All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#clips Pokémon Black & White is the completely new Pocket Monster series that will be out later this year. We have already seen the first screenshots. But screenshots don't move. Gameplay does. More »

#iphone If there's one thing 2K's announcement of a shooter-focused XCOM remake has done, it's open the door to a slew of games cashing in on the company's seeming abandonment of the series' turn-based roots. Games like this iPhone title! More »

#rogerebert Dear Mr. Ebert, More »

#rumor If some screenshots are to be believed, a number of classic Dreamcast and PC titles are about to be released on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service for the 360. More »

Again, House of the Dead: Overkill is wiping the floor with the other guys. I’d say that all three titles are excellent, with the Resident Evil outing actually being the weakest. Poor Dead Space: Extraction never seemed to have a shot. Which one of these three do you think is the best? Feature [...]

Well, it’s not every day that you see someone bring together the worlds of Pokemon and religion. With that said, I do have to admit that this piece is a pretty interesting one, and raises some unique questions. Basically, the whole debate of religion and Pokemon comes into play when discussing the Legendary [...]

I’ve been hearing a ton of positive buzz about this one…from random forums. It seems like the gaming press at large is ignoring this title, just like they do with many excellent DSiWare titles. Let’s not let that happen to AlphaBounce. I haven’t had a chance to download it, due to being [...]

A portion of a Kombo review… Much like the “Game Maker 21″ in the game spits out micro mini-games, DIY will spit out gamers interested in learning more about the process of developing a video game. Even if the interface is over-designed, this is the closest thing to a true evolution to Mario Paint this generation [...]

A portion of a C3 interview with SNSD group member, Stephanie ‘Tiffany’ Hwang… C3: When did you agree to record adverts for the Nintendo DSi? Tiffany: We made the deal in February this year, but I wasn’t included in it… C3: There are currently two SNSD DSi adverts being shown on Korean TV, but will there be more [...]

Have you ever hacked or modded one of your gaming platforms? If so, did you make the change in order to circumvent some rules put in place by hardware/software manufacturers? Perhaps you wanted to play a region-coded game that wasn’t going to be localized. I personally think there’s nothing wrong with that, [...]

This time we aren’t going to take a look at the front of the box, but instead, the back. Just take a look at how many things are wrong with this. The imagery is fine, but the text… Man, it’s like I wrote this thing! So many typos to start out Snake on [...]

Rather than posit that, yes, we are obviously the biggest non-arthropod invertebrate fans out there, we'll just point out how neat we think these "I love Jim" shirts are. They can be found, appropriately, in the latest trailer for upcoming digitally distributed HD re-release Earthworm Jim HD. We could use a bit more video from the gameplay department, sure, but what we see looks as good (if not better) than what we last saw last September in screenshots.

The video also introduces a contest for fans of the series that sees five winners being flown to NY to Gameloft's studio for an early chance to check out EJHD on Xbox Live Arcade this May. To enter, interested parties should head over to the Gameloft Facebook page and sign up, write a 500 character or less message on "Jim's wall" explaining your "most memorable moment playing Earthworm Jim" (like that time your brother Charlie slipped a sleeping pill into your chocolate milk so he could play it uninterrupted for four hours straight), and voila ici! The directions also note that the entry period ends on May 2, so we'd suggest you get to it -- right after you check out the trailer we've dropped below the fold.

[Thanks, Gavin Burbidge]

New items galore in this week's update.

There you were, lazing away a Sunday afternoon, when out of nowhere we throw you into an arena and start resonatin' stuff. Nope, it's not a dream -- it's a weird allusion to tri-Ace developed JRPG Resonance of Fate. And rather than sit here reading our weird allusions, why not spend your time actually playing the game in real life? Well you're one step closer to that possibility if you enter our contest below, wherein we'll be giving one lucky winner one copy of the game for their Xbox 360.

All you have to do is tell us about something so memorable from your life that it resonated throughout your own fate. Okay, okay, that's a bit serious. It can just be something memorable from your life, as long as it's clean and, preferably, funny. Drop it into the comments below and we'll pick one of you at random this week as a winner. You've got 24 hours starting ... now!

• Leave a comment telling us something memorable from your life, as long as it's clean and, preferably, funny.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, because of restrictive sweepstakes laws in the province, unfortunately -- we assure you that we love the Quebecois!).
• Limit 1 entry per person per day.
• This entry period ends at 8:01PM ET on Monday, April 19.
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Resonance of Fate for Xbox 360 (ARV: $59.99).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition.

For more info on our policy, click here.

#contest That's midnight Kotaku time, so, seven hours from now. If you've been perfecting your Kotaku-themed WarioWare D.I.Y. mini-game to win the enormous grand prize package Nintendo's put up, now's the time to wrap things up and go gold. More »

#natal Remember James Gunn? The filmmaker who called Microsoft "the most dreadful, non-talent friendly company I've ever worked for"? Apparently they patched up. Microsoft invited him to try Natal, and Gunn's spilled the beans on a game called "River Rush." More »

According to a report by the Korea Times, Blizzard's upcoming StarCraft sequel has been given an Adults Only rating by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, effectively relegating the game to those 18 years old or older. Given the game's enormous popularity in the country -- and the previous "over-15" rating Blizzard received from the same board for SC2 earlier this year with an older build of the game -- the decision comes as a bit of a surprise. Apparently, the company was seeking an "over-12" in the country, and thusly resubmitted the most recent build of the game for rating. The ratings board says of the decision, "Considering that the RC version of the game is closer to what will be sold on the shelves compared to the beta versions, we looked more carefully at the content," allowing that, "this rating is not final, as Blizzard will get the chance to object to it."

For its part, Blizzard's South Korea reps told the paper that an immediate course of action has yet to be decided. "We have nothing to say at this point. We are discussing our official position on the matter as well as what would be the right reaction." We've reached out to Blizzard's US representatives and will update this post if we hear back.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

#newreleases In name only. Just nine titles drop in the coming seven days, but Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii is among them, on Tuesday. Afterburner comes to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network this week, too. More »

- skits are in 2-d but no voice acting - action points for battle commands: attack/defend cost 2 pts each, wait/move is 1 point - Action points refill each turn - Tactics command preset battle options: use only physical attacks, use main magic, use anything but magic, etc. - Skill points used for excel acts - Gain skill points by [...]

I really have to get on the ball with some more Wii Fit Plus. I guess if I want to do that, I’ll have to stop at the old warehouse and pick up my balance board. It might be hard to get the full experience without it!

#retail No disc - game, CD, DVD, whatever - sold more in 2009 than Modern Warfare 2, in the U.K. anyway, where the game bested phenomena such as Lady Gaga and Susan Boyle, and standbys like James Bond and Harry Potter. More »

#activision A top Activision executive, speaking late this week after mass defections from Modern Warfare studio Infinity Ward eviscerated morale there, defended the company's treatment of its developers, saying they're paid better under Activision than anywhere else. More »

#screengrab E.D.N. III is thawing out in Lost Planet 2, and so are the game's cases, encased in ice blocks on Massachusetts Ave. in Boston. As seen by Kotaku reader Edward D. More »

Can you believe that E3 is less than 2 months away? While, of course, most E3 goings on are kept top secret, I’m happy to share one bit of info today: we will be throwing another PlayStation.Blog meetup during the event. Currently, I’m targeting Sunday afternoon (June 13th), in the Downtown LA area. We’ll, of course, confirm all the details on the Blog 7-10 days in advance, as per usual.

Many of you have been asking about this, so I wanted to let you all know… yeah – it’s on!

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of April 12, 2010)

• Planet MiniGolf offers a lot for a small price – Destructoid
• PlayStation Store Update Day Moving in May – Shacknews
• Would the Real Version of Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Stand Up? – IGN
• Enormous Uncharted 2 artbook is a costly relic – Joystiq
• Review: The Red Star PSP – VGBlogger.com
• March big for PlayStation 3 – Variety
• PSN Thursday no more: say hello to PSN Tuesday and Wednesday – Joystiq
• Sony’s PlayStation Network Director on Using Exclusive Content to Compete – Fast Company
• 3D Dot Game Heroes Review – IGN
• Q&A with United Front Games’ Dan Sochan on ModNation Racers – Examiner.com
• Persona 3 Portable video recaps classic gameplay – Joystiq
• Demon’s Souls Sells Triple What Atlus USA Expected – Siliconera
• The 3D Dot Game Heroes Character Atlus Forgot To Add – Siliconera
• Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands PSP Hands-On – IGN
• News: Crysis 2 PS3 ‘performs better than 360 version’ – ComputerAndVideoGames.com
• Can Sony ‘Move’ hardcore gamers? – msnbc.com
• Excuse Me, Do You Have God of War III? – Kotaku
• How Many PS3s Have Been Sold In Japan? – Kotaku
• MGS: Peace Walker gets swanky new toy – Destructoid
• Freekscape: Escape from Hell Review – IGN
• Study: PS3 Has Highest Percentage Of Connected Consoles – Gamasutra
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Collector’s Edition costs $50, includes ‘exclusive artbook’ – Joystiq
• Interview: Will ‘Cyrus’ Powers, winner of The Tester – Joystiq
• Sony: Move Targeted Equally At Core And Casual – Edge Online
• PlayStation Move sub-controller hits FCC, will be named Navigation Controller – Engadget

Oh, and this.

What is Project Natal's "River Rush" game, you ask? Well, it sounds an awful lot like Wii Sports Resort's canoe-paddling game, albeit minus the whole "physical controller" thing. Hollywood writer James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, Slither) got to demo the game at a media preview held by Microsoft recently in Los Angeles, where the company was showing off its latest consumer offerings -- from Project Natal to the Courier to Halo: Reach (Gunn says he "was slaughtered instantly and numerous times by the Microsoft employees playing when they're supposed to be working" of Reach) -- and couldn't help but share his feelings about the experience with the world via his blog.

Gunn describes River Rush as "a game where you stand side by side in a river raft, so it's two people playing at once ... to move right, you have to step right; to move left, you have to step left." The game also features a jumping mechanic that, as you might guess, involves players actually leaping into the air. "As you rush down right rapids, you have to jump up and slap floating stars in the air -- the whole raft jumps up every time you do." You'll forgive our reticence, but it only takes one life lesson to learn that jumping into the air blindly near friends and expensive technology almost always results in bad memories. We've asked Microsoft for more information, but the chances of that before the company's E3 press event are about as likely as us going upstream without a paddle.

[Thanks, Jonathan Dixon]