Stim Armour Metal Fatigue by Kai Lim / ukitakumuki (deviantART) Via: svalts Need your daily fill of geek eye candy?…

By Michael McWhertor Published October 3, 2011

Watch Daigo Get Perfected in Super Street Fighter IV

Could you obliterate legendary competitive Street Fighter player Daigo “The Beast” Umehara? Could you perfect him in Super Street Fighter IV, keeping him from laying a finger on you? At the EVO 2011 fighting game tournament this past summer, a gamer named Poongko did. Marvel at this. Remember, in a different Street Fighter game, Daigo…

By Stephen Totilo Published October 3, 2011

Half-Real Gives Australia a Dose of Game-Inspired Theater

To the frustration of its native gamers, the Australian government’s got some sort of fetish for banning violent video games. But that doesn’t mean that the medium isn’t making its way into the cultural fabric over there. Here’s exhibit A: Half-Real. The new production by creative collective The Border Project opened last week at the…

By Evan Narcisse Published October 3, 2011

Adorable Bunny Heralds the Return of a Sega Classic

Sega is currently holding a sweepstakes to see if players can guess which classic Sega franchise will soon be making its triumphant return. It’s Daytona USA. Can we have a game with the bunny in it instead? We pretty much knew some sort of rehash of Daytona USA was in the works, and with Takenobu…

By Mike Fahey Published October 3, 2011

Mojang v. Bethesda, or: I Hate it When Mommy and Daddy Fight [UPDATE]

Since I just spent the weekend playing Minecraft, my thoughts have unavoidably turned to the ongoing dispute between Mojang (makers of Minecraft) and Zenimax Media (parent company of Bethesda, makers of Oblivion and Skyrim among many other games) over the trademark on the word “Scrolls.” For those not keeping track, the dispute began when Mojang…

Russ Pitts Published October 3, 2011