All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Believe it or not, Mafia II finally appears to be on the way, for real. In advance of the August 24 release date, 2K Games announced a Collector's Edition for the PS3/Xbox 360/PC gangster game.

The Collector's Edition includes the standard bonuses for this kind of thing: an art book, soundtrack, and SteelBook case. It also comes packaged with a "high quality, tear-resistant map" of Empire Bay, and a code for a downloadable "Made Man Pack" with two luxury cars and two suits, including a tuxedo.

In addition, retailers are offering the following bonuses with pre-orders of (any edition of) Mafia II:

• GameStop has the "Vegas Pack" featuring Vegas-inspired cars and suits, and a "War Hero Pack" with two military vehicles and uniforms.
• Amazon offers the "Renegade Pack" including '50s-style cars and leather and lettermen's jackets for Vito, so you can live out your Happy Days crime fantasies. You also get a $10 discount on a future game purchase.
• Best Buy has the "Greaser Pack" with two "hot-rod speedsters" and two racing-style outfits.
• Walmart.com is offering a "$10 Gift Card" which will allow you to buy $10 worth of merchandise at Walmart.

We know it might be tempting to acquire the game in a thematically appropriate manner (having it "fall off a truck,") but these bonuses provide a compelling reason to actually purchase it from a retailer. Also, the whole "jail time" thing.

#republished Social games aren't new–they're just games you play with other people.  Social games began about 5000 years ago.   More »

Shin’en wants to help you out if you’re stuck in their WiiWare title, Art of Balance. An official blog has opened up, and it features video walkthroughs of all the levels in the game. Now you can sneak past that one stage that’s giving you trouble, and finally explore what else the game [...]

The Wii sees a new Sonic title later this year.

Nintendo has put out a lot of Art Style games, and it’s hard to find one that isn’t fresh and entertaining. I’m so happy that Nintendo is continuing this line of games, and are actually trying to spread the word. That’s where the Art Style hub site comes into play. Now you [...]

Because mobsters like fancy things.

How much will Microsoft's motion cost you?

Capcom announced that "Rise from the Ashes," the fifth case of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney created for the DS version, is now available as DLC for the WiiWare version of Phoenix Wright. The timing is a little weird on this, since it's DLC for the first game, coming after the release of the second and third Phoenix Wright games. Not that it really matters -- the series jumps back and forth along its timeline anyway.

If you've played through the full game on WiiWare, you should probably check this case out for 100 Wii Points. Sadly, Maya Fey isn't present, but you'll be introduced to Ema Skye, and, more importantly, you'll have hours and hours of investigation and arguing ahead of you. Even if it stings a little to pay an extra dollar on top of the cost of the game, now that the even cheaper iPhone port is out.

Sony's system to come with MLB 10?

Reviews have begun to inch out for Bizarre's new arcadey racer Blur and, at the risk of spoiling the metareview in the first sentence, they're pretty darn good! Maybe not "change your life" good, but at least "put this in your game box and fun will come out" good. What? That's not specific enough for you? OK, fine, here:

• Telegraph (9/10): "Every inch of Blur feels like it's crafted with the player in mind, offering them a huge, slick and exciting racing package. While it can frustrate, with the balance of powerups occasionally off-kilter, it only serves to push you onto the next race, to undo the injustice, to mete out your revenge."
• GameInformer (8.5/10): "Blur is a game built on versatility. Power-ups aren't simply offensive or defensive; they are tools you can use in different ways depending on the situation. A Barge blast is always handy to disrupt any cars in your immediate vicinity, but it can also be deployed as a momentary shield. Likewise, most power-ups come with an alternate fire option. For instance, your garden-variety Nitro boost can alternately be used to slow you down - useful for those really tight corners."
• Eurogamer (8/10): "Handling is rich and dramatic. Acceleration and drifting are sympathetic enough to correct the rear if you're showing your inexperience, but the relationship between gas, brake, traction and apex remains complex. And it's fast."

DSi/DS Lite cases decorated with recycled candy wrappers by Ecomismo - check out more here

A Sonic game that is coming out on both Wii and DS. Okay, SEGA…I’ll bite one more time. The promo trailer had some very nice art in it…nice colors and all. I know the actual game won’t look like that, but at least we got something pretty to think about! As [...]

This was part of an article we posted earlier, but the embed makes it much easier to watch!

Zynga signs a deal that will bring its stable of games to the web portal.

Nexon's global revenues jump 56 percent in 2009 while North American operations continue to soar.

Gamers to celebrate the big soccer match with free national anthems.

#podcast Our review of the Playstation 3's ModNation Racers won't be hitting for another hour or so, so why not take the time to talk to the folks behind the game on Kotaku Talk Radio? More »

When I first saw Lubba tell me that he was tired, or that I should take a break, I thought it was related to the amount of time that I had been playing. Turns out I was a bit off the mark. Lubba is making these comments based on what time it is, [...]

A portion of a Gaming Nexus review… Easy Piano is an excellent peripheral bundled with a disappointing game. It has a lot of solid content but it’s presented through confusing music theory minigames, when the game should have put more focus on learning the basics. The lack of a solid tutorial makes the actual piano playing [...]

Nintendo celebrates latest release with a sweet bonus item and some commentary from Koji Kondo.

ArenaNet's ambitious MMO finds its center.

New details on the PlayStation Store and cross-game chat.

Augmented reality game developer and publisher Ogmento this morning announced that it has secured the first $3.5 million of venture capital funding for development. The exciting news? That means the company is hiring. "The key thing is really we're looking to partner, and hire folks, so we'd love to get that word out," Ogmento co-founder Ori Inbar told us in a phone interview earlier today. "What we do is we go after people that we've either known for many years or people that have passion about augmented reality, and have good experience in game design or art. It's a lot about passion."

But that first round of funding won't just go to expanding the still nascent company's New York (R&D) and LA (development) offices with passionate people -- Inbar told us Ogmento plans on using part to release a few titles this year, "leading on mobile." That said, he was also happy to talk about possible console developments in the future. "Sony's EyeToy camera is basically enabling a whole set of augmented reality games ... and on the Xbox, it's not there yet, but Project Natal will enable something similar, so that's why we're eyeing these two."

Ogmento is currently composed of eight employees, including industry veterans Brian Selzer ("he's heading up the creative in the company") and Brad Foxhoven (former strategic consultant for ... everything). As far as announcements with game developers or publishers attached, Inbar says we'll "hear more soon."

#playstationnetwork Garnet wants to be kidnapped right away, and while that's all fine and good in Europe, where Final Fantasy IX is now available for purchase on the PlayStation Network, here in North America we must ignore her desperate pleas. More »