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2009 In Review: Motion-Control Gaming Grabs The Spotlight
In the dark, distant future, when people write about the history of video games and get to the part labelled “2000-2010”, they’ll note one thing: 2009 was the beginning of the end for the control pad. Not that it’ll go away any time soon; indeed, as I’ve said, I think the humble d-pad-and-buttons-thing has a…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009 -
The Year, NSFW
Every year has its moments suitable for framing. Here, our look back at 2009 presents the ones meant for stuffing under your mattress: It’s Kotaku’s Year NSFW, which, as the title implies, is NSFW. Bayonetta’s Got It, Flaunts It: Without a doubt, Bayonetta was the high-amp vamp of gaming in 2009, and she hasn’t even…
By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009 -
The Twenty Best-Rated Games Of The Decade
Lost slightly amidst all this “end of year” review business is the fact this is also the end of the decade. Which means it’s time to take a look back and what the best games of 2000-2009 were. According to review aggregation site Metacritic, the top twenty games of the past ten years are…well, pretty…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2009 -
A Nomination For Coolest Game Developer Of The Year
This is Uber Entertainment‘s Aung Zaw Oo an animator and man of… other talents. Great, yet another game developer who eats potato chips. Oh, and he can juggle. And sit in a chair. But look at how he does it! You may remember Aung Zaw Oo, who goes by AZO, from April, when he posted…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2009 -
Left 4 Dead 2 Now Officially Supports Custom Campaigns
Valve’s gift to the Left 4 Dead 2 customization community has arrived with the release of official campaign authoring tools and add-on support. You want to play custom campaigns of your own or someone else’s creation? Go nuts. The Left 4 Dead 2 authoring tools include support for AI Director logic for variable level layouts…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
Pac-Man Getting the Fighter Treatment?
In Europe, Namco Bandai has trademarked something called “Pac-Man: Battle Royale,” which sounds less like a reboot or remake of a pellet-chomper, and more along the lines of Tekken with ghosts. That’s straight-up speculation. Siliconera hazarded the guess when it found the registration, and it sounds good to me, if only because it sounds better…
By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009 -
Robin Williams On The Wii
If you ever wanted to know how Academy Award winner Robin Williams feels about the Nintendo Wii, we can’t help you. We can just direct you to this one bit of comedy wherein he mentions it. It’s right at 6:44 in that video. The rest of it is pretty hilarious, too, though. Fans of Williams…
By AJ Glasser Published December 23, 2009 -
Games For My Break
To: Ashcraft From: Totilo Re: Look What I Caught This Weekend! My month or so of Day Notes comes to an end. I’m starting vacation really soon. Tonight, in theory, though some posts of mine will magically appear for a couple more days. Thanks, Ash and friends for writing back to me after each and…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2009 -
Uncharted 2 Adds Double The Cash, 100% More Santa Hats
We love the holidays, if only for events like Naughty Dog‘s holiday themed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves weekend self-promotion, in which gamers will get double the experience cash for doing something they’d normally do anyway. But it’s also attractive for the option of placing Santa hats on Nathan Drake, a timely nod I’ve been a…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
Drunk Scot Woman Stabs Teen in Xbox Argument
Whoa, whoa, whoa, lady. When I said, “try safe, effective, fast-acting kick his ass,” for video game-playing kids who won’t listen, I did not mean “ventilate his abdomen with a kitchen knife.” Authorities say a 13-year-old Scottish boy was stabbed by his 55-year-old babysitter after he refused to stop playing his Xbox (original or 360,…
By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009 -
Scribblenauts Creator Talks About Controls, Console Ports & More On Kotaku Podcast
Did you miss today’s live call in version of Kotaku Talk Radio? Me too! I was fast asleep during today’s show, but thankfully the hour-long podcast with special guest Jeremiah Slaczka of 5th Cell fame is now available for download. In today’s episode, our podcast steering host Stephen Totilo and Jeremiah Slaczka, one of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
BioShock 2 Multiplayer Lobby Preview: Yes, The Lobby
The multiplayer mode of BioShock 2 isn’t just supposed to be a fun activity for multiple gamers. It’s supposed to be a prequel to the first BioShock. A prequel told through multiplayer? How absurd, I thought, before entering its lobby. Let it be known that I have ventured no further into BioShock 2’s first-person guns-and-superpowers…
By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2009 -
Quake Live Gets Festive, Vixen-Filled For Holidays
Fans of Quake Live‘s brand of free web-based fragging can enjoy some Santa-style gib giving over the next few weeks, as the online shooter offers a Christmas-themed update in the form of a new map and new skins. The “Silent Night” Capture the Flag arena—described as “a slightly re-worked version of an arena from Team…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
Holiday Timewaster: Santa Fu
Mrs. Claus has been abducted, and Santa’s out to deck the walls with gingerbread men and nutcracker guts. It’s a Christmas mashup of Kung Fu for the NES and it’s (wait for it) ho-ho-holarious. Just like Kung Fu (or Kung Fu Master, the arcade original) a drunken, raging Santa battles his way through waves of…
By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009 -
Give Yourself A LEGO Indiana Jones 2 Demo For Christmas
Microsoft and LucasArts have squeezed out one more downloadable demo just in time for Christmas, giving Xbox 360 owners a chance to test out LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues for last minute gift-giving consideration. If you didn’t feel that our review of the game was informative enough—you’re obviously crazy!—you can try the latest…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
EA’s Post-Christmas Sale Gives You 800 MS Points
EA’s running an online holiday special for the Xbox 360 beginning Christmas that takes a quick cost-benefit analysis to figure out, but as it returns you 800 Microsoft Points might be worth considering. The offer: Buy any three titles from this list and you get 800 Microsoft points back. Now, some of these are full…
By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009 -
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Heading To Virtual Consoles West?
A recent update from Australia’s media classification body gives Wii players hope of playing PC Engine classic Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the Richter Belmont-starring side-scrolling whip ’em up from 1993, via the magic of the Virtual Console service. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood has been available to Japanese Wii owners since 2008, but it may be…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
Halo Legends: Origins Rings In New Year With Final Preview
The final episode of 343 Industries’ series of animated shorts set in the Halo universe will get its showing next week. Studio 4oC’s Halo Legends “Origins” wraps up the preview program on Halo Waypoint on Saturday, January 2. “Origins” highlights Forerunner battles with the Flood and “shed light on some of the main events of…
By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009 -
Schrödinger’s Rat Isn’t What You Think It Is
Quick science lesson: Scientist Erwin Schrödinger had a thought experiment where you put a cat in a sealed box with poison. In a nutshell, at a certain point the cat is both alive and dead until you unseal the box. No, he didn’t kill a cat to test this out so far as I know.…
By AJ Glasser Published December 23, 2009