Doc Burford

It’s Been Real

Well, folks, it’s been awesome. Got one last Deltron track for you, which, surprisingly, comes from Battleborn, and I’m out. It’s been real. I’ve gained a new appreciation for what the writers at Kotaku do here. 20+ posts in 3 days is a lot of work, whew, even when a few of them were republished.…

Lara Croft Is The Worst Thing About Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best action-adventure game of this generation, a game that effortlessly balances great gameplay with puzzles that feel more naturalistic than artificial. As if that weren’t enough, the levels are awesome, exploration is a blast, and the game’s great at encouraging a sense of completionism. There’s just one problem:…

Why Rika Is The Best Character In Digimon

By the time Digimon Tamers aired, I was growing out of cartoons, or so I thought. Tamers was an impressive feat for an after-school cartoon, a surprisingly mature, more grounded take on the Digimon series, and that’s thanks in a large part to the show’s best character: Rika Nonaka. Tamers was great in part thanks…

Your Shooter Deserves Better Feedback

So there you are, minding your own business, when the CEO of Giant Game Publisher approaches you with an offer: he wants you to lead the development of a brand new entry in That First Person Shooter that he makes, and he wants you to make sure it’s fun to play. How do you make…

How To Save Duke Nukem

It’s no secret that Duke Nukem Forever was not particularly well received. As a self-described snob of first person shooters, I’m certainly not wild about the game. Broken encounters, weak level design, and an inconsistent sense of humor held Duke Nukem Forever back from being a great game. Duke deserves better. Duke Nukem 3D is…

Why Last-Gen’s Downloadable Games Are So Great

Downloadable-only games have exploded in popularity in the last few years. Gone are the days when retail was the be-all, end-all of video games. Now, some of the coolest, most inventive games are just a few clicks away from being able to play. Still, I can’t help but feel like the grass is greener on…

This Week In Games: The Calm Before The Storm

Fall is upon us, which means two things: Pumpkin Spice and Video Games. But before that, we have time to sit back and contemplate things, like how great Doom was, because Doom was totally great. But enough about the past. Today, we celebrate the future. Monday, September 5 Mother Russia Bleeds — Steam Tuesday, September…

Why Half-Life 2 Doesn’t Live Up To Its Predecessor

You’re probably wondering what’s taking Valve, a company with nigh-infinite resources, forever to make Half-Life 2: Episode 3. Or you’ve given up on that and you believe it’s going to be called Half-Life 3. The sad truth is that we will never see another Half-Life game from Valve, and for one very good reason: its…

Something Nice To Say About Half-Life 2 Before I Destroy It Later

I met Max Barnyard ages ago. He’s a cool dude and makes cool videos. I was going to write a Half-Life 2 piece today, but something came up, and I thought that hey, you might like to watch Max’s video while you wait.

The Only Superhero I Want To Play Is Rogue

Most discussion about superhero video games revolves around the same few boring superheroes. People want to be Superman. They want to be Wolverine. They want to be Batman. Everyone wants to be the most popular and least interesting superheroes in comic books. Enough, I say! There’s only one superhero we absolutely need to play, and…

On Virtual Realism

I do not relish the thought of academia, through few faults of its own. We’re just not that compatible. What I want to do and what it wants to do fits on a Venn diagram with “philosophy” as our only area of overlap. I mention this because I think I’ve figured out something about games,…

GameXplain Has A 2-Hour Examination of Zelda Up On YouTube

Wow! GameXplain has posted a 2 hour, 6 minute, 13 second in-depth exploration of all of the footage we have so far of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is pretty cool. I’m going through it now, and while some of it sticks out to me as over-analysis (gut feeling: those lights…

Doctaku, Day 2: Secretly Plotting Your Demise

Goooooood morning, Kotaku! It is I, your incredible weekend guest editor, Doc! Got a load of stuff planned for you today, including articles about the best X-Man, Why I should be given control of Duke Nukem, and a bunch of other stuff. Brace yourself. It’s gonna get weird But first, hey, a little more Deltron.

Everything Is Better In First Person

If there is one simple, undeniable fact about anything, it’s this: every game idea is improved by putting it in first person. Don’t believe me? Cool, that’s the point I’m here to prove, and I will do that simply by listing all the times the first person perspective made other, lesser games better. Fallout: New…

Digimon Cyber Sleuth Is One Of The Best Games I’ve Played In 2016

Mike Fahey is my role model, and he wrote this review of Digimon Cyber Sleuth, and it’s great, and you should read it, but in case you wanted someone else’s take on an excellent Digimon game, here’s mine: “Finally! A JRPG worth playing!” It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m not a…

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Corrupted My Saves

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a pretty good video game. I like many things about it. It is beautiful. I haven’t predicted where the story’s going yet. I get a kick out of running errands for people. Some of the quests have me genuinely unsure what decision to make. I dislike many things about it.…

Why Horror Is Scarier With Weapons

Our favorite games are often the ones that made us feel these really cool, powerful things. How’d you feel when you met your first Colossus or saw Rapture for the first time? I think the best games stick with us because everything about them, from mechanics to presentation, is all about crafting that perfect, powerful…

I apply the flow cannon…

Your Shooter Deserves Better Enemies

So, you’re in charge of a brand new giant AAA video game, and the execs up top are expecting you to drop one of the most slammin’ game designs of 2018 on their desks. What do you do? I’ve played a lot of video games, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s a good…

Six Novels That Could Become Great Video Games

I have an overactive imagination. When I read books, I imagine myself as being in the book’s world, as sharing the experience with the characters themselves. Video games are cool because they actually bring that experience to life; with The Witcher, for instance, fans of the books finally got to be the witcher Geralt, hunting…