Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better 
Resistance: Burning Skies: The Kotaku Review 
Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending This again? Yes, this again. The latest batch of rumours to come from EGM’s Quartermann dredges up one we’ve been hearing for as long as we can remember, one that pegs Rare hard at work on a new Killer Instinct. This one, dubbed Killer Instinct 3D: Death, Destruction and Doom, is said to bring the delightfully goofy fighting game that pits boxers against skeletal pirates, lizardmen against werewolves into the world of 3D.
Those supposed Starcraft II system requirements? Lies. All lies. More like speculation really, as Blizzard was kind enough to let us know that the gang at Micromania “pulled their numbers straight out of thin air.” We would suggest resting assured tonight that, when ready, and not a minute before, Blizzard will be telling you the exact minimum and recommended system requirements in an official capacity. That will most likely be, I’m guessing, after the company gives us a ship date and come in handy FAQ form.
This is weird. I feel like I don’t have anything to play! It’s Memorial Day weekend in the US and, in the tradition of takin’ it easy to honour the memory of soldiers who have died in military service to their country [Ed.'s note: :( ]I’ll be takin’ it real easy. I’ll play whatever is on the inside of my many consoles already. Taking stock, that’s Grand Theft Auto IV in the Xbox 360, Super Mario Galaxy in the Wii, Phantasy Star Collection in the PS2 and Haze in the PS3. Just kidding on that last one. I’ve had my fill. I’ll make sure to put that right back in its case.
We’ve got some BBQing and pool partying that needs to get done, plus some lazing about, maybe some straightening of the US flag outside Kotaku Towers West. Other than that, just kickin’ it. You? What are you playing this extended holiday weekend, should you have one?
id Software confirmed it has left the Entertainment Software Association, joining a growing list of recent departures that includes Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts.
The publisher departures follow decisions made by the ESA board surrounding last year’s E3 move to Santa Monica that ultimately cost the association $US 5 million and necessitated raising its membership dues, as Kotaku reported earlier this week.
Both id and the ESA confirmed the departure; while id Software declined to comment, ESA senior VP of communications and research Rich Taylor responded:
“We can confirm that id Software has decided not to renew its membership in the ESA. We admire their creativity and innovation. We also respect their decision,” he said.
“The ESA continues to lead the thriving video and computer game industry. We are dedicated to protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire entertainment software industry.”
Nexon America, publisher of MapleStory, KartRider and Mabinogi, announced it’ll launch a free online FPS called Combat Arms, slated to release later this summer.
The company touted the game’s “highly customisable” aspect, from the look of characters to the guns and equipment. Match wins are rewarded with in-game currency in addition to XP, both of which allow players more customisation options. Nexon also said the game weighs the community aspect heavily, with a clan focus and some social network-style features.
Though there’s no specific release date confirmed, the closed beta begins May 30th, so if you’re interested you can try your luck; full release follows the jump.
What’s your high score on Guitar Hero III‘s sore-finger finale “Through The Fire And The Flames?” At a 24-hour Guitar Hero marathon held by Blockbuster to benefit the nonprofit “Education is Freedom” children’s charity, Grapevine, TX native Daniel Johnson blew away the Guiness World Record for a single-song high score.
Playing on Expert, no less, on an Xbox 360. So how many points, now?
In the June issue of Playboy, Rockstar’s Dan Houser gave a somewhat rare full-page interview on Grand Theft Auto 4 and violent video games. Why, Houser was asked, don’t other entertainment industries offer more support for video games, since their controversial content is often targeted for criticism in the same fashion?
“It’s about economics. We take market share and audience from other media – video game makers are challenging the Hollywood hegemony – so they’re going to fight us. But I’m not going to fight them. I believe your Constitution protects us.”
When interviewer Scott Alexander asked Houser about inequity in the way adult games are treated as compared with film and other media, Houser said:
newVideoPlayer("masseffect523b_kotaku.flv", 500, 301,""); BioWare and EA are releasing the PC version of Mass Effect next week, and in preparation they’ve released a couple of clips of the mouse and keyboard version in action, with a scene of dramatic dialog before the jump and some good old-fashioned shooting people, places, and things tucked safely after the jump.
Just bear in mind that all PC trailers are created using the OverComputer, the mythical computer passed down by the gods that somehow manages to maintain system specs double of recommended settings no matter what game you install. All hail the OverComputer!
The Wii may not be great for high-resolution graphics, but it’s perfect for black and white, or so said Madworld dev Shigneori Nishikawa during an interview with MTV’s Stephen Totilo last week.
“For consoles like the 360 and PlayStation 3 the level of high-quality graphics is so extreme. I wanted things to be simpler than that.” He said he had been told that he needed to make a Wii game. “We thought about ‘What can we do that’s new on the Wii?’ And we came out the white and black graphics.”
Ishikawa goes on to talk about where he came up with the game’s signature signpost-through-face move, what sort of music will be the backdrop to all of that over the top killing and his take on violence.
Speaking with the Platinum Games guys last week during their day of announcements, I asked them what Nintendo and the ESRB thought of the game. Their answer: So far, so good. Let’s hope it stays that way.
‘Madworld’ Developer Talks ‘Sin City,’ Wii Graphics And Signpost-Stabbing Vs. Dagger-Stabbing [MTV Multiplayer]
As a means to get a leg up on their busy, busy Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots launch duties, series creator Hideo Kojima and lead artist Yoji Shinkawa will be appearing at the HMV on Oxford Street in London, England next Monday, June 2nd, 19 days before the game releases. Rather than signing copies of the game itself, Kojima and Shinkawa will be signing exclusive HMV sleeves that will slide over your copy of MGS 4, available with your £5 deposit on the full game. Autographs will begin promptly at noon, with sleeves available from 9:00am.
While I suppose it would be much more appealing to have them signing copies of the game on launch day, it is nice to see Kojima and Shinkawa taking the time out of what is sure to be an extremely busy early June schedule to show the UK some MGS lovin’.
