All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Weapons and tactics simulator packs military hardware and equipment from top manufacturers to test shooting skills.

#clubnintendo Japan's Club Nintendo members do really get the coolest stuff. Takes these Animal Crossing cards, for example. More »

Public launch scheduled for Spring 2011.

Gal Gun is embarrassing. Ludwig learned this firsthand while playing the Xbox 360 shooting game at Tokyo Game Show. It's so embarrassing that even developer Inti Creates and publisher Alchemist had to acknowledge the fact that players wouldn't want to be seen playing it. The developer has implemented a panic button that instantly puts a fake 8-bit game on the screen, with authentic animations and sounds.

This is referred to as a "Mama kita gamen," or "Mom arrived screen," which, oddly, is exactly the nightmare scenario Ludwig envisioned in the preview. Either he tapped into a universal fear of having one's mother see Gal Gun, or Ludwig's coverage inspired this option.

In other news, Gal Gun will be released in Japan on January 27. You can go ahead and forget about importing it as a gag gift or an odd conversation piece, because it's going to cost ¥7,140 ($87).

#screengrab For better or worse, a fan made an El Shaddai toy. As seen on はちま起稿. More »

It’s been a few weeks since Medal of Honor launched, and thanks to our fantastic PlayStation fans, things have been a great success. Now that you’ve had time to get used to the game’s multiplayer offering on the PlayStation Network, I think it’s time we let you in on a little secret: there’s more. While you may already know that Clean Sweep is coming on November 2 (free for everyone who activated their Medal of Honor Online Pass), what we didn’t tell you is that a whole new mode dubbed Hot Zone is coming to the PSN on the same day.

Coming to the PlayStation Network for $9.99, Hot Zone is a king of the hill-type mode where two teams tussle over a single objective within a map. As long as you hold the Hot Zone, you gain points which go to your final score. Unlike other game modes, maintaining control on the Hot Zone is the only way to earn points, so while laying down suppressing fire and taking out enemies coming your way is certainly a good thing, these kills won’t earn you any extra points.

The pacing and overall feel of the new mode is different as all players will be surrounding a single point on the map, making for some frantic and fun firefights in this new multiplayer mode. But what about the maps themselves? This is why the Hot Zone content pack also comes with four maps: two new maps, Hindukush Pass and Korengal Outpost will add a new flair to the proceedings, while redesigned versions of the Shahikot Valley and Helmand Valley maps will bring a fresh angle to some familiar environments.

If that’s not enough for you, we’ll be hosting a Game with Developers session on Sunday, November 7 from 1pm to 4pm PST where you’ll be able to chat with the Medal of Honor development team, ask questions and let us know what you think of the new modes. All you’ll need to do is send a friend request to any of the following PSN IDs and join our sessions in progress. We’ll be accepting any and all friend requests until we run out of room, so be sure to send your request early!

PSN ID:

• Eagamers0
• Eagamers1
• Eagamers2
• Eagamers3
• Eagamers4
• Eagamers5
• Eagamers6
• Eagamers7

Atlus revives 11 year old classic PlayStation title.

#clips I was harsh, you might think too harsh, about the Dagobah level in my review of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. More »

Save orphans and dispense justice as the summer's funniest downloadable hero debuts on PC today.

Unsurprisingly, Dragon Age 2 will feature some manifestation of "Project Ten Dollar" (an incentive to buy EA's games new) akin to Mass Effect 2's bonus content delivery pipeline, the Cerberus Network. "We will be doing that," executive producer Mark Darrah confirmed to Joystiq during a recent press preview of the game. "We haven't announced what's in it, but it'll definitely be something kind of in that Cerberus vein where there will be additional content."

Speaking of Dragon Age 2 DLC in general (and not necessarily just the freebie content), Darrah said we could expect to see a boost in quality over the Dragon Age: Origins DLC, which prompted complaints about a limited scope and areas being recycled from the main game. He assured us that the sequel's add-ons would be more unique: "What we're doing with the DLC in Dragon Age 2 is making it larger; so it'll be bigger teams, more unique environments, more unique creatures -- so that it gets the attention it deserves to get."

BioWare intends to offer free DLC to early birds as well, with pre-orders of Dragon Age 2 being upgraded to the BioWare Signature Edition at no extra charge. Dragon Age 2 will launch on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on March 8, 2011.

Critically acclaimed 2D action brawler wreaks havoc on Steam today.

Get creative and win money.

In the right hands, Fear can be a weapon.

Celebrated sports compilation franchise for Wii is now available.

We feel you. You've been waiting all year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the formative "romantic drama" Days of Thunder. Well, hang tight, your opportunity is coming -- just maybe not before 2011: Paramount Digital Entertainment and Piranha Games today assured patient fans that Days of Thunder: Arcade will be released on Xbox Live Arcade "this winter" (which means it could show up on a late-December Wednesday, or it would otherwise debut in early 2011).

Days of Thunder: Arcade is, naturally, an arcade-style romantic drama -- er, make that: racing game. Under the guidance of Rowdy Roddy Burns (was that the name?), players compete in an unlicensed racing circuit, careful to watch for "reckless, aggressive driving" by the movie's star, Cole Trickle, who is not voiced by Mr. Cruise in the game.

The PS3-exclusive licensed version, Days of Thunder: NASCAR Edition, adds a bit more authenticity to the "pedal-to-the-metal, adrenaline-fueled arcade racing" with the likes of modern day wheelmen Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart, among others. Earlier this month, NASCAR Edition was dated for release on PSN this fall -- that's right, in time for the anniversary! We figured we'd save the best news for last. You're welcome.

#screengrab Who would have thought that, beneath their constant chatter and from within their cable-infested coccoons, all Starcraft's Adjutants ever wanted to do was dance. More »

Demos! Getcha' demos here! This week's Euro PSN update highlights four trial versions for upcoming games, including Time Crisis: Razing Storm, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage. There's also the release of the Undead Nightmare expansion for Red Dead Redemption, which should provide all the spookiness required for your upcoming Halloween festivities. Check out all of this week's releases after the jump.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:
(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

#guesteditorial For PC Gaming Week, Kotaku has invited top creators to predict the future of computer gaming. Today, Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek, makers of legendary PC-only first-person shooter Crysis and 2011's PC and console Crysis 2. More »

#ps3 It pays to be a Playstation fan, or at least it will starting in April when Sony Computer Entertainment of America kicks off their new loyalty program, Playstation Rewards. More »

Sony is preparing to launch a new incentives program called PlayStation Rewards. A closed beta for the offer is currently invite-only -- for "highly engaged" PlayStation owners -- but the full service will open up to include everyone next year. The program will reward players with a number of PSN bonuses, including "exclusive" avatars, dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content. In addition, Rewards will feature "member-only" sweepstakes, events and giveaways.

At first glance, PlayStation Rewards seems to offer many of the same features as PlayStation Plus. However, the two services are separate from each other and will offer different bonuses. Rewards is free, and will be open to all PlayStation owners, regardless of Plus status -- although, Plus members are more likely to be offered entry into the service during the beta.

Like Club Nintendo and Square Enix Members, PlayStation Rewards is tiered, separating its members into three groups: Select, Pro and Legendary. Playing games, downloading demos, using PlayStation Home, being active on the PlayStation.com Forums, answering surveys and buying content on the PlayStation Store are some of the ways in which members can increase their ranks in a Trophy-inspired leveling system.

Today, we’re excited to share news of the launch of PlayStation Rewards, a new program that recognizes and rewards our users for simply doing what they love – playing games and interacting with the entertainment content that PlayStation has to offer. We really wanted to create something that says, “thank you” for being a loyal PlayStation fan.

In its initial launch tomorrow (Oct. 28th), PlayStation Rewards will be an invitation-only beta to all eligible PlayStation Plus and Gamer Advisory Panel (GAP) members. We’re kicking things off as a beta so that we can get feedback from our most loyal fans in order to make it the best possible rewards program it can be. It’s also worth noting that during the beta phase, the program will be focused on PlayStation 3 owners, but we hope to include PSP users as well not too far down the road. Oh, and one more thing: PlayStation Rewards will be free – there is no fee to join!

Now, to give you a bit more details on the new loyalty program… PlayStation Rewards is designed to give you the opportunity to gain exclusive status, recognition, and rewards as a thank you for your continued interest in PlayStation. And, the best part is that you don’t have to do anything different. Keep playing new games, buying content purchased from PlayStation Network in the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home, download movies and TV shows, or just communicate with us by taking one of our surveys, for example, and you’ll now be recognized for it.

The more you play and participate, the more progress you’ll make through our three reward tiers — “Select,” “Pro,” and “Legendary.” As your status increases, so do the rewards. And if you want to check out your current status level, simply go to your private profile page and look at the reward progress meter.

So what do you get? Right now, rewards include things like…

• Exclusive PSN avatars that display member status in the program
• Exclusive dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content
• Opportunities throughout the program year to participate in members-only sweepstakes and giveaways for experiences and merchandise you won’t find elsewhere (The first of which is an all expenses paid trip to the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, as PlayStation’s guest)

That’s just the start and our plan is to continually grow and improve the reward offering as the program itself evolves. Your feedback in this beta period will help make the program even better!!

If you’re a GAP member or PlayStation Plus subscriber in the U.S., who is opted-in to marketing as of October 24th, be sure to look for your invitation and sign-up for PlayStation Rewards.

To learn more about our new loyalty program, check back tomorrow when the site will be live and the beta forum will be available for all eligible participants.

We look forward to showing you our appreciation along the way!

#officialkotakuforum You can talk about video games right here, folks, as you can in Talk Amongst Yourselves every day. You can even talk about games that weren't on the Commodore 64, if you insist. More »

Atlus is currently refreshing PSone RPG Persona 2: Innocent Sin for the PSP. Announced in Japanese mag Famitsu (via Siliconera), the release will be in line with that seen in Persona, adding widescreen visuals, gameplay tweaks and a new animation for the opening (the original movie will also be in there for purists). Shoji Meguro, who was in charge of the Persona remake, will direct this project.

Persona 2 actually released in two parts as Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. The latter made it to North America in late 2000, but Innocent Sin has never been officially localized for distribution. We're following up with Atlus to see if it plans on bringing Innocent Sin stateside this time around.

#pc AMD has enjoyed a terrific run with the Radeon HD 5000 series as it took Nvidia no less than six months to counter with its initial Fermi products. More »

Jadusable's tale of a haunted copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask wasn't just a well-executed creepypasta. It was also an ARG! Coded messages in Jadusable's 'recent activity' log led players into a narrative in which the occupant of the cartridge escaped and trapped the character of the hapless person who found it. Players interacted with the game in part by leaving comments on the YouTube channel, including the magical songs from the game.

Or they did, until Jadusable declared that the game was on hiatus due to lack of funds. Instead of walking away from an amusing web game, players actually donated money to the project in order to keep it going. Jadusable plans to release the next chapter of the game this holiday season, along with " an interactive videogame for download in tandem with the final phase of the story." Get caught up with the game here if you're interested in jumping into this world.

Hello there, wonderful PlayStation.Blog fans!

My name is Ed Fear and I’m the PR & Community Manager at Curve Studios, an independent developer based in London, England. I’d like to take a moment of your time to introduce you to Explodemon, an awesome action-platformer coming to the PlayStation Network this Winter 2010.

I think the best way of telling you about Explodemon is with a suitably bombastic trailer, so take a look at this:

If that’s piqued your interest, hooray! If it didn’t pique your interest then, well, shame on you. Watch it again until it does.

Ready to continue? Okay, then let me set the scene: the nefarious Vortex have mounted a surprise invasion on the planet Nibia, destroying its entire Guardian defence force in the process. Only one hope remains: the malfunctioning prototype Guardian Explodemon, locked in stasis after a, shall we say, ‘devastating’ activation experiment.

As his name suggests, Explodemon’s problem is that he’s ‘prone’ to exploding. It turns out that, surprisingly, Explodemon’s explosivity (so totally a word) will come in useful for fighting back the Vortex onslaught, navigating around the environment, and solving tricky physics-based puzzles.

Featuring 12 huge levels of pulse-pounding platforming, a deep control system, devastatingly up-close-and-personal combat, upgradable special abilities, comic-book style cutscenes and a story that’ll make you giggle, cry, or simply sigh with indifference, Explodemon isn’t your average game. No way. It’s above average, at least. No, wait – so way above average that it’s pure awesome. That’s more like it.

We’ve been working on Explodemon for almost five years now, in some capacity or another, so we’re immeasurably excited to actually get it out to people before the end of the year.

If you’re thinking ‘Five years?’ then, well, that’s understandable. It’s a very long and dramatic story, featuring MYSTERIOUS BENEFACTORS! LAST-MINUTE DEAL BREAKDOWNS! HIDDEN USURPERS! and BOUNCY CASTLES! – well, okay, not the last one (I can dream). But it ultimately culminates in us deciding to follow our instincts and venture into the brave new world of self-publishing. But you look a little fidgety, and I don’t want to go on too much, so let’s save that for another blog post. Or possible movie rights.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little introduction to Explodemon, and that you’re suitably excited for what I can personally guarantee is the most EXPLOSIVE game to launch on PSN this Winter. If you’ve got any questions or comments, post them below – I’ll be skulking below in the comments section like a lonely man at a house party, gripping his drink and staring intently at his shoes, desperate for a snippet of conversation to latch on to.

P.S. Oh! I almost forgot! Make sure you follow us on Twitter @curvestudios to keep up-to-date on all the latest information and get exclusive screenshots not seen anywhere else. There are free copies of the game up for grabs too!

Shank and DeathSpank are ready for action now on Steam for $15 apiece. Shank doles out death in what the movie advertisements will refer to as a roaring rampage of revenge, while DeathSpank delivers demise at the end of a punch ... line.

We enjoyed both titles when they were first released over the summer on consoles. We found Shank to be a "cure for murder" (but please consult your physician before taking Shank) and said DeathSpank was "built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon."

#pressplay In 1985, British band Dire Straits released the first music video made with computer graphics. In 2010, Dutch electronica artist released a music video made entirely in a game. More »

#pcgamingweek We are all over PC gaming this week , but what do we know about PC gaming? Each day, one Kotaku editor will reveal their PC gaming knowledge and share some memories. Yesterday you read about Crecente's experiences, and now? More »

#wow Do not be embarrassed by this man, World of Warcraft players. He is one of you, and his wealth of knowledge is something to be treasured, not scorned. More »