All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Our take on Capcom's ultimate collection of RE5 goodness.

#iphone Square Enix is no stranger to iPhone apps, but the Final Fantasy maker is doing something interesting for the recently released Final Fantasy XIII, turning your iPhone or iPod Touch into a digital artbook. More »

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with only a digital hangover.

After almost six months, we're going to see sales for the PSP Go pick up in Japan starting tomorrow. How can we be so sure? Today, Sony announced that not only is the PSP hit Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (called Monster Hunter Freedom Unite here) being released as a download on March 18 -- a voucher for the title will also be given away with new PSP Gos. The downloadable game by itself will cost ¥1,600 ($17.69) from the PlayStation Store.

Even though over three million people already have this on UMD -- and even though Monster Hunter Portable 3 was just announced for PSP -- we still anticipate a lot of sales for this. People in Japan are just that thrilled about Monster Hunter.

[Via Andriasang]

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with only a digital hangover.

Atlus has proven to be the distributor of some of the funniest press releases we regularly receive. The party responsible for a majority of that humor, PR manager Aram Jabbari, recently stopped by Playstation.Blog HQ to give a brief video demonstration of 3D Dot Game Heroes, which you'll find posted above.

The video shows a walkthrough of one of the game's Zelda-esque dungeons and, appropriately, includes a number of irreverent jabs at 8-bit classics. Though legal reasons prevent Jabbari from naming specific games the title lampoons, he was more than happy to show off his homemade Vampire protagonist's massive sword, remarking, "I'm sure Bella will find that impressive." Oh, Aram. Don't ever change.

Another Mini standout -- this time with guns, blood, and brains.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with only a digital hangover.

BRAAAAAAAINS!

Since the UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra motion comic series was released on the PlayStation Store late last year, we’ve gotten a ton of questions asking if the Rika Raja and Daniel Pinkerton multiplayer skins – which were made available in Europe as part of a bundle – would soon be available to our community in the US and other parts of North America.

We can let you know today that the answer is YES!

When the PlayStation Store updates on Thursday, April 1 (we’re not joking), the UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Bundle will be available for purchase for $2.49.

What if you have already purchased all or some of Eye of Indra Episodes 2, 3, and 4? Fear not, we have you covered.

Here’s what’s going to happen:

• On Thursday, April 1, UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Episodes 2, 3, and 4 will be TEMPORARILY removed from the Store
• ANYONE who purchased ALL THREE Episodes (#2, 3, and 4) prior to 12:01 AM, April 1, will receive an e-mail on April 8 containing a PSN voucher code good for the FREE download of the UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Bundle INCLUDING the Rika and Pinkerton multiplayer skins.

  *IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to receive the email with your voucher code, you MUST make sure that your PSN account has a valid and working email address associated with your PSN ID. You must also make sure that you have the option to receive marketing communications checked.

• If you want the Rika and Pinkerton skins and have NOT purchased all 3 individual episodes yet, you MUST do so before all the episodes are temporarily removed on April 1.
• Starting April 1, the ONLY way to receive the Rika and Pinkerton skins is to purchase the UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Bundle. Buying individual episodes after this date will not make you eligible to receive the voucher code for the Bundle and skins.
• The individual episodes will return to the Store on April 15 for $0.99 each.

We have one last bit of good news – the UNCHARTED: Eye of Indra Bundle will also be released on April 1 in Canada and Mexico, via your local PlayStation Store.

We’re really excited to finally be able to share the Rika Raja and Daniel Pinkerton skins with our fans in North America. Many thanks are also in order to SCEA for putting in all the extra effort to make sure everyone who have already purchased all of the Eye of Indra episodes will receive the Rika and Pinkerton skins!

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below and we’ll do our best to answer as many of them as we can with as little bold text as possible.

Multiplayer first-person shooters are a dime a dozen lately, meaning Lead & Gold: Gangs of the Wild West has a lot to prove for itself. The gameplay is definitely fun, but it's clear that its main selling point is the format. As a downloadable game (confirmed for PC, planned for XBLA), it's one of the most polished multiplayer FPS experiences available in the space.

Priced at $15, Paradox Interactive's shooter is competing against the likes of Battlefield 1943. Like DICE's shooter, the production values are impressive and highlight by colorful, animated visuals. The style is reminiscent of Team Fortress 2, with the characters donning an almost psuedo-cel shaded look. Combined with the Wild West theme, it can oftentimes look identical to Valve's shooter.

Of course, there are far worse places to look for inspiration. In many ways, the gameplay is also similar to Team Fortress 2. There are four classes for players to choose from, and each features distinct and valuable traits. The primary difference between the four classes is their range: some classes are equipped with shotguns, best for short range fighting, while the requisite sniper is obviously equipped to handle long distances. Beyond their weapons, each class is equipped with a special ability. One can throw dynamite, while another can "mark" an enemy. (Marked enemies take twice the normal rate of damage.)

#clips The PlayStation Move controller may have only been officially named last week, but PlayStation VP of Realistic Movements Kevin Butler already has his commercial ready. How? This spot is from The Future, when Sony's already trolling the motion control competition. More »

In case anyone is still on the fence about paying for a WiiWare version of a freeware game -- although a couple of years of anticipation have probably killed that -- this Cave Story video (after the break) shows something pretty appealing: a second playable character. And not just any character, either. Curly Brace is a fan favorite, appearing in the game in a capacity we won't discuss too much to avoid spoilers.

We're checking with Nicalis now to learn more about her inclusion -- whether she's part of the initial download or DLC, and how her presence affects gameplay. Worst case scenario: we find out on Monday when the game comes out.

Need proof Minis can be cool?

#fableiii One brilliant thing about video games is that they can react to what players do and have multiple endings. Books can't do that. Movies can't, not even Clue. Many in gaming argue for branching storylines. Here's an argument against: More »

#clips For Klingons, every day is a good day to die, but you might want to wait until Cryptic slips the new Klingon player-versus-enemy content into Star Trek Online, as seem in part two of the Expanding Universe video series. More »

When Valve confirmed Mac support for Steam last week, I emailed the Joystiq team with the following claim: "this is arguably the biggest gaming news on Mac OS ever." It seems Valve shares the sentiment, as the company's John Cook - director of Steam development at Valve - calls it "the biggest event in Steam's history." He also answered some more of our questions via email, so read on!


Joystiq: Just to clarify, Steam users with games already purchased on Windows and that have Mac versions available will have those Mac versions accessible to them immediately in Steam, for no extra charge?

John Cook: This is supported by "Steam Play." We are using this feature to provide cross-platform access to all Valve games to those who already own the PC version. We hope other developers and publishers will use it in the same way.


Some blogs have reported that Valve "hates the Mac" - From Gabe: "So, they seem to think that they want to do gaming, but there's never any follow through on any of the things they say they're going to do. That makes it hard to be excited about doing games for their platforms." So, as a followup, was Apple involved in this endeavor at all? Did they provide any programming resources or platform-level assistance?

First, the statement that Gabe hates the Mac is erroneous. In fact, he worked on a 6Mhz Lisa running a Mac emulator in his first post-college job and is involved in the current Mac work on a daily basis. As for Apple, yes -- we've been working with them on this project and we're looking forward to expanding that relationship as we launch Steam for the Mac.

Direct link and videos for Everyone’s Recommendation Selection, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Pocosuka Racing, Sengoku Jidai, Pro Yakyuu Famista DS 2010, Minna no Suizokukan, Kawaii Koinu DS3, AA! Nikaku Tori, Brain Challenge, DS Demos Update and Karate Champ

The Chaos Marines invade!

Every once in a while, we bring you the story of how a developer or publisher settled on the name for their company. Today we bring you the harrowing tale of Binary Tweed, the developer behind Clover: A Curious Tale:


My main aim in setting out writing video games was to try and reinvigorate some of the forgotten genres that I loved so much as a kid. I knew right away I wanted a simple and slightly cheeky tagline, and "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" was the first thing that popped into my head. Long-winded yes, but it gets across character whilst doing exactly what it says on the tin.

I wouldn't be creating totally new off-the-wall games, so an enigmatic or futuristic name wouldn't do. I might be reinventing old things, but I'm thoroughly fed up of pop culture's obsession with retro. I wanted to avoid anything that suggested pixel art or chip tune music.

#itsadate Summer is due for some Shanghai shoot 'em up grit and grime, thanks to those lovable scamps Kane and Lynch. The anti-heroes will make their return in Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days this August. More »

Latest trailer got you wondering about the game?

#speakup After skipping the week of GDC, Speak-Up on Kotaku returns at full force, with contributions by Kotakuites The Drunken Moogle, Rear Admiral Meatwad, Raffleking, and Kyosen! More »

Though it seems like we just got back from Shanghai, it appears we're going to be booking another flight soon. Square Enix has announced that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will kick off "48 hours of hell" for its duo of miscreant protagonists on August 24 in North America and August 27 in Europe.

If you'd like to spend the interim months preparing for the sequel, there's a new trailer from IGN available directly after the break. (Side note: How weird is it to see the Square Enix logo at the beginning? Totally weird, that's how weird.)