All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#wii The man who created Donkey Kong had some specific advice for the people who are making the next Donkey Kong game: The gorilla better slap the ground properly. More »

Five minutes of the latest footage from Level-5 and Studio Ghibli's tie-up DS RPG. Japan gets this masterpiece in December!

A portion of a RunDLC review… What’s Hot Neat concept, addictive gameplay, simple but effective controls, unlockable modes. What’s Not No online leaderboards.

It's pretty much accepted that none of us here at Joystiq are good people. We have to wonder, then, just what we did to deserve a much-desired sequel and a new NinjaBee game in the same week. It's a mystery for sure, but Major Nelson has announced that both Puzzle Quest 2 and Ancients of Ooga are slated to arrive on Xbox Live Arcade next week.

If you want to dip into some puzzle-fueled role-playing, you'll need 1200 MS Points ($15) for Puzzle Quest 2. Meanwhile, the gastronomic platforming of Ancients of Ooga will run you 800 MSP ($10). Check out a new trailer for Ancients of Ooga after the break.

Level-5's Studio Ghibli tie-up gets the HD treatment, and you won't believe your eyes! First real-time footage of Ni no Kuni on PS3.

When we were divvying up the reporting assignments at E3, Duke of the SCEE Blog James Gallagher jumped at the chance to interview the team behind Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. The result: we get to enjoy the dulcet tones of two poshly-accented gentlemen talking about a game that looks pretty cool by the developers of Heavenly Sword. And here’s James:

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one of the most visually striking games I played at E3. It’s developed by Ninja Theory of Heavenly Sword fame and the story is written by Alex Garland, author of The Beach and the scriptwriter behind 28 Days Later. It also features the acting and directorial talents of Andy Serkis.

It’s one of the games I’m most looking forward to this year so at E3, Jeff Rubenstein was kind enough to stay behind the camera while I spoke to the game’s creative director, Tam Antoniades.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West will be available on PS3 this Autumn.

#xbox360 When the Xbox Live Gold Family plan hits Xbox Live this November, you may not have to pay a penny to sign up, depending on how many existing paid accounts you have. More »

The Dead Rising movie, Keiji Inafune's directorial debut, will be shambling to North America and Europe this summer, under the title Zombrex Dead Rising Sun. Capcom will release the film online serially, chopped up into eight pieces like a particularly unlucky zombie, including an English dubbed version, as well as releases with Italian, French and Spanish subtitles. Oh, and it'll be free.

Zombrex Dead Rising Sun (good thing it's free with a title like that) is the story of two brothers trying to survive against hordes of zombies. How will they possibly make it? A wheelchair with a chainsaw attached is a pretty good start. Check out our gallery below for some behind-the-scenes photos and enjoy the trailer after the break.

#reallife When more than 40 people in their 20s stalk the streets of Brooklyn with concealed water guns, that can only mean one thing; a gang war game of CounterSquirt is going down. More »

Today's announcement of next week's Rock Band DLC from Harmonix is headlined: "Nickelback. 6 Pack. 'Nuff Said." And it's true -- a Harmonix staffer has already said 'nuff on the subject of this particular Canadian outfit.

Head past the break for the complete track pack details.

#culture We here at Kotaku do love blending booze and gaming and by we, I mean me. More »

#e3 The scariest element of the original Dead Rising video game wasn't the oil slick of zombies flooding the game's vast shopping mall. It was the game's save system. Series creator Keiji Inafune has heard the screams. The sequel is different. More »

Atlus searched far and wide its 3D Dot Game Heroes character hub for a new face for the game, in its "Make-a-Hero" contest. Finally, it found someone man enough, and cannon enough, for the job: Mannon. After the break, see some of the user-created heroes who almost got the job.

Here's the first draft of my review for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor in its entirety:

"YEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

While I think that pretty well encapsulates the feeling of playing Star Successor, I realize there might be value to explaining what the game is and why I enjoyed it so much. But even though there are more words to follow, they are all written in the same spirit as the above all-caps exclamation. Even thinking back about playing Treasure's latest game is kind of exciting. This is not a game to relax with after a long day at work. This is a game to play if you want to get so amped up you start typing in CAPITAL LETTERS.

If you aren’t already planning on participating in the “The Lab” this weekend — or haven’t in previous weekends — log in to UNCHARTED 2 multiplayer and check out the limited-time-only “The Lab” playlist in competitive matchmaking.

This weekend’s episode of “The Lab” is Sniper Extermination. All players start with only Dragon Sniper rifles and there are no other weapons available on the map. The goal of the game is similar to our Elimination gametype — once you or your opponent has been dispatched, you’re out of the round until all opponents on either team are wiped out. The team with any or the most remaining players left alive wins that round. Best of five rounds wins the entire match. No Boosters are active for Sniper Extermination, so high-level players and teams who have unlocked Situational Awareness won’t be at an unfair advantage of those who haven’t unlocked Evasion yet.

We’ll be running Sniper Extermination on the following multiplayer maps:

• The Sanctuary
• The Train Wreck
• The Warzone
• The Lost City

“The Lab” is open from Friday, June 25, at 10:00 AM PDT (what time is that in my city?) through Monday, June 28, at 10:00 AM PDT (what time is that in my city?).

You can stay up to date with future “The Lab” dates and gameplay parameters through this sticky post on the Naughty Dog community forums or by checking back on the “the lab” tag on the Naughty Dog blog. We will be posting the schedule for “The Lab” weekends for July early next week.

Hopefully very few of you are asking “What is The Lab?” If you are, head over to this post on NaughtyDog.com which gives you a bit more background on what to expect.

One more thing. Do us a favor and log in to UNCHARTED 2 multiplayer next weekend for a little something special. We’ll reveal next week what we’ve got in store for our multiplayer community.

Hard to believe but we haven't been treated to Robert Ashley's brilliant video game radio show, A Life Well Wasted, since November. The drought has finally ended with "Big Ideas," a new episode that includes a fascinating story about how the co-owner of Tetris plans to save the world. Don't miss it.

#disney Last year, it was revealed that Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura originally conceived with chainsaws. "There things I wanted to do [with Kingdom Hearts]", Nomura recently told Kotaku, "but things that were not allowed." More »

Jon Shafer, a.k.a. "Trip," is a veteran Civilization modder and mapmaker -- he's made his name in the Civ community by posting his own mods and strategy guides on the forums for years. And oh yeah, he's also the lead designer of Civ V, which is probably one reason why user-created mods and maps will play such a big part in the official game. Players will be able to upload and share them with others directly in the game itself.

The user-created catalog will even be populated with plenty of content right at launch, because Shafer tells Bitmob that "you can import Civ 4 maps into the world builder and convert them into Civ 5 maps, including all the units and cities and stuff on it -- the conversion process will just do that for you automatically." Presumably, the process will also translate the maps from squares to hexes, which means Shafer and everyone else's maps from the last Civ are just a conversion away from being playable in the new game. Which is good -- some Civ fans would have a tough time without their Middle Earth maps.

#proevosoccer In The Land of the Rising Sun, Pro Evolution Soccer is known as Winning Eleven. Ironic, as the Japanese national team traditionally hasn't been winning. Until recently, that is. More »

#nintendods Okami is a PlayStation 2 classic. The game is getting a spin-off called Okamiden for the Nintendo DS. Does it look like it's a worthy successor to the original? More »

The Unprofessionals.

The Unprofessionals.

The Unprofessionals.

The Unprofessionals.

#gameface As seen by Mike Mitchell. Thanks, Edwin! More »

Zombrex Dead Rising Sun, the movie inspired by Dead Rising and directed by Mega-Man creator Keiji Inafune, will be distributed digitally for free in North America and Europe. Free? That's the nice price! More »

#iphone4 The iPhone 4 has been released. Perhaps you bought one. Perhaps not. But if you did, you should play games on it. No, really. You should. More »

#gallery For your viewing pleasure! Or displeasure? More »

#hollywood Slated to helm Spider-Man 4, director Sam Raimi walked away from the project earlier this year. He is currently working on something that could very well be bigger. Much bigger. More »

All the most interesting stories you probably didn't hear about but really need to know.