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MAG Open Beta Is Just Around The Corner

Zipper Interactive has announced a massive multiplayer open beta for the PlayStation 3’s massive multiplayer shooter MAG. MAG has gone gold, and all is on course for its January 26th North American release. Now all Zipper Interactive and Sony have to do is make sure the game doesn’t explode on launch day, so they’re holding…

BioShock 2 Preview: Maybe It Was Needed After All

It’s hard not to start playing BioShock 2 without thinking about it as one of the most unnecessary sequels in gaming. It is easy, however, once playing has begun to recognize it as a very promising game. Lop the boss battle off of the original BioShock and the 2007 game would seem to be just…

iPhone Chart Toppers: N.O.V.A. Takes Down Waldo

Gameloft wins big in our weekly look at the top grossing games on iTunes for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Gameloft’s first-person shooter storms onto the charts, , with Battleship adding to the displacingment. Cartoon Wars-Gunner jumps into the fray as well, with last week’s new entry Dragon’s Lair nowhere to be seen. Which do…

Giant Evil Robot Teddy Bear Attacks Champions Online

Champions Online‘s Millennium City has been invaded by the Black Harlequin and his giant, murderous mecha-teddy, Clarence for the holidays. We’re going to need bigger hugs. Cryptic rings in the holidays in Champions Online with the Attack of the Misfit Toys event. The Black Harlequin has made diabolical changes to the children’s Christmas toys, and…

Kotaku Contest Reminder: Are You The World’s Biggest Zelda Fan?

If you are the biggest Zelda fan and desire a $1000 gift card for the Nintendo Store, a signed DS, a copy of the new Zelda game, and/or a Biggest Zelda Fan Trophy, enter our Zelda contest. Ends December 31. Don’t post entries here. See the link above for full contest rules. The contest is…

Ugly Movie Spawns Ugly Box Art

Put Johnny Depp in a silly hat, slather some makeup on him, add a couple of deformed tiny people, and you’ve got another one of my childhood memories ruined forever, and some hideous box art to boot. First Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, now this. I don’t know if Tim Burton needs to find some…

The Nintendo Download: And The 500th Downloadable Wii Game Is…

What game could Nintendo have possibly chosen as the 500th downloadable title for the Wii? It would have to be something super, yet smashing at the same time. The mind boggles! Okay, I suck at giving subtle hints. The original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 is the 500th downloadable game for the Nintendo…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

For northern hemisphere Kotaku readers, this will be the shortest day of the year. Add some sunshine by commenting about video games right here. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

What Is This, A Chain Gang?

To: Stephen From: Luke So, you guys live in an apartment, yes? This past weekend, I wish I lived in an apartment. Having recently moved into a brand new house, I’ve been spending the last few weekends building a garden. I thought it would be easy! Just dig some holes, throw some dirt around, and…

Rumor: Big Layoffs At Heavy Iron Studios [Update]

We’ve learned over the weekend that most of the employees at Heavy Iron – a former THQ subsidiary that’s best-known for its movie tie-in games – may be spending the holiday season looking for a new job. Sources have told Kotaku that around 60-70% of the studio’s staff are to be laid off this week,…

BioWare On The Decline Of The JRPG

Final Fantasy aside, Japanese role-playing games simply don’t command the respect (or sales) they once did in the West. You may have an opinion on this! That’s great. So do BioWare. With Mass Effect and Dragon Age both leading the way as far as Western RPGs are concerned, they’re a company well-placed to know what’s…

Castlevania Soundtrack Whips In At 19 Discs

It’s too late for Christmas 2009, but that special Castlevania fan in your life may appreciate it for Christmas 2010. “It” being a Castlevania series soundtrack collection coming in at a crazy 19 discs. Going on sale next March, the box set will retail for ¥21,000. Which in US dollars is $232. That’s a lot,…

Heavy Rain “Not A Video Game Anymore” In Creator’s Mind

While there are some who believe Heavy Rain creator David Cage is a gifted man, others think he (and his games) are a little too full of themselves. Both types will probably find these comments of interest, then. “Heavy Rain is not a video game anymore in my mind because it breaks with most of…

Blizzard Will “Definitely” Make Another Console Game

It’s been nine years since a Blizzard game appeared on a console. But don’t worry! That doesn’t mean the world’s richest developers have given up taking way too long to develop games for those under-TV family game box machine things. “…we’re a company of gamers”, Blizzard’s J. Allen Brack told Gamasutra last week. “I have…

2010: The Year Of Better PSP Games?

How can it not be? A new Metal Gear Solid, a new Kingdom Hearts, a new Valkyria Chronicles, maybe even that new Resident Evil with be released, all tailor made for the PlayStation Portable are due next year. Granted, many of the highlights of 2010 are either remakes, spin-offs or tinier versions of their higher-definition…

Christmas Cards

To: Luke From: Owen Re: Day Note Puzzle Fun Counting Challenge This is the time of year for holiday cards and, in our business, for showcasing the ones sent out by major publishers and studios, and bragging about which ones you’ve received. They’re very flattering, but few could be as flattering as that virtual card…

2010: Looking Back on Kotaku’s Look Ahead

We’re 10 days from New Year’s but tomorrow is the winter solstice, starting us on another trip around the sun. And a new year that will be full of its own controversies, challenges, triumphs, disappointments and delights in video gaming. This past week Kotaku put a comprehensive look into its crystal ball, breaking down what’s…

Free-to-Play Football “RPG” Gets Update

Quick Hit Football, the free-to-play online American football strategy game, counts a million games played since its public release two months ago and says it will put out an update early this week that enhances gameplay and playcalling. An alternative, albeit one not fully licensed, to console football games like Madden, Quick Hit focuses on…

New Year’s Theme is Free on Xbox Live

Xbox Live Marketplace has been running Deal of the Day promotions since Friday; today’s is completely free. Pick up a New Year’s Theme for the rock bottom price of zero Microsoft points. There it is, pictured above. The free offer is good through the end of today, but I believe that clocks in at Pacific…

The Non-Adventure Adventure Game

Dutch game designer Kenney Vleugels realizes how prosaic life can be sometimes. Not that a flash game about watching a DVD turns that into an epic happening. But it is more interactive than reading someone tweet about it. Vleugels, designer of 16 flash games, has put together “Kenney’s Bite-Sized Non-Adventures” (above). Part 1 is “Watch…