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The Newest Skylander is a Giant Bee, and They Didn’t Name Him Bee-Hemoth
Dear Toys for Bob, I know you folks are really good at making toys. I’m sure this Bob guy is completely overjoyed. Your Skylanders game wasn’t too shabby, and I’m really looking forward to the follow-up, Skylanders Giants. I love your work, but you really need to leave the character naming to the people most…
By Mike Fahey -
This Aston Martin PC Case is Gorgeous, and Derek Smith is the Best Friend Ever
Custom PC builder Derek Smith had a friend that needed a PC, but couldn’t afford to purchase a brand-new system, so Smith told this friend he’d put something together. That something turned out to be a Cooler Master “Cosmos S” case transformed into the sort of PC James Bond would roll down an embankment in.…
By Mike Fahey -
The Secret World Log, Supplemental: I Am All the Character Classes
With Kate on holiday this week’s MMO log for The Secret World isn’t happening. This is sad. Luckily for everyone involved, I’ve been playing as well, and I am tired of people asking me what character class I rolled. That’s not how it works. Here’s how it does. For many players it’s quite liberating, being…
By Mike Fahey -
Five Spoiler-Heavy Reasons The Dark Knight Rises Fell Flat
As I exited the theater early Friday morning after a midnight showing of the third and final film in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed Batman trilogy, the air was filled with excited chatter. “I didn’t see that coming!” “I knew it all along!” “I want to see it again!” The crowd seemed quite pleased. I wasn’t feeling…
By Mike Fahey -
Arise, Hideous Prime, and Light Our Darkest Multiplayer Hour
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron‘s online multiplayer mode allows players to create their own bastardized versions of classic characters, from a guy that looks vaguely like Warpath to a puke green and brass Optimus Prime. Customization, Starscream? This is bad comedy. Despite earning Evan’s approval during his recent hands-on at Comic-Con 2012, Fall of Cybertron‘s standard…
By Mike Fahey -
The Little Vector-Based Console That Couldn’t is Reborn on the iPad
In 1982 Smith Engineering released the Vectrex, a self-contained video game console that delivered cutting-edge vector based games to the masses. It was the first game console with a 3D peripheral. It was brilliant. It was also released right before the video game crash of 1983, so the system that hit the market at $199.99…
By Mike Fahey -
Now Mad Catz is Making a Massively Multiplayer Combat Flight Simulator
Not content to merely dabble in the more pedestrian flying video game market, the once peripheral-centric Mad Catz lifts its ambitious eyes to the MMO skies with Combat Pilot, a title that combines realistic flight simulation with multiplayer military aviation. It’s actually more exciting than it sounds. Most pure flight sims are single-player experiences or,…
By Mike Fahey -
Cold is the Deadliest Weapon in Company of Heroes 2
The harsh Soviet winter of 1941 saw temperatures drop as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature at which human skin freezes in minutes. Axis and Allied forces alike suffered tremendous casualties due to the extreme cold. Relic Entertainment harnesses this deadly force of nature with Company of Heroes 2‘s ColdTech system. We’ve seen how…
By Mike Fahey -
This Version of Final Fantasy is 200 Points Better Than the Rest
I’ve played the original Final Fantasy at least a dozen times over the past two decades. I’ve played the original NES game. I’ve played it on Game Boy Advance. I’ve emulated it. I’ve played it on my iPhone. Not once has anyone took me aside and said, “Hey man, good job crossing that bridge.” Until…
By Mike Fahey -
The Discordant Horror Lurking in Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Soundtrack
Sonic the Hedgehog‘s Green Hill Zone track is the pinnacle of upbeat, energetic video game music, enthusiastically propelling the player headlong into a fantastic adventure. Slow it down, however, and it’s something straight out of an experimental horror film. This video, upped by Rob Crossley over at CVG, grants us insight into the motivation behind…
By Mike Fahey -
Insomniac’s Twisted Take on Pokemon is Ready to Play
Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac ventures out into the wilds of Facebook today, inviting players from across the known galaxy to capture and battle the exotic alien beasts of Outernauts. I’m going to catch them all, this I swear. Outernauts is what happens when a AAA game studio sets its sights on the world’s most…
By Mike Fahey -
ReviewsMcDonald’s Cone: The Snacktaku Review
The world’s most popular fast food restaurant does many things wrong. Every day McDonald’s serves up hundreds of thousands of sandwiches that are little more than fat stacked with fat coated in fat. They attempt to replace true happiness with oil-soaked paper sleeves filled with once-healthy vegetables and meats battered beyond recognition. They created the…
By Mike Fahey -
Introducing Pixel and Sprite, the New Cats in Town
I told you there’d be cats. No one cat could possibly take the place of Rande, my unofficial writing partner of several years. So I got two. The black and white lanky one is Sprite. The pretty white one is Pixel. They are brothers, and like many brothers, they enjoy a good scrap. They also…
By Mike Fahey -
The Dorkly Weekly: A Kakuna Named Pikachu
Last week we featured the premiere episode of Dorkly’s Pokémon Rusty, a series that follows the adventures of a less-than-proficient Pokémon trainer. I questioned Rusty’s choice of Kakuna as his starter Pokémon. This week he proves there’s no problem you can’t overcome by ripping a gaping hole in continuity. Kakuna cannot do what he does…
By Mike Fahey -
Fake Gamer of the Week: Watch Out, She’s About to Unleash Her Super Move
That sly look. The firm grip on the joystick. The dramatic pause. No, she’s not flirting with you. She’s warning you. Here comes her ultimate super move. You might think there are no super moves in an ancient arcade game that only costs a quarter to play. You would be wrong. “But that’s Galaga” you…
By Mike Fahey -
The Prettiest Tech Demo Ever Created Gets a Stunning DirectX 11 Makeover
In 2002 NVIDIA released “Dawn”, a high-end DirectX 9 tech demo featuring a beautiful forest fairy that captured the hearts and minds of PC gamers all over the world. That mystical creature looks even more gorgeous ten years later. The original “Dawn” tech demo was a revolution in PC graphics, the first time a character…
By Mike Fahey -
Time Traveling Dance Central 3 Gets an October Release Date and Vanilla Ice
The motion tracking dance game that made Kinect seem so interesting turns three-games-old this fall, as Harmonix announces an October 16 release date for Dance Central 3, the only game to combine “Ice, Ice Baby”, the Macarena and time travel. At this point I might pick up Dance Central 3 just to ironically listen to…
By Mike Fahey -
The Colorful Character Creation of Guild Wars 2‘s Most Exotic Races
This past weekend’s final Guild Wars 2 beta event gave players access to the plant-based Sylvari and the Muppet-based Asura for the first time. Thousands of new characters were made, and it looked something like this. As expected, the Asura are now officially the cutest thing ever. Those big eyes, the floppy ears, the air…
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A New Justice League Video Game is Not Something That Should Sneak Up on You
I should not be finding out a game starring The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman a week before release. I need more time to prep myself for Justice League: Earth’s Final Defense, due out by the end of this month for iOS. I certainly shouldn’t be finding out about it from a…
By Mike Fahey
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