If a seemingly oddball rumor holds true, it appears that Dragon Age: Origins owners could be devouring a huge slab of DLC in the near future. Something much more epic than Warden’s Keep or Return to Ostagar.
The Czech Web arm of Eurogamer is running the sexy gossip: according to the Web site, EA and Bioware are slated to announce a full expansion for the PC version of the game dubbed Dragon Age: Awakening this January. The content is said to feature a wholly new character, as well as a proper origins narrative, and at least 15 hours of additional play time.
Eurogamer.cz continues with the info drop, stating it believes that the content will drop in Europe this March (possibly retail and digital) and will cost around two-thirds of the game’s original price.
We’ve dropped a letter to Bioware to check the validity of this, but like proper people, the studio’s staff is probably enjoying the seasonal break. We’ll let you guys know when we get the answer. Until then, celebrate the fact that expansions are still being rumored in this era of micro-transactions.
If a seemingly oddball rumor holds true, it appears that Dragon Age: Origins owners could be devouring a huge slab of DLC in the near future. Something much more epic than Warden’s Keep or Return to Ostagar.
The Czech Web arm of Eurogamer is running the sexy gossip: according to the Web site, EA and Bioware are slated to announce a full expansion for the PC version of the game dubbed Dragon Age: Awakening this January. The content is said to feature a wholly new character, as well as a proper origins narrative, and at least 15 hours of additional play time.
Eurogamer.cz continues with the info drop, stating it believes that the content will drop in Europe this March (possibly retail and digital) and will cost around two-thirds of the game’s original price.
We’ve dropped a letter to Bioware to check the validity of this, but like proper people, the studio’s staff is probably enjoying the seasonal break. We’ll let you guys know when we get the answer. Until then, celebrate the fact that expansions are still being rumored in this era of micro-transactions.
When 2009 is said and done, the Kotaku readership will have viewed the site more than 600 million times this year, an impressive mountain of clicks, comments and—based on this year’s most read posts—lecherous gallery ogling.
Of the top ten most voraciously “read” posts, two feature Zoey from Left 4 Dead in various states of undress. The word “porn” appears in two headlines, the word “stripper” in another. Another features the highest concentration of unicorns we’ve ever seen on Kotaku. In other words, you guys are pervs who come for the steady stream video game coverage, but pounce on an opportunity to see a boob.
Seriously. This Should Be Illegal. Best Buy’s bullshit pricing on Geek Squad services isn’t anything new, but the screengrab tag was in 2009. These lightning quick hit posts are often light on editorial, but always generate interesting discussion.
L4D is NS4W With Nude Zoey Mod Everybody loves Left 4 Dead survivor Zoey. And some lust for her, expending enough effort to get the poor girl’s pants off in the game by way of the nude Zoey mod, a hit with the readership. We’ve not yet heard of Left 4 Dead 2’s Rochelle getting the same treatment.
Games, Not Porn, is Adult Actress’ Secret Pleasure Porn stars, they’re just like us! Minus the constant, overacted sex, of course. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Raven’s twoother Kotaku posts, drew similar horny crowds and our fair share of detractors.
Leaked Star Wars Battlefront 3 Gameplay Footage Portions of the remains of Free Radical were on display for Star Wars Battlefront fans to mourn the developer’s passing. It was this video, the most viewed video of the year on Kotaku, that gave us a peek at Battlefront 3, showing just what some of that artwork would have looked like in motion.
Left 4 Dead Reaches Ultimate Milestone: Parody Porn Pretty disgusting, considering the fantasy rape nature of these Left 4 Dead parody videos that feature full penetration, but Zoey fantasies really go far with the fellas. I’m glad my mom doesn’t read this site!
PS3 Slim Vs. Xbox 360 Elite: Tale of the Tape Not much more than a feature spec for feature spec comparison of the then relatively new PlayStation 3 slim redesign and the Xbox 360. And readers flocked to it.
The Year, NSFW Owen’s end of year wrap up of the year’s stories that required shutting one’s office door, which really wasn’t that bad to begin with, considering the nightly pantsu stories that Ashcraft posts.
The Konami Code Makes ESPN.com Magical! For a few, glorious moments, ESPN.com was “cornified.” Type in the classic Konami code and visitors were soaking in rainbows, ponies and unicorns. It’s the post that launched a thousand tips of the “Hey! Did you know that the Konami code works on Facebook?! LOL!” nature. Yeah, we heard. Thanks!
Well, thanks for sticking with us another year, Kotaku kids! We appreciate your business and promise to never post anything not safe for work in 2010. Pinky swear!
When 2009 is said and done, the Kotaku readership will have viewed the site more than 600 million times this year, an impressive mountain of clicks, comments and—based on this year's most read posts—lecherous gallery ogling.
Of the top ten most voraciously "read" posts, two feature Zoey from Left 4 Dead in various states of undress. The word "porn" appears in two headlines, the word "stripper" in another. Another features the highest concentration of unicorns we've ever seen on Kotaku. In other words, you guys are pervs who come for the steady stream video game coverage, but pounce on an opportunity to see a boob.
Seriously. This Should Be Illegal. Best Buy's bullshit pricing on Geek Squad services isn't anything new, but the screengrab tag was in 2009. These lightning quick hit posts are often light on editorial, but always generate interesting discussion.
L4D is NS4W With Nude Zoey Mod Everybody loves Left 4 Dead survivor Zoey. And some lust for her, expending enough effort to get the poor girl's pants off in the game by way of the nude Zoey mod, a hit with the readership. We've not yet heard of Left 4 Dead 2's Rochelle getting the same treatment.
Games, Not Porn, is Adult Actress' Secret Pleasure Porn stars, they're just like us! Minus the constant, overacted sex, of course. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Raven's twoother Kotaku posts, drew similar horny crowds and our fair share of detractors.
Leaked Star Wars Battlefront 3 Gameplay Footage Portions of the remains of Free Radical were on display for Star Wars Battlefront fans to mourn the developer's passing. It was this video, the most viewed video of the year on Kotaku, that gave us a peek at Battlefront 3, showing just what some of that artwork would have looked like in motion.
Left 4 Dead Reaches Ultimate Milestone: Parody Porn Pretty disgusting, considering the fantasy rape nature of these Left 4 Dead parody videos that feature full penetration, but Zoey fantasies really go far with the fellas. I'm glad my mom doesn't read this site!
PS3 Slim Vs. Xbox 360 Elite: Tale of the Tape Not much more than a feature spec for feature spec comparison of the then relatively new PlayStation 3 slim redesign and the Xbox 360. And readers flocked to it.
The Year, NSFW Owen's end of year wrap up of the year's stories that required shutting one's office door, which really wasn't that bad to begin with, considering the nightly pantsu stories that Ashcraft posts.
The Konami Code Makes ESPN.com Magical! For a few, glorious moments, ESPN.com was "cornified." Type in the classic Konami code and visitors were soaking in rainbows, ponies and unicorns. It's the post that launched a thousand tips of the "Hey! Did you know that the Konami code works on Facebook?! LOL!" nature. Yeah, we heard. Thanks!
Well, thanks for sticking with us another year, Kotaku kids! We appreciate your business and promise to never post anything not safe for work in 2010. Pinky swear!
Today the year ends. I will spend the last moments with my wife and son watching a movie probably, eating great mounds of popcorn and drinking champagne.
The eating and drinking are things I practiced daily while on vacation, but in the month I was in Australia I watched about two hours total of television. The rest of the time I spent hiking, site-seeing, hanging with family and reading. I ended up reading through seven books over those four weeks. Loved it.
Today the year ends. I will spend the last moments with my wife and son watching a movie probably, eating great mounds of popcorn and drinking champagne.
The eating and drinking are things I practiced daily while on vacation, but in the month I was in Australia I watched about two hours total of television. The rest of the time I spent hiking, site-seeing, hanging with family and reading. I ended up reading through seven books over those four weeks. Loved it.
Survival horror titles usually follow a set script which you can guess as you play along to some degree, but Silent Hill: Shattered Memories surprises you in every aspect – not least it’s unusual twist on what you would expect a new Silent Hill title to be.
Survival horror titles usually follow a set script which you can guess as you play along to some degree, but Silent Hill: Shattered Memories surprises you in every aspect - not least it’s unusual twist on what you would expect a new Silent Hill title to be.
At my high school – among the smallest in North Carolina – we aren’t known as the “Rams” or the “Cardinals.” We’re “The Buckin’ Elks.” And Brad Nessler says that name – all of it – in NCAA Football 10.
I know of no other institution of learning, NCAA FBS, FCS, Division II, III or high school, that goes by “the Buckin’ Elks” for its athletic nickname. So today, when I used NCAA 10’s Teambuilder to create my high school on a lark, my jaw hit the floor after play-by-play man Brad Nessler introduced us by that very name. Watch the video. I’m not making it up.
Elkin is a five-time state champion – four this decade – but we are definitely not among the nation’s top-of-mind high school programs. Our 2002 title, the first since the fabled 1967 champions, came with 18 players on the roster.
I have a few theories as to why we made it in. EA Sports Tiburon probably realized, with the new Teambuilder interface, that some of their installation base would create their own high schools and be thrilled to hear their nicknames. Of the zillions of high schools in the United States, a bunch are already covered by existing mascots. So why not go pick out the more unique ones, especially recent champions, and give someone a thrill?
I made an offhand, highly anecdotal test of unique school names. Nessler doesn’t say the name of Mount Airy’s “Granite Bears” (2008 NCHSAA 1-A champs, ‘09 runners-up). Nor does he announce the Washington (N.C.) High “Pam Pack.” Both come through as “the home team,” which is what the CPU offers up when it can’t recognize a nickname.
However, “Nimrods,” the hilarious nickname of Watersmeet, Mich. High, is also said by Nessler. But that school was featured in an ESPN advertisement, and also the subject of a USA Today profile five years ago, far more notoriety than we Elks have ever seen. So who knows what’s going on here.
Somewhere, for some reason, someone asked Brad Nessler to announce my high school for battle in a college football video game, but not because every single school in the United States, or even my state, was included in his script. Like Michael Moore finding the Russian missile pointed at Flint, Mich., I will not stop until I track down who was behind this. And why.
Oh, and, Starmount, East Wilkes, Forbush, Surry Central – if it’s in the game, it’s in the game. That means we are and y’all aren’t. So suck on that.
At my high school - among the smallest in North Carolina - we aren't known as the "Rams" or the "Cardinals." We're "The Buckin' Elks." And Brad Nessler says that name - all of it - in NCAA Football 10.
I know of no other institution of learning, NCAA FBS, FCS, Division II, III or high school, that goes by "the Buckin' Elks" for its athletic nickname. So today, when I used NCAA 10's Teambuilder to create my high school on a lark, my jaw hit the floor after play-by-play man Brad Nessler introduced us by that very name. Watch the video. I'm not making it up.
Elkin is a five-time state champion - four this decade - but we are definitely not among the nation's top-of-mind high school programs. Our 2002 title, the first since the fabled 1967 champions, came with 18 players on the roster.
I have a few theories as to why we made it in. EA Sports Tiburon probably realized, with the new Teambuilder interface, that some of their installation base would create their own high schools and be thrilled to hear their nicknames. Of the zillions of high schools in the United States, a bunch are already covered by existing mascots. So why not go pick out the more unique ones, especially recent champions, and give someone a thrill?
I made an offhand, highly anecdotal test of unique school names. Nessler doesn't say the name of Mount Airy's "Granite Bears" (2008 NCHSAA 1-A champs, '09 runners-up). Nor does he announce the Washington (N.C.) High "Pam Pack." Both come through as "the home team," which is what the CPU offers up when it can't recognize a nickname.
However, "Nimrods," the hilarious nickname of Watersmeet, Mich. High, is also said by Nessler. But that school was featured in an ESPN advertisement, and also the subject of a USA Today profile five years ago, far more notoriety than we Elks have ever seen. So who knows what's going on here.
Somewhere, for some reason, someone asked Brad Nessler to announce my high school for battle in a college football video game, but not because every single school in the United States, or even my state, was included in his script. Like Michael Moore finding the Russian missile pointed at Flint, Mich., I will not stop until I track down who was behind this. And why.
Oh, and, Starmount, East Wilkes, Forbush, Surry Central - if it's in the game, it's in the game. That means we are and y'all aren't. So suck on that.
Kotaku reader Kyle was nice enough to share the private, nerdier moments of his recent The Legend of Zelda themed nuptials with the rest of us, showing off the amazing Zelda cartridge cufflinks conceptualized by his bride. Now there’s video.
The special “Kotaku Cut” of Kyle and Ashley’s day at the altar gives a closer look at many of the Zelda-inspired aspects previously unpublished—including the Triforce-esque engagement ring, the invitations and the Link tunic color scheme chosen for the bridesmaids’ dresses. Because I know that if there’s one thing the Kotaku readership loves to chat about, it’s bridal wear.
Things get a little awkward when Ganon shows up, drunk, but Kyle handles it with grace. Thanks again, Kyle!
Kotaku reader Kyle was nice enough to share the private, nerdier moments of his recent The Legend of Zelda themed nuptials with the rest of us, showing off the amazing Zelda cartridge cufflinks conceptualized by his bride. Now there's video.
The special "Kotaku Cut" of Kyle and Ashley's day at the altar gives a closer look at many of the Zelda-inspired aspects previously unpublished—including the Triforce-esque engagement ring, the invitations and the Link tunic color scheme chosen for the bridesmaids' dresses. Because I know that if there's one thing the Kotaku readership loves to chat about, it's bridal wear.
Things get a little awkward when Ganon shows up, drunk, but Kyle handles it with grace. Thanks again, Kyle!
Kotaku reader Kyle was nice enough to share the private, nerdier moments of his recent The Legend of Zelda themed nuptials with the rest of us, showing off the amazing Zelda cartridge cufflinks conceptualized by his bride. Now there’s video.
The special “Kotaku Cut” of Kyle and Ashley’s day at the altar gives a closer look at many of the Zelda-inspired aspects previously unpublished—including the Triforce-esque engagement ring, the invitations and the Link tunic color scheme chosen for the bridesmaids’ dresses. Because I know that if there’s one thing the Kotaku readership loves to chat about, it’s bridal wear.
Things get a little awkward when Ganon shows up, drunk, but Kyle handles it with grace. Thanks again, Kyle!
Kotaku reader Kyle was nice enough to share the private, nerdier moments of his recent The Legend of Zelda themed nuptials with the rest of us, showing off the amazing Zelda cartridge cufflinks conceptualized by his bride. Now there's video.
The special "Kotaku Cut" of Kyle and Ashley's day at the altar gives a closer look at many of the Zelda-inspired aspects previously unpublished—including the Triforce-esque engagement ring, the invitations and the Link tunic color scheme chosen for the bridesmaids' dresses. Because I know that if there's one thing the Kotaku readership loves to chat about, it's bridal wear.
Things get a little awkward when Ganon shows up, drunk, but Kyle handles it with grace. Thanks again, Kyle!
The last and first day of the year for me has always meant spending way too much time in front of the TV. Be it playing video games until I pass out or watching televised marathons, I consider it a guilt-free over-indulgence.
This year will be no different. I’ve got a sizable backlog of games to play including Demon’s Souls, Total War: Empire and early builds of Dark Void and Dante’s Inferno. But there’s also plenty of television to watch.
I’ll be definitely catching as much of New Year Day’s Doctor Who marathon as possible and I’ve spent a chunk of today flipping between The Twilight Zone and the Three Stooges. What about you? Games or TV?
If TV is your televised poison of choice here’s a rundown of the marathons I spotted while channel surfing:
New Year’s Eve Discovery Channel: Ghost Lab USA: Burn Notice History Channel: Strange Rituals TNT: Las Vegas A&E: The First 48 Syfy: The Twilight Zone WGN: In the Heat of the Night AMC: The Three Stoogies TCM: The Thin Man The Travel Channel: Bizarre Food
New Year’s Day BBC America: Doctor Who Discovery Channel: MythBusters Cartoon Network: Loony Tunes The History Channel: Ice Road Truckers A&E: Criminal Minds Syfy: The Twilight Zone WGN: Barney Miller
The last and first day of the year for me has always meant spending way too much time in front of the TV. Be it playing video games until I pass out or watching televised marathons, I consider it a guilt-free over-indulgence.
This year will be no different. I've got a sizable backlog of games to play including Demon's Souls, Total War: Empire and early builds of Dark Void and Dante's Inferno. But there's also plenty of television to watch.
I'll be definitely catching as much of New Year Day's Doctor Who marathon as possible and I've spent a chunk of today flipping between The Twilight Zone and the Three Stooges. What about you? Games or TV?
If TV is your televised poison of choice here's a rundown of the marathons I spotted while channel surfing:
New Year's Eve Discovery Channel: Ghost Lab USA: Burn Notice History Channel: Strange Rituals TNT: Las Vegas A&E: The First 48 Syfy: The Twilight Zone WGN: In the Heat of the Night AMC: The Three Stoogies TCM: The Thin Man The Travel Channel: Bizarre Food
New Year's Day BBC America: Doctor Who Discovery Channel: MythBusters Cartoon Network: Loony Tunes The History Channel: Ice Road Truckers A&E: Criminal Minds Syfy: The Twilight Zone WGN: Barney Miller
While we’ve been off living our crazy lives, a dedicate community has been hard at work designing mind-blowing levels for LittleBigPlanet since pretty much day one. Developer Media Molecule has played all of the good, non-copyright-infringing ones and wanted to give props to the necessary guys and gals.
The 2009 Sackies, as they’re strangely calling it, gives recognition to the greatest LBP creations. It’s no surprise to see such levels as NeoGAF’s Little Big Contra, or that insane working calculator by Upsilandre, because they made headlines on most of the major gaming blogs upon public release.
Of course, there are videos to go along with the winners. You ought to avoid watching them if you hope to make anything productive in LBP ever again — they really are that good. Is it possible to indefinitely ragequit a game of this nature? I don’t see why not.
Voting for the year’s best level, which will be decided by you, hopefully after you’ve tried out every one of the candidates, is now open.
While we've been off living our crazy lives, a dedicate community has been hard at work designing mind-blowing levels for LittleBigPlanet since pretty much day one. Developer Media Molecule has played all of the good, non-copyright-infringing ones and wanted to give props to the necessary guys and gals.
The 2009 Sackies, as they're strangely calling it, gives recognition to the greatest LBP creations. It's no surprise to see such levels as NeoGAF's Little Big Contra, or that insane working calculator by Upsilandre, because they made headlines on most of the major gaming blogs upon public release.
Of course, there are videos to go along with the winners. You ought to avoid watching them if you hope to make anything productive in LBP ever again -- they really are that good. Is it possible to indefinitely ragequit a game of this nature? I don't see why not.
Voting for the year's best level, which will be decided by you, hopefully after you've tried out every one of the candidates, is now open.
As we run out of hours before the end of 2009, our minds are already thinking about what might happen in the next 12 months. Last year at this time we gave our predictions on what the PC game industry might do in 2009. Some of our predictions were proven to be correct and others, well, not so much.
So now it’s time to do it all over again and look into our rather hazy crystal ball and give some predictions on what events mght happen in 2010. Will we bat 1000 this time or will our predictions miss by a mile. In 12 months we should know.
As we run out of hours before the end of 2009, our minds are already thinking about what might happen in the next 12 months. Last year at this time we gave our predictions on what the PC game industry might do in 2009. Some of our predictions were proven to be correct and others, well, not so much.
So now it's time to do it all over again and look into our rather hazy crystal ball and give some predictions on what events mght happen in 2010. Will we bat 1000 this time or will our predictions miss by a mile. In 12 months we should know.
When 2009 is said and done, the Kotaku readership will have viewed the site more than 600 million times this year, an impressive mountain of clicks, comments and—based on this year’s most read posts—lecherous gallery ogling.
The last and first day of the year for me has always meant spending way too much time in front of the TV. Be it playing video games until I pass out or watching televised marathons, I consider it a guilt-free over-indulgence.
