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Watching Robots
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: You Know What’s Delicious? I guess I shouldn’t really call a SpotBot a robot. It’s really just a little carpet cleaner that you place on a stain, press a button and walk away… unless you’re me. If you’re me you sit nearby and stare at it because you think it’s…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009 -
Valve Studying Sign Language For Deaf Half-Life Character
While Valve has been largely silent on what’s happening with Half-Life 2: Episode 3, a recent focus test at the developer may point to the inclusion of a deaf character that ties into supporting character Alyx’s past. Valve founder Gabe Newell discusses this character in a newly uploaded YouTube video, which appears to be from…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
Notebook Dump: The Wrong Wii Question, Shopping Mama
There comes a time in the week to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? This was a weird week, as a story I was chasing didn’t quite come together. New facts contradicted old facts. It was a wash. Plus, I did an interview on…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Indie Games Go Dirt Cheap On Steam, Direct2Drive
Digital distribution services Steam and Direct2Drive are battling it out this weekend, attempting to see which PC gaming platform can offer the best indie bundle. The clear winner in this price slashing bloodbath? YOU!! If you’re having difficult answering the question “What are you playing this weekend?” here’s a list of what you could be…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
LittleBigPlanet GOTY Edition Box Art Promises $30 In Bonus Content
The “Game of the Year Edition” of PlayStation 3 hit LittleBigPlanet is coming later this year with a cheaper price tag and some amount of downloadable content included on the disc. About $30 worth of content, apparently. While details on what that extra content thrown in for free will be aren’t specified in the Amazon.com…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
The Real Video Game Danger: They’re Too Safe?
The summers of my childhood were marked with scars. Good scars, not bad ones. There’s the time I split my knee racing friends while wearing flip-flops. The stitches in my head earned during a vigorous match of tag. The countless skinned elbows, bumps and bruises of a youth spent on skateboard and bike. Those were…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
It’s been a busy month, with moving, travel and a handful of guests staying at Kotaku Towers West. Not much time left for gaming… until now! That’s why I’m finally breaking the seal on this copy of Raiden Fighters Aces. That’s just to cleanse the palette, as I’ll be digging into a few downloadable titles…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
Second Skin Documentary Debuts In Theaters, On Hulu
Second Skin, Pure West Films‘ documentary about the lives of the people behind the players of massively-multiplayer online games, hits select theaters today, but if you can’t make it there’s always Hulu. Second Skin provides a rather balanced look at the relationships formed via online games, from friendships to romances to relationships that go even…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 -
Rabbids Go Home: The Stripping Gets Your Attention
In case you were planning on skipping Ubisoft’s new Wii-only adventure game, first consider that it will allow players to strip human beings to their underwear. I played a bit of Rabbids Go Home a little over a week ago at an event for developer and publisher Ubisoft in New York City. I was going…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Arkham Asylum: Making The Game, Respecting The Franchise
With the demo dropping today and the game right around the corner, Eidos and Warner Bros. release another behind-the-scenes video to make sure everyone knows how much they respect the franchise. If this were any other comic book franchise, I’d say they were laying it on a bit thick, but Batman fans have been burned…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 -
Penny Arcade’s Tekken 6 Comic Packs A Pouch
That’s no typo; Namco Bandai has enlisted the boys from Penny Arcade to create a Tekken 6 web comic, and they’re focusing on the most compelling fighter the series has ever produced. Yes, Penny Arcade is telling the secret origin of Roger, Tekken’s gestalt character, who is actually two fighters in one. When an erroneously-named…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 -
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Preview: To Fire The Ion Cannon
All I wanted to do when I played the newest Star Wars game on the PSP was fire the ion cannon. I became immature about it, even. Imagine a normally respectable Kotaku reporter badgering a LucasArts PR man: “But I want to fire the ion cannon!” Worse, imagine that turning into: “I’m going to go…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Playing Guitar Hero On Expert While Solving Two Rubik’s Cubes
That’s what happens in this video. Guitar Hero fan and “speedcuber” Julian plays Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” in Guitar Hero World Tour on expert difficulty while also solving two Rubik’s Cubes with his free hand. Sorry, should’ve warned you to take your shoes off, because your socks were probably just blown right through them. Oh,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
Best Buy Now Matching GameStop’s Used Prices On New Games
Electronics retailer Best Buy is firing a shot at competitors GameStop and Game Crazy, offering a price match guarantee on video games that would match prices on new titles against other retailers used prices. Yeah, that is awesome. One Cheap Ass Gamer snapped this photo highlighting the promotion at a West Jordan, Utah area Best…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 -
How Many Hours People Play Sports Games On Wii (Go, Madden)
People buy sports on the Wii, the only console currently bundled with a sports-based video game. But how much do they play these things? And how do the Maddens, the fishing games and the mighty Wii Fit rate? Yes, I’m defining “sports game” loosely. But, on the Wii, where the boundaries of gaming communities and…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Why Did Nintendo Send Me A Rock In The Mail?
I’ve received a lot of peculiar things from Nintendo in the past: A DSi cake, a call from Mario, a box of candies, but this is the first that made me work to find out what it was. Inside today’s package was a large white rock with the words Fossil Fighters cut into its surface.…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009 -
The Humorous And Romantic Old Republic Smuggler
Humor and romance are two things you don’t often associated with an MMO character class, but those are two qualities BioWare is focusing on for the Smuggler class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Senior writer Hal Hood talks about creating the Smuggler class in the latest developer diary on the Star Wars: The Old…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 -
One Strange Unlockable
Nintendo’s newest DSi downloadable puzzle game aims to calm your frenzied life by offering bonus "relax rooms." This is the strangest unlockable I’ve played since WarioWare Twisted let me stick an SUV in a giant cheese grater. You can earn this unlockable in ArtStyle Precipice, which was released as a $5 download for the DSi…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
The First Game Dedicated Entirely To Sushi
City Interactive makes a bold claim while introducing its upcoming Nintendo DS game, Sushi Academy, the “The first-ever video game dedicated entirely to sushi.” Bold words! I’m pretty sure I’ve played a sushi-themed puzzle game or two in my lifetime, but if they mean the first-ever video game dedicated to the preparation to sushi…well who…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 -
Gamescom Awards Includes Gameboy in Potential Contenders
That’s right, when Gamescom premieres in Cologne in two weeks they won’t just have their very own awards, they’ll also be looking for possible contenders out of the possibly extinct Gameboy market. The Gamescom Award for best games at the trade fair will hand out honors in a number of categories with the help of…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009