Kotaku Australia

Sunday Supplement: “a game about nothing, signifying nothing”

David Wildgoose — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:00:13 +1100

Welcome to your Sunday reservoir of interesting writing about video games. Grab your reading jacket, a cup of coffee and get ready to exercise the brain.

EDGE: Brütal Legend: A Love Story
Chris Dahlen examines Double Fine’s deft characterisation of Ophelia as the emotional fulcrum of Brütal Legend.

Fidgit: Tim Schafer on the finer points of nudity, heavy metal, and Brütal Legend
Tom Chick chats in-depth with Tim Schafer. ‘Nuff said.

Flash of Steel: Decade Feature: 2000 – Sacrifice
Troy Goodfellow revisits the strange and uncomfortable strategy of Shiny’s excellent Sacrifice.

GameCritics: Sans ethics and damn fun? Sega’s Madworld and House of the Dead Overkill
Matthew Kaplan debates whether the “stupefying satisfaction” of a dumb action game can be as valuable as one that is worthy and enlightens.

Vorpal Bunny Ranch: Raydians: Persons of Color
Denis Farr reveals a parable of race relations at the heart of bright and breezy de Blob.

Valve’s Multiplayer Calculus: (360 = PC) > PS3

Owen Good — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +1100

More provocative tidbits continue to trickle out of Valve, with the Left 4 Dead 2 project lead saying that game won’t be coming to PS3 because the console’s multiplayer community isn’t on par with PC and the Xbox 360. (more…)

NCAA Football, And The Science Of Subjectivity

Owen Good — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:00:00 +1100

With true-to-life fidelity, my most recent season simulation in NCAA Football 10 found Boise State losing a trap game late in the season and, as the token BCS Buster from a minor conference, paying for it dearly in the polls. (more…)

Finally, Brandish 2

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:30:00 +1100

Nintendo Won’t Commit To A 2010 Zelda

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:30:00 +1100

During an interview on GameTrailers TV yesterday, Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime was quizzed on whether we’d see Zelda on the Wii next year. His response? Hedge-betting. (more…)

Rock Band 3 Will Teach You How To Play Proper Music

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:40:00 +1100

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Dhani Harrison — son of former Beatle George Harrison — has revealed that he’s not only working on Rock Band 3, but that it’s going to take the series in a new direction. (more…)

Tales Of Vesperia Is Wii Bound?!

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +1100

Popular Japanese voice actor Rikiya Koyama appears to have leaked the news that Namco Bandai role-playing game Tales of Vesperia is Wii-bound. Ooops! (more…)

What It’s Like To Live Where Games Are Criminalised

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +1100

Twenty-six-year-old gamer Guido Núñez-Mujica lives in Venezula, where the government has passed a new law that in effect criminalises video games. (more…)

Trials Dev Pirated Its Own Game To Drive Interest

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:40:00 +1100

RedLynx, the developer of the well received downloadable title Trials, said that it seeded pirate torrent sites with neutered copies of the game in order to stoke interest in the title. (more…)

God Of War PS2 Vs God Of War PS3

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:20:00 +1100

The upcoming God of War Collection for the PS3 boasts remastered editions of two of the PS2’s finest games. But just how remastered are they? (more…)

Germany’s Censored L4D2 Runs Faster

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +1100

Australia isn’t the only nation receiving a power-cleaned version of Left 4 Dead 2. Germany, no doubt because of the killerspiele hysteria, has a similarly sanitised demo. But guess what, it also runs 40 per cent faster. (more…)

Rumour: Kane & Lynch 2 Has A Very NSFW Level

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:40:00 +1100

Eidos sequel to the 2007’s Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, likely titled Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days and likely teased in this fascinating but brief video, may be giving your eyeballs more Kane and Lynch than you bargained for. (more…)

Calling Preview: Ju-on, Take Two

AJ Glasser — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:20:00 +1100

Halloween might be long gone for 2009, but Japanese horror is fashionable all year round. Or at least Hudson hopes to make it so with Calling. (more…)

PC Version Of Dragon Age Patched, Explained

Owen Good — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +1100

The PC version of Dragon Age: Origins got a 1.01 patch not 72 hours after release; lead designer Mike Laidlaw jumped onto BioWare’s forums to explain its necessity. (more…)

Rooms Preview: Sliding Under The Fun Fence

AJ Glasser — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:40:00 +1100

If the puzzles of the Professor Layton games and the moody, noir setting of 2005’s Hotel Dusk could somehow mate and produce offspring, Rooms would be it. (more…)

Smash TV “Will Rise Again” Says Co-Creator

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:20:35 +1100

Midway’s seminal twin-stick shooter Smash TV, the bloody, futuristic game show arcade game of yore, may be getting a proper update from Midway. And the guy saying that’s in a position to know. (more…)

Wiiwaa Trailer Shows Updated Oral Insertion

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +1100

Wii game Wiiwaa, highlighted earlier this week, is all about puppet-waggling, a concept from Sweden’s Zoink Games. If you caught the previous video involving sticking Wii Remotes in private puppet places, note that this one is easier to swallow. (more…)

Notebook Dump: Mass Effect 2’s New Helpers And A Failed Quest

Stephen Totilo — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:00:57 +1100

There comes a time in the week to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? (more…)

EA’s MMA Gets It On With “Premier League” Strikeforce

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:40:00 +1100

EA Sports may not have the UFC licence, but it does have Strikeforce. The publisher of the very descriptively titled EA Sports MMA announced the mixed martial arts promoters as one of the game’s “premier” leagues. (more…)

NetFlix In Action On The Playstation 3

Brian Crecente — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:20:00 +1100

This week Netflix started mailing out the disc needed for PlayStation 3 owners to use the movie and television streaming service on their consoles. (more…)

Modern Warfare 2 Navigates A Sea Of Second-Guessers

Brian Crecente — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 +1100

Incensed politicians, angry fans, boycotting retailers: What might be the biggest video game launch in history has more than its share of controversy. (more…)

Halo 3: ODST Motorcyle Helmet Perfect For Headshot Protection

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:40:00 +1100

While our cats have been enjoying the comfort of Halo helmets for years now, the human market is sadly under-served. At least one human will be well protected, thanks to this Halo 3 ODST motorcycle helmet. (more…)

Halo Waypoint Will Be What You Make Of It

Mike Fahey — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:20:00 +1100

Yesterday 343 Industries released Halo Waypoint, the Xbox 360 destination for all things Halo. Kotaku spoke to Halo franchise executive producer Josh Holmes about how fans will help determine the direction Waypoint takes. (more…)

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

David Wildgoose — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:47 +1100

It’s just about getting to that time of year where I start looking back at all the games I missed out on playing. And then I start trying to catch up. This weekend is catching up time. (more…)

Review Round-Up: Dragon Age, Drawn To Life, NBA And More

Stephen Totilo — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:42 +1100

We reviewed the following games this week. None is called Demon’s Souls (Please be patient?). None of them even rhymes with Demon’s Souls. But one does star pro wrestlers… like Demon’s Souls, right? (more…)