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The First Non-EA Lord Of The Rings Game Is…A Kids Game
For years, EA held the license to the Lord of the Rings movies. So only EA could make games using the likenesses of Seans Astin and Bean. But no more. EA’s deal is up, and having broken LotR fan’s hearts with the cancellation of White Council, the rights to the films (other companies, like Turbine,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2009 -
Hideo Kojima: There Is “Pressure” To Make Metal Gear
Hideo Kojima is best known for creating Metal Gear Solid. That’s not to say he’s pigeonholed as “The Metal Gear Guy”, but at this point in his career, the stealth series equals Kojima. When the game was released, there was talk from the designer about leaving the franchise — like there is every time he…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2009 -
Warning: Punch-Out Boxer Shorts Could Be Hazardous To Your Health
Did you get hold of one of those Punch-Out “Heavyweight Contender Kits” from Amazon? We hope, for your sake, that you planned on displaying those King Hippo shorts, and not actually wearing them. Why? Because, as you can see, while from a distance the shorts look rather fetching… Upon closer inspection, they become…less fetching… Doesn’t…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2009 -
Koei Sending “Limited Number” Of Japanese Developers
Capcom isn’t the only Japanese developer to be gun-shy about this year. Yokohama-based company Koei is also preventing staffers from attending the Los Angeles gaming convention. Unlike Capcom’s decision to restrict travel of all Japan-based employees, Koei is sending a limited number of its Japanese developers to this year’s E3. “With regards to E3, due…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2009 -
Team Fortress 2 Goes Free This Weekend
Thanks to the doubly good update for the Spy and Sniper classes, Team Fortress 2 will be playable for free this weekend to Steam users who for some bizarre reason wouldn’t already have the game. Put in enough effort this weekend, TF2 noobs, and you too could be throwing mason jars filled with urine, shooting…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Come To Kotaku’s Pre-E3 Party!
The Kotaku crew is headed to E3 2009 in just ten days. As we do every year, we’re throwing a little get together on the eve of E3. And you’re invited, dear reader! The Kotaku crew is once again heading to the lovely and historic Golden Gopher in downtown Los Angeles for a night of…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Activision PR Completely Cocks Up Tony Hawk: Ride Exclusivity
This morning, Frank PR – the company handling the game’s PR in the UK – announced boldly that Tony Hawk: Ride would be a 360 exclusive in the UK. Which, uh, is not true. A few hours later, Frank PR sent out a second announcement, which read: Further to the erroneous information which was distributed…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2009 -
More Americans Play Video Games Than Go To The Movies
According to the NPD Group, the fine market research folks who bring us batches of numbers every month, more Americans played video games in the past six months than went to a movie theater. To that, I say “Haha! Suck it, movie theater-going public, even though I may be among you.” Entertainment medium fanboys will…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Team Fortress 2 Sniper Actually Getting Urine Grenades? Yes, He Is
Bad news, Team Fortress 2 Spy: your Summer is about to get wet and wild, as Valve has revealed the Sniper’s final unlockable. And this time it’s no joke. “Jarate” is a reality. First teased on April Fool’s Day, the Jarate, unlockable jar of human waste said to capture the liquid essence of the deadly…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Swine Flu Two
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Movie Of The Year So Capcom appears to be the only company backing, partially, out of E3 thanks to a flu outbreak. It’s scary when a new disease pops up and there’s no real vaccine available, but people need to take a deep breath. Granted, I was a little panicky…
By Brian Crecente Published May 20, 2009 -
Blur Screens Come Into Focus
Bizarre Creations‘ Blur is “completely focused on making racing ‘fun’ again,” according to its creators. You know the details, but do you know what Blur looks like? Well, it looks like this. For those of us without pockets deep enough to afford a subscription to Edge magazine, Activision has released first screens of the weaponized…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Peer Pressure Provoking iPhone Game Development
Some of us succumb to copying the habits of friends by playing the same games or watching the same TV show. Harvey Smith is another developer giving in to a different pressure. Harvey Smith, developer of a full range of games, from Deus Ex to Blacksite 51 is another developer not terribly in love with…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2009 -
ESRB Reveals Details On New Star Wars Battlefront Games
It appears that LucasArts has more droid-slaying, lightsaber-swinging action planned in the Star Wars Battlefront fashion, as the ESRB has rated Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron for the PSP and Nintendo DS. The two titles both appear to be third-person perspective action games highlighting battles from the Star Wars universe, shrunk down to fit on…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Unreal Tournament 3 Goes High Rez With DM-Spectrum
Budding level designer Matt Bradley is off to a good start with “DM-Spectrum,” a deathmatch map for Unreal Tournament 3 that’s unlike anything we’ve seen for the gib-laden shoot ’em up. DM-Spectrum, writes Bradley, is designed on a concept that forces UT3 players to use the game’s spectrum of lighting to navigate and kill opponents.…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Sony’s E3 Promises, One Year Later
Not many great things are remembered from the 2008 E3 press conference, but, we’ve learned, when Jack Tretton promises something, you can take it to the bank. What good is E3 hype if none of it comes true? To get you ready for this E3, we’ve subjected ourselves to re-living the major press conferences of…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2009 -
Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil PSone Classics Incoming
Looks like Sony is serious about adding new “PSone Classics” to the PlayStation Store, as a few original PlayStation heavy hitters appear to be en route. The ESRB has rated five new PSone Classics candidates. That includes PlayStation system sellers Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, both newly rated for release on the…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
Boom Blox Producer Departs EA For Flower Studio
On the week of the release of the new Boom Blox, one of the game’s chief creators heads to ThatGameCompany. Video game designer Robin Hunicke, noticeable at any gaming event for having the reddest hair of anyone in attendance, is trading her big-company background for ThatGameCompany, a sign that the small studio behind Flow and…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 20, 2009 -
Resistance Finally Comes Home
Things heat up on PlayStation Home this Thursday, as the long-promised Resistance home space finally appears in a hail of turret-fire. The ruined cityscapes of Resistance comes to life tomorrow, when it will be filled with countless lifeless avatars running about, eager to win Resistance-themed prizes via the “Four Barrels of Fury” mini-game. The game…
By Mike Fahey Published May 20, 2009 -
Braid Comes To The Mac
The list of excuses for not having played Number None’s Braid gets shorter today with the release of the Mac OS X version of the time-shifting puzzle platformer. The newest version of Braid is priced the same as its Xbox Live Arcade and PC counterparts ($14.95 USD) and is just as native to the Mac…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2009 -
KoF XII – Getting To Know Elisabeth And Mature
Let’s take a more intimate look at Elisabeth and Mature, the two new female fighters recently added to the roster of The King of Fighters XII. So who are these two new ladies, and where do they fit into the ongoing King of Fighters saga? Here’s the official word. Mature is pretty quick on her…
By Mike Fahey Published May 20, 2009