Mike Fahey

Hi! My name is Michael Fahey and I’ll be your weekend editor for the foreseeable future. Thanks to all the fine folks who filled in for me during my month-long sabbatical, but I’ll be taking all of this back now.

Somewhere Underneath Angry Birds 2‘s Nonsense Is A Solid Game

It took me a couple of hours to burn through 80 levels in the first Angry Birds. In Angry Birds 2, getting to level 80 took a week and a half. This is good. It is also very, very bad. It’s good because of the changes Rovio has made to the Angry Birds structure in…

The Hidden Power Of Oreo Thins

Here at Snacktaku we don’t usually condone playing with your food, but Nabisco’s new Oreo Thins make it too easy. In this video I uncover two secrets. The first is that the new skinny Oreos have the ability to connect together like building blocks to create complex shapes. This might seem like a trivial discovery,…

LEGO Shows DC How Parallel Universe Battles Are Done

This five second clip from the story trailer for LEGO Dimensions is more entertaining than 75 percent of DC Comics’ massive universe-clashing, office-moving Convergence event. Going by the rest of the story trailer it’s safe to say that the licensed property-spanning LEGO Dimensions will also have a cohesive story. So that’s two points for the…

Watch The Weeklong Summer Games Done Quick Charity Speedrun Marathon 

Forget the sun. Forget the beach. Hang out with us and watch more than 140 video games being speedrun to benefit Doctors Without Borders during the 2015 Summer Games Done Quick Marathon. Easily one of my most eagerly anticipated annual events, the summer companion to January’s Awesome Games Done Quick tournament is an excellent reason…

Every company that makes PCs is now making them with Windows 10. There, I’ve neatly condensed about two dozen press releases I’ve received over the past 24 hours into one. I am a handsome sorcerer.

Calculating LEGO Brick Combinations Is Ridiculously Complex

In 1958 LEGO estimated that six standard LEGO bricks could be combined together in nearly 103 million ways. Math professor Soren Eilers discovered that they were off by more than 900 million. In this clip from A LEGO Brickumentary, in theaters, iTunes and On Demand this Friday, the good professor explains why LEGO’s initial estimates…

The Most Entertaining Speedrun For A Game You’ve Never Heard Of

On the left we have aspiring voice actor Patrick “Patty” Cullens, aka PCULL, whose mother may or may not have been murdered by a windmill. On the right is MrWeables, who possibly lives in a rustic castle with Will Ferrell. They’re playing a game you’ve probably never heard of, and they’re hilarious. Part of the…

The First Five Minutes Of Blues and Bullets Ruin Eliot Ness’ Retirement

A blood-soaked dungeon, the whimpers of terrified children, a mysterious horned beast and a man speaking in an incredibly bad accent—this is a job for one of America’s greatest crime-fighters. Blues and Bullets is an episodic crime noir PC adventure starring Eliot Ness, eader of the legendary law enforcement group nicknamed The Untouchables. Years after…

The First Five Diablo-riffic Minutes Of Victor Vran

As an isometric fantasy action role-playing game, Victor Vran does a lot of the same things Diablo does. It also does several things Diablo doesn’t, which is what makes it awesome. For one, it’s got a main character with an impressively gravelly voice. (Update: In fact it’s Doug Cockle, the voice of Geralt in The…

25 Years Of The Dr. Mario Commercial Music Stuck In My Head

Call the doctor, Mario 0h-oh. It was on June 27, 1990 that Nintendo released Mario’s medical puzzle game for the Game Boy and NES, setting in motion the North American marketing effort that would result in the youngest doctor this side of Doogie Houser scatting in my head for all eternity. And by scatting I…

Massive August Splatoon Update Adds Private And Squad Squid Battles

Form up Squid Kids, it’s nearly time to build squads and play without those horrible strangers. Two new matchmaking modes arrive in Splatoon on August 5, plus 30 more player levels, more than 40 pieces of gear and a pair of new weapons. Squad Battles allow for organized groups of friends to form up into…

The regular Kotaku ‘Shop Contest will return at the end of August. I’m taking a break until the weekend of August 29, and I’m sure the last thing whoever they’ve got to fill-in wants to do is stare at your beautiful pictures all day. I’ll miss my weekend peeps most of all. See you all…

The Week In Games: A Knight To Remember

It’s been around 17 years since we’ve gotten a new game in Sierra’s classic King’s Quest series. I’d say we’re due. Plenty of nifty titles arriving this week, but my eyes keep settling on King’s Quest, one of the earliest PC games I can remember playing that wasn’t completely text-based. The Odd Gentlemen’s new game…

Five Minutes In The Shadowy Forest Of Feist

I won’t lie, I initially only downloaded Feist from Steam because of how much it reminded me of Limbo, but it’s a different sort of creature. While it shares a similar look, the award-winning Feist is more action and less thoughtful puzzles, more immediate and harsh and less subtle menace. Still image evoke familiar feelings,…

Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward Log Three: Dragon Quests

Last night I fell asleep in my computer chair. I vaguely remember my hand slipping from my desk, the mouse crashing to the floor. The fearsome face of a massive white dragon filled my screen, a dialog box at the bottom indicating he was saying something about how my quest to restore relations between his…

Don’t forget to grab Diancie. Mythical Pokémon Diancie is available through Monday for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in North American and PAL regions. I completely forgot (thanks for the reminder, Oliver!). Don’t be me.

Star Wars Build-A-Bears Are Packed With Evil Gift Potential

A couple of days ago at a shopping mall likely quite close by Build-A-Bear Workshop started sellingofficial Star Wars plushies, bear costumes and accessories. Let us ponder the evil gift possibilities. Build-A-Bear used to be a place I stopped by now and then when a limited edition figure from a favorite animated series was released,…

Sunday Comics: Crawling Up Your Leg

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published July 23. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 20. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

The Original Transformers Combiner Is Back And Bigger Than Ever

I didn’t make it to Comic-Con 2015, but there was no way the show was going to pass without taking a pass at some of Hasbro’s Transformers exclusives, including the return of the original Decepticon combiner terror, Devastator. Every year Hasbro for Comic-Con Hasbro announces what is basically my shopping list and something from Jem.…