All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

What can we expect from the next 12 months of massively-multiplayer gaming?

We are very excited to announce the release of our latest PlayStation Minis game, Burnin’ Rubber, arriving for PSP (and PS3) on Tuesday June 22. Burnin’ Rubber is a classic arcade game that was originally released by Data East in 1982. Many people also know this game by the name “Bump ‘n’ Jump.”

In addition to driving really fast (hence the name “Burnin’ Rubber”), you have the ability to crash into other cars and launch your car high up in the air to avoid obstacles, clear water gaps, and crush opponents from above (hence the alternative name “Bump ‘n’ Jump”). Players earn points by taking out other cars and by making progress through each of the courses in the game. There is a little known bonus for clearing a level without taking out any enemies — but I personally prefer to smash as many cars as possible!

We added some cool extra features to the PlayStation Minis version of the game including the ability to save and load your game at any point, toggle arcade game settings, and adjust the display mode (players can choose between a 1:1 pixel arcade accurate display mode with a cool background or a stretched mode which allows the gameplay to take up more of the screen).

We are extremely excited about the PlayStation Minis format as Burnin’ Rubber is the third classic arcade game that we have brought to PlayStation Minis this month (Lock ‘n’ Chase came out on PSN on June 8th and Express Raider was released on PSN on June 15th). We hope to bring additional classic arcade games to PlayStation Network and we would love to get your input and feedback regarding which additional titles you would like to see!

Check out Burnin’ Rubber at the US PlayStation Store for $3.99.

Man, have you guys played this game Counter-Strike: Source? Valve just dropped it on Steam for the Mac and it is hot. It's also been updated to accommodate Achievements, stats, engine improvements and even a Death Cam. We've been playing it for a few minutes now, and it really seems like Counter-Strike is going to be something special.

What's that? It's been on PC for years now, and the PC version gets all the new enhancements too? You can buy the game once and play it on Mac or PC? It's on sale for a paltry $6.80 in celebration?

Huh. Well, can you recommend any good maps? The one we've been playing on is really dusty.

Our verdict on the latest downloadable add-on.

#screengrab Chicago's Jonathan Toews is the global cover athlete for NHL 11 but EA Sports shows some love for other nations, putting Henrik and Daniel Sedin on the cover for the game sold in Sweden, and Mark Streit for Switzerland's version. More »

#e3 The same day Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers would repeat as NBA champions just a block away from E3, 2K Sports made its case for why NBA 2K will continue its dominance of pro basketball on consoles. More »

We spent some time with 2nd Lap -- the it's-not-just-a-PixelJunk-Racers-add-on for PSN -- back in March. We enjoyed ourselves and it would appear that Pixeljunk Racers fans will get to try out 2nd Lap themselves on July 1 for ¥500 ($5.50), andriasang reports. We've contacted Sony for confirmation on the potential release date.

2nd Lap builds upon PixelJunk Racers with all-new tracks, mini-games and full Trophy Support -- there's even YouTube integration for you showboats out there who crave internet stardom.

Players will be able to purchase or win discounts to Six Flags parks.

#speakup The post E3 2010 episode of Speak-Up on Kotaku is here, with Linfosoma, Dracosummoner, Richardsim7, and Mayonaisetim sounding off on dead 60GB PlayStation 3 consoles, mushroom art, the F-Zero series, and the trouble with games in Argentina. More »

There's a lot riding on NBA Elite 11. Now that EA has decided to retire its NBA Live series -- which graced consoles for the last 15 years -- and completely overhaul its game engine, it's hoping to reclaim the throne it lost to the NBA 2K series so many years ago.

The first change that's apparent is the new controls. Gameplay is handled primarily through the use of both analog sticks -- the left stick acts as your feet, while the right stick represents your hands. It was jarring at first trying to link together moves in succession. But after only a few minutes, I was able to execute lay-ups, crossovers and even dunks. Once I really started to think of it in terms of feet and arms, it all really became intuitive.

#e3 This is a first for Kotaku. More »

#e3 I threw a verbal elbow at some Nintendo people this past E3 and asked them to tell me which game I needed to play among the ones I might have easily missed. Two of them said right away: Steel Diver. More »

#diversions Ever wonder what you'd look like as a character from Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series? Probably much better than you do in real life, if my picture from the Scott Pilgrim Avatar Creator is any indication. More »

Interested in learning some classic arcade game glitches? Hit up the link below to listen in to some audio that fills you in on issues with the original runs of Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, and many more. Audio here

We're here by your side to guide you through this epic game.

Electronic Arts has submitted a trademark application for "Alice: Madness Returns," a possible name for the previously announced sequel to American McGee's Alice. Beyond an "unofficial" teaser video for the sequel released in late 2009, details on the project have been slimmer than the Queen of Hearts' soldiers. We've contacted EA for info on what's down the rabbit hole.

A portion of a SegaBits interview with programmer Jeremiah Cauthorn… S: So friend codes are done away with? JC: We still have friend codes. If you have a friend you haven’t met publicly, you’d still have to type in his friend code. However if it’s someone new in-game, you can add them to your rivals list so [...]

How high is too high?

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II - no MotionPlus support because it doesn’t fit with the title’s gameplay - Red Fly was chosen due to having a more flexible development schedule - Wii version getting bigger support this time due to retail response of the first - user-suggested ideas being taken into account - no 3DS version, but the series’ [...]

Ever wanted to join the FBI? Live the dream in this unique puzzler.

A rare and annoying case of failed translation from one English-speaking nation to another.