Kotaku

U.S. Army Invades Second Life

You know the United States Army is hard up for recruits when they start poking around in the unicorn-filled virtual world of Linden Labs' Second Life.

The Army will be setting up two islands in the virtual world. One is a recruiting center with information and means to contact the recruiting office in case you feel so inclined, and the other will be filled with activities like parachuting and rappelling with weapons, both of which are activities you can already perform in SL, only afterwards you can go and relax at a dance club dressed as Optimus Prime with a unicorn for a penis.

"Over the next 30 to 45 days you might, if you’re one of them Second Life avatar dudes, that likes to go populate islands within Second Life, you will find an Army island in Second Life," Gen. William S. Wallace, the commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), said during a presentation at the 26th Army Science Conference.

NASCAR Kart Racing Wii Adds Much-Needed Falling Boulders To NASCAR

EA has announced a February release date for NASCAR Kart Racing for the Nintendo Wii, the game that finally adds the two elements keeping the sport from greatness - jumps and falling boulders.

Shipping to retailers on February 10th, just in time for the 2009 season, NASCAR Kart Racing lets players choose from 14 big-headed renditions of their favorite NASCAR drivers or one of 10 original animated characters, racing around treacherous tracks the likes of which we'll never see in the real sport. At first I was a bit concerned that EA felt that Wii owners couldn't handle a more realistic NASCAR experience, but then I realized that this game sounded a great deal more fun.

With 24 wacky tracks, four actual NASCAR tracks, and four-player split-screen multiplayer, NASCAR Kart Racing sounds like a lovely alternative to watching cars drive in circles for hours at a time. More »

New Games For Windows 2.0 Client Exists

Microsoft has quietly released version 2.0 of the Games for Windows Live software, which includes an exciting new client that allows you to browse a nearly empty Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace.

As I said, things are relatively barren right now, with a handful of trailers that we could just as easily get somewhere else and a demo for Viva Pinata the only items available via the marketplace right now. It does indeed feature my gamer score in the top corner, but there's no way to really interact with it, so it just sort of sits there. Nice.

This is the sort of thing you'd think would warrant a big announcement, but there you go. Even the official GFW forums waited 2 days after the software was made available to say anything about it. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone else. It'll be our secret.

Games for Windows - LIVE 2.0 Setup [Microsoft - Thanks Clarke!]

Runes Of Magic Open Beta Quickly Approaches

Frogster's hodge-podge MMORPG Runes of Magic has progressed to the point where they're just about ready to let everybody in for a taste, announcing the launch of the open beta on December 15th.

The game that isn't afraid to take the finer points of more established games and make them its own will be throwing open its doors in mid-December, giving PC gamers something to fiddle around with during the long, dark holidays. Players need only register at www.runesofmagic.com to enter. Characters played in beta will be carrying over to the love live game when it's finally released, so it's also an excellent opportunity to get a leg up.

Players already in closed beta will be treated to a special farewell event starting the 7th and ending the 10th, during which time evil demons will stream into the game world via some sort of dark portal or something. Come on, it's obviously not World of Warcraft - those exclamation points are purple!

Prankster Takes Mario Kart to the Streets of France

Famed french prankster Remi Gaillard took to the road in a little cart recently to act out a real life (and potential death) version of Mario Kart.

In the video Gaillard can be seen tossing bananas under the tires of nearby cars and motorcycles. Gaillard also apparently tries to ditch some cops at one point. Funny stuff, and extra points for not losing any limbs.

Daily Motion [Via NoWhereElse]

Mirror's Edge Getting Time Trial Map Pack In January

DICE plans on keeping Mirror's Edge players on their toes next month with the January release of a downloadable Time Trial Map Pack, featuring seven new maps for your running enjoyment.

Players will be able to strive for the fastest times in nine races spread across the seven maps, all for the low price of $10 or 800 Microsoft fake monies. As an added bonus, PlayStation 3 owners will be able to download an additional map for free, because DICE loves them more.

“The freedom of movement and control in first person has been the most popular aspect of Mirror’s Edge so we decided to distil these down to their purest form for this map pack,” says Owen O’Brien, Senior Producer, DICE. “We deliberately chose a more abstract aesthetic that is still within our distinctive art style and then focused on flow and gameplay to create an experience and challenge very different from the main game.”

The Time Trial Map Pack will be available in late January for the PS3, Xbox 360, and the PC version of the game, which ships on January 13th in North America. More »

Rock Band Going Country?

If Country Music Television can be believed Rock Band is about to add a little bit country to its rock and roll.

CMT blogger Alison Bonaguro writes that on December 16 Rock Band will be adding five country songs to its 400-plus repertoire of mostly rock. The songs will only be added via the online store, so none of them make it to the PS2.

The set will include songs by Bentley, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert and the Dixie Chicks. Apparently the news comes straight from Bentley, a fan of the game, who will be talking about it during Friday's episode of Top 20 Countdown with Lance Smith this Friday.

Dixie Chicks? Seriously? If you had to go country why couldn't you go Johnny Cash or maybe a little Texas rock, like the Old 97s.

Rock Band Purists Not So Sure About Country [CMT, Thanks Steve]

Korea Goes Game Crazy, Dumps Billions Into Industry

The South Korean government says they will invest 350 billion won in the computer game industry by 2012.

In a meeting Wednesday about plans to develop the game industry in the country, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon said they country's game industry hit a billion-dollar export goal this year.

The minister plans to kick start 60 projects in the country, including a $200 billion game fund, to help South Korea become one of the largest gave developers in the world. That's right, he's looking at you Japan and the U.S.

This has gotta mean good news for Korean-based developer NC Soft.

Gov't Betting on Computer Game Industry

Yup, Yup Aging Keeps On Truckin'

To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Resistance is Futile

Totally agree with you. Sometimes level design seems designed to have you look stuff up online. That's fine if you are used to that, I guess. But if not, well, that's no good. Really think that game developers are going to need to consider more variables when making games.

Wife came home today for a couple hours. I spent most of last nite cleaning — late last night. Like, I was cleaning at 1am and stuff. I passed out on the sofa. Still wasn't able to clean all of the place up.

It was really good to see her and Micro-Bash. Her doctors said neither are supposed to go out for about a month. Today, both had doctor's appointments though, so they were able to visit. As you know, they've been staying with her parents, which is the tradition in Japan. Basically, her mother helps her so she can get used to caring for the new baby.

Since I don't see the baby everyday, I was surprised how much his face has filled out. He looks less like a space alien, his eyes are wide open and he's smiling tons. Everyday it seems like he grows or changes. The thing, we're all still growing — growing older. And if you really think about it, that's depressing as all hell. So don't, I guess.

Boy, I kinda made this Night Note a downer. Sorry!

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A Most Bizarre Newspaper Headline
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Grand Theft Auto IV On PC Is A Little Broken
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Nintendo Toys Hit Burger King

What, the prospect of apple fries (?) and a tub of macaroni & cheese doesn't sound appealing enough to you, purveyor of fine, fatty American fast foods? What about some crap Nintendo toys?

Yeah, now you're interested. Cashing in on America's love of both active video gaming and passive waist expansion, Burger King have begun offering cheap, Nintendo Wii-inspired toys as part of their Club BK kid's meals. More »

Platinum Games Say Black And White Ain't Easy

Platinum Games' MadWorld is black and white — and red. Besides blood, everything is monochrome. Just because early video games were black and white that doesn't mean it's easiest to churn out a B&W title. Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba says that it's actually pretty hard.

According to Inaba, it wasn't feasible for the developers to make a title in black and white as it was difficult to differentiate items on the screen. "Even with this game, there was a certain amount of trepidation on the part of the team to make it in black-and-white. But once we actually built what you've seen, we were very happy," said Inaba. More »